The Story of Carbon (Part 1)

Chapter 2: Little Buddy

I went on for the next three days trying to get as far away from my past as possible. I walked, ran, swam, and hitchhiked my way across the kingdom. I had no idea where I was going; I was lost, but that's exactly what I was looking for.
One afternoon, while I was trudging through a mushroom forest, I heard chuckles from somewhere. I followed the voices out of curiosity, and I found two Paratroopas flying high above a clearing tossing a red baby Yoshi around.

The poor thing was flailing its arms as it was being tossed between the two bullies. They were laughing. Poor thing. I sat down my bag, and my heart raced. Now was my chance to try to be tough. It was the perfect opportunity!
"Ummmmm..H-Hey!" I yelled, and I'm pretty sure my voice cracked. "P-Put him down!"
The Paratroopas looked at me and laughed. "Aww, how adorable! You're trying to save the runt," one said as he juggled the baby Yoshi.
"Don't—I'm not adorable! I'm gonna kick your tails if you don't put him down! N-now!"
They both flew down so that they were standing right in front of me. The one stuck the Yoshi's giant nose in a hollow log so that he couldn't escape despite his struggle. They glared at me. "You're not suggesting that you're gonna fight us, are you?" They cracked their knuckles. I gulped.
"Maybe I am!" I was eager, yet terrified to finally try and get tougher. I rolled up my sleeves.
"I'd hate to pound someone with a shiner already," one said as they stepped towards me. "I won't get to see which bruises I leave on your face!"
I was on the ground in an instant. One tackled me, and the other nailed my face multiple times. I tried to fight back with all of my energy, but I couldn't move or retreat into my shell. It was agonizing, and I knew I wasn't tough enough to take them. I instantly threw in the towel, well, on the fighting part. I had to cheat a bit to get them off me. I grabbed my pepper spray out of my shell and sprayed it at them. They screamed in pain and the one got off me. I pulled the little Yoshi free by its tail, his nose squeezing out of the log with a loud 'pop', and I ran with him like a football player through the forest until they were out of sight.
Breathing hard, I slumped down against a Shroomtree trunk and sat the baby Yoshi beside me. Everything hurt. Even my bruises were gonna be bruised.
As I sat there aching, I was hit with a new problem. I had this little Yoshi now. All alone in this forest. What was I supposed to do? Leave him here now that I've saved him? I had no idea where he was from or where I should put him. I was certain the next town was a good day or two of hiking away. It's not like I could just ask him where he's from, he's only a baby—"
"DUUUUDE!" Came a loud voice. I swiveled my head looking for the voice. Had they come back? The Yoshi grabbed my face. "That was Sweet!"
I was shocked that the voice of a kid my age was the voice of the baby Yoshi. "Y-you can talk?"
The Yoshi popped up with energy and he acted out a fight scene. "You were like: BAM BAM BAM! And those bullies were like: Ouch! Agh! I can't take it!" The Little Yoshi punched the air, spun around, and then fell on the ground with his tongue hanging out. "You killed 'em! At least that's how I think the fight went. I couldn't see the action with my giant nose stuck in that log." He looked at me with reverence in his eyes. "You sent them crying to their mommies. You're so bad donkey! So tough!" The kid Yoshi came up to me in a flash and wrapped his arms around me. "You saved me. Thanks Daddy!"
"Ummmmmmmmm"
The kid Yoshi stepped back. "You are Daddy, right? You must be! Those thugs were the first things I saw when I came outta my egg. But they were mean to me! Dads should love their sons."
I ironically agreed.
"But you saved me from those guys. You must love me. You must be Daddy!"
"Ummmm well...." How could I say no to the little dino's face. He was too adorable. I wanted to venture alone, but I couldn't just abandon this child in the middle of nowhere. I sighed. "I must be Daddy."
The kid's face lit up and he hugged me again; I picked him up let him ride on my shoulders.
"So what do I call you?" I asked the little guy.
"I guess that's up to you my dude. I don't got a name yet."
I pondered for a suitable name; after a long thought, I knew what it would be. I would call him Kooper, because that's the name of my older brother. He's about 5 years older than me. Other than Kez, Kooper was the only one who truly cared for me; he got me through my worst times.
When mom left us when I was really young and confused, he was the one who helped me through. I remember every Mother's Day, Kooper and I would make a card for Mom, wherever she was, and we'd walk to the post office to drop it in the delivery bin. I know now, of course, that he was just protecting my mind; those cards went nowhere. And yet, I would get cards back from Mom that were oddly in the same style of Kooper's handwriting. He was the father that I needed.
He often protected me from Father as he became more and more aggressive and inebriated, even if that meant he would be the one getting beaten. He took every hit he could. Kooper was my guardian, and I trusted him with my entire life.
