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Disclaimer: I don't own shit. So don't sue. Please! I got bills to pay!

As always, the setting/scenario pertaining to "Roommates" was put together by Spelunker Sal and Dreamous. This side-story, however, is my labor of love!

And again, like with the Roommates comic series, this series will contain the same kind of content. Don't like it? Keep it movin'. Any and all flames will just be used to fuel my hot-blooded ambitions!

Chapter 3: Dinner...

Soon afterwards, Bowser paid the tip to the limo chauffer, and summoned a few hands to help with getting their guests' things inside.

As they were walking up the steps back towards the Koopa Manor, Hanbei turned towards his best friend again.

"Roy, would it be safe to presume...?"

"...Yeah?" the pink-domed koopa replied.

"... You were the one who put the young one up to getting that hoop in his snout, correct?" Hanbei queried.

"Hah! You wish!" Roy replied with a guffaw.

"Got that right! This was actually something that I initiated, nii-chan," Junior replied with a smirk.

"Alright. Then exactly what would possess you to put holes in your body?" Hanbei turned to the youngest son of Bowser.

"Let's just say...I wanted something of my own. I'm not ashamed of whom I am, or whose am I, but I don't think it's so bad to give myself a little bit in the way of extra 'flair', right?" Junior winked.

"...And you were okay with this?" Hanbei turned to Bowser, Sr.

"...Hey, my youngest son is getting ready to be 18 soon, and going off to college in the Fall. It definitely hasn't been easy, lemme tell ya, but I've been doing more to let go, and let Junior be his own man," the Koopa patriarch replied, patting his namesake on the back with a smile. "Besides, he gets this bit of 'rebellious' behavior straight from his Papa! Why, back in my day...!"

"But...was this place of good report? Clean? Think of the infections that he could have gotten! Or other types of damage to his person!" Hanbei stated with concern.

"Relax, nii-chan," Junior smiled with saccharine sweetness, as he leaned over to pat Hanbei on his smooth, blue head between the ears. "You worry too much!"

"...Primarily, because you and your brother have given me plenty of reason to do as such, in all these years I've known you both..." the wartortle replied glumly.

"...If you must know, Bei-by, I did ask around about the joint. Couple of my girlfriends had boyfriends or exes who went there, and they were pleased with the service," Wendy interjected.

"And I actually went there wit' da kid!" Roy added with a grin. "Shit, yo' boy actually ended up cavin' in, and getting' a lil sumthin' for himself!"

"...Do I wanna know?" Hanbei said, with a deadpan expression.

"Ain't a piercing, I'll tell ya dat much. I'll have to show ya later!" Roy said with his grin widening.

"...You should get something, too!" Junior smiled. "Then we'd all fit in together!"

"...spare me," Hanbei offered in reply. "I have to fool around with needles, and pierce my flesh on a day-to-day basis, because I have to. I am not about to allow some other schmuck to do it to my body, just for some 'flair' as you put it."

"But, c'mon! I mean, think of what we could do to give you some more pizzazz, nii-chan! Like I dunno, do something with those ear-fins of yours! Or, maybe even dem blue dimples!" Junior chuckled, as one hand reached over to pinch Hanbei's cheek.

Hanbei, however, was not having any of that. He quickly grabbed Junior's outstretched hand at the wrist, then shifted behind Junior in a smooth notion, pressing Junior's hand firmly to his back in a hold.

"...You can make fun of my height, you can pat my head. But try and grab my face, and boy...consider yourself dead," Hanbei whispered gently into Junior's ear, with a smile.

"Alright, then!" Junior smiled, and then backed his rear into Hanbei with a bit of playful force. Enough so that Hanbei released the young koopa from the rather flimsy hold. "That just means I might have to try and go for something else, instead! Like say...that tail!"

"Keep playing, little boy..." Hanbei offered a small smile as he quickly back-stepped away.

"Who you callin' 'little boy', huh?"

"Far as I can see, the only thing really changed about you is your height, and your new hoop. You're still, in a lot of ways, that same boy I've always known. Even the look in your red eyes reflects that much."

"...Is that a good thing, or a bad thing, nii-chan?" Junior asked, genuinely interested in what Hanbei may have to say.

"You're the one seeking to walk more into independence, and what life has ahead of you, Junia-kou. Thus, only you can answer that question," Hanbei replied amicably.

"Another one of your riddles...?" Junior asked once more.

"A lil something for you to think about, is all," Hanbei concluded.

Less than an hour upon his return, and Junior is already privy to yet another one of Hanbei's "tests". As he was growing up, Junior could think back to many such moments in his young life, where Hanbei would say something fairly profound, and actually give him something to analyze critically. Some things he would get within a day, or a week, but many would often take him the better portion of a few months' time, or even longer. And it was not unusual for him to only find one "answer", while in the midst of another question.

Junior has had many teachers, coaches and trainers, each of which taught him at least something that he retained. But to this day, he can think of no one else that has really challenged his critical thinking and mental fortitude, quite like Hanbei has.

Once everyone in their company was inside, the twins were truly taken aback by the sheer size of the place. What they were currently standing in, the main hall, was bigger than most of the houses they have been within over the course of their young lives. Even the impressive Kagami residence in Japan could not hope to compare to the spacious interior. The hall itself was decorated wonderfully with a lava red motif, accentuated with a long, regal carpet that seemed to stretch out into the distance.

"Wo-ow!" Billy exclaimed.

"...it's like a castle!" his brother shared the sentiment.

"Doing it big! That's how we do it in the Koopa family, boys!" Bowser stated with pride.

"I think that's more of New York's motto, Daddy...." Wendy groaned.

"Well, hey, where do you think they got it from?" her father gave her a cheesy grin.

"Can't wait to see all over this place!" Billy exclaimed.

"Yeah! Almost like it's bigger than Hong Kong itself!" Jimmy agreed.

"...Now, remember boys, you promised me you would be on your best behavior! Do not touch anything, unless Mr. Koopa, or some one else, says it's ok. And no running around like madmen," Hanbei said sternly.

"Yes, Hanbei," the twin dragons replied a bit glumly.

"Aw, Bei-bei-boy! Stop being such a killjoy! It's been a good, long time since this house has had youngings of their age around here! Let boys be boys!" Bowser grinned.

"I merely insist that..." Hanbei started.

"Nothin' doin'!" Bowser replied in a boisterous manner. "In fact...how would you boys like me to give ya 'part 1' of the Grand Tour, after dinner?"

"...'Part 1'...?'" Jimmy asked with an unbelieving look in his eyes.

"It's all we'll likely have time for before you guys go to bed! We could spend the better portion of the day exploring the West Wing, alone!" Bowser chuckled.

Each twin turned to each other, each face only reflecting the same visual expression: a dropped jaw. Bowser continued to snicker in delight.

"At this point, I'm sure I'd probably need a tour, as well," Hanbei said. "It's like this place continues to change and expand, each time I come back to it."

"...Oh, yeah! You have GOTS to see my room now, Bei-bei!" Roy said with glee.

"Really, now?" Hanbei stated with a raised eye ridge.

