AN: Okay. This next chapter might be… a little weird. Let me explain why.
So, as I've explained before, I originally wanted SK to be a cartoon series. In fact, that's why I am writing these prequel episodes to begin with. And this next chapter/scene will be written as if it is; in my head, I imagine the Koopalings singing the show's theme song as they're beating up Popple (spoilers except not really spoilers). Obviously, I can't capture the song's melody or perfectly show what's happening in my head on the written page.
But with that said, I do have a way for you guys to know what the song is like. You see, I have uploaded a video on my YouTube channel, Kristen Bloom (StarlitDuck Studios) called Super Koopalings Theme Song. As the title suggests, I sing the song in it. I would highly… HIGHLY recommend that you check that video out. It will give you guys a much better idea of how the scene works.
Anyway, I've done all this talking about the scene without actually writing about the scene. So, without further ado…
Chapter 2 Theme Song Fight
Bowser smirked when he saw Popple's face. He was stuck between two different expressions: extreme annoyance and horrible anxiety. He looked down at his Rookie, who by this point was still out cold. Bowser noticed him sweating, which filled him with immense satisfaction. Oh man, beating him up was going to be so satisfying!
"You…" Popple struggled to get the words out as he slung his bag of treasure back over his shoulder. When he faced Bowser, he tried to appear big and strong, which was funny because there was NO WAY he didn't realize that any strength he had paled in comparison to the Koopa family. He cleared his throat, his eyes shooting daggers at the Koopa King. "You actually brought the Koopalings along? You thought it was a good idea to get your septet of brats involved in stopping the greatest thief in the Mushroom World?"
Once again, Bowser couldn't help but smirk. He looked at the Koopalings to his left. Then, he looked at the Koopalings on his right. None of them were phased by Popple's insult; in fact, they seemed more excited than anything else. With a wicked smile, Wendy adjusted her bracelets on her wrists. Lemmy jumped and down like a rubber ball, giggling like there was no tomorrow. Iggy adjusted his glasses, giving Popple the calculated look that meant he was analyzing every possible outcome of this fight. Roy cracked his knuckles, Larry sneered while sticking his tongue out, Ludwig smirked while activating his pyrokinesis again, and Morton had the tiniest traces of amusement on his normally stoic face. These expressions told Bowser one thing that excited him more than anything else.
Popple was going DOWN!
"Oh, I think you are severely underestimating my children, Shadow Thief." Bowser let out a laugh, one felt deep within his body. "You think they're just your regular, run-of-the-mill brats? Well, think again. They aren't just any brats. They're my brats."
"Indeed," Iggy said, stepping forward. "And the concept that you fail to grasp, good sir, is that the seven of us have very particular sets of skills. We've been in more fights than you can possibly dream of."
"Yeah!" Roy shouted as he too took a step forward. "Sure, we lost some of those. And sure, parts of our bodies haven't exactly healed from some of our injuries." His face fell a little as his shoulders slumped. "And sure, the thought of getting into more fights isn't exactly the most appealing option for us…"
"Way to inspire confidence, Roy," Morton said without his expression changing once.
Roy shook his head before putting a smile back on. "But that doesn't matter! We are SO gonna beat you!"
"Yeah!" said Lemmy as he rushed forward. "And, despite all the efforts that you've put in, we are going to steal your thunder!" He laughed out loud as most of his family either cringed, face palmed, or growled. "Get it? Do you guys get it?"
"Yes, Lemmy, we get it," said Bowser.
Meanwhile, Popple just looked more amused than anything else. "Wow. Puns and lost fights; you guys are doing a GREAT job at making yourselves look threatening!"
Bowser, once again, chuckled at those words. "Oh boy. You have no idea what you are up against." He turned toward Ludwig. "Ludwig? Have you completed that song that we asked you to write?"
Ludwig beamed as he pulled a music player out of his hammerspace (the compartment inside his shell). "You know it!"
"Excellent." Ludwig pressed a button on the speaker, causing the opening instrumentation of a song to play out. Bowser sneered at the increasingly confused Popple. "Well, buckle up, bucko. Cause my kids are about to kick. Your. Butt!"
With that, the Koopalings rushed toward Popple. Roy was the first to reach him, and he began singing as he readied his fists.
"Let me tell you a story of a princess so fair." He punched Popple in the face, sending him flying back.
"She had shiny blue eyes," sang Lemmy as he did backflips over to Popple.
"And gorgeous blonde hair," Larry sang along as he followed the path parallel to Lemmy. They each grabbed Popple by the arm, holing him in place as he struggled and kicked.
"She was loved by many," Wendy sang, "Including the king." She removed one of her bracelets and hurled it at Popple. "Of a prosperous kingdom…"
"Yeah that's the Koopa King!" Ludwig sang. He shot a fireball that combined with Wendy's ring in the air, creating a shiny golden projectile. It hit Popple right in the face, bruising his forehead. He let out a scream, but the Koopalings still weren't even close to done.
"He was so excited, he started a riot," sang Morton as he got into his shell and started spinning in circles.
"Two brothers chased him." Iggy reached into his hammerspace and pulled out some bob-ombs, which he placed in Morton's path. They ignited as soon as he hit them, their fuses shortening as they went higher into the air. "Tried to track him down!"
Roy, with a goofy grin, got a boost from Iggy that helped him rise into the air towards the bombs. "These plumbers had powers…" He punched one bob-omb. "They ran to his towers…" he punched another bomb. "To kick his butt…" One more bomb was punched. "And send him out of town!" The bombs flew towards Popple. Lemmy and Larry let him go at the last possible second, leaving the shocked and shaking Shadow Thief to get hit by the bombs. Nobody in the history of the Koopa Kingdom had screamed so loud as Popple got hit.
