OF: Chapter 3

By some bizarre chain of events, Livi's protectors found themselves unwillingly separated from their fangirl. Last they had seen, she was in hysterics, thoroughly convinced that Bowser was going to "eat her". So, since she was clearly not quite up to meeting the King just yet, the Magikoopas had suggested they take her to meet the Koopalings, and before the others could realize what a horrible idea that was, Livi was gone.

Currently, Livi was following Kammy Koopa down the corridors of Bowser's Castle, keeping a very firm grip on Kamek's arm, much to his displeasure. He flinched a bit every time she squealed with delight at the sight of a Koopa Trooper, which was about every five seconds. Thankfully, there were less and less baddies the closer they got to the Playroom, everyone being terrified to go near such a horrible place.

"The Koopalings won't eat me, right?" Livi asked Kamek, watching a few swoopers fly overhead in the opposite direction they were walking.

Kamek sighed. "No, they won't eat you."

"Are you sure?" Livi asked playfully.

"Yes, we're sure!" Kammy snapped irritably. "No one's going to eat you, so shut up, you ignorant little pest!"

Livi was silent for a while, staring down at the floor.

"Hey!" Kamek snapped. "What was that for? She didn't do anything to you!"

"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna defend the little brat?" Kammy stopped walking, turning around to face Kamek. "Your just as sick of her obnoxious little mouth as I am!"

"Well, you don't have to be a jerk about it! She's just a kid!"

Kammy smirked. "Oh, so of course you would defend the little kid… am I right, Nanny Kamek?"

Rather than waiting for a reply, Kammy turned around and walked off down the hall, laughing under her breath. Kamek growled to himself, slowly following her. Livi tightened her grip on Kamek's arm to get his attention. The Magikoopa turned to look down at her, waiting for her to continue.

"Thank you…" Livi said softly, looking at him from under her lashes.

Kamek smiled for a brief moment, nodding at her. "Don't worry about it…"

Livi smiled at him, laying her head on his shoulder. "I never would have expected that from someone like you…" she said, still staying quiet so Kammy wouldn't yell at her again.

Kamek thought about that, then looked questioningly at her. "You've only heard about us… through those video games… right?"

Livi nodded. "That's right. I'm totally obsessed."

Kamek nodded in understanding, looking out the windows. "That explains it then…"

"What do you mean?" Livi asked, confused.

"Let's just say…" Kamek sighed, smiling at her again. "There's a lot about me that you wouldn't expect…"

Livi's smile got wider. "Really? Like what?"

Before she could find out, however, there was a loud banging sound at the end of the hall. Kammy jumped slightly, rushing around the corner towards the source of the noise. Kamek followed her, taking Livi's hand and pulling her behind him.

At the end of the hallway were two large, red doors, rattling and banged-up so much that the force keeping them in the wall was a mystery to Livi. The sound, it seemed, was something being kicked repeatedly against the other side of the wall. A large shell, maybe?

Kammy quickly undid the magical charm on the doors, throwing them open and rushing inside. Livi tried to follow her, but Kamek yanked her back. "Wait, fangirl… are you sure you're up for this? If you're scared of Bowser, there's no way you'll be able to face the Koopalings…"

Livi waved him off, smirking proudly. "Oh, please, I just said that so I wouldn't have to hang out with Mario and Peach all day-those two weirdos ruin everything…" Livi suddenly pushed herself up on her tiptoes so she was eye-to-eye with Kamek, glaring at him, though she was still smiling. "And I'm not fangirl… the name's Livi, the OBSESSIVE Fangirl… Get it right."

Kamek was stunned for a moment, but he smiled at her anyway, sighing. "Alright, Livi… would you like to meet the Koopalings now?"

Livi nodded ecstatically, shoving her hand in Kamek's face. He grabbed it, rolling his eyes as he pulled her into the Playroom. "And good luck… you're going to need it…"

Inside, the room was completely destroyed. Every toy was shredded to bits, there were burn marks across the walls, and even a few cracks in the stone where someone had punched it a few times. Only a lucky few of the columns holding up the ceiling were still in one piece. The rugs and curtains were shredded, and the furniture wasn't any better.

