Chapter 1 The Body Snatcher

It was the middle of the night; the depths of the witching hour. Almost everybody in the Koopa Kingdom was in the middle of dreams that would most likely fall out of their memories by the time the rooster crowed. The only people who were still awake were those unfortunate enough to be plagued by restlessness, a few shady figures, and some koopas who were on the night shift. One koopa troopa who fell into that last category was laboring away in a small toy store, making sure that the toys were clean by dusting them. He was whistling in an attempt to keep his spirits up, but it was impossible for one to ignore the dark circles that decorated the skin under his eyes.

The place that the koopa troopa worked was an odd one. It sold the typical stuff that one would expect to find in a toy store, like train sets and toy tools. What was weird, however, was the fact that it sold plushies of figures who populated the Koopa and Mushroom Kingdoms. It had plushies of Mario, Luigi, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Princess Peach, a variety of toads and goombas, and all seven of the Koopalings. Koopa parents had made the odd request for companies to make toys like this and for stores to stock them so that their children could role play the different kidnappings of Princess Peach (preferably with Bowser being successful).

Anyway, the koopa troopa was in the middle of dusting a plushie of Lemmy. When he finished, he stopped whistling and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew," he said. "All ten thousand forty six toys are dust free. And it only cost me two thousand sneezes."

The koopa troopa chuckled at this. He was one of those people who was often amused by the jokes that he himself told. He twirled the duster like a baton and glanced at his watch.

"Oh wow," he said. "It's almost midnight! Guess I'd better get home if I want to be here by eight tomorrow."

The koopa troopa turned and started walking toward the store room, which was near the entrance. He resumed with whistling the tune that he had been producing when he was dusting. He was just about to put the duster away when he heard something odd: the ringing of a bell. As a toy store employee, it was not uncommon for him to hear the twinkling of bells as people entered and exited the store. He was a little taken aback, however, that he heard it at this time of night, when the store was supposed to be closed.

The koopa troopa dropped the duster and glanced at the entrance, but whoever had entered the store moved pretty swiftly. The koopa troopa followed the sound of their footsteps around the nearest aisle, but before he could get a glimpse of them they turned around the corner. The koopa troopa started to feel a little nervous.

"Um, mister, the store closed two hours ago," the koopa troopa said.

The koopa troopa walked slowly down the aisle, and as he did he tried his best to keep his breathing steady. He could feel his heartbeat in his throat.

"Maybe if you'd like you can check back in after sunrise?"

The koopa troopa turned the corner, and the sight made him stop dead. At first, he thought that there was no one there, that he had imagined the whole thing. But when he squinted, he could see a silhouette crouching on the floor. It looked like a shadow that was tinted purple. The shadowy figure stood up, and the koopa troopa could see that it had his exact height and build. It was like he was looking at his own shadow.

"What the…?" the koopa troopa said.

What happened next is something that the poor troopa will never be able to explain. A ball of purple light formed in the silhouette's hands, and it threw that ball at the koopa troopa. The ball created a beam of sorts that connected the koopa troopa and the figure. When the koopa troopa was hit by the beam, he felt excruciating pain, like he was being stung by a million bees. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor, trying to regain his breath.

"Oh I'd love to take you up on that offer…"

The koopa troopa glanced up, and the sight almost made him scream. He was looking into none other than his own face!

"...but I'm afraid I'll be working here at this time," came a voice (not his voice, mind you) that escaped from his throat. The koopa troopa's face and whoever occupied it sneered down at his victim and started walking back down the aisle.

The koopa troopa couldn't believe what he was seeing. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were no longer flesh and blood, but shadow and vapor. The koopa troopa began to whimper and felt around, allowing him to notice that his whole body had turned dark and purple.

"Although," said the figure with his back to the koopa troopa, "I am considering taking the day off tomorrow. Now, I'm sure my boss won't like that, but hey…"

The figure turned, his eyes gleaming evilly.

"...we only live our lives once."

The koopa troopa's heart filled with panic and fear. Scrambling to his feet, he raced out of the store, inwardly praying that the figure wouldn't follow him.

"Help!" he yelled, completely disregarding the fact that it was in the middle of the night. "Somebody help me! Please!"

The figure stood in the doorway, watching as the koopa troopa ran. At the sight of this, he chuckled maniacally.

"That's right little koopa troopa," he said. "Run away like the coward you are."

The figure headed back into the store. He walked down the aisles, an evil grin present on his face.

"But don't worry," the figure said. "You'll get your body back soon enough. For it's not yours I am after. You see, I desire something different."

The figure looked up at the shelf, and saw that on it sat a plushie of Ludwig.

"Something...special," the figure said darkly.