AN: Well, we are a decent way through Reunited, so I decided to start this now. Now, I know what you might be thinking; "this premise looks really similar to Be the Koopa." And… yeah, it is. Plus, the fact that I hadn't listed this as Episode 36 on my profile at first might also confuse some people as well. Well, here is my reasoning behind doing this. First off… I really wanted to do it. LOL, I know, I know, rock solid argument there. But… I don't know. This idea came to me not too long ago (as I was falling asleep one night; make of that what you will), and I really liked it. Plus, an inverse of Be the Koopa's premise can still be fun. In fact, I have a feeling this will be, considering the directions I want to take this story.

Wow, this author's note turned out longer than I thought. TL;DR, I'm starting a new story. I hope you guys enjoy Super Koopalings Episode 36: Oh the Humanity! (I'm actually really proud of that title) :).

Chapter 1 A Shadow Seeker

Ludwig and Aria laughed as they walked up toward the doorstep of Aria's house. As the door opened, Ludwig felt a mighty strong temptation overcome him, a temptation that pretty much any person in a relationship feels at some point in time. Should he give in to it? Aria did look very pretty tonight. With her sky blue hair done up into a bun, and the shiny pink lipstick that paired nicely with her baby pink dress, her appearance made a pretty good argument as to why he should bow to the temptation. So, thinking "why the hell not?" Ludwig got in closer to his girlfriend.

"You know, tonight has been really fun," Aria said as she opened the door. "I think this is the most fun I've had in…"

Before she could finish, Ludwig planted his lips on hers. Based on the way she seized up, she seemed a little taken aback by the kiss. However, she loosened up almost immediately. She wrapped her arms around him, returning the kiss with the highest level of passion any koopa could hope to feel/display. Ludwig thought about her earlier words, how she said this night had been really fun. Ludwig couldn't help but agree with her. However, he knew for a fact that the two of them hadn't maxed out their level of fun yet. There was one thing they could do that would do that though. One amazing, intimate thing that (hopefully) everyone would get to experience and enjoy at some point in their life.

"Should we take this upstairs?" Ludwig asked as he pulled away from her, his quiet tone laced with desire.

Aria's violet eyes sparkled. "I would love that." She took a step into the house, closing the door behind her. "Go on ahead and head up there; I'll join you in a little bit."

Ludwig chuckled. He suppose waiting for sex would help make the act feel all the more sweet.

So, with a fluttering heart and a smiling face, he made his way up the stairs. When he was halfway up, he decided to take advantage of his abilities as a special koopa and flew up the rest of the way. When he landed, he giggled to himself. His heartbeat sped up, and he only felt more and more pleased when his eyes landed on the door to Aria's room. Oh, all the things they would do. All the incredible, wonderful, naughty things they would do…

With these thoughts in mind, Ludwig started walking toward the door. As he did, his eyes fell upon the open door to the bathroom, and it was this sight that prompted him to stop. While still smiling, he turned on the light and went into the room. Standing in front of the mirror, he studied his appearance. It was up to the standard that Ludwig usually set for himself; perfect, puffy blue hair, clean face and striking eyes. However, the sight of his mouth made him chuckle. His lips were stained pink, a sight that made him feel like a piece of paper that a little kid had finger painted on. He almost washed it off… only to tell himself it didn't matter if he did. After all, his face was bound to receive even more pink stains while he and Aria were in bed.

So, ultimately, he just let out a sigh. He smiled at his reflection, feeling like the koopa who he saw in the mirror was one of the luckiest bastards to ever walk the ground of the Koopa Kingdom. After all, it wasn't everyday that someone had sex. Nay, had sex with the most beautiful girl in the Koopa Kingdom. Ludwig clapped his hands together, about to turn around and head straight to the bedroom…

Only for a sight in the mirror to catch his eye. He blinked when he saw it, not sure whether or not he was seeing things. It… it kind of looked like the door parallel to the bathroom door had been opened by a… shadow. What kind of shadow, Ludwig had no idea. But him not knowing for sure only made his curiosity and desire to find out even stronger.

