A/N: Hey guys, what's up? We're about to start the big-time, four-part stories, starting this issue! I'm going to try to emulate the style of Ken Penders up through Issue 200, but that may be difficult, as I seem to lean toward my own style, and I've read more Ian Flynn Sonic comics than Ken Penders comics. (And yes, I'm hyped that Sonic's returning with IDW in 2018!)

I do not own anything in this fanfic except for any original content that I come up with. Mario belongs to Nintendo, which does not endorse or affiliate itself with this fanfic. Constructive criticism is allowed, but please, no flames.

And now, on to the comic!

The Koopalings, Part 1: Here Come the Koopalings!

King Koopa slammed his fist down on the desk he was sitting at, his immense strength causing it to crack in half. "You failed again, lousy buffoons! Why can't you capture Mario and his friends?! Didn't Fryguy High teach you anything?!"*

*As seen last issue!

"Uh, we tried, boss," a Koopa started.

"We almost got him," said a Hammer Bro.

"Tried! Almost! That's not enough!" ranted Koopa as he rose from his seat and paced the room. "You see, I've trained you ever single day to capture them. You've succeeded the training, but when it comes to the real deal, you're utter failures!"

"It won't happen again, sir," apologized a Shy Guy.

"That's right. It won't happen again, because I'm going to make you all mop my camp!"

"What?!" a Goomba was in shock.

"Please! Give us another chance!" begged a Koopa.

"You had your chance!" said Koopa. "It's someone else's turn now."

As the minions grabbed their mops, Koopa pondered his next move. "And that someone else, or rather, they, have never failed a mission before. With this kind of help, my chances of nabbing that plumber have increased... sevenfold!"

Princess Toadstool's castle was truly a sight to behold. It had towers, a red roof, a moat, and an image of Mushroom Land's own princess over the doorway. The castle was surrounded by lush grass and tall trees.

Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad were soaking in the sight. The princess, however, had a slight hint of sadness in her eyes.

"If only there was a way to get it back," she sighed.

"What's stopping you, Princess?" Mario asked.

The princess debated a moment before answering. "It's a long story," she finally said.

"Long stories are my favorite type," answered Mario. "Can you tell us, Princess?"

"Well... Mushroom Land was once a beautil place without many troubles. As far as I remember, there had not been any invaders for many years, and any evildoers from within were swiftly brought to justice.

"However, six months before you arrived, the serenity of Mushroom Land was shattered when King Koopa arrived. He made an ultimatum with my father, King Philip Toadstool, to surrender the castle in three days or he would invade it. My father refused.

"Only two days into the ultimatum, King Koopa broke his promise and attacked the castle. Our soldiers fought valiantly against King Koopa and his soldiers. Back then, Koopa's army was much bigger than it was now. My father's soldiers fought Koopa for two long months. We finally prevailed against them, but at a costly price: we had spent so many coins on supplies to keep Koopa's army at bay that we could not afford to keep the castle anymore. Mushroom Land's government had to evict us from the castle.

"All the retainers had gone their own ways. Toad, the youngest retainer, decided to remain with me as we were forced to be on the run from King Koopa. We ran and hid from Koopa for four months. We couldn't stay in one place for long. Some nights we even had to sleep in the middle of cold, damp forests.

"But all this changed when you arrived. Koopa was actually a little frightened at you when you arrived, and when you sent him packing, he started hating you more than me."

"But what happened to the king?" Luigi asked.

Princess Toadstool had a farwaway look in her eyes. "One day during the war, my father said he had to accomplish an important mission alone. He never returned, and... and is presumed dead."

Mario was stunned. "You've been through a lot..." he solemnly said.

"She has," Toad answered for his princess as she tried to regain her composure. "And you were wondering why she can't get her castle back? The Mushroom Parliament says that without the king, she cannot rightfully claim the castle until she is fourty years old."

"Which means we need to find the king," Mario said. "I'm convinced he's not dead."

"It's not that simple," said the princess as she raised her head. "You see, my father never said where he was going."

"One way or another," promised Mario, "we will find him for you."

"...Thank you, Mario," was all the princess could say as she turned around and started to leave. Her friends joined her.

Suddenly they heard a noise coming from a nearby warp pipe.