Later on, Kooper decided to join the Mushroom Kingdom's army. The problem with this was that all Koopas should hail and serve King Bowser. But Kooper didn't agree with Bowser's ideals or motives, so he decided to work for Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom. He was disowned by our Koopa village, and I can't legally contact him or see him anymore. Everyone viewed him as a traitor, but Kooper wasn't willing to change his mind. Ever since I was a hatchling, I was taught to only honor King Bowser, so I couldn't understand why Kooper was doing this; even Kez agreed that Kooper was being a traitor. So the day when Kooper was leaving the house to go serve the Mushroom Kingdom, I turned my back on him and called him a Toad (a derogatory term for Koopas). I haven't seen him since. I regret what I did. Hopefully he realized that I was not angry at him for his beliefs, but that I was hurt because he was leaving me; he was a very big part of my heart. I really miss him and need him now more than ever. I doubt he even felt the same way that I do about him; I couldn't help but feel that I was his burden. He protected me from everything. He must've felt that I had to be taken care of and supervised like a helpless baby; I remembered the look in his eyes as he saw that he was leaving me alone with Father. I always looked up to him as my guardian, and the person I could trust above all others. He was my rock, and my life, and my big brother forever.
"I promise to defend and honor this highly venerated name, as well as try to live up to the legacy of the one whom you call Kooper," the Yoshi saluted sternly and playfully. "It's a pretty scorching name too!"
"Scorching?" I asked.
"Ya know, fire."
"Fire?"
"Fire means cool, dude."
I looked up at him quizzically. "That sounds kinda like an oxymoron."
He giggled and shook his head in disappointment. "You're an oxymoron."
With that, I walked with him farther west into the unknown. Two lost boys and the whole world ahead of us.
We exited the mushroom forest and entered a wide open field of smiling flowers and rolling hills. It was awesome! It was freedom. Kooper must've been allergic to freedom because he couldn't stop sneezing at the flowers.
"What are these—Achooo!—chest combustions? *Sniff*."
"You're allergic to flower pollen. Just...hold your breath or something," I joked without much thought. It backfired when his red face became blue; he nearly fainted before I convinced him to cut it out.
"So I get that you found me and saved me and all—Big respect—but in all respect, what the heck are you doing in the middle of nowhere? Unless you're some Yoshi vindicator war-hero dude who searches for trouble, there's no way you could've just found me. From the looks of it, the nearest 'bode is nowhere to be seen."
I loved being perceived as tough, but I needed to tell him the truth. "Let's just say I'm here to kick butt for the people who deserve it." I wasn't lying!
"Like a superhero? That's awesome! You oughta teach me your super duper fighting skills yo! Though I'm not too familiar with occupations, I want to be just like you when I grow up. Fighting crime! Having a skylight that calls my name when there's trouble." Kooper was bouncing up and down on my shoulders with excitement.
"I think you're mistaking me for Superman," I laughed.
"Well, I think you're pretty super if you ask me."
"Tell it to these two black eyes," I said, grimacing.
"Dude those are your battle scars! Wear them with pride! That's what makes you tough."
Me? Tough? I knew I had a long way before I would call myself tough, but to this little guy, I wanted to be his super hero. Too bad the only true scar I had came from Father. I could never remove the band aid. I could never let them know that he was a part of my existence, or that I was his property. It was only a cat scratch...only a cat scratch....
"Ya know, together, there'll be no one that can stop us. Father and son! Fighting side by side!" He punched the air, and I almost lost my balance.
"You do know that I'm not really your father, right?"
"You aren't?"
"Look at me, and then you. How could I make you if I'm a turtle?
"With love! Wait. What's that?"
My mind shouted, "same, kid!" I looked up at him with compassion. "I don't think that's how it works."
"Well, though you may not be my true daddy, I can still call you Daddy, right?
"Of course."
"Good, because who else could I possibly ask for as a Dad?"
I couldn't help but smile at that. "Should we try to look for your real dad?"
"Nah dude. If he loves me, he will find me first, like you did."
I was beginning to think that there was a low chance we'd ever find his real father. Would I have to take care of Kooper his whole life? I wasn't sure how to feel about it, albeit I had just found him. I had plenty of time to warm up to his personality, though. In fact, I had a large say in who he may turn out to be. He follows my example. The more daunting question was could I take care of him? I ran away into the unknown unsure if I would even be able to take care of myself. Now I have Kooper, which means I can't afford to not have money or food or shelter, all of which I possessed very little of. I just had to have faith that everything would be okay. For him. This'll sure make me tougher.