The Koopalings themselves were currently preoccupied with either beating each other up, or arguing with Kammy about why they were beating each other up (the noise, it seemed, had been one Koopaling in his shell, being, indeed, kicked against the wall). Suddenly, one of the Koopalings tore his gaze away from the fighting to stare at Livi, still standing by the door and looking around as Kamek sealed it (to stop the Koopalings from getting out, no doubt). The Koopaling stared at Livi a while, blinking his eyes a few times.

Livi, having noticed him, smiled ecstatically, waving at him in a rather spastic fashion. "Hi, Larry!" She said.

Somehow, over all the noise, he heard her, looking a bit shocked that she knew his name. Then, as realization struck, Larry turned around to his siblings, pointing at Livi and screaming out, "Look! Look, guys! It's the fangirl!! Look, it's her-it's that fangirl!!"

Within the next three seconds, all the Koopalings completely forgot what they were previously doing, dashing across the room to investigate their visitor. They were all still yelling and screaming, mostly to each other, but a few trying to grab Livi's attention.

It took a while, but Kamek and Kammy were eventually able to calm down the young Princes and Princess. The eight of them (counting Bowser Jr.) wound up sitting in a semi-circle around Livi and the Magikoopas, staring up at them expectantly.

Livi was standing behind Kamek, noting for the first time how large some of them where. The tallest of them was probably Roy, and he was almost the same height as Livi, the smallest being Junior, who would have come to just above her waist. It was really very terrifying to meet them-it was just like being in a room full of mini-Bowsers.

"Alright, first things first: I believe introductions are an order…" Kamek addressed the Koopalings, before Kammy had a chance to. "Everyone, this is-"

Kamek was about to introduce Livi, but paused when he felt the fangirl jump behind him in fear. He turned to look at her over his shoulder, not looking very happy.

"What are you doing?" He asked bitterly.

"They're gonna eat me…" Livi whined pitifully. Kammy growled and raised her wand slightly, Livi yelping and clinging to Kamek.

"Kammy stop it!" Kamek said. He gently took Livi's hand, pulling her forward. "Look, Livi, no one's going to eat you…"

"Yes, they are!" Livi moaned, digging her heels into the carpet to resist being dragged any closer to the Koopalings.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Roy cut in. "She tinks we gonna eat 'er?"

"Why the heck would we do that? I mean, we're not, like, cannibals or anything." Morton started ranting. "We don't run around eating humans, or would we have to eat koopas to be cannibals? Ya know, if anyone, the Toads are cannibals, I mean, don't they run around eating mushrooms? That's, like, really weird and-"

Roy smacked his brother harshly upside the head. "Shaddup!! Jeez!"

"Aw, don't pick on poor little Morton!" Livi said pitifully, peeking out from behind Kamek.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! The fangirl knows my name! The fangirl knows my name!" Morton said ecstatically, bouncing up and down.

"I said shaddup!!" Roy repeated, smacking Morton again.

"She probably knows all our names…" Larry said. "She knew mine…"

"Vell?" Ludwig asked her, looking skeptical. "Do you know our names?"

Livi nodded, stepping away from Kamek a bit. "Uh, yeah, of course… who doesn't, right?"

"Oh! I wanna hear it!" Morton said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but thought better of it when Roy raised his hand again.

"Okay, uh…" Livi took a deep breath, looking around at the Koopalings. She then pointed to each one individually as she named them off. "Okay, you're Ludwig Von Koopa, the oldest, and heir to the Koopa throne, known for the composing of 'Koopa Symphonies', which I would love to hear… you're Lemmy Koopa, the second oldest, my personal favorite, and never without your large yellow ball… you're Roy Koopa, the third oldest, a total bully and mean to all your siblings, and really tough and manly, despite your shell being pink… you're Iggy Koopa, the middle child, though some say you're Lemmy's twin, and you're a genius, yet allegedly insane… you're Wendy O. Koopa, the third youngest, the only female, spoiled rotten, but you can kick all the guys' butts… you're Morton Koopa Jr., the second youngest, and no one quite knows where the 'Jr.' in your name comes from, and you really have a tendency to talk way too much… you're Larry Koopa, the youngest Koopaling, very sly and sneaky, and seem to have a great interest in sports, especially tennis… and you are Bowser Koopa Jr., the youngest of Bowser's children, but not technically a Koopaling, because you're a loser, and daddy's precious little angel…"

Everyone was staring at her, mouth agape, when she was finished. The Koopalings had only asked for their names, and she had told them everything she knew about them (Livi had even surprised herself a bit with how much she had picked up off of Fanfiction).

"I can tell you your other names, too…" Livi offered, feeling a surge of pride that she had impressed the Koopalings.

"Ozzer names?" Ludwig asked. "Vat do you mean?"

"Well, you guys know you appear in stuff besides video games, right?"

The Koopalings all nodded in agreement, looking very much like they were hypnotized.

"Well, um… there's this really old, and really stupid cartoon about the Mario Bros.… and for some reason, you all have different names… except for Junior, since he's not even in the series, because he's a loser…"

"What the heck?!" Junior shouted indignantly. "How many times are you going to call me a loser?"

"Several." Was the only reply.

"But, that's not-"

"Shuttup, Junior!" All the Koopalings said in unison, silencing their brother.

"Gow on…" Wendy said, waving her hand in Livi's direction. "Awe you gonna tew us ow not?"

"Okay, lessee…" Livi said, staring up at the ceiling. "Ludwig was Kooky Von Koopa, because he was the wild, crazy one. Lemmy and Iggy were Hip and Hop Koopa, which is probably where everyone gets the idea that you're twins. Roy was Bully Koopa, and I don't need to explain that one, do I? Wendy O. was Kootie Pie Koopa… though I'm not sure why… maybe it just sounded cute? I dunno… Anyways, Morton was Big Mouth Koopa Jr., which, again, no trouble explaining that one. And finally, Larry was Cheatsy Koopa, because he was always really sly and sneaky, and cheating his way out of things."

As soon as she finished, the Koopalings all started either adoring their own name, like Wendy's adorably precious name, and Iggy and Lemmy's matching names, or they were making fun of each other, mainly Big Mouth about to get another fist-to-the-face, courtesy of Bully.

"Way to go…" Kammy sneered at Livi. "You got them all fighting again…"

"Leave her alone." Kamek said sternly. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

Kammy scoffed. "Okay, sure she hasn't…" She said, rolling her eyes.

"What did I do wrong?" Livi asked bitterly. "I'm just entertaining them! It's better than letting them kill each other, right?"

"No, it's not!" Kammy snapped. "They would be better off learning to fight than listening to stupid stories about Real World!"

"Well, they deserve to hear stories! God knows the next time you'll let them out of here!"

All the Koopalings gasped in surprise, having been intently watching the fight. There was a long moment of silence before anyone dared to speak again.

"…What did you say?" Kammy growled.

"I said 'God knows the next time you'll let them out of here'…" Livi replied, glaring at Kammy. "We go for years in Real World without seeing them… we all love them to death, but they never appear in anything! It's because you keep them all locked up in here like prisoners, isn't it?!"

"Alright, that's enough!" Kammy yelled, raising her wand threatingly. "Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?!"

"I think I'm a Fangirl! People just like me determine everything you do! Your games wouldn't exist with out us! You wouldn't exist without us!"

Magical shapes began to twirl around the tip of Kammy's wand. "You won't exist anymore if you don't shut that smart mouth soon…" She growled at Livi.

"Kammy, stoppit!" All the Koopalings shrieked.

"You can't huwt hew, Kammy!" Wendy whined.

"She didn't mean anything! Leave her alone!" Lemmy and Iggy said simultaneously.

Livi smirked at Kammy, though still eyeing her wand fearfully. "Better do what they say, huh? Aren't they in charge of you?"