"Stay back! I've got this!" ordered Mario as he rushed over to the pipe. But he was bowled over as several figures emerged from it.

"Mama mia..." he groaned as he rubbed his head.

The princess gasped as the figure of King Koopa also emerged from the pipe. "Tight squeeze," he mumbled.

"Attention, Marios!" he shouted. "I would like you to meet my children, the Koopalings!" He introduced them, from oldest to youngest, as Kooky von Koopa, Kootie Pie O. Koopa, Bully Koopa, Hop Koopa, Big Mouth Koopa Jr., Cheatsy Koopa, and Hip Koopa.

"They look just like you," said an astonished Luigi.

Koopa beamed. "They also share my ambition for evil." Changing the subject, he said, "But enough pep talk! Koopa Pack- er, Koopalings, attack! Boy, I'm used to saying 'Koopa Pack'..."

Immediately all seven Koopalings drew magic wands.

"Yikes!" exclaimed Mario as the Koopalings fired magic blasts at the heroes. Mario and his friends dodged several blasts, but Toad wasn't quite fast enough, and was hit by three blasts of magic at once.

"Toad!" his friends exclaimed as they rushed over. But Luigi was suddenly tackled from behind by Cheatsy and Bully.

"Gah! A little help here, guys?"

"Coming!" Mario called as he rushed over to Luigi. Toadstool was just finishing helping Toad to his feet when she was grabbed by Kootie Pie and Big Mouth, who dragged her away from the scene.

"Excellent!" Koopa exclaimed with glee. "Now finish them!"

As Hip and Hop struck down Toad once more with their magic, a frustrated Mario charged toward them, but was hurtled across the plain by a strong magic blast cast by Kooky.

The Koopalings laughed at the carnage they had just caused before returning to King Koopa with the princess.

"Here's your royal beauty, King Dad!" Kooky presented the princess to Koopa.

"Let me go!" she struggled against her captors.

"Why would I?" Koopa smiled down at her. "You know that every time I kidnap you, I have you in mind for one of my evil plans."

"Do tell."

"Now why would I tell my enemy my strategy?" he countered. "Koopalings, take the princess back to my camp. I'll join you in a moment."

As the seven children of King Koopa went back down the warp pipe with the princess, King Koopa sneered at the unconscious Mario, Luigi, and Toad. "And you call yourself 'Super' Mario," he taunted the plumber clad in red. "You couldn't even defeat my children. What chance do you have against me?" Letting his parting words ring in the air, he slowly turned back to the warp pipe and squeezed his way down its thin passage.

How much time passed since Mario fought the Koopalings, he did not know. His head was spinning as he slowly sat up. And it wasn't just from the headache he had. As he looked around and saw his unconscious friends, several thoughts came to him. Are the Koopalings really King Koopa's children. If so, who was his wife? How did Mario and his friends lose so easily? And could any of this be tied in with King Philip?

As both his headache and his thoughts were going through his head, he slowly rose to his feet and walked over to his friends. He was a good thirty feet away from them; how could he have been knocked this far?

"Come on, time to get up, Luigi. You too, Toad," he gently shook them awake. They opened their eyes and looked around. "Can someone get me the number of the Koopa that hit me?" Toad mumbled.

"W-where's the princess?" realized Luigi.

Then it hit him. Mario had been so focused on his thoughts that he hadn't realized the absence of Princess Toadstool! Now he was determined to find her and her father.

"Let's-a go!" rallied Mario. "We have a princess to rescue!"

The princess - kidnapped! Her father - vanished! King Koopa - has kids?! Who are the Koopalings? What happened to Princess Toadstool's father? And will the Mario Brothers rescue the princess? Come back next time for the next part of The Koopalings!

A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for joining me for our first true story arc. I believe I could not have pocked a better time than now to introduce the Koopalings, whlose names I have derived from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3. If you are new to the series and don't know their game names, they will be revealed in a later issue. Additionally, for technical reasons, I used the name Kootie Pie O. Koopa rather than Kootie Pie Koopa.

"Mama mia," said Mario, "it looks like we don't have any questions to answer this issue! But that's okay. Just send us your questions via the author's PM, and please follow the rules stated in Issue 1. Also, you can now ask questions/dares to the Koopalings! Until next time, everybody, do the Mario!"