He slowly turned toward the door. His heart rate picked up, and it continued to do so as he got closer to the door. For some reason, fear filled his stomach. It spread throughout his being, making him feel smaller than normal. He didn't know why though. For all he knew, there could be nothing on the other side of the door, nothing but an empty room that showed how crazy the Koopaling's mind and suspicions actually were.

But somehow, he seriously doubted that.

He put his hand on the doorknob. He cringed when he did, for it was ice cold. It felt like it had been exposed to the infamous temperature that was absolute zero. Was this some kind of warning sign? Was this a sign that Ludwig needed to push his curiosity to the side and just leave the door alone? Maybe. The fact that the shudders running up and down his body were now at an all time high also provided a good argument as to why he should do that.

And yet… he had come this far. Not seeing what he was so curious about would just be… unsatisfying.

Swallowing a lump, he opened the door. At first, the sight was exactly what he had expected. It was an empty room. A clean empty room, but one that didn't show any sign of the danger that Ludwig's body had feared. He let out a breath, about to close the door…

When he saw it. A jar sat on a desk near the opposite wall, completely alone. It didn't seem like anything extraordinary… until Ludwig looked at what was being held inside those glass walls. There was a darkness, a thick and smoggy darkness. It swirled around within the walls of the jar, not seeming vicious but also not seeming safe. Looking at it, Ludwig felt awfully similar to a rabbit being stared down by a still, silent fox. He knew he was in danger. He knew that something was going to happen, something that would shake him to his core. He tried backing away, but he couldn't.

Before his very eyes, a vapor of darkness rose from the jar. It took on the form of a cloud, a dark cloud that no thunderstorm could ever hope to replicate. Ludwig's eyes grew wide when he saw some glowing red lights form in the cloud. They… they looked like eyes!

"Royal child," the darkness growled. It's voice was low, almost a whisper, but even still it almost drew a scream out of Ludwig's mouth. "Important figure." The darkness chuckled, the sound even more frightening than the sound of its voice. "You… will do nicely…"

With that, the darkness shot towards Ludwig. The Koopaling stood completely still. In his fright, it didn't even occur to him to use his pyrokinesis or his electrokinesis. The only thing that he thought was that he was about to die, and die painfully. He gasped, bracing himself for the darkness to close in around him…

Only to feel a hand grab his and pull him away. Ludwig shrieked as he banged his back against the wall. All the while, he watched in awe as Aria waved some sort of flashlight at the darkness, pushing back against the door so she could close it back within the room.

"Back!" she shouted. "Get back!" She pushed with all her might, trying to get the door closed. The darkness struggled against her, but eventually, Aria succeeded. She closed and locked the door, breathing heavily as an eerie silence befell the room. She turned toward Ludwig, her brow furrowed.

"Are you okay?" she asked, her tone tinged with fear.

Ludwig barely had the strength to nod. "I… yeah."

Aria let out a breath of relief. She pulled a handkerchief out of her hammerspace and wiped her wet forehead. All the while, she couldn't take eyes off of Ludwig. She stared at him, the sight causing Ludwig's heartbeat to speed up again. He barely registered when Aria offered her hand to help him stand back up.

"I think we need some tea after that," Aria said once Ludwig was standing once again.

Ludwig nodded, all thoughts of sex now completely gone from his mind. He followed Aria downstairs to the kitchen area, all while shivering like a child who had just gotten out of a bath of ice water.

He immediately took a seat at the table as Aria started fixing tea. He continued trembling, which Aria noticed immediately after putting the tea kettle on the stove. She took a seat beside him, her face racked with guilt.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice low. "I should've told you about the demon." She sniffled. "I don't want you to get hurt by anything, so the fact that I didn't tell you about the demon…" she whimpered and hung her head. "I'm so sorry!"

Ludwig took in a shaky breath. "It's… it's alright." He tried to laugh, but the sound sounded more hollow than anything else. "I mean… I'm still here, aren't I?"

Aria trembled almost as badly as Ludwig had been doing. "Sure. But if I had just been one second too late…" she whimpered again, hanging her head as tears streamed from her eyes.

Ludwig reached out and rubbed her shoulder. "It's okay," he said, saying it for his sake as well as hers. "It's all okay. I promise." This, thankfully, had the intended effect on Aria. She stopped crying and lifted he head, a smile gracing her lips as she looked into Ludwig's eyes. Ludwig smiled back.