Kammy growled, but, she lowered her wand nonetheless, the shapes vanishing as the light in the wand dimmed. Livi breathed a heavy sigh of relief, slumping back as Kamek held a firm grip on her shoulders to steady her.

"Livi doez make an excellent point, zough…" Ludwig mused. "We 'ardly leave our roomz anymore…"

"And for good reason." Kammy snapped. "Look what you've done to the Playroom! Give me one good reason why we should let you roam the castle!?"

There was another long, tense silence as all the Koopalings tried desperately to think of a good excuse. They had tried this a few other times, but it never seemed to work.

"Psst." Livi hissed to Lemmy, who was sitting closest to her. "Psssssst!"

"What?" He whispered, Kammy thankfully not noticing.

"Say, 'because we say so'!" Livi hissed under her breath.

Lemmy smiled, then stood up, walking over to Kammy. "Because we say so!"

Kammy's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"Hey, dat's right!" Roy chimed in. "We're in charge o' yous, ain't we?"

Junior snickered. "Yeah! You have to do what we say!"

Kammy growled. "No, I don't, you little brats! Your dad set me in charge of you to keep you all safe, which is what I'm doing!"

"Actually…" Kamek put in, smiling at Kammy. "King Bowser's orders were to keep the children happy… occupied… and Out. Of. His. Way."

"Wha?" Kammy looked panicked. "B-but… that's not…"

"And, isn't that what I'm trying to do?" Livi asked innocently.

"You stay out of this, fangirl!"

Livi just smirked, then turned to the Koopalings, throwing her hands up in the air. "WHO WANTS TO GO PLAY WITH THE BULLET BILL CANNONS?!!?!"

"ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME!!!" They all shrieked at once, standing up and starting their usual ruckus.

Livi smiled at Kammy. "You heard 'em…"

"B-but… I… you…" Kammy gaped at Livi, then turned to Kamek, who was looking rather amused at her panic. "Aren't you going to do something?!"

Kamek shrugged. "Why should I? King Bowser told me to watch Livi… you're in charge of the kids today…" Here, he cast her a rather malicious grin. "I'm sure he'll love hearing you explain why they're off shooting Bullet Bills at other Kingdoms."

"Oh! Oh!" Livi said, pointing frantically at Kamek. "He just gave you permission!!"

Kamek gave her a look. "No, I didn't…"

"Well, it was close enough!" Livi screamed. "I heard 'they're all going to go play with the cannons!'"

"I didn't say anything like that!"

"Well, whatever! Say it now!"

Kammy elbowed him. "Yeah, Kamek… go on… give 'em permission."

"Oh!" Kamek's eyes suddenly lit up as he smiled ecstatically. "Did you hear her?! She said 'permission'!"

"Yay, he's right!" Livi said, clapping enthusiastically.

"What?" Kammy asked, looking very dumbstruck.

"Wait, if we have her permission to play with the cannons…" Iggy mused.

"And if the cannons are outside the Playroom…" Lemmy continued, smiling.

"We have permission to leave the Playroom!" They said at the same time.

"Why do you care about permission?" Livi suddenly yelled. "You're the Koopalings! You don't listen to anyone!"

"Watch this!" Iggy and Lemmy said, rushing over to the sealed door. They grabbed the heavy metal rings, and gave a hard, firm yank.

And, much to everyone's surprise, the doors flew right open.

"It opened…" The twins said, both looking very stunned.

It only took the Koopalings a matter of seconds to realize the door was open and they were free at last. Within the next few seconds, they were all suddenly outside, off to the Bullet Bill Cannons, dragging the fangirl with them.

"Oh no…" Kammy moaned, still completely stunned. "Oh no, this isn't going to end well…"

"Oh, come now, you don't know that…" Kamek said in very sarcastic support. "Why don't we go watch the Koopalings kill themselves, and then everything will end badly!"

Kammy growled. "I'm gonna get you for this… and that sorry little fangirl, too…"