A New Man pt1

A New Man
Chapter1: A Brand New Day
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It was early, the sun had just risen and nearly everyone was still asleep. At least it was how it felt to Wendy O. Koopa. She did not bother to don her favorite dress, not for breakfast. She still wore her sleeping gown as she made her way to the kitchen. As she passed by the doors of her brothers she could hear their snores, from the deep and guttural snorts and snores from Morton, to the tiny sniffles from the youngest brat.

The doors to Ludwig’s room and Iggy’s were quiet. She had a feeling Iggy was in his lab, already awake and working on his latest invention, or he might have fallen asleep while he was in his lab. He had done so before. Ludwig might be in his own lab, or he might be at his large pipe organ. He used to be into both chemistry and mechanics with Iggy as his assistant until he had become interested in music.

Ludwig’s bed was not empty. His young wife, Dru was sleeping in there.
Wendy had felt somewhat jealous that three of her older brothers were able to find someone. Ludwig had married a nice Koopa girl who held the same distain for the mushroom kingdom as the rest of the family. Roy was dating Tethys, a princess of the Praniret kingdom, and it won’t be long before Roy proposes. Lemmy had a romantic pen pal. Iggy was too busy with his inventions to date, and their father hadn’t started to pressurize him yet, not in the same way he ordering Lemmy to start to start physically date his pen pal.

Father hadn’t started to ask her to start dating other Koopas or Pranirets; then again she had only been eighteen for a few months.

“Hmmm,” Wendy paused to sniff the air when she neared the kitchen. She could detect the hint of pastries baking, overpowered by the sweet aroma of cinnamon. She could also smell the apple wood sausages being cooked and the tangy scent of fruit being sliced. “Something smells good.”

Several Goombas and Shyguys were setting the table for breakfast; they had already placed the plates and glasses down and were now arranging the silverware.

A pink one paused in its work and turned around. “Good morning Mistress Wendy. I am sorry the table is not quite complete.”

“It is all right,” Wendy said. “I woke up a bit early.”

“You are not mad?” The shy guy asked.

“Not today,” no, she would not loose her tempter today. Today was the day she had planned for weeks. It was the reason why she woke up so early.

“Did you sleep well mistress Wendy?” The Shy Guy remembered his manners.

“I slept quite well,” Wendy said. “What is for breakfast? I smell cinnamon rolls. I think.”

“Cinnamon biscuits,” Kammy Koopa stepped out of the kitchen. Instead of the purple robe and floppy witch’s hat she usually donned she was dressed in a pink

fuzzy bathrobe with little red hearts dotting it. “With sausages and a fruit salad.” She was followed by a single Troopa carrying two plates, each one had at least three biscuits, two sausages along with a large serving of fruit salad. “You will clean your plate. You have a big day planned and you will need your energy.”

“I will,” Wendy sat down at the place that was set for her. Kammy had filled in the role of mother for Wendy and the rest of the Koopalings, since their own mother had died when Wendy was five and Larry and Morton were practically still toddlers.

“You are one hundred percent sure of this?” Kammy asked.

“Very,” Wendy said. She waited until a shy guy had poured her a glass of milk before she took a bite from one of her biscuits.

“Your father will not be pleased.”

“He won’t know, not until after the honeymoon,” she sighed. It was going to take a lot to explain her motives to her father, not to mention her new husband. “He will be busy today.”

“Capturing the princess again,” Kammy nodded.

“To seal away in one of his fortresses, to only be eventually thwarted by Mario,” Why does her father keep kidnapping Princess Peach? That princess was a sugary crybaby doll. Just one poke and she could easily be broken. Why couldn’t he just let her go and concentrate on taking over another kingdom for a change?

“Don’t dwell on your father’s plans. You are already making some of your own,” Kammy said. “You just need to finish your breakfast first, and then you can move on with your plan. You are taking someone with you?”

“Two of the hammer brothers,” Wendy nodded. ” Send some of my brothers my way when they wake up, and inform them of the plan.”
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The scent wafting in from the oven told Luigi the cookies were done, but he had decided to check just to make certain. Upon opening the oven he could see the treats were in fact, the right shade of golden brown. He turned off the heat and slipped on his oven mitts before he brought the tray of cookies out and set it down on the stove.

“I’ll let these cool for a bit,” Luigi said once he removed his mitts. “Now, I just need to check on sleeping beauty.”

Sleeping beauty was indeed still snoring away under the covers, only his large round nose and thick bushy mustache was seen from under the stack of pillows. Occasionally, Mario’s mouth could be seen when he let out a loud snore.

“You are not going to sleep the day away,” Luigi grabbed his brother’s nose. “Wake up Mario.”

“Wa-?” Mario snorted.  “What is going on?” He waved his arms about until Luigi let go of his nose.

“About time,” Luigi said.

“What are you thinking?” Mario sat up. “Is the Mushroom kingdom under attack or something?”

“No, it is time you woke up.”

“That is all?” Mario set his head back down on the pillow. “I thought this was serious.”

“Well you should be awake. You have no idea if something does happen to the kingdom, or if someone’s pipes have broken.”