However, it didn't take long before the smile disappeared again. "Aria, what kind of demon was that anyway?" he shuddered. "I've encountered demons before, but they didn't look like that!"

Aria seized up a little bit. She placed her hands palm down on the table, biting her lip as she did. After a little bit, she finally managed to speak up.

"It's called a Shadow Seeker."

Ludwig leaned forward. "What's a Shadow Seeker?"

"Only one of the most gruesome and horrible demons that I've encountered in my career as a demon hunter." She looked right at him. "They don't have physical forms like most other demons I've encountered. However, they make up for that through their powers and abilities."

Ludwig's blood ran cold. "What abilities would that be?"

Aria hesitated for a minute. "Well, they have the ability to see the future."

Ludwig did a double take. "Wait, really?!"

"Yes," Aria said with a nod and a serious look. "Now, they don't see what will happen. Moreover, they can see possible paths that time can go down. Because of this power, they are wickedly good planners. I would even go so far as to call them tactical geniuses."

"Tactical geniuses…" Ludwig said, his voice trailing off.

"Yes." Aria got up just as the tea kettle went off. "That's their most infamous ability. Aside from that, they have other powers that the run-of-the-mill demon has; they can possess you, draw from your emotions, eat you, transform you into a different form…" her hand shook as she poured the hot water into tea cups and put a tea bag in each. "They're more than just formidable foes. They're probably the most formidable foes that anyone can face, second only to the Dark Prince himself."

Ludwig frowned. "So, why are you keeping one in your house?"

Aria frowned too as she went and got half and half out of her fridge. "I need to kill it. And the process of killing it is a long, grueling one." She went over and poured the creamer into the teacups. "There's only one real way to do it, and that is through a ritual. I've been preparing for the ritual ever since I ran across the Seeker about four days ago." She turned toward Ludwig. "Would you like some sugar?"

"Uh… no thank you," Ludwig responded.

Aria chuckled. "You and I are just two peas." She brought the unsweetened cups of tea over to the table. "But yeah, I'm holding it prisoner so that it doesn't cause any problems before or during the ritual." She gave Ludwig his cup, which he immediately started downing. "Sure, the jar you saw isn't the most sturdy prison for a Shadow Seeker." She was silent for a little bit. "As a matter of fact, it's probably the weakest prison that one can use…" she shook her head. "But it's doing its job. The demon has stayed in the jar, or at the very least in the room." She took a sip of her tea. "I'm very thankful for that."

"Me too," Ludwig said after setting his cup down on the table. "But… oh man, it would not be a good day if it did get free."

"No," Aria said. "It most certainly wouldn't…" A silence befell the scene before Aria turned to look at Ludwig. "I think you should probably go. Even while it's in it's prison, the house is not safe with the demon in it. And your close call from earlier only serves as proof of that."

Ludwig's heart sank. "I… yeah." He drank the rest of his tea before standing up. "Will you be okay, though? I mean, if it's as bad as you say it is…"

Aria chuckled. "I'm a registered demon hunter, Ludwig. I know how to deal with this stuff."

While not too terribly convinced, Ludwig still nodded. "Okay then." Pulling his cloak tightly around his body, he made his way to the door. "I… I suppose I'll see you later." He looked back at his girlfriend. "Keep me posted on how that ritual goes, okay?"

"You've got it," Aria said.

With that, Ludwig made his way toward the door and exited the house. While standing outside, he took a deep breath, trying to shake off the creeped out feelings he experience. Unfortunately, as he flew, his mind still kept going back to the Shadow Seeker. He felt extra squirmy as he thought about what it said in that low, threatening voice.

"Royal child… important figure… you will do nicely…"

Ludwig shuddered. What exactly did that all mean?

AN: Oh! Something I forgot to mention. In case you guys are wondering, I have a list of how many Super Koopalings stories there will be in total. Not counting special episodes or rewrites, the grand total will be (drumroll please)...

Seventy two!

Yep, that's right! Seventy two! That means that, when I finish with this story, we'll officially be halfway through! YAY….!

(Oh man, what am I doing with my life…?)

Well, anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter! Stay safe and stay awesome! :)