"For once, Roy's hype is rightfully placed. Since you were gone, Roy's room is now up at the top. We gave him a nice 'Penthouse' type of deal here! And, of course, I was the one who helped bring it all together!" Wendy shot a wink over to Hanbei.

"Guess you good for sumthin', 'Ms. Thang'," Roy said grudgingly.

"Oh, please believe! The only thing that I value more than making ME look good, is taking a domicile, and giving it the touch that only I, Wendy 'O-my-Gawd-Almighty' Koopa can provide! You should be thankful you're my older brother, and that I even offered my services to you, much less, for free! I've actually made a good racket for myself utilizing my skills out in the world, don'cha know!"

"Heh heh heh! That's my lil Kootie Pie!" Bowser beamed with pride. "You get things done! Just like yo' Daddy!"

Wendy's face contorted upward in a grimace.

"Uhhh...! I'mma need you NOT to call me that any more, Daddy. That is SO 1992."

"Doesn't matter. You'll ALWAYS be my lil Kootie Pie!"

"On another note, Wendy..." Hanbei interjected. "Now that you know I brought two extra guests with me, do you still think that the room you set up for me will be able to accommodate all three of us?"

The twins, interested in Wendy's response, turned their attention towards her.

"Now, THAT is a good question!" Wendy answered. "Had I had any idea that you'd be bringing two more cuties with you, I would've probably shifted things around better. But I suppose we could work something out..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'm all for more talk...preferably after I had the chance to wrap my lips on that steak that's clearly calling my name...!" Junior smiled.

"Well...would you prefer me to give you your gifts now, or wait til after dinner?" Hanbei asked.

"Hold up! You mean you were serious about those surprises?" Junior returned a question of his own.

"As I alluded to before, yes, I did bring a few things for everyone. But since you four are already here, I guess I can cut to the chase," Hanbei said.

"...Alright...the possibility of getting more swag is the only, and I repeat, ONLY thing that I will excuse from me hollering at that steak!" Junior smiled.

With that much said, Hanbei snapped his fingers. Billy and Jimmy immediately rushed to a large, green gift bag and carried it between the two of them.

"Careful now, boys."

"We are!" the twins replied.

As soon as the bag was placed in front of Hanbei, the wartortle reached in, and started pulling out some things.

"Ladies, first," Hanbei stated, as he pulled out a group of things, nicely folded together.

"As is only fitting, proper and just!" Wendy smiled. "Wha cha get for me, Bei-by?"

"For one lady, who is all about looking good, as much as you? This should be in the area of 'no-brainer'..." Hanbei smiled back as he handed the things to her.

Wendy's eyes were soon delighted to see that Hanbei had picked out a variety of beautiful kimono for her. Each among the 5 were painstakingly hand-crafted, colorful and came with a myriad of various designs, and came with complimenting geta sandals. The white one, with rosy colored, cherry blossom petals adorn all over the outfit, quickly emerged as her favorite of the batch.

"You really know how to treat a princess the way she is MEANT to be treated, Bei-by! I'll have to re-educate my own boo!" Wendy glowed. "I love 'em all, but I can't WAIT to try this one on!"

"Glad you approve," Hanbei stated happily. "Now, how about our upcoming grad?"

"Oooo! What ever could you have gotten for me, nii-chaaan?" Junior smirked.

"Well, since this is a time that commemorates your graduation from high school, the beginning of your time as a college student, and your 18th Birthday? I decided to run with that..." Hanbei started off, as he reached into the bag.

The first thing he pulled out, was a fairly large, DVD Boxset like package. Junior's eyes lit up as soon as he laid eyes on it. The familiar, manga-style artwork, that portrayed a character he recognized with angel-like wings. And of course, the familiar title...Guilty Gear. Hanbei had obtained the recently released "Guilty Gear Sound Complete Box" set, which, across 8 CDs, contained every track from every Guilty Gear game, up to the recent "Slash" update.

As a Guilty Gear fan, and also a lover of great metal, he almost wanted to squeal with delight, and hug the living daylights out of Hanbei. But since his father, brother and sister were there, he had to settle with giving the wartortle a grand smile. He knew that getting a first run copy not only had to be very lucky, but the price tag was pretty hefty as well. About $300 USD, last he checked; certainly not chump change.

"...thanks a lot, niichan. Good lookin' out!" Junior said.

"But wait, there's more!" the blue turtle smiled.

"Oh?"

Hanbei reached into the bag again, and then pulled out what looked to be....Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. But the package deal looked very shoddily made, as if some one decided to try and make the cover in Photoshop, or even Microsoft Paint.

"...Hmm? What's all this about?" Junior raised a bushy eyebrow in interest as he examined the amateur looking case in detail.

"Well, I remember how much you love your 'B-Movies', and I couldn't resist," Hanbei grinned.

"Come on now, Hanbei! I think we all can agree that it wasn't the best movie but to reduce it to that level...!" Bowser trailed off.

"Furthermore, don't we have like several versions of that dumb flick already? Including one of the original DVD presses you got from Lucas himself?" Wendy chimed in.

"THIS is different, I assure you. For this is not Revenge of the Sith you hold in your hands, Junia-kou. This is...'Backstroke of the West'," Hanbei winked.

Junior could only stare at him blankly.

"Well...let's put it this way. Haven't you ever wondered where the whole 'Do Not Want' meme on the internet came from?" Hanbei smiled.

"THIS is where it comes from?!" Junior's eyes widened with glee.

Hanbei nodded assent.

"Kewl!" Junior snickered with delight.

"...Does dis mean we can watch THAT, instead of that God-awful thing you wanted us to watch later...?" Roy asked hopefully.

"Oh no no! We're still very much on for watching Patas. Don't worry!"

"Fuckin' A..." Roy grunted.

Just then, a small chime came from Wendy's person. She pulled out a small pink and silvery cellphone and smiled to herself.

"Alright, boys, I'll see you at the dinner table. I gotta take this."

"Just remember that..." Bowser warned.

"I know, I know..." Wendy groaned out as she walked away. Spying one of the manor's many maids along the way, she gently handed her newest additions to her wardrobe over, entrusting that they would make it to her room safely (or else, was the underlying implication).

Hanbei smiled once more as he reached into the bag once more.

"Finally, for you..."

"Oh me, oh my! I didn't know you cared, nii-chan!" Junior grinned.

Hanbei pulled out bowl-shaped objects, one after the other. Each of them was an authentic Japanese Instant Ramen bowl, in assorted various flavors, straight from one of the wartortle's favorite Ramen Stands.

"Eighteen Ramen Bowls for the one who is turning 18, and getting set to eat like a college student...fitting wouldn't you agree?" Hanbei asked.

"Oh yeah! This will be great...especially if I'm going to be participating in 'the challenge', like you and Roy did!"

"Indeed," Hanbei replied.

"...No spicy stuff, right?" Junior asked with a bit of concern.

"Don't worry," Hanbei assured.

"*cough cough*...weaksauce...!" Bowser snuck out a tease, amidst a series of fake coughs and wheezes.

"Hey! You can stay over there, Dad!" Junior smirked at his father.

Bowser chuckled in response.

"Hope you enjoyed your gifts, Junia-kou," Hanbei smiled.

"Oh I am, and certainly will!" the young koopa replied, doing his best to hide his rising blush.

With that much done, Hanbei reached into the bag again, and this time pulled out something that was wrapped in cloth. As he turned around, he almost ran smack into the chest of his very large best friend.

Hanbei resumed his dead pan look, as he gazed upward at Roy.

"My turn yet?" Roy grinned with anticipation.

"Sure isn't. You can move aside now," Hanbei replied.

"Awww, you cold, Bei-bei! How can you do yo' boy like dat?!"

"YOU will be getting your things later on this evening. After dinner."

"But I want it now, Bei-bei! You know I dun like waitin' for nuthin'!"

Hanbei's look then turned into one with a small grin.

"...Precisely the reason why I'm choosing to make you wait. Good things are worth waiting for, Roy. Patience is perhaps the one virtue Sensei and I were never able to work into you fully..."

Roy grunted as his retort.

Hanbei smiled as he gently pushed Roy to the side and made his way over to Bowser.

"Me too?" the Koopa family patriarch asked with a grin.

"Of course...like I could buy things for my 'second' family, and not have something for my 'other other father'," Hanbei gave a knowing smile, as he handed the wrapped item to Bowser.

"Hmmm....and this is...?" the senior Koopa wondered as he started to unwrap his gift. His red eyes were then ready to bulge out of his head when he realized he was holding a beautiful looking katana, with a blue colored hilt.

Bowser was already noted as a collector of fine antiques and art. His favorite things to collect were definitely different types of swords. In that avenue alone, Hanbei's gift made him very happy.

But there was also another, much more sentimental facet to it. This sword, which glistened in the light that shown overhead, was the most cherished earthly possession of his dearly departed friend, and Hanbei's birth father, Benimaru Kagami.

"...This..." Bowser could only utter.

"I want you to have this," Hanbei said plainly.

"...but...No! This is your father's...no your very family's antique! Kinda stuff that's passed from father to son, generation to generation and shit! This belongs to you!" Bowser replied.

"Precisely. Therefore, it stands to reason that I can do with it as I deem fitting, right?" the wartortle answered plainly. "The thing is...I have no use for this blade. I have plenty to remember my father by. His memories, teachings and writings, as well as various other things I can carry with me, in my heart, wherever I go. But...he always told me about how you had your eye on the Souten, the Blue Sky, ever since you first were in its presence. I could think of no one else better to receive it than you. At least here, it will be assured a place of rest and honor, in the house of the one that my father saw as the ototo, or 'little brother', he never had."

Whether it be through Hanbei's words, the memory of Benimaru and all the years they had together flowing back or some combination of the two...it took everything that Bowser had to not let his rarely seen sentimental side show.

Even though he was not willing to show anything on his face so easily, it could definitely be heard through his voice.

"...Hontou arrigatou..." Bowser said somberly. "And I mean that. Souten will definitely have a good home here, I promise you that."

"I know it will," Hanbei said smoothly. "Now then, shall we go to dinner?"

"Aw, c'mon! You can't seriously be thinkin' of leavin' me hangin' like dis!" Roy shouted with indignation.

Hanbei only emitted a few amused chuckles as a retort. The twins soon followed his example as they wrapped the bag back up, obscuring its remaining contents from the shaded Koopa's eyes.

"Ya really know how to make a lizza feel loved, Hanbei."

"Oh, you say that now. But for real, as you probably would so eloquently put it: 'stop your bitchin'.' You'll get what's coming to you soon enough."

"Yeah...'n Christmas is comin' too!" Roy said grouchily.

"Y'know what? Any more comments like that? And you'll have to wait for your gifts until tomorrow. Or longer," Hanbei's grin changed with a sadistic undertone.

Roy shut up immediately. If there was one thing he learned with dealing with his long-time friend, it was that Hanbei was not the kind to bluff.

"...You did say gifts...eh? As in 'plural'? As in...more than just one?" Roy's grin returned.

"I've said too much already," Hanbei said. "You can wait."

"Yes, indeed!" Bowser agreed, as he called a pair of roaming, domestic iguanids over. "You there! Take this bag up to Roy's room, please! As for you, take this sword over to my private quarters. And BE CAREFUL. A chip in that sword is in a chip in your ass, you hear me?!"

"Yes, sir!" the two rushed out. One quickly took the bag from the twin Dracomon, while the other gently took the wrapped sword, and were quickly on their way.

"I figured you guys were going to be meeting up there in Roy's room later, any way..." Bowser mused.

"Oh, yeah! Like I did jus' said, Hanbei's gotta see my new digs! And then we're going to have Game Night!" Roy gave knowing looks to his brother and friend. "Been a long time comin', but Bei-bei's back and we goin' to play til we drop!"

"Fine fine...just make sure this one doesn't sleep through his date tomorrow!" Bowser said, rubbing his youngest son on the head.

"Yeah yeah yeah..." Roy understood.

"...Ya kids think you'll be busting out some DDR tonight?" Bowser asked, hope in his eyes.

"...Prolly not. Dis is likely going to a Fight Night all the way through," Roy answered.

"Damn. Just as well, though. Ain't none of ya kids that can HOPE to beat ME in that game, any way!" Bowser let out a self-flattering guffaw.

But for all of the patriarch's crowing, he was right. For whatever reason that eluded the understanding of any of the Koopa family, Bowser was just a god at Dance Dance Revolution. So much so, that after a few days of spending time with Hanbei's copy of "DDR STR!KE", he was unbeatable, and then went about calling himself "Bowser Koopa: Lord of the Dance".

It quickly got to the point that nobody even wanted to TRY and play the games, as long as "King Dad" was any where in the house. It was as if he could detect the very moment that a DDR mat was being laid on the ground, and he would be on the scene. And then no one else could hope to win.

Uncles, Aunts and Cousins that Junior did not even know existed beforehand, as well as various business partners that simply wanted to help pay tribute to hotel tycoon, actually went and tried their own hands at opposing his father in the only game series that even remotely challenged his love for Defender II, on the day of his birthday celebration.

Some how, Junior would believe it safe to presume that it will be quite a long time, that they would so "foolishly" try to challenge him again. Even Junior did not think his old man could bust out those break dancing moves, quite like he did that day.

"...Well, any way...maybe next time. But for right now, let's go..."

"Mr. Koooooopa!" a high-strung voice rang out from behind them.

Bowser let out a bit of a groan, as he turned back to the small, and older turtle in a dark blue business suit, and thick glasses, that approached the group.

"...what is it, Mr. Kamek?"

"Sir! You just got a few more calls that I think you should address! First off, Foreman Spike called, he wants to know what the next steps are for the Downtown Aubrey renovations..."

"...Tell him that it can wait 'til Monday. He and his boys can take off until then," Bowser replied.

"...Alright...next up, D. Delano Dittmar wants to know about any more deals that could be made to help market PopStar Soda in your hotels..."