“You just want to get back at me for waking your butt up for school every morning.” Mario slid out of bed. “Hey, what did you fix for breakfast?”

“I poured myself a bowl of cereal,” Luigi said.” You can do the same for yourself. I baked cookies.”

“What kind of cookies?”

“Yoshi cookies,” Luigi wagged his finger. “And don’t even think about it, Mario. Those cookies are for Yoshi and his friends.”

“So you baked some cookies for our dino friends?” Mario asked.

“Why not?” Luigi asked. “I was planning on going to Yo’ster Island for a visit, and since I was going I decided to bake some cookies.”

“So you didn’t bake them for a certain brunette?” Mario wiggled his eyebrows. He was answered with a pillow thrown into his face.

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Wendy felt like she had been waiting for hours for her query to emerge from the large house shared by the Mario brothers. She had made several risks to both her appearance and her safety. Her bright pink high heels had made several divots in the ground that was still damp from the morning dew, and she knew the gunk had stuck to the bottom of her shoes, crouching down she had to be careful to not get any grass stains on the bottom lavender half of her dress. She wanted to look her best when she came across her future husband.

She had felt it had become almost routine, sneaking around the Mushroom Kingdom, avoiding retainers and guardsmen and even Mario himself to get their house, and nearly everyday she kept herself hidden, not to spy on Mario, but to watch Luigi and follow him around.

There had to be something wrong with her, for her to be falling for Luigi. She knew how and when the fascination begun.  It was months ago, not long after Ludwig and Dru had exchanged rings. She was daydreaming one day, about the handsome Koopa, or Praniret she will someday marry, but no matter what her daydreams always ended with the image of Casanova Koopa. He was so attractive, so sexy, that accent of his caused her to melt whenever she thought about him. The way he spoke, and his romantic gestures also got to her.

If only he wasn’t Luigi. Why couldn’t have been the real thing? Why did he have to be a human? She was furious at him. He played with her heart. He used her. Now years later she realized he was able to be as devious as she was and the more she thought of it the more she wished he stayed that way.

"Hey sis," Larry tapped her shell from behind causing her to nearly jump.

“Larry,” Wendy balled up her fists and turned around. “Don’t you ever sneak up on me, like that again.

"Whoa, sorry,“ Larry held up his hands.  He looked like he had just woken up and slipped on his favorite basketball shirt and a pair of shorts. “Dad is getting ready to kidnap Princess Peach," he sighed deeply. "Again."

"I know," Wendy did not remove her gaze from Luigi. "I heard he is taking the brat with him." She didn’t want to think about Junior, that little snot thinks he is going to someday inherit the throne? Not by a long shot.

"Yeah," Larry said. "I heard from Kammy, that you were getting married. How come you didn't tell us, and when, and to who?"

"Larry, remember when Luigi turned himself into a Koopa to thwart our plans? Do you remember how sexy he was?" She parted the shrubbery again and peered watched as the younger of the true brothers stumbled along the way. She had grown to love that clumsy charm of his. She wished he would wear something else for a change. It was the usual t-shirt and overalls, although this day he had the colors switched. He would look nice in a suit, or a tux.

"Why are you asking me this?" Larry asked.

"Oh never mind, I just need your help. I'll distract Luigi while you gently knock him out. Take these two guys with you." She pointed to the two Hammer Brothers who were hiding behind a different bush.

“Gently?” Larry asked.

“Just do it.”
-

Luigi stared up at the sky as he approached the nearest pipe that would lead him to a short cut to Yo’ster Isle. The sky was pale blue with a few white clouds here and there. It looks like it was going to be another and beautiful day and he hoped the weather will stay nice during his visit.

He had only been walking for a half hour when he felt a cold prickle creep up the back of his neck. The feeling he had when he was certain someone was following him, although this feeling was creepier than usual, like he had a few Boo’s following him around. He spun around to see who was following him.

It was the only female Koopaling and she seemed to be a bit too eager to see him. She had gone through a bit of a growth spurt in the last few years he had known her. She had also grown a pair of slender horns, and taken to wear a pink gown with thin straps and a second purple skit that ended at the knees. Her shoulders were covered with purple armored pads, each with a sing spike. She still wore the red beads around her neck, as well as the golden bracelets, pink high heels and that large bow on the top of her head.

"Luigi wait," Wendy Koopa waved at him.

"Whatever you are scheming you can just forget it," Luigi increased his speed. In truth he knew he would be able to defeat her if she tried to attack.

"I just want to talk." Wendy said.

"Yeah right," Luigi said, but slowed down just the same. She was up to something, and as much as he disliked to stay around a Koopa for long he had to find out what she was up to.

"Isn't it a pretty day?" Wendy smiled. She pressed her palms together.

"It is," Luigi frowned. "Is your father planning something?"

Wendy did not lose her smile. "Just the usual, and you know you brother will ruin his plans. I just want to tell you. I am getting married today."

"Oh really?" Luigi blinked.  Why was she telling him this? "To who?"

He never got to hear her answer; something hard had struck him on top of his head, sending him into a sea of darkness.
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