Hey guys, what's up! This next chapter was inspired by a suggestion from Scarecrow314. Thanks for the suggestion, Scarecrow, it really helped me out of a small writer's block! And, as always, I hope you all enjoy!

Help Wanted

Back at the park bench, squeezing into formation once again, the Koopalings returned to job hunting.
"So, what now?" Lemmy asked, pushing his crazy rainbow hair back.
"We need to find another job, obviously." Ludwig said, taking the paper out once more. "Any suggestions?"
"I got one!" Iggy shouted, raising his hand.
"For the last time, Iggy, we are NOT working at a nuclear power plant."
Iggy's hand slowly fell to his side.
"I got an idea." Roy stated.
"How about this one?" Larry said, completely ignoring his brother. "'Experienced zombie slayers needed to exterminate dangerous infected individuals from Raccoon City.' Sounds pretty exciting!"
"And gross!" Wendy shrieked. "Seriously, Larry, zombies!? Just...EW! I hate guts and blood!"
"Than what would you suggest, princess?"
"I stand by what I said earlier. VANESSA is a good option."
"N-O." Roy said.
"Guys! Guys! How about this one?" Lemmy pointed over Ludwig's shoulder at the paper. "It's about babysitting! I love sitting on babies!"
"I don't think that's what it means..." Morton muttered.
"Whatever, why not?" Ludwig sighed, folding up the paper. "That sounds better than zombies and nuclear disasters."
"Then let's go!"