"Tell the DDD that it can wait 'til Monday. Be more than happy to go over the details with him then."

"OK....then there's the matter of the representative...from Kremling Tech..." Kamek flipped through the agenda book.

"Monday."

"...and then...from Tatanga Enterprises..."

"Monday."

"...well, there's still..."

"Monday! Now, look...I distinctly remember saying that when I signed off at 2:30PM today, that I was going to take the weekend off, so that I can soak up all the goodness that comes from my youngest one going to his last High School Dance, and other nice things. That meant hold all my business calls, and that everything else can wait til...what's the day?" Bowser said with a smile, leaning over so that his ear hole was pointed at Kamek's height.

"...Monday," Bowser's assistant stated in a small voice.

"There we go! See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" the hotel tycoon said as he patted the small turtle a bit heavy handed on the shell. "Glad we had this talk. See ya Monday!"

Just then, Thomas Kamek remembered something else...something dire, which NEEDED his boss's attention immediately.

"One more thing, sir!" he pleaded.

"Mooonnnnnnnnnnnday~!" Bowser bellowed happily, as he started to depart with his sons and guests.

"But...!"

"...Not listening~!" he sang out, before he and his company rounded the corner and were out of sight.

It was all that Kamek could do was sigh out heavily. To work for Bowser Koopa, Sr. was always an interesting experience. That much he learned in his 40 years of experience working for the Koopa Suites business as the direct aide to the CEO, 25 of them under Bowser's "regime". But it was also quite stressful. Especially the case when his boss got in these "playful" modes that made it seem like he was dealing with some one Junior's age.

Simply put, running after Bowser Koopa was something that his 68 year old body may not be up to doing any longer. And it may be years yet before his much mellower son, Ludwig, may take over the family business. Now may be the proper time to start thinking of training up some one younger to take his place, and allow himself to retire on a good note. Then Thomas and his wife, Kammy, can think about moving to Florida, to live out the rest of their golden years in peace.

Snapping himself out of his visions of relaxation in the Florida Keys, he brought himself back to reality. Like it or not, Bowser will have to deal with at least ONE pressing matter, that is fast approaching even as he ponders. Unless...maybe it wasn't too late to try and call again? Kamek pulled out his Blackberry, and tried desperately to reach the party in question...

Meanwhile, Bowser and his company had finally made their way to the dining room. This room was also quite spacious, and carried over the lava-red décor. However, this room had dimmed lighting from the fixtures above, as well as lit candles on the table, to make for a more "intimate" setting. The large, circular table, was made of fine redwood, and was able to seat many...or at least, certainly every member of the immediate Koopa family.

On the table itself, Junior could see the large array of steak, under glass. Perfectly grilled, and done in the way he loves it best: medium-rare. As far as the youngest son of Bowser was concerned, the only way such a culinary delight could stood to be improved on, is with a bit of A1 Steak Sauce drizzled over it.

And speaking of the Koopa family, most of its members had already assembled at the table. But instead of eating already, which they know would only incur Bowser's wrath for taking bites without the whole family present, they were each doing their own individual thing. To Hanbei's surprise, each of the others that were present were also "shell-less".

Larry, Junior's immediate older brother of two years, was chatting with Lemmy, who despite his small, 5' 5" stature, was actually the second oldest of the Bowser's eight children, at 28.

Lemmy, one of two Koopa siblings with the reportedly rare hair color that appeared to shine with the various colors of the rainbow, was always the jokester of the family. And with his wild appearance and demeanor, he was soon known as being the "Clown Prince". His choice of wearing a fairly loud-colored yellow shirt with a blue star on it, and baggy shorts, did a lot to remind the older kids of his younger days.

At one point in time, certainly before Junior was walking and talking, at least, he had aspirations of joining the Winkling Bros. Circus. He certainly had the talent for such, but Bowser "kindly" suggested that maybe he should pursue other venues for his talents.

After trying, and in his opinion, failing in many other venues, including trying to be a budding stand-up comedian, he had finally struck pay dirt when he discovered that he could draw quite well. All those days of suffering through an early childhood with an eye patch, to correct his "lazy eye", and in turn, give Lemmy the gift of proper depth perception and visual alignment, had been vindicated.

He started off small, posting work on various sites like DivergentArt and smaller website circles. But as time went on, he aspired for bigger and better things, the most poignant of them being his first, and still on-going, webcomic "Spelunkers into Dreams". The comic, chronicling the adventures of a white dragon and his bunny partner, as they went on a series of mis-adventures all over the world...just because they have nothing else better to do! Solving mysteries, flirting with near disaster, messing with powers that go beyond mortal comprehension, and always with a few quick, comedic quips to keep the mood light, the series' fame spread like a slow burn all over the internet. Then it became a wildfire-like sensation.

As the years passed, soon you could see people dressing up like various characters from the series at different comic- or anime-related conventions. The two main characters easily being the most popular, but Lemmy was surprised to see that two of his newest characters, a fairly goofy triceratops and another white dragon, who served as the overall "straight man" of their duo, had quickly became fast favorites in their own light. And Lemmy was able to witness all this, as he continually got invites to various conventions that allowed him to meet his fans.

He later hit the "big time", as even the top names in the Comic industry commissioned him for guest spots on various titles. His 3 issue run with "Arachna-Dude" has already been highly vaunted for its collectability.

But his webcomic is what he always loves to work on. After all, being an heir to the Koopa family, money is not an issue. So, even though he has had a number of various offers, some offering permanent and full-time positions, Lemmy is the kind of guy who can afford to always to be free and easy. Hell, he still likes to do his ball-balancing act once in a while, just to show "he's still got it!"

Overall, Lemmy was a brother that Junior was able to talk to easily enough. Though, it was quite humorous to think that sometimes, people mistook that even Junior was older than him.

Larry, with his comparably tame blue mane, was 19 going on 20, and otherwise enjoying his time at Clancy State College, if nothing else that it gives him a good deal of time away from his crazy family. The fact that he had great promise and ability as a tennis player helped quite a bit to give him his own sense of accomplishment, separate from a number of his siblings. He had a solid athletic build, which allowed him great speed all over his side of a tennis court, as well as the attention of many female admirers. Not including his trademark hair style, he stood a good inch above Junior. Currently, he was a light green colored polo shirt and blue jeans, which did a lot to compliment his overall "preppy" demeanor.

While the two are the closest siblings in age, they could not be any farther apart, otherwise. Growing up, Larry picked on Junior quite a bit, seeing how he was the one sibling that Larry could actually pick on. This ended soon after Junior, happily, became Roy's designated favorite sibling, years later.

After that, it became more of a thing that, while the two did not wish each other any specific harm, they really did not have much in common, and even less to really talk about. Thus, it was more of a thing that the two said their "sup's", and kept it moving. Junior could guess that worked well enough for Larry, or at least, it certainly did for himself.

Well, there was one thing of interest that made his interactions with Larry some times worth while, and that was due to the fact that Larry was a complete and utter homophobe, of the most humorous kind. The very mention of any thing even remotely gay was enough to give him the "heebie-jeebies" and shakes.

