Iggy and Lemmy groaned as the intercom in their room rang. Iggy yawned and smacked it, turning in his bed to face the ceiling. What time was it? Iggy rubbed his eyes and faced the intercom.

"Yeah, King Dad?" he wearily said.

Right away, Bowser's booming voice pierced the room. "Boys, I have something...very important to discuss with you! Get to the throne room immediately!" Iggy and Lemmy fell out of their beds, dazed from the loud wake up call. Reluctantly, Iggy stood up first, helping Lemmy up onto his yellow, orange star ball.

"Thanks, Iggy," Lemmy said as he rubbed his eye.

"No prob. Whaddaya think King Dad's gonna tell us?" The two exited their room and entered the still dark corridors of their home castle.

"Probably gonna chew us out for our last attempt at getting Mario..." Lemmy shuddered, remembering the day they all piled into the Clown Car and used their magic to enlarge Bowser. Of course that had to result in the whole car getting knocked away. And they were all still a bit sore.

Iggy sighed and rubbed the back of his head. The one time they all followed his idea, and it ended up terribly wrong. Luckily only Wendy and Roy were upset. Iggy and Lemmy's steps were the only sound in the hallway until the sound of a door opened.

"Morning Ludwig," Iggy greeted as their elder brother left his room and joined them.

"Good morning, brothers," he replied, trying to comb his hair with this claws. "Did King Dad summon you as well?"

"Yeah. Whaddaya think he wants?"

"Not sure. Let us hurry."

The trio hurried to the throne room, where Morton, Roy, Larry, Wendy, and Bowser Jr. already were gathered. Roy and Wendy grimaced at the twins as they entered and joined the line of siblings. Bowser was already on his throne, his expression remaining straight. Nobody could tell what he was thinking.

"Good. You're all here," the King mumbled. "I've called you all here because... There's something I think all of you are old enough to be told."

"What is it, King Dad?" Wendy asked, honestly curious. Bowser took a deep breathe, unsure how to say what he wanted to.

"Recently, one of you found out about a...secret I've been hiding from all of you. You all are different, and you can see that, right?" Bowser began. The Koopalings looked at each other with uncertainty. Even Lemmy and Iggy didn't look the same now, except when they were younger. "This is very hard to say," Bowser mumbled to himself. "The truth is... Only Jr. is my actual child."

The Koopalings gasped. It was as if they were thrown into a hard wall, and their whole world fell apart. The shock was clear on their faces. What did he say? Even Jr. was taken aback. Bowser examined all their faces, taking in the shock and surprise. He then sighed, probably from relief or remorse.

Roy was the first to speak up. "So, NONE of us, except Jr., are you kids? What're you saying?!"

"I'm saying that you're all...adopted," Bowser answered. Remorse was clear on his face. It was rare seeing him upset, and it was even rarer to see him regretful of his actions.

"Adopted?!" Wendy cried. "I'm not actually your little girl, daddy?" She wiped and escaping tear from her eye, trying not to show her weakness. She hated to be seen crying. She's a mature teen! She grew out of crying. But this was different. Bowser approached the Koopaling and pet her head.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you," he finally said after a long silence. Another long silence swept over the throne room again.

"SORRY?!" Ludwig finally shouted. "So, you kept this a secret from us ALL THIS TIME, AND YOU'RE JUST NOW TELLING US?!" He was practically scolding Bowser now! Where did he suddenly get the gall?! Lemmy and Iggy backed up. This had to be a dream. Ludwig was yelling at Bowser? Unheard of! On a usual day, Bowser would've probably sent Ludwig to the dungeon. But today was different.

"Ludwig, please underst-"

"NO! I am just...just...DONE!" The crazy haired Koopaling stormed out of the room, fuming.

Bowser sighed once again, holding his head. The others looked on in astonishment. "I am so sorry, kids," he softly said, loud enough for them to hear.

"All this time, I never had a real sibling?" Jr. asked. Bowser nodded. "Dad, why?"

"I... I couldn't bear to tell you. But today, I just felt I...couldn't keep it in any longer."

"So what now?" Morton asked, at a lost for words for once.

"Nothing will change. I just felt it was time to know. Right now... You may go and do about your business." The Koopalings just stayed. "Go!"

They dispersed. Iggy and Lemmy looked for the others' expressions. Morton looked devastated, and for once he didn't say anything. Larry looked back at Bowser, who was looking out the window. The blue haired Koopaling stopped and opened his mouth, then closed it and ran out, to the garden. Wendy had already ran out, finally letting out all her tears without shame. Roy, however, just kept his calm expression and left.

"Does this mean we're not brothers, King Dad?" Lemmy asked, turning around. The king looked at the small tween in the eye, then looked out the window.

"I'm not even sure," he replied. Lemmy's eyes widened. "For all we know, none of you are related. I still love you all. Remember that."

"King D-" Lemmy stopped. "Your Highness, where did we come from then?" Bowser looked surprised at Lemmy. Your Highness? Oh no...

He took a deep breath. "I remember how I found all of you... Do you really want to know? Can this wait?"

"No, King Dad," Iggy defied. "Please, we beg of you. Tell us!" Bowser sighed again.

"Take a seat..."