7Z7Z7Z7

The Koopalings were able to find the home easily. The family lived in a nice, out-of-the-way house in a quiet neighborhood.
"Now, I want all of you on your best behavior." Ludwig said, rapping his knuckles on the front door. "These are children we are to be taking care of. I want each of you to remember that any harm that befalls them is solely our responsibility. Know that every action you take will impact these children's lives."
"Yeah, yeah." Roy waved his hand. "We get it already, Ludwig, you Super High School Level Babysitter."
Then the door opened, and a Toad woman and man were standing there, dressed in fine clothes.
"Oh, hello!" The man said amiably. "You must be the babysitters!"
"Yup, that's us!" Iggy cried. "Now where are the little rascals! We just can't wait to sit on 'em!"
Ludwig quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. "He's just kidding. What he means to say is that we are very eager to start. We are professionals, after all." He spat the last part at Iggy, who nodded enthusiastically. Ludwig removed his hand.
"Oh, of course!" The woman said. She then turned her head around and called back into the house. "Kids! Come here and meet your new babysitters!"
Seven young Toad children, all of them most likely six years old or so, gathered behind their parents, and one by one, the mother introduced them.
"This is Lucy, the oldest." She said, gesturing to a Toad with blue spots and thick, blue rimmed glasses. She was reading a gigantic book and seemed completely indifferent to what was happening.
"Next there's Wendell." She pointed to the only boy, a Toad with a very colorful cap, bright pink, yellow, and purple spots adorning it. He tossed a blond bang out of his face with an expert flick of the wrist and trilled, "Aw, mom, I told you to call me Flavius, because I'm FABULOUS!"
"Of course, Flavius." She rolled her eyes playfully, and then pointed at a freckled Toad who was wearing green and flipping a coin. "That's Lynda."
She grinned at them, and there was a sly twinkle in her eye. "Hey, what's up? Anyone wanna play some cards...?"
The father leaned towards Ludwig and whispered warningly, "Make sure you keep your wallet close."
The mother then gestured towards a girl who was leaning against the door frame, the end of a lollipop sticking out of her mouth. It seemed like she was trying to imitate that it was a cigarette. She wore all red and scowled at the Koopalings. "This is Ruby." The girl let out a humorless laugh and turned away, losing interest.
"This is Margaret." A girl wearing gray power slid forward, wildly strumming a toy guitar. She sang the notes to herself, and they came out as a garbled mess of gibberish that sounded anything but musical.
"Mommy! Mommy!" A very small girl dressed in yellow hopped forward. "Me next! Me next!"
"Okay, okay!" Her mother giggled. "This is Lilly. Don't give her any sugar."
"Aww." Lilly pouted and folded her arms.
"Well, that's about it. Our number is on the fridge, so please call if anything goes-"
"Mother, you forgot someone." Lucy said, not taking her eyes off the book.
Suddenly, the woman seemed very uneasy. This confused the Koopalings a bit. Behind the others stood another girl. She wore all black and had a very frightening look on her face, as if she was trying very hard not to murder somebody right then. The Koopalings, besides Iggy, shuddered. She looked like a mini serial killer.
"Uh...um...th-that's Irene..." the father stuttered, and the mother nodded quickly. "W-well, we'll be off now. Good luck!"
The couple quickly pushed past the Koopalings and headed to their car. Once they had driven off, the Koopalings entered the house and closed the door behind them.
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet all of you." Ludwig smiled at the children. He then introduced himself and his siblings to them. "I hope that we may become fast friends."
"Geez, Ludwig, you're talking to kids, not politicians. No need to be so formal." Roy rolled his eyes and shoved his brother.
"Pfft, what a nerd, right?" Ruby snorted, high-fiving Roy.
Ludwig shot a glare at his brother, but said nothing to him. Turning back to the kids, he said, "Well, since there are as many of you as there are of us, maybe we could work one-on-one with each of you. How does that sound?"
"If so, than I'm taking the little firebrand." Roy said, patting Ruby's head.
"Ok, just don't touch me again, or I'll tear your arm off and beat you with it, a'ight?" Ruby warned. Roy shrugged and followed her towards the living room.
"You seem like fun." Lilly said to Lemmy, than whispered, "Got any candy?" Lemmy nodded, and the girl shrieked with glee. Then the two ran off.
"Ooh, I just LOVE your style, girlfriend!" Wendell (Flavius) complimented Wendy.
"Oh, why thank you!" she said. "You know, it's so hard to never be appreciated when I look so beautiful."
"I KNOW!" he replied. "Some people just wouldn't recognize chic fashion if it slapped them on the tushie! Oh, we should TOTES talk fashion tips, like, right now, girl!"
"Okay, let's go!" The two squealed and ran up the stairs.
"Heyyougotanyfrenchfries,causeIgotaseriousaddictio nforthatstuff-WHOA,you'reabigturtle!" Margaret spoke so quickly that nobody could tell what she said. Except Morton.
"Yeah, I freakin' love French fries! Let's go get some!" The two darted towards the kitchen.
"Hey, what's up, turtle-toes?" Lynda elbowed Larry. "You look like a guy whose got Lady Luck smilin' down on him!"
Larry grinned. "Oh, I've gotten plenty of ladies smiling down on me before, I'll tell you that much..."
Lynda snapped her fingers and drew a deck of cards from her pocket. "Right-o, daddy-o. I don't doubt that for one second. But back to the chase, cupcake, how 'bout we make a deal? A simple game of Go Fish with me. We bet five coins. Easy money, easy money. Pocket change, really. You shouldn't have nothin' to worry about. Unless you're scared that the Lady of Good Fortune ain't really on your side after all?"
Ludwig shook his head and tried to warn Larry, but his brother's pride was too strong. "You're on, little girl. But I gotta warn you, I'm an expert at card games. There's no way you'll beat me."
As they walked away, Lynda patted him on the back and reassured him. "Right, right. I'm sure you got nothin' to worry about playin' an honest game with an innocent dame like me." Behind her back, her fingers were crossed.
Lucy scoffed. "There goes Lynda again, scamming another fool. I hate my stupid siblings..."
"You're not the only one." Ludwig muttered. Then he glanced at the title of the book she was reading. "Oh my goodness! 'Journey to the Center of Uranus' by Jules Fern!? I adore that book!"
She nodded slightly, but there was a flicker of interest in her eyes. "Ah, so I see you have some taste. Very well. I suppose I should take this opportunity to share my collection with the only other organism here that possesses a brain."
Lucy shut the book and led Ludwig to her room, leaving Iggy and Irene alone.
Iggy grinned at the girl, not deterred by her eerie demeanor in the slightest. "So, you wanna hang out?"
"Hang?" the girl said. Her voice was like a raspy whisper, menacing and unearthly. Her mouth did not move when she spoke, and it was as if the words were being implanted into Iggy's head. Iggy nodded, the dopey grin still plastered on his face.
"Very well...I know of a place where one can 'hang'..." Slowly, she literally glided over the ground towards the door that led to the backyard, beckoning him with a pale finger, the nail long and sharp.
"Ooh, cool trick!" Iggy commented, skipping towards her. "You must be fun at parties!"

This is actually going to be a multi-chapter arc. Maybe only two chapters, but I felt that the chapter would be way too long if I threw everything into this one.

I had a lot of fun with this chapter. As you probably guessed, I tried to make a parallel between the personalities of the kids and the Koopalings. I'm sure it'll be fun to have the Koopalings babysit kids that are just like them.

So who's your favorite kid? Your favorite Koopaling? Are you as sure as I am that this is not going to end well? Please review, and if you have any ideas, send 'em my way! I can always use the support!