As a currently-closeted gay male, Junior was often able to find humor in trying to find covert ways to play on his older brother's "phobia" through some graphic jokes or the like. Of course, some times, he was lucky enough to have the work done for him.

Like most others in the household, Larry was a video gamer. He even participated in Roy and Hanbei's "Game Nights" from time to time during semester breaks, and that often included long, Guilty Gear-filled nights.

Larry used to like to play the character Bridget, because he thought, at the time, that "she was cute". When the truth about that particular character in question came out, courtesy of Hanbei and Iggy, Larry was beside himself. Junior allowed himself to snicker inwardly, as he remembered Larry's many and loud, high-pitched shrieks of "OH GOD! OH GOD! I ACTUALLY FAPPED TO THAT!" filled Roy's old room that day, years ago, much to everyone else's delight.

Eventually, he got over it, and switched his main character to Venom, because "he was a manly guy that he could get behind". It's any one's guess when some one will have the heart to tell him about the truth about that character's back-story, too. Junior hoped he would be in the room for when that time came.

Then there was Iggy, the other rainbow-haired son, currently typing away at high speeds on his laptop, perched on the table in front of him. Fairly thin, and his scales' color a bit dulled by the lack of sun, Iggy was the textbook definition of a nerdy reptile. Before Junior was born, he was the distinctive "middle child" of the clan, who had to grow up in the often imposing shadow of his older and bigger brother Roy, while also putting up with a younger, "diva-in-training" sister. Unlike most of the others at the table, he clearly did not care much for his personal appearance, as he was dressed in a black shirt with a "Shonen Jump" logo on it, as well as black sweat pants. His hair was also quite scraggly, as if he did not make any attempt to brush and comb it.

As the direct younger brother of the over-sized, pink-donning Koopa, and one who was not likely to fight back, he was an easy target during Roy's younger years. But after Roy's 180 degree turn around in attitude years ago, Iggy was, largely, left in peace.

For the nerdy son of Bowser, Hanbei was a definitive godsend. Not only did Roy's best friend play a great part in Roy's overall "mellowing" process, as a self-proclaimed otaku, Hanbei was the person he went to for all of his hook-ups relating to anime, manga and video games news, as well as to try and effectively translate a word or kanji symbol he could not understand.

Hanbei, for the most part, was a gentle and patient sort, who often thought that Iggy's attempts to try and impress their resident native Japanese speaker amusing, at times. But even the wartortle had his limits. Usually, Roy or Junior was there to ward off Iggy when he was going over the top.

For a time, Iggy tried to be all up in the mix that was Junior, Roy and Hanbei, much to their collective annoyance. But thankfully, Iggy found a local Anime Society during his time at Aubrey State, and he has since found his own circle of friends to geek out with. Years ago, Hanbei always made it a point that, whenever there were meetings of Iggy and his friends held at the Koopa Estate...he was on the other side of the building, hiding away from the throes of crazed japanophiles. Iggy's girlfriend, Mina, arguably being the worst of them.

When he is not all about things relating to otaku-dom, Iggy kept himself busy running various website servers, including the ones that help run his father's own company. At Roy's suggestion, he at least tries to build up his body by running on the treadmill...albeit once every two weeks.

Meanwhile, Morton and Wendy were both talking away on cell-phones. For Wendy, she was talking to one of her many girlfriends. From what Junior gathered by listening in a bit, it seemed to be yet another juicy bit of gossip that she was looking forward to sinking her fangs into.

"...Are you serious?! ...Stop playin'! ...Guuuuuuurl. See, I done TOLD dat dumb heifer again 'n again that she needed to stop foolin' around with that boy, but noooo, she wasn't tryin' to hear me 'n my wisdom...! ...No....NO! Oh, this just keeps gettin' better and BETTER!" Wendy exclaimed, as she started to lean back in her chair, to get more comfortable. She quickly sprang upright as she heard the next tidbit, though.

"...She caught him in HER bed with WHO...!?! That ho-bag?! Oooooooo....! Oh, I know dat's right, gurl. I would've tore his ass up too, if my Gary even THOUGHT about trying to mess around like that...! Uh-uhhhh...he knows better, hunny. WENDY DON'T PLAY DAT...!"

Junior then tuned into another, altogether different conversation, with his next oldest brother, Morton Koopa, Jr. He used to have a group of hair strands that grew up from the middle of his hair, when he was younger, but then preferred to just go for the shaved bald look, not unlike Roy's own. The oversized white t-shirt he had on his burly frame was perhaps only matched by the large grin that was plastered on the only brown-scaled son of Bowser, as he spoke smoothly into his Bluetooth headset.

"...So...how ya doin' tonight, baby? Yeah...I heard dat, loud n clear, baby-girl. ...Don't worry, I'll be there to wrap your night up. Wha chu thinkin' 'bout? Mmmm, mmm, mmmm...you just wait til I get there later tonight. Then you'll really be in for a treat as I put my thang down...ya know whut I'm sayin'...I be soppin' up dem juices of yours like gravy on a biscuit..." Morton said, smacking his lips audibly for effect.

To be one of the sons or daughter of Bowser Koopa came with obvious perks. Practically endless bank funds at your disposal to grant your every desire, upper crust connections to the world's elite, at practically a moment's notice...and well, of course, you do get recognized, despite Bowser's best intents to keep his children out of the ever prying eyes of the paparazzi.

But if there was any one of Bowser's children who exploited this facet of their lives to the threshold of abuse, it was definitely Morton.

By the time Morton was in his middle school years, he believed he had found his calling in life: in his words: "bein' a mack, cuz I got it like dat". And by the time he was in high school, it only got worse. Before long, Morton had started the foundation for his own personal harem of fox women, and went by the alias of "L.L.M.J.", for " L adies L ove M orton J r." Other days, he would just often go by the name of "Bitches" Koopa.

For many men of scaly descent, Morton was living the American Dream: he's got bank AND he's got fox women, which a lot of reptilians would love to get with. He was the epitome of being a "baller", by the standards of most.

As far as Junior and many in the family were concerned though, he was a glorified male whore. He was out many nights a week either partying, lying down with any number of his hoochies, "gettin' his drank on", or any combination of the three.

He had earned the ire of Roy especially, more than any of the others in the immediate family. To Roy, Morton did a lot to copy his "swagg", by picking up a number of Roy's mannerisms and sense of style. Between that, and utilizing his older brother's own reputation for his own ends, Roy had a lot of good reasons to strongly dislike this particular younger brother of his. Especially since, in his eyes, Morton could never hope to truly mimic him, and did not go through what Roy had to in order to obtain it. To say the least, Morton will never be literally as big as Roy, since Morton is stuck at 6' 4". And he did not lift weights as much either, which left him being much stockier than his more "cut" older brother.

Beyond his supposed "pimp game", though, Morton left a good deal to be desired. He never finished his time at college, due to him citing that he was not interested in continuing, much to his father's gross displeasure. If Bowser had it his way, all of his children would at least get their Bachelor's in something, because a good education was something that both he and their mother wanted for them.

