17
« on: April 12, 2013, 12:10:47 AM »
Gah! I forgot to update the story here. For the record, this story already has like...15 chapters up. But I'm not gonna overwhelm this thread, so....
Sorry for the delay, Campion. Hope you're still interested. Without further ado, here's the next chapter!
-~-
Chapter 2
"The raid was a complete success, sir! We've gotten as many recruits as we could carry!" a Lakitu gave the news to his King, grinning ear-to-ear in excitement to be the carrier of the increasingly rare phenomenon of good news. And hearing such a thing for once certainly put Bowser in a comparatively decent mood and a look of satisfaction crossed his facial features as he stood from his throne.
"Excellent," he snickered. "And what of the rest of the village?"
"As ordered, your Highness, the village is in shambles and the remaining residents were forced to retreat elsewhere." The Lakitu answered matter-of-factly, and the Koopa King let out a brief burst of laughter, unable to help himself knowing that revenge have gone so well according to plan.
"Even better. Perhaps now they'll give me the proper respect that I deserve." Carrying on to business, he put on a stern face as he crossed his arms. "Now where are my new recruits?"
"On their way, sir," –There was a knock on the throne room door- "Nevermind. They're here."
Practically on cue, the door opened and a whole swarm of Koopas entered the immense chamber, each dragging or carrying a terrified young Koopa ranging from practical hatchlings to young adults. Knowing the drill well as they've been through this many times before, each member of the Koopa Troop army began forming neat horizontal rows, their individual captives held in front of them in display. Bowser growled in amusement at the terrified looks he was getting from the unwilling recruits and to his greater delight, the fear intensified when he spoke.
"Welcome to your new home, recruits. You all should know very well who I am, but for those of you living your pathetic lives under a rock, I am King Bowser Koopa and your new boss from this day forward." He allowed his eyes to sweep over the sea of scales that was his audience and he began pacing back and forth between one end of the first row to the other as he continued his speech. "Every one of you has been selectively 'chosen' to join my army and to serve under my rule. Let me just cut to the chase here: cooperate and meld yourselves well into my Koopa Troop, and we won't have any troubles. If you resist, I'll make every effort neccessary to break you and trust me, it will be a painful process," He held in a chuckle at the whimpers that rose from the general audience. "With that in mind, I hope you all have trouble settling in. Now..."
He trailed off as he approach the first Koopa in the first row, seeing what his Koopa Troop had to offer him. This first one seemed promising as it was a baby Koopa Troopa held in the arms of an adult Koopa Troopa soldier. Bowser grinned at the sight. "Isn't that adorable?" he muttered in a slightly mocking tone before turning his attention to his soldier. "Are you willing to raise this hatchling under our ways?"
It wasn't really a question as the Koopa Troopa knew he essentially had no choice in the matter. Holding in a sigh, he gave a nod. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Make it happen." With that, the Koopa bowed his head a bit before he hurried off with the baby and Bowser stepped to the next Koopa in line.
Meanwhile, Pip watched fearfully as the giant, menacing-looking King came ever closer down the line. Every instinct in his body told him to fly, but it was made completely useless by the rope bindings still tied around his limbs. He most certainly didn't wanna be here and if he can just get free of this Hammer Bro. and wriggle his wings loose, then maybe he can make a break for it. It was a doomed plan, he knew, as he would be caught in an instant by the multitude of enemy Koopas here, but at least it was something! Wriggling and tugging, he struggled as best he could in his rope bondage, but he wasn't doing anything more than annoy his captor. With a grunt, he was easily pushed to his knees and he glared over his wing at his kidnapper, who glared right back.
Feeling the vibration of steps coming closer, Pip froze with fear as Bowser finally walked over to him and he quickly tried to gather his composure as he looked up with narrowed eyes and a sneer, attempting to hide his utter terror through typical adolescent defiance. This got a grunt from the King, who has seen it all before and wasn't the least bit bothered by this 'attitude', and the giant Koopa looked to the Hammer Bro. with amusement.
"Odd how you caught a Paratroopa, Impacto. Does this mean you're finally warming up to them?" he asked as a joke, to which Impacto shook his head without hesitation, glaring at his captive.
"No, sir. This one was trouble from the start..." It was true. Pip had made every point possible about making nothing easy the entire trip here. Damn it, if he was going to be taken against his will, he wasn't going to take it with drooping wings and a tucked tail! And begrudgingly, Pip had to give credit where credit was due: this Impacto guy had a surprising amount of patience not to bash him over the head with a hammer, especially since he apparently didn't like Paratroopas... Although, Pip could tell he was close to doing so on several occasions...
"A trouble-maker, huh?" Bowser snickered before looking to the Paratroopa. "I look forