A diamond hidden within the gray line

Chapter 29: Rising emotions.

-Narration-

"So..how are we gonna get everyone in here, knowing that, besides mike, they'll likely freak out?" Max asked, wondering what would happen. "We'll handle that. And in doing so, we are also planning on getting you able to come home soon." Bowser says to max. "How? It'll uh..be hard to.." Max began to say, before he looked at bowser's smirk. "Ohh..that'll take some gettin' used to." Max says, briefly forgetting that bowser is the koopa king.

"Ah, max. It would seem that you have much to learn. Besides..i would much prefer to not put you through the annoying paparazzi and the news media that is simply going crazy right now." Bowser says with a chuckle at first, before quickly becoming serious knowing that dealing with the reporters would be the annoyingly tough part. "Oh..wow.." Max says in a fretful manner. "Don't fret about them. Just worry about the here and now." Kamek says in order to assure max that nothing crazy will happen.

-Max pov-

I guess i should've expected as much..first i hear i became a top topic to talk about in the koopa kingdom literally overnight based on what kamek told me when i first met him, and now this? I don't know what to feel about that. Right now though, i gotta focus on what the reactions of my brothers and sister will be like, and the anxiety of waiting for what's about to happen feels as if time itself is wanting to crawl.

-Narration-

"You ready for this?" Bowser asked, seeing how nervous he was. "Yeah. Kinda feels like deja vu considering that i was nervous on my very first day, but i can deal with it." Max responded, which bowser laughs heartily in response. "You'll be fine. I'm gonna go and get them, just relax, and make yourself comfortable." Bowser told him, and got up to get the others. "I should go as well. Someone needs to deal with the news media. As for why you're just now finding out why you're a koopa? An explanation will be given later, but as i said, don't fret." Kamek tells max before using his magic to teleport to wherever his destination is.

-Max pov-

An explanation? There's a reason why i was a human for much of my life? I look at my bandaged chest, which surprisingly, wasn't stained with as much blood as i was expecting it to be...i dreaded to see what was under the bandages, though that would be for a later time. For right now though, i decided to use a tv remote that was on my little nightstand beside my bed and turn the tv on, that was mounted on the wall and put it on cartoon network. No way in hell was i gonna put it on the news just to watch people talking about me...

-Bowser pov-

Even though i can tell he's anxious about what the koopalings and my son will think about him now, i can tell that he's more nervous about what's under those bandages...poor kid..he may be trying to act all tough, which is something that he definitely has in common with roy, but i know that he has to be frightened. Truth be told...so am i.

-Narration-

The koopalimgs, junior, and mike all wait in the waiting room. Impatiently, but they all wait. "Ugh, how much longer?!" Morton asked impatiently. "Hopefully not too much longer. All this waiting is just torture!" Larry remarks, who was getting antsy. Mike just sits there, trying to keep himself together for the time being. "He better be ok." Roy says, who remembered what Marx had told him before he vanished, which was something he's yet to understand. Hell, even wendy, who is usually on her phone most of the time either taking selfies or on social media, found herself waiting anxiously to hear about max.

That was when bowser came walking in. "Is he ok?!" Was the response that came first out of lemmy. "He is. He woke up not long ago." Bowser says to them. "Thank arceus.." Mike says quietly, who was on the verge of tears which bowser noticed. "Can we see him?" Morton asked who got up, tired of waiting, and so did roy. "You can, but...you'll all be in for a shock that'll probably change things." Bowser responded, which confused  the koopalings and junior. "This has to do with what marx said before he vanished, isn't it?" Roy ssked. "What does marx have to do with this?" Bowser asked, who raised an eyebrow. "He's referring to what marx said, which was that the old max is gone, but the new max would surprise us, including roy." Ludwig explained, which bowser facepalms in response. "Of course he did...yes, you all will, aside from me, mike and kamek." Bowser commented, acknowledging what marx had said to them earlier.

"Can somebody just explain what the hell this has to do with me especially?!" Roy asked impatiently. "He looks like you roy, but without shades." Mike speaks up, which brought shocked silence to the koopalings and to junior...except for ludwig. "That certainly explains a lot." He says with a chuckle. "YOU KNEW?!" Roy yells in a agitated manner. "How'd you know?" Morton asked. "Come now, i had no way of knowing what he would even look like now, but the fact that i noticed that he and roy bonded almost instantly seemed incredibly obvious to me that there's a deeper connection, especially since they are both laid back. Plus...i remember max saying that he has a twin brother here in the koopa kingdom." Ludwig explained.

"A-are you saying that..?" Lemmy began to question. "Dad, is he...is roy max's twin brother?" Larry asked. "There can be no doubt. Which leaves a lot of questions to be answered." Bowser informed. "Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me.." Roy says, who didn't want to believe it.

-Larry pov-

There is no way that roy and max are twins...i mean..ok, they both are laid back, but...yeah, i need to see this for myself!

-Wendy pov-

Wow..i was not expecting that. I can't help but worry about roy, knowing that he's going through raw emotion that he's far from used to.

-Morton pov-

Now that's a big shocker! I knew that he and roy were close considering how fast they bonded, but i wasn't expecting this! Even i have questions as to what happens now, but you know something? Roy is still my brother, regardless of what's happening right now.

-Lemmy pov-

Max and roy are..twins? Aw, i would've loved it if it turned out that i was max's twin brother! Wait, if roy is max's twin brother...does that mean that roy is a von ghoul too? I remember marx mentioned this family at one point, but...i can't help but wonder if that's the case.

-Iggy pov-

Twins?! That's...definitely a surprise. How often does anyone come across someone who ends up looking like you? Until i see it for myself, i'll never believe it!

-Ludwig pov-

Hmph..i am the first to notice how close they were, yet even i was not expecting to hear what dad said to me. I have never had to worry about roy outshining me though.

-Junior pov-

Agh, max is a handful, though he's not bad in a fight from what i saw earlier, that's for sure...and the fact that max supposedly looks like roy? It sounds like a lie, buuut...i wanna see this for myself!

-Roy pov-

Ok, what the hell...now max looks like me?! If it was anyone else, i wouldn't hesitate to beat their ass, but with max? Yeah..i need to see this for myself! Besides...me having a twin brother? If that's the case..then...yeah, i have so many questions now!

-Narration-

"The room number is 237, but take it easy with him, he still has broken ribs that kamek will heal soon." Bowser says to everyone but mike, who bowser would talk to once everyone else heads to max's hospital room. "We won't, though we're all curious to see what max looks like now!" Larry says in response. "Same here." Roy says, who is far more curious than the rest of them combined as they all walk to the room max is in even though lemmy used his ball to 'walk'. However, it was max who, even though he's watching cartoons to least do something other than just lay there, he had a lot of nervous anxiety to what was coming, but could only wonder what marx was doing, and if he's watching the events unfold. For now...all he can do is wait.