The Tyrannical King - 2 - The Overthrow

The airship carrying the helpless, gangly, mustached man hovers high in the clouds. Whisps whip along the ship deck, almost peacefully. Nobody bothers to address the plumber, still tied up and sitting on a palette near the center of the ship. There is an air of fear, and nobody seems to talk aside from orders barked by the higher ups of the crew. There are three shelled lookouts frantically eying the air. The plumber doesn't even struggle, he feels almost safe as long as he is with this crew. They seem more concerned with their safety than harming him.

A younger looking koopa wanders the deck, unaccompanied by a parent, it says nothing. The small shelled creature catches sight of the tied up passenger, and walks toward him. "Um, why are you all tied up like that?" The small one questions, breaking the near-silence of wind rustling along cloth and footsteps of various crew as they wander the ship.

"I... I don't know." The plumber says, looking at the young, shelled girl. He looks left and right, watching as the crew, totally preoccupied, wanders by. "My name is Luigi, what's yours?"

"I'm Kara. Um... Nice to meet you..." She says, looking shy, but eager to talk to anyone.

"Where are your parents?" The green-hatted plumber asks.

"My mommy and daddy disappeared about a year ago." The girl ruffles her lips and chokes down some tears. She sits down, her yellow shell clunking on the wood.

"Oh... I... I'm sorry." Luigi blushes, and looks to the wooden floor.

"They told me to go with these people, and they would keep me safe. I've been alright with them, but I miss my parents... I don't know why they couldn't come, as well." She sighs.

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The caged Koopa brothers awaken to more of the same, the older, bespectacled brother claws another tally into the wall.

"Ig, you have to stop doing that. That doesn't help anything... how does knowing how many hundreds of days we've been here do anything but bother you more?" Lemmy slouches against the wall.

"It's something to do. Something to pass the time. You okay?" Iggy looks at his brother who seems to have changed his attention to staring, longingly out the bars.

"I... I just hate this place. I feel so lonely, just us here. I want to see anywhere, even the hallway, just anywhere else."

Iggy sits beside his younger brother and pats the younger's shell. "One day we'll be free." He lies to comfort Lemmy.

"If we do get out, do we really have to... you know... take care of dad?" He sighs.

"I'm afraid it's the only choice... Before we got caught giving food and money from dad's vaults to hungry koopas, I thought he could possibly be persuaded to change, but after I tried to reason with him that night, and he told me we were going to be dungeoned until we swore our loyalty to him above anyone else, I became discouraged.

"But why now? We've been here for years. Why do you come to this, just lately?"

"He hasn't even been asking for a loyalty pledge, or anything. He has forgotten us, just like his people. I don't care if I stay here, forever. I do care that everyone else is starving."

Lemmy sighs and draws circles in the dirt. "I... I am, too. I would stay here forever if the other koopas would never have to starve again..."

"With dad in power, that will never be the case. They're all pawns to him."

The two pass time drawing shapes in the dungeon floor and walking around the small cage.

Lemmy looks to the door again. "Why hasn't anyone come to bring us food? It's way past breakfast time, now."

"I have no idea. I was thinking the same thing.

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The Mushroom Kingdom, now blown to shambles after the invasion, is in panic. Smoldering piles of rubble and wounded citizens fill the streets, people running in panic, as those who can provide care do their best to help the harmed. The castle has been filled with shelled warriors, and a female koopa in a red necklace stands on the crumbled opening where front balcony was and shouts, with the assistance of a blue hooded sorcerer, echoing across the kingdom.

"Lowly people of the Mushroom Kingdom. Bow down to your new, true king: The Great King Koopa. From this day forth, you shall follow the every request of your superiors. Anyone seen holding themselves as highly as our shelled soldiers or high royalty will be dungeoned, or possibly executed, depending on the severity of the crime."

The higher-ups from the invading forces take spoils from the homes, and begin to make the homes their own. They leave those they see their inferiors on the streets, both fungus and fellow Koopa Kingdom citizens.

Within the crumbled walls of the Mushroom Kingdom Castle, Wendy ignores the starvation of her own people and rests in the princess' bed.

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At the residence of the green capped plumber and his brother, a shorter, heavier set plumber awakens from a deep sleep. He heads outside. "Hey 'Weege, did you find anything good this morning?" He shouts.

"Weege?" The red-suited plumber wanders the nearby woods, finding masses of footrpints. He runs back toward his house, and past, toward the invaded kingdom.

He reaches the crumbled walls of the town and surveys the damage. He heads toward the castle to see what has happened, but is knocked unconscious by a large shelled soldier with a hammer. "Wendy will be happy about this, maybe I can have my own castle, or at least a nice house."

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Aboard the airship, the green capped plumber continues talking with the small koopa child. "What is this group?"