Yet, because Morton was 21 now, Bowser let him be, and hoped for the best. He did have one rule though...if there were any "I'm sorry, Ms. Jackson...!" type of incidents to be had, Morton was in DEEP trouble.

And to think, this was the son that ended up with the name sake of Bowser's beloved "Grandpappy", who he looked up to as a kid, and was one of two positive male role models he had in his life. He hoped Morton, Sr. would forgive him, for not knowing in advance that the one who would inherit his name would turn out to be this way...

But, Bowser pushed aside those thoughts for now, as the smell of steak filled his nostrils, as well. He beckoned to his two sons standing beside him, and their guests, to make their way to the table, and then he took his seat, as well.

Even as they did so though, the ones sitting at the table were still so wrapped up in what they were doing, they seemed to not notice the new arrivals. Meanwhile, the sight of steak was finally too much for Junior and Roy alike, and they elected to not waste any more time starting to load their plates up with meat.

Bowser groaned at the sight that beheld his eyes, and so, he covered his face with one palm, and then spoke clearly, so that everyone could hear him.

"...Lemmy, Larry that's enough of that, Iggy put the computer away, Morton, Wendy, dispense with the phones, Roy, that's QUITE ENOUGH for your first plate, don't try to starve everyone else..."

Junior was hoping to sneak just one bite from a small morsel on his fork. The piece of steak cook just the way he liked it, medium rare, and with just a hint of sauce, was just an inch away from the tip of his tongue...

"...And I KNOW you're not trying to take a bite without everyone being assembled, Junior," his father calmly stated.

"...'course not, Dad," Junior answered with a smile, as he put the fork back down on his plate.

"...better act like you know..." he said as he raised his eyes upward, hoping to see a better picture this time.

Overall, much better...except for the fact that Iggy and Morton were still wrapped up in their own activities.

"...Now, didn't I just say...?" Bowser's statement came with a growl of displeasure, as he got up from his chair.

"...Just a few more minutes, Dad! I gotta finish this up! This is important!" Iggy answered tersely.

"...How important...?" Bowser asked with just a hint of amusement, amidst his growing impatience.

"...Very! Some one is wrong on the internet! I gotta make this post to set things right!"

"Some thing is goin' to be wrong with your NARROW BEHIND, once my foot is up it, if you don't put that thing away right now!" Bowser bellowed.

"Then again...maybe I could use the time to think my argument over clearly..." Iggy stated quietly as he closed the laptop and put it in its carrying case.

With that much left, Bowser turned his sights on to Morton, still in the midst of his phone bone convo with one of his chicks.

"Heh heh...yeah, dat's wassup. Go ahead 'n invite one or two of your lil girlfriends over for the fun later tonight...or more...won't mind at all, sweet thing. After all, it's supply and demand...you demandin' and I definitely got da supply for all of ya's..."

Bowser was then behind Morton's chair, with the latter either unaware, or not caring of his father's form standing calmly in wait. Morton continued onward.

"....heh...so wha cha wearin'...?"

Morton would never get to hear her response, as Bowser then snatched Morton's cell phone from his palm, opened it up long enough to say a few simple words to the girl on the other end.

"...You can show him yourself later."

With that, Bowser then unceremoniously dropped the phone to the floor, and then stomped on it with enough force to nearly reduce it to dust.

Everyone at the table was a bit taken aback by Bowser's show of force. None more so than the recipient, himself.

"...Ah....What da FUCK, Pops?!" Morton shouted, as he stood up and looked his father up in the eyes.

"You watch your mouth, son. In the end, I don't care how you talk to your lil pigeons out there, but you best remember who you're talking to, right now," Bowser said with a small smile.

"...But that was my phone!"

"Correction! MY phone, on MY plan, paid with MY money, and furthermore, being used within MY house, where MY rules are law," Bowser said amidst a few chuckles. "So no matter which way you look at it, you can't hope to win this game, my lil playa-playa. Better luck next time, and with your next phone," Bowser guffawed as he returned to his seat.

Morton had a definitive sullen look on his face as he sat down himself.

"Now, I don't see what's so hard about all this," Bowser said with a grin.

"Hoo boy, here he goes again..." Junior muttered inwardly.

"It's not like I ask that much of all of you. And I certainly could, considering y'all have it so good. I mean, do you know that the average cost of raising a child in this country, from babe, to Junior's age, is nearing the 250,000 dollar mark?! That's a cool quarter million! Y'all little heathens, collectively, often burn up that much in a year, or less!

"But am I bitter? No. Like my Grandpappy before me, I'm willing to work hard, so that my children can have an even better standard of living than what I had as a kid. After all, as we all should know, ain't no worse a handicap than being born with scales in a furred man's world. I'd like to think that I've given you all plenty of tools to be able to surpass that, so that you can do more to live life as you choose...within reasonable boundaries.

"So, that much said, all I ask is that you honor the rules I have in place, as long as you choose to live in this house. They're not even that many in number! And the most important one would have to be that 'Family Time' means just that! F-A-M-I-L-Y TIME! I don't want laptops, cell phones, mp3 players and video game things standing in between me and my family!"

"We used to have a TV in here so we could watch cartoons, or whatever, while we ate!" Lemmy recalled.

"I know. And because I thought it was such a detriment to Family Time, I had it removed a long time ago," Bowser answered. "But in any case! The reason I value Family Time as much as I do, is because well, throughout all the trials and tribulations of our lives, we've done a lot to make it through, as a family. The Koopa family would not be beat up by poverty, when my Grandpappy came to this country years ago, and so help me, it ain't gonna be beat up by anything else that might come our way, either! So, I don't take such a thing as us being able to sit down and eat, like a 'normal' family, lightly!

"Furthermore, even as I speak, our family is steadily moving towards the next level of our lives. Our youngest, is getting ready for his Senior Prom tomorrow! And soon after that, Graduation, and then off to College he goes, in the Fall!" Bowser says with a proud smile and wink to Junior. Junior returned a smile in kind, while Roy, Lemmy and Wendy uttered a few "Hoot-hoot-hoot!'s" to cheer for their youngest brother's ensuing accomplishments.

"All that to say is...I know the time is drawing nearer where these kinds of times we'll have together, may end up being fewer and fewer in number. So...with whatever time we may have left, could you please just humor the one real request this old reptile could ask of you all, my children? PLEASE?" Bowser pleaded.

As his father's words set in, it was then that their gravity really did start to reach Junior. Indeed, a new era of his life, and his family's life was approaching quickly on the horizon. Once he went off to college, that would mean an end to whole lot of things he had come to love, like no more being able to hang out with Roy and/or Hanbei during the evenings, no more idly watching Lemmy do his work for hours at a time, no more pearls of wisdom from "everybody's mother", Wendy, and certainly, no more chilling with Pops.

He was biting at the bit to graduate from high school from practically his first day as a high school freshman. Now, that goal is in sight, but with it will come him having to say goodbye to so many other things, and truly doing more to be "on his own". It tantalized him, and also made him a bit sad, at the same time. But so much was normal for some one in his shoes, right?

