Chapter Text
He sneered, a small string of childish cackles leaving him as he watched the airship full of supplies glide on the wind while his own clown copter was hidden in the trees below. They wouldn’t know what hit them! Today, he would prove he wasn’t a baby and was ready to help his Papa with his schemes just like his siblings. They were always trying to protect him and sway him from joining in on the fun but he wanted to help the kingdom with nabbing supplies or rescue Peach from that bad man Mario since he wanted to have a mama just as much as the rest of them. If he was a part of the planning or execution then he knew that the outcome would be in their favor. Junior nodded to himself, ready as he flew towards the large airship with missiles prepared. It would go his way and then they would all apologize for doubting him or shooing him away. He knew it wasn’t completely their fault but when they were all off doing their plans, he was just by himself, smiling and cheering them on while silently hurting on the inside from the loneliness. He just wanted more and as his Papa said, you should stand up and take what you want because the world doesn’t give handouts. This was his chance to stand up and to make them proud.
He had made a mistake, he wasn’t prepared or ready for fights like this, not even with the newly acquired paintbrush from the man in the white coat. He was out of options as emergency sirens screamed at him, his engines failing as the battered copter couldn’t hang in any longer, bursting into flames, careening downwards in a spiral. He wanted to be a big boy and be brave but he was so scared. He tucked away in his shell, the falling sensation continuing as he tumbled and for once he found no comfort in the dark cocoon his shell normally provided. He wanted his Papa! Suddenly, he heard a sickening smack against his shell before feeling the sharpest and most intense pain of his young life causing him to scream out. It felt like his shell was being pried apart and he found he couldn’t help but exit from his safety but that didn’t stop the hurt. He curled tightly in a ball which just made it worse, crying roughly as he begged for his Papa. He couldn’t see what was wrong and he was terrified. His head bashed roughly against something green, a weird noise happening before everything was pulling and twirling in many directions with his vision blurring and darkening at the edges, soon losing consciousness before a pipe spat the koopaling out, hitting the forest floor.
‘ What a mess… ’, Luigi thought, seeing all the destruction in the area and frowning as he helped to put out the fires before it spread to take out more of the jungle. The ship had crashed not far from Kong Country and it didn’t take long before news of the incident was delivered to the brothers. Luckily, they had been in the area to set up a new pipe system in the neighboring desert or else who knows how long it would have taken to get there on foot, a day or more at least which would have been useless. Luigi was just glad no one had been too seriously injured, nothing a mushroom couldn’t fix but not much could be salvaged from the supplies the Kongs had been waiting on. Mario had already been quick to ask about what happened upon their arrival and found out a koopaling had been the one to cause the trouble.
Something was odd about all this but of course no one listened when he had tried to speak up and Mario was just as quick as the rest to blame Bowser without thinking further into it before setting to work on cleaning up. The koopas were more likely to steal than risk damaging supplies and anyone could say what they wanted about Bowser but he knew when and who to pick a fight with. This didn’t feel like one of his typical schemes so to speak. Either way, he did hope the child was alright. Most didn’t care but a koopaling was still a child, even if they were tougher than most. They just wanted to help their father, which was incredibly sweet even though he was the absolute worst. Luigi was headed further into the tree line when he felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder, causing him to squeak before turning around to his brother chuckling, “Jumpy today?”
“Mario! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!!”
“Sorry, I was just going to warn you not to wander off too far. I guess they have been having problems with Kremlings lately so it’s best to not be alone. They actually thought it was them until the crew confirmed otherwise.”
“I’ll be careful. I’ve got some power ups just in case and we need to make sure the fires aren’t spreading from other locations. That was a pretty big explosion after all.”
“Yeah, true. I’ll catch up with you later. Stay safe and try not to get into any trouble.” Mario teased with a wave. Luigi shook his head as he waved back before wandering further away, the voices and bustle of Kong citizens fading and the noises of the jungle giving way. If it wasn’t for this whole situation, this place was actually surprisingly peaceful. He wasn’t sure how far he had gone while admiring the lush wildlife before he saw smoke up ahead which caused him to dash forward, reaching a clearing. A trashed clown copter met his vision, the fire not reaching the trees just yet but the foliage and grass in the area was burning and threatening towards spiraling out of control. Luigi acted, snagging an ice flower from the tool box at his hip and worked to snuff out the threat but there was something he was more worried about. He frantically searched the copter, thankful to not see anything inside but he couldn’t feel relief yet.
If the copter was here and in this kind of state, the koopaling might be in trouble as well. He meticulously scoured the area, trying to leave nothing behind as he made sure to keep his eyes out for the yellow-ish orange of koopa scales. He saw something with a bit of orange, excitement rushing through him but frowned when he got closer. He thought it might have been a broken piece from the copter but then he noticed it appeared to be an oversized paint brush with a strange glowing paint which was odd in itself but the logo was one he recognized. ‘ What is one of E.Gadd’s inventions doing here? He didn’t mention missing anything….is this new?’