"This is the Koopa Liberty Warriors. They're a group of koopas who try to get food for me and other koopas who have been left hungry in the Koopa Kingdom. There are a lot of us, because nobody seems to have money anymore. King Koopa says it's because the Mushroom Kingdom has taken it all, but some people say it's because King Koopa has kept it all for himself."

The plumber sighs and attempts a sympathetic gesture, almost forgetting his rope-binds were around him.

Suddenly, there is a loud crash, and panic around the ship. "We're going down!" A large koopa with spiked pauldrons, a helmet, and one eye shouts. "Brace yourselves, those who can fly, get as many off the ship as you can!"

Luigi looks to his new companion. "Quick, Kara, get to a parakoopa, get out of here."

The young koopa, in a panic, runs for the side of she ship, where a winged koopa picks her up and flies off into the distance. The bedlam across the ship builds in intensity, but the volume becomes quieter as more and more creatures are carried from the falling ship. The plumber closes his eyes as the ground comes into view, headed straight for a crumbling stone stronghold.

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The koopaling brothers both grasp the bars, watching the doorway, curious as to the silence in the dungeon. "Why is nobody around? This is strange."

Just then, a horrible crash rumbles, the wall. Wood and koopas, goombas and stone fall into the lava, screams pierce the brothers' ears. The younger one tears up. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"We don't even know what's going on!"

"They're hurt! Make it stop!" Lemmy shouts, in vain, frustrated.

The older one, letting sarcasm overcome his panic, spits "What do you suggest we do? We're helpless, Lem. Sadly, so are they. You have to get over the death of others when you can't help it. It's sad, yes." He continues, trying to distract his brother from the screams. He winces. "But you can only hope make things better if you can keep strong in a moment of loss."

"They could have had families." Lemmy trails off, eyes glazed over as the sounds die out.

The older koopaling sighs and leans on his brother's shoulder, attempting to provide some comfort.

Minutes later, a burly koopa stomps down the hallway, into the chamber. "Throw him in here." Another large koopa comes in, carrying a tied-up, green-clothed plumber. He tosses Luigi into the same chamber as the two brothers. The younger one cowers a bit at the sight of the plumber. He whispers to his brother "It's Luigi! It's Mario's brother!"

"So? He looks pretty helpless, to me."

"But- but- he's..."

"...He's what?"

Lemmy looks at the terrified young man, still bound with rope, bruised and somewhat bloodied face from the impact. "He's hurt."

Lemmy takes a claw and unbinds the plumber, still surprised, sore, and concussed. "Don't hurt me!" The plumber shouts.

The smaller koopa flinches and grimaces. "H-hurt you? Why would we hurt you? Are you planning to hurt us?"

"If I have to!" He shouts. He tries to get to his feet, but stumbles.

"Stay down," Iggy commands "You're hurt, you need to be careful. Here, lean up against this wall." He insists, gingerly sliding the young man along the floor. He uses a claw to cut off part of the plumber's sleeve, and removes his hat.

"What are you doing?" The young man struggles, tipping to the side, slightly.

"I'm getting something to stop the bleeding on your head. What happened out there?"

"Your troops shot down the airship I was on. I was kidnapped and being held for ransom. The ship fell out of the sky, and your troops attacked the ones on the ship. Their own people!"

"Our troops? Have you even seen where we are? We're sitting in a dungeon, right now."

"We're what?" Luigi's vision focuses enough for him to look at the surroundings, catching sight of the hundreds of tallies on the wall. "Why?"

"Well, I imagine you're in the dungeon because they see you as a threat."

"And you? Why are you here?"

"Because they see us as a threat."

"Why?"

"I'd rather not talk about that." Iggy sighs and looks out the small window into the smoke-filled, yellowing sky.

Lemmy sits near his new roommate and looks at his damaged face. "Are you going to be okay? You look pretty rough."

"I've been through worse. I should be fine in a couple of days. Do you have anything to lay on?"

"Dirt." Iggy sighs.

"Ah. This is just so weird... Am I dead?"

"Why would you ask that?" The older koopaling asks.

"Because I'm talking to two of Bowser's kids, and one of them is tending to my wounds. This is crazy!"

"You need to learn about the recent history of this place. We may be Bowser's kids, but he doesn't care if we're alive or dead right now." Iggy adjusts his scratched up lenses. "By the way, if someone comes by, I may become mean for a minute. If I hurt you, it's to keep you from being hurt worse by them."

"Why are you acting like this to me? Why have so many koopas been so concerned about keeping me alive? I was just on a ship full of people who wanted to keep me alive to get money for food. Something about some 'Koopa Liberty Warriors?'"

"Oh. Oh dear. Those were our troops who were attacked by the guards of this castle. You went from the custody and protection of our troops to the custody and protection of us."

"But why? If I'm not digging my own grave."

"You could be very useful."