"But you're forgetting that this King…" Bowser stepped forward, grinning from ear to ear as he sang his lyric. "Is the father of the Koopalings!"
The Koopalings were all smiles at this point. As Popple finally recovered from the bob-omb blast, he rose to his feet while putting his hand to his head. He started to run as the Koopalings all sung the chorus of the song together.
"Yooouuu… don't know what you got into." Ludwig shot a fireball at Popple. "Juusst… know that you can't get away…" Lemmy pulled a star bomb out of his hammerspace and threw it, making it bounce towards the Shadow Thief. "Weee… are gonna take back what is ours effective tonight!" Roy got into his shell and rammed himself into Popple's back. "Sooo… just quit now cause you won't win this fight!"
Iggy reached into his hammerspace and threw it to Larry. "We will win…"
"It's guaranteed," said Larry when he caught the bat.
Morton ran toward Popple, picked him up, and threw him towards Larry. "You are tough…" Larry hit Popple with the bat, making him fly into the air. Up up up he shot, just like a rocket. "But you have to realize…!"
Ludwig flew up towards Popple. With a grin as wicked and as playful as they come, he sang the next lyric. "That you're going DOWN!" He punched Popple in the chest, pushing him back toward the ground. The Shadow Thief screamed at the top of his lungs before crashing in the dirt, sending dust flying everywhere and forming a crater when he landed.
"Nice work, guys!" Bowser said. "Now, remember the song, just like you guys rehearsed!"
"Of course, Bowser!" Iggy called out. He grinned and rushed toward Popple, who had a scowl on his face as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a fire flower. "Iggy on starboard…"
"And Larry on port," Larry sang as Popple activated the power-up. The two boys sang the next lyric in unison as they rushed towards Popple, who shot a boatload of fireballs at them. "With these two the plumbers will scream MISSION ABORT!" They bounced on Popple's head, deactivating the power-ups' effects.
"Wendy with her rings," Wendy sang as she grabbed her bracelets.
"Lemmy with his ball!" Lemmy pulled his iconic yellow ball with orange stars out of his hammerspace and rolled towards Popple. Wendy hurled her ring at him as they sung the next lyric in unison, just like Iggy and Larry before them. "With the seven siblings, the plumbers will fall!" Wendy's ring almost hit Popple, and Lemmy was about to bounce on him, but Popple dodged both. He stomped on Lemmy's head, making him retreat into his shell. Picking it up, he kicked Lemmy toward Morton, sneering as he did.
However, the Koopalings weren't even close to done. Morton pulled a giant black hammer out of his hammerspace, one he had used in fights against Mario beforehand. "Morton's got the hammer!" He sang as he bounced Lemmy back toward the Shadow Thief."
"Ludwig's got the fire!" Ludwig sang as he flung some fireballs at their opponent.
"Roy is throwing punches; your situation's dire!" He rushed towards Popple right as Lemmy's shell hit him in the face. He wasn't given any recovery time as Roy aimed punch after punch at him.
"You can't hope to beat them!" Iggy, Wendy, Larry, and Lemmy sang.
"You don't know what to do!" Ludwig, Roy, and Morton sang.
"Just look out because…" Bowser sang, growing more and more excited by the second.
"THE KOOPAS ARE COMING THROUGH!" The Koopa family proclaimed.
"So Mario brothers beware," Bowser sang as he watched the Koopalings rush towards Popple as a group. "Cause Bowser's children are here!" The Koopalings rushed forward with all their might. They jumped into the air right before they reached Popple, and…
WHAM!
Popple got hit right in the head by all seven Koopalings at once. He wobbled, clearly seeing stars from the mighty impact, before collapsing to the ground. The Koopa family waited a little bit, curious to see what he was going to do. Would he get up? Would he continue the fight?
Nope. He didn't get up at all; just lay face down in the dirt. The Koopalings let out a collective breath of relief before…
"WOO!" Lemmy exclaimed. "We did it!"
"We certainly did!" said Iggy, his bespectacled eyes glittering. He laughed out loud. "Screw losing against Mario; we just defeated the greatest, most notorious thief in the entire Mushroom World!"
"Yeah! Yay us!" Wendy exclaimed as she raised her fist into the air.
Bowser laughed out loud. "I'm really proud of you guys! You all did a good job!" He approached them with a smile. "Now I know that you guys will have no problem fighting and defeating Mario when we go on that kidnapping mission tomorrow!"
The Koopalings cringed, all exchanging looks with one another before their faces fell.
"Damn it," Ludwig said. "I was hoping he wouldn't draw a conclusion like that."
"Oh come on; you guys will do fine!" Bowser went over to Popple, who still hadn't gotten up. He nudged him a little in the head before turning him over. "Hmm. He appears to be breathing." He lifted Popple up and flung him over his shoulder. He then went over to Rookie and picked him up to, but not before digging Wendy's bracelet out of his head. He approached his daughter. "I believe this is yours?"
"Thanks, Bowser!" She took the bracelet and put it on, which was an action she immediately regretted. "Eww. It's got goomba juices all over it."
Bowser chuckled. "Well, everyone! Let's head back to the castle." He picked up Popple's bag, the same one that contained the Koopa crown. "I'll get these two numbskulls into the medical ward, keeping a close eye on them, of course." He smiled. "And you seven can all head to bed!"
The Koopalings each individually voiced their agreement with that plan before they all headed back.
AN: So… yeah. Hopefully, this scene isn't too weird. For what it's worth, it plays out really nicely in my head. I hope I was able to capture the vibe I was going for.
Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! :D