He shrugged it off, stuffing the brush as best as he could into the toolbox before continuing onward, determination filling him. He needed to make sure this koopaling was okay. It wasn’t too much longer before he found something new, again not what he was desperately hoping to find but something that was surprising and possibly helpful, an uncharted pipe. Had this one recently popped up? He looked back towards Kong Country, debating on going to get his brother first before exploring where this let out but he decided against it. Better to peek real quick and come right back if there was no sign of the child, two birds with one stone kind of deal. He hopped in with a wahoo and went with the flow, letting the magic and current take him where it pleased before he heard the familiar sound dragging him out to greet him with…the plains outside the mushroom forest. Not a bad pipe at all! That would save so much time! His excitement was immediately drowned, panic and dread hitting him like a punch to the gut as his blue eyes landed on a small figure unmoving and clearly unresponsive on the ground that suspiciously looked like an exact miniature of his brother's nemesis.
He stumbled frantically to the koopaling’s side and gasped in horror, shaking as he took in the sight. A jagged and bloody crack ran along the entirety of the little koopaling’s shell, clearly compromised but thankfully not completely shattered though the gap was wide. Luigi had a mushroom with him but there was nothing he could do with it unless the little one could eat it and he wasn’t awake. It would be a danger to feed it to him while unconscious. He had very limited knowledge of turtles with cracked shells and he had no clue if that even would apply or work for a koopa but he had to try. It couldn’t remain open like that or else it could get worse or become deadly since he was no expert on how much damage was too much. He dropped his tool box, taking off his gloves as he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket before taking the canteen in his toolbox to pour some water onto the cloth. He carefully worked to clean the area, doing his best not to allow any water to enter the crack itself.
Setting it aside, he dug for some wire and was secretly thankful the little koopaling had spikes so he didn’t have to do any drilling to make this work. He carefully worked the wire around one of the spikes before passing over the crack to hook it onto another spike on the side. He continued this pattern while pushing the two ends of the crack together, feeling pain in his heart for the child at every whimper or cry in their sleep at his actions. He knew it was for the best so at least natural healing could begin while he waited to administer a red mushroom to the lad but that didn’t make this any easier. He wished he had glue or something to really give it a seal but he was out of luck. He shakily took a seat next to the bambino, glad at least the worst part was over but now he had a hurt little one relying on him and he had no clue how to truly help. He knew that hurt turtles shouldn’t move which meant he couldn’t just pick him up and take him back through the pipe with him and there was no way he was leaving a defenseless child, no matter who their father was.
‘ Sorry Mario, I’ll make it up to you later…..’ , Luigi thought, knowing to his brother it would look like he just disappeared into the jungle. Mario would panic and search, determined to find him as he worried for his little brother’s safety but he didn’t have the heart to leave the bambino. Maybe Mario would find the pipe and then everything would be fine, he could only hope. He set to work to collect stones and wood or anything burnable to make a fire, knowing that koopas needed to be warm and the plains were a bit chilled with the rolling breeze. Once that was done, he sat down as close as possible to the bambino to share more of his warmth and gently petted the little one's ponytailed hair while giving the child encouraging and sweet words about how brave or strong they were while he worked to fix his shell. He knew coma patients heard voices which sometimes helped wake them up so he thought maybe this would help for the child too. Then he could work on finding a way to get the koopaling back home.
“I DON’T WANT EXCUSES!! I WANT RESULTS!! I WANT HIM FOUND NOW !!”
The minions scattered, going back to their frantic search for the young prince. None of them knew where the koopaling had gone and the only hint so far being that his clown copter was missing which most likely meant he had snuck out. Where would he go though? He had never left the Darklands before. He knew not to leave without telling someone. Bowser knew he had enemies everywhere, even those he saw as allies couldn’t be completely trusted. If someone saw Junior alone, they could kidnap or punish him to get at Bowser which just made him feel sick to his stomach. His family would always be his greatest weakness and his greatest strength. Right now, he felt pathetic and lost with nothing more to do than pace.
“Don’t worry, my boy. We will find him.” Kamek said with conviction and patted his King’s shell, the tone in the old magikoopa’s voice clearly suggesting unimaginable pain for anyone who dared to mess with his grandson. He nodded, letting his adoptive father know he had in fact heard him but it didn’t stop the pacing or anxiety. He just wanted Junior home. He had all these mixed feelings and nowhere as well as no one to direct them at. ‘ Please be alright…if anything were to happen I’ll never forgive myself.’