Disclaimer: I don't own Mario or any of its characters. The occasional recurring character, Impacto, also belongs to a friend of mine, who goes by Mloun on deviantART.

This is my very first Mario fanfic and I'm so excited to be writing it! I've been having this story written on paper since my middle school years, but I couldn't really bring myself to submit it in all its inexperienced crappiness XD. Well, I've made some necessary changes without severely altering the plot and now I'm ready! :D Enjoy!

Prologue

" 'Support your King. Join Bowser's Koopa Troop, or else...' Well, ain't that nice." a green-shelled Paratroopa muttered to his red-shelled counterpart, fluttering in front of the Daily News bulletin board. In front of them was an ad that was recently put up by a pair of Hammer Bros., who in turn stayed posted on either side of the board to make sure every passing Koopa saw the message. It was clear by the larger Koopas' irritated expressions that they thought they could be doing something better with their time, their negative attitudes made clearer when the red-shelled Paratroopa turned his attention to one of them.

"Does Bowser have anything specific in mind when he says 'or else'?" he asked with a joking grin. Not amused in the slightest, the regarded Hammer Bro. crossed his arms and glared hatefully at the sarcastic Koopa.

"Yeah, he meant that he'll tear off those wings of yours and barbeque them for dinner."

"That's pleasant. Thank you..." The green-shelled replied with another, almost-inaudible mutter. Covering his own sarcasm with a beam, he then nudged his companion as a signal that it was time to go. "We'll keep those rather threatening words in mind and we'll definitely consider joining the army." As the two Paratroopas fluttered off, the green-shelled rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "As if that will ever happen."

"How much do you think that job pays?" the red-shelled asked playfully, his comrade giving him a scolding look.

"Seriously, Pip? You're really considering that?"

"Not really, I'm just curious." Pip responded.

"Knowing that no-good tyrant, you'll probably be paid nothing."

"Yeah, you probably right." Seeing his accomplice was still looking bothered, he laughed and gave the other Koopa a punch on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Flit. Nothing those evil Koopas can do can make me choose them over family."

Hearing the reassuring words of his younger brother, Flit grinned and returned the punch-on-the-shoulder gesture, a little harder than necessary. "Race ya to the house!" Giving little time for reaction, his wings beat faster and he sped up ahead. Pip didn't bother wasting time to voice his protest at this unfair head-start; it'll only lose precious time! Forcing his wings to go as fast as they could, he chased after his brother towards their home. He had no chance of winning fairly, he knew. His brother always won whatever contest they engaged in. So he developed something to at least give him a chance.

Turning off course, he flew for a shortcut he often took advantage of whenever his mother got him to do errands. He only had a short time; Koopa Village was not a very large community and who knows how far his brother has gotten! He just hoped this little cheat will work.

"Hey!" Flit exclaimed as his younger sibling zoomed in and cut him off. That little cheater! Putting more 'umph' into his own wings, he tried to overtake his brother, just as the house came into view. Certain of his victory, Pip closed his eyes and dove for the usually-open door...

CRASH! THUD! CRASH! BOOM!

Jumping in startlement, Mrs. Paratroopa rushed to the door and opened it, blinking as she looked down at her two groaning sons.

"The door was closed..." Flit mumbled dazedly.

"Why was it closed...?" Pip added in his own stunned state.

"I'm sorry, boys." Mrs. Paratroopa said with a sheepish smile as she helped her soon recovering offspring get back to their shaky feet. "I closed the door due to our... 'out-of-town visitors'."

"Fair enough..." both boys responded as they stumbled inside the house, rubbing the bumps on their heads tenderly. Watching their mom walk off to grab some ice packs for them, the two teenage Koopas flopped onto the couch, shoving each other a bit for some comfortable room. When their mother returned and placed the ice packs on each her children's heads, they noticed she looked rather bothered.

"Mom, what's up?" Flit asked in concern, wincing a bit as he shifted his cold pack more securely.

"Nothing." she answered, glancing towards the window. "Just worried."

"About what?" Pip inquired in turn, wondering what would get their usually mellow and laid-back mother all riled up. It made him and his brother worry, naturally protective of their parent. They watched as their mother moved closer to the window, staring in the general direction of the Daily News bulletin. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, she answered, the feathers on her wings fluffing up a bit in some kind of aggravation.

"About those Hammer Bro. ruffians. No good can come when King Koopa's soldiers pays a visit to this little village."

Hearing the cause for her concern, Pip and Flit put on their most reassuring smiles.

"It'll be alright, Mom. They'll be gone soon." Flit started.

"Yeah. There's nothing to worry about. I mean, what's the worst they can do?" Pip added. Mrs. Paratroopa hesitated, still staring out the window before looking to her sons. It took a good long moment for her to override her caution enough to take her children's words into consideration. Although she'd like to believe them, her instincts told her that things were not to be taken so lightly.

The two boys certainly said nothing about the threatening words told to them earlier. No need to add fuel to their mother's paranoia. Surely, the 'or else' part of the ad was just a bluff...

"King Bowser is not going to be pleased." Impacto muttered to his companion as they watched yet another group of nervous Koopa Troopas retreat from the bulletin board. Eyes scanning the nearby houses, they saw other Koopas locking up their homes and some fearfully glancing at them from their windows. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that this village was panicked of their presence and that none of them was interested in helping their terrifying king.

"Well, what could he expect when he sends us to this village of cowards?" Crash responded, crossing his arms. "We don't call these Koopa's traitors for nothing."

For it was common knowledge that not all Koopas believed in what their king was doing and that they left Bowser's kingdom to set up their own village. They mostly kept to themselves, but when the situation called for it, they would always side with the enemy: the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom. Heck, this same village have assisted that no-good plumber, Mario, in some of his adventures. It made them, and a lot of the other Bowser-loyal Koopas, sick. This village was lucky nothing bad happened to it...yet.

Bowser has been getting impatient with this small community as of late. He needed more soldiers, more followers to fight and defend against those two mustached humans. This must've been the tenth time these past few months that visits had been made to Koopa Village to try and sway the opinions of the town-goers. As usual, it wasn't working. Fine, let the locals learn the hard way...

"They've been warned. Let's go."

As the lights of the town dimmed out, the two Hammer Bros. left their post to return to the castle with the news. They had stayed for as long as three days as ordered, with nothing to show for it in the end. The villagers probably thought the threatening 'or else' in the ad was a bluff. Knowing their king, this little settlement will regret calling that bluff by morning.

There's the prologue to get things started. Seems like things are going to start going downhill fast. Those poor little Koopas. I hope you guys like this chapter! Cheers! :)