"...I'll take your collective silence as an affirmative," Bowser continued. "Also, the family is even more together than usual! We have our Japanese 'family' here at the table tonight, and he's even brought some new blood, no less!"

Hanbei nodded assent, and the twins immediately started being friendly with various other members of the clan. They were especially meaning to get to know the two multi-chromatic haired individuals at the table.

"Hey..." Billy started, as he looked between Lemmy and Iggy.

"...are you guys twins of some sort, too?" Jimmy finished.

Both brothers chuckled good-naturedly.

"Nah," Iggy answered with a smile as he looked to his older brother.

"...and thank Jesus Raptor for that, too!" Lemmy laughed.

"Ah, darn!" both Dracomon twins responded.

"Thought we had some 'kindred twin-dred' for a second!" Jimmy concluded.

"...You wouldn't be the first to think as such, though. Especially when we were younger!" Iggy reminisced.

"Yeah! Even the school and various others thought we were twins. And that was with me coming to school before you, Igs, since I'm older!" Lemmy recalled.

"...you're...older? By how much?" Billy said, with an air of disbelief.

"I'm 28! The 2nd oldest of us kids! I just also happen to be the shortest! I blame Roy. He probably just stole the hormone juice from my pituitary gland when I wasn't looking!" Lemmy answered with a chuckle.

"Whatever, yo' ass just got passed, cuz you wouldn't know what to do with height if you had it, any way! It went to the lizza that it was meant for!" Roy chuckled.

"...True that!" Lemmy ended up agreeing with a smile. "On the other hand, it ain't so bad being so small. For example, it just means that my girl Marcy gets to have me as her personal lil Koopa plushie, when she wants to!"

Iggy, meanwhile, had turned his attention to Hanbei.

"And how was Nihon-koku, Hanbei-dono?" he asked Roy's friend with widening eyes underneath his thick glasses.

"It was fine, Iggy. For the record, you don't have to address me in that way. That's too 'old' of a title, among other things," Hanbei replied.

"But the '-dono' honorific is a perfect one for you! You're some one worthy to respect! Not to mention your upbringing, it would be only appropriate to...!"

"Hey....'Wee-Iggy-a-boo'. You can feel free to shut yo' ass up at any time now," Roy warned his younger brother.

"Roy! I'm merely seeking Hanbei-sama's help to better myself in the understanding of his land and his people!"

"Ya just want his help to understand some stupid anime you watchin'!"

"Am not...!! But...while we're on the subject...!"

Junior could only sigh inwardly, on both Roy and Hanbei's behalf. He also looked over Hanbei's body, seeing if he could pick up any "warning signs" that may be more telling than his ever gently-smiling face may not.

"...Yes, Iggy?" Hanbei waited calmly for the onslaught to begin.

"Alright, so in the recent Naruto episode..." Iggy began.

While usually Bowser would not take kindly to any one of his kids badgering guests, especially favored regulars like Hanbei, today, this was enough of a distraction to keep everybody's minds off of food for a few more minutes, in hopes that "the straggler", being his oldest son, Ludwig, would arrive in the meantime.

Bowser looked at his watch, which read 6:45 PM. No doubt about it, Ludwig was late.

"...He had better have a good reason for not being as punctual as he usually is. Just because he thinks of himself as a grown ass man at 32, doesn't mean I won't pull him up when he's in the wrong, too...!" the patriarch muttered lowly to himself.

"...and so, I was wondering what exactly what was the meaning behind what that character said," Iggy finished his part of the dialogue.

"Ah. Well, see, this is the kind of stuff that is hard to translate for a non-native. There are just some things you wouldn't be able to comprehend without a good comprehension of Japanese traditions and sayings. For example...Roy, Junior...do you remember what I told you when I was leaving America years ago?" Hanbei inquired.

"...Ummm...you was sayin' sumthin' 'bout you not wanting to be a frog or sum shit!" Roy replied.

"Yeah! I was wondering what you meant by that ever since you said it. I took it you didn't have any problem with our amphibian brethren, at least," Junior added.

"Yes, when I said 'I didn't want to be a frog', I was actually citing a rather famous Japanese proverb," Hanbei stated.

"...The frog in the well, does not know of the greatness of the sea," Bowser rolled off effortlessly. "Your Pops told me that one a lot!"

"Very good! And do you also remember its meaning?" Hanbei turned to Bowser.

"I'll field that one, Father," a deep and smooth voice emitted from behind them all.

Everyone quickly turned around to see the firstborn son of Bowser enter the room. While Ludwig was not the tallest of the children, he had such a "presence" about him, that in many ways, it more than made up for him lacking in 2 inches from his brother. Unlike the others in the room, he chose to keep his shell on.

It was clear that he had just come straight from the office within Bowser's own home, as he was still dressed up in a midnight-blue suit and matching tie that was comfortable on his built frame, and his sometimes wild and blue mane was combed back to hang behind his head. Cool, cerulean colored eyes surveyed the table and the people sitting at it, until they came to rest on Hanbei's own. Ludwig then approached calmly.

"'Lest I forget...the meaning of that proverb lies in the notion that, as good as one may consider themselves to be in their own little world, they may never realize how far their true talents may reach, unless they were willing to go beyond, and see what the world itself has to offer. Did I cover the basics, Hanbei?"

"Indeed!" Hanbei smiled. "Good to see you again, Ludwig."

"The pleasure is all mine," Ludwig returned with a slight gentlemanly curt.

Bowser then cut across the two of them by clearing his throat.

"Ludwig. When I say that dinner is at 6:30, I meant it. There ain't no SPT or 'Scaley People Time' adjustments considered as part of the equation!" Bowser sternly said.

"It is truly regrettable, and you have my sincerest apologies, Father. But, if you wanted the Quarterlies done in time for the Self Audit next week, they might as well have been done while I was looking at them. Some people may think that they can just plug things into Quicken, and everything is magically all right, but fortunately, I knew better. I had to run through the entirety of the report, and corrected over 100 errors myself!"

"...Very well. But even so, tonight's dinner was meant to be a special one. After all, we are welcoming Hanbei back to America, welcoming two newcomers for the first time, and, of course, we can not forget this season of Junior's..."

"I know, Father," Ludwig dead-panned. "Happy times for all to be had. I'm glad to see Hanbei too, if nothing else, but I don't see why the entire business had to be shut down for the weekend for something relatively frivolous..."

"While we're celebrating a whole bunch of things at once, let's not forget that this is about Family above all else! Nothing's more important than that. Those quarterlies COULD have waited until Monday, but you were stubborn and wanted them done when you wanted them to be. It's appreciated, but I would have rather had you on time for dinner, instead of you keeping us all waiting. Now, sit down, already!"

"But...!" Ludwig started.

"Go on, sit! We're all hungry!" Bowser said.

"Yeah!" Ludwig's younger siblings agreed.

Knowing that any further arguing would be a fruitless exercise, Ludwig made his way over to his seat without any more delay.

