And now for something completely different! Hello everyone, Northstar Pokeshipper here and welcome to my first ever non-Pokemon story on this site! As I am quarantining myself due to the C-word, I might as well experiment and dip my toes into the Mario pool of fanfiction. Now, this fanfiction is inspired by a story by StarlitDuck called "Runaway Reptile." I recommend you read that (and if you are into it, the other stories in her series) before reading this one. (Before you ask, yes, I got permission from the author herself.) Anyways, it's time to set the stage for this story, so lets a-go!

Boswer Jr. was the only biological son of King Bowser Koopa and the heir to the Koopa Kingdom throne. He was loved dearly by his dad, but it was hard to ignore that he was a spoiled little boy. Even the king himself had to admit that. Whenever the Koopa Prince did not get his way, he would throw large fits until he got it. Luckily, it was nothing too major, but that would all change one fateful day…

One day, Bowser Jr. was at Dark Land Middle School, or as he affectionately called it, "prison". Why did he have to go to school? It was not like Junior was going to use anything learned here in the future. He sighed as he sat in his seat and listened as his teacher droned on, Junior struggled to stay awake as the Koopa prince thought about what he planned on doing that afternoon. It involved convincing his adopted siblings to do his homework for him in exchange for 30 golden coins, quote-unquote "forgetting" to pay the coins later, and destroying anyone and everyone in Mario Kart 8 DX's online mode.

When the day finally ended, the teacher announced what today's homework assignment is. "Tonight, you will make a family tree, and present it to the rest of the students in one week!"

Bowser Junior gulped. He didn't even know who his mother is, let alone her side of the family. And he doubted that his siblings know who she is either, in fact, they don't even have any biological parents that they know about! Bowser Jr. always disliked his adopted siblings, or as they are often collectively called the Koopalings. He was still jealous that they get in charge of defending the castles when Bowser unleashes his plans to kidnap Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom. Can't he just be in charge of that only once?! Because of this jealousy, Junior often treated the Koopalings like they were the lowest-ranked Goombas in his dad's army. He made them do embarrassing things for his amusement, destroy their belongings, and, as stated earlier, made them do his homework. But as Junior knew they couldn't help him tonight, he decided to ask someone who DID know: his father.

Once Bowser Junior got back home from school, he went straight for the throne room, where his dad was sitting.

"Hello son," Bowser said, "How was school?"

"Terrible," Junior admitted, "I got homework, and I cannot force my siblings to do it for me! You are the only person that can help me!"

Bowser sighed, "What is it, son?"

"Make a family tree…" Bowser Jr. said, "And where I am hitting the roadblock is knowing who my mother is. King Dad, who is she?"

Bowser paled. He hoped that he would never have to answer this question, but now he had to. "Prince Bowser Koopa the Second, I think it is time you know the truth about your lineage…"

"What is it?" the little Koopa asked his father.

"Well," Bowser said, trying to think of a way to say this to his son, "It's that you don't have a mother."

"Obviously," the Prince said, "I don't have a mother because she is not around. She must have left you or died before I was born. Please tell me that you remember what she was like…"

Unfortunately for the sole heir to the throne, Bowser shook his head, "No. That's not what I mean, Junior. What I mean is that you were not conceived in a conventional matter. You were born without a biological mother. In fact, none of your ancestors were..."

Junior was petrified as the Koopa King told his son the story of how he was conceived, which started all the way back as the written history of the area. It all started when the first Prince of the Koopa Kingdom, Prince Cosmo the First, was required to find a wife so she could produce an heir for their kingdom. It was a lot easier said than done, however, as none of them suited him. And as an adopted child could not be his heir, the line of Koopa Kings was in danger of ending before it even begun! Luckily, the Prince's top advisor, a Magikoopa, suggested that they clone him as an egg, and the child that hatches from the egg would be raised to be the next Koopa King. Prince Cosmo accepted this. And so, a new tradition was born. Cosmo's son, grandson, great-grandson, and every one of his successors all the way up to Bowser Jr. were conceived using magic.

Bowser Jr. broke out of his paralysis with a shake of sadness. The woman who he longed for all of his life, his mother, never existed… He looked into the sky and unleashed a mighty roar, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"

The scream of the Koopa prince could he heard far and wide across Dark Land and beyond. The furthest away it could be heard away was the Mushroom Kingdom, where Mario and Peach were having dinner. It was all going perfectly normal until Peach heard something.

"Hear that, Mario?" she asked.

Mario nods as he saw his glass of water shake, "What in the world eight is going on?!"

"I am not sure," Peach said, "But I know Bowser is up to something…"

"Well, I say we don't intervene unless you know what happens."

Peach nods as they resume their meal and tried to forget what happened.

And that's the first chapter of my first ever Mario fanfiction! And as this is my first time dipping my toes into the pool of non-Pokemon fanfiction, helpful tips are welcome! Again, StarlitDuck, thank you for allowing me to use your ideas for my story! Anyways, I will see you all in the next part, and be sure to stay safe!