Following a bit of grace, the family and their guests started to eat at their own pace. Roy and Junior, both of them staving off their hunger as long as they did, wasted no more time downing large portions of steak, each. And some points, it seemed like it was a good-natured race between the two of them. Despite Roy's larger stature, and seemingly bottomless stomach, Junior was no lightweight when it came to putting food away, either.

Bowser, too, was no slouch. But amidst biting into large chunks of food, he looked up at the full table around him. It did his heart right to see all of the ones he cared about were all gathered in the same place. At that point, there was really only one person not present at the dinner table, but she was certainly there in spirit.

It seemed like only yesterday when these kids of his, and their friend, were all so young. But now, with his oldest in his 30s, and his youngest getting ready to graduate high school...it was times like this that really did make him feel "old". Or at least, just for that small duration, before he shakes thoughts like that quickly from his mind. Him? "Old".....nah.

His eyes turned to the son of the man he called his best friend and mentor, and could not help but notice that Hanbei was eating quite light. There was not a bit of steak on his plate, and it seemed he was trying his best to try and get full off of string beans, mashed potatoes and bread rolls.

"Hey...Hanbei...?"

"Yes, sir?" Hanbei answered.

"What's up with your plate? I don't see any steak on it! And it's deliciously tender; full of 'melt-in-your-mouth' goodness! They really did the damn thang this time, in the kitchen!" Bowser smiled.

"I really don't care for red meat..." Hanbei trailed off with a bit of a blush.

"Huh? You aren't one of them vegans are ya?"

Hanbei shook his head "no" quickly, and then answered.

"...I just never have been the one to, as my friend Roy would put it, to 'slam' on red meat of any sort."

Roy swallowed the bite in his mouth, and nodded assent.

"He's right, Pops. Hanbei's never been the one for beef, like me and Junior."

"Aw, geez...I'm really sorry, Hanbei. Can I get the kitchen to throw you together something?" Bowser asked.

"...I'm sure I'll survive just fine, B-san," Hanbei assured.

"Nothing doing! You just tell me what you really want to see, and I'll make it happen! I'll even personally run out and get you something out on the street, if that's the case!"

"You make too much a fuss over me, and it's not worth it," Hanbei said as he took a sip of the iced green tea he had at his side.

Bowser was not trying to hear any of that.

"Again, nothing doing! I'm not about to have my son's best friend, and the son of my OWN best friend, starve to death! Gai'll probably order me to commit seppuku or somethin', just so that I can get my ass kicked by Bennie for all eternity in the Great Beyond!"

"Don't forget Shigeharu..." Hanbei added with a small, somewhat wistful smile, as part of what he thought was light humor. Most of the others, including Junior, started to chuckle lightly.

Bowser, however, was not chuckling at all.

"Oh, HELL no. That does it! You're getting some real food in you, damn it! I'm not the one to be going out like that! You don't want your 'Uncle B' to be punished by your dearly departed father and twin-brother, now do you?"

"Certainly not," Hanbei chuckled.

"So just tell me what you want, and it will be done!" Bowser snapped his fingers, and instantly a number of servers rushed over, waiting for his latest command.

Hanbei pondered for a while, and then reached a conclusion.

"...Alright...could I just get a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato, no mayonnaise?"

"...is that it?" Bowser asked with concern. "C'mon, you can have anything..."

"Sore dake desu. That's all I want. Really."

Bowser sighed, but resigned himself to comply with Hanbei's request. He then sent the servers to the kitchen with the last minute order.

"Start with what the man says what he wants. And then do BETTER than that!"

"...A shame, Father. We could have at least had tilapia ready and waiting, especially if you KNEW that Hanbei was coming. But I believe your utter zeal to make sure that things were ideal for the child, blinded you to other things..."

"...Do NOT wanna hear it, ok?" Bowser groaned out.

Junior was inwardly moaning, as well. Of all of his siblings, Ludwig was the one that Junior interacted with the least, and was easily the one that he dreaded the most being in the same vicinity with.

It was bad enough that Ludwig was hard to approach. His no-nonsense demeanor and generally condescending attitude to those who he thinks are "beneath" him were already major points that would cause Ludwig to be in a league within himself. But what really got under Junior's scales was the fact that Ludwig hardly even acknowledged his presence, or when he did, it was usually in a snide, derogatory manner. The way that Ludwig was often prone to calling him "boy", "child", "brat" (when not in Bowser's presence) or some thing to that effect, often did more to resonate in his mind than when the others may have called him "Rerun". Junior could not fathom what he could have done to cause Ludwig to treat him as such, and it was likely he may never know the full extent of the truth. Even Roy and Lemmy could not fathom the workings of their oldest brother's mind, and they knew him longer than the rest of the kin.

Junior often heard his father claim that, in many ways, he and Ludwig had a lot in common with one another, and had tried multiple times over their shared history to get the two to know one another better. But each time, the story usually ended up with either more of the same, or possibly making the relationship between the youngest and the oldest even worse.

As it stood right now, Junior doubted very seriously that things would change between them. The man was practically double his age, and the "rift" that existed between them might as well have been the Grand Canyon. And this latest instance, where Ludwig seemingly went out of his way to make him and their father alike feel a bit sour, as if either party set out to starve Hanbei on purpose, did not help.

Junior's eyes then turned towards his much more amiable and pinker brother, Roy. Junior's smile crept back to his face, as he saw a mischievous smile on his brother's. Taking Hanbei's fork, the pink-domed one took a chunk of his own steak, and then dangled it in front of Hanbei's face.

"Bei-by! Why you no like me!?" Roy spoke in a cartoony voice. "I's good for ya! Make dat body of yours skrong!"

Hanbei emitted a few chuckles of amusement.

"Really, now, Roy...I-"

He would get to finish his thought. In the brief time that Hanbei's mouth was open its widest, Roy took that opportunity to stick the meat piece quickly in it, before it closed once more.

Junior and Bowser both sniggered lightly and had smirks on each of their faces, but neither could hope to compare to the triumphant smile that was on Roy's. Hanbei, with his seemingly ineffable demeanor, just looked at his friend, silently, with the meat in his mouth. And everybody else was seemingly fascinated, for whatever reason, by the scene that played out in front of them.

Roy then removed the fork.

"...Now go on...chew it. Savor it. Let the juices marinate on your pallet," he instructed.

Hanbei did as such, and then swallowed.

"...Well?"

"...not bad. Still not to my liking, but not bad," Hanbei admitted.

"Ah well. Can't win 'em all. But hey, if nuthin' else...we now know you ain't da only one with fast hands Bei-bei-boy! Waaaaaaa-chaaaaaaaaa!" he ended with a faux "kiai-style" shout.

Bowser, Junior, the twins and a few others around the table joined him in a nice round of light laughter.

Meanwhile, for Kamek, things were not going well. All of his previous attempts to make calls from his PDA were of no use. Despite his best efforts, he would not be able to stop what was bound for Koopa manor within the hour.

He then called up Kamella, the head maid.

"Yes, hello...yeah, I tried, but it's no use. Get everybody ready, this is a going to be a doozy for us all...to say the least, Mr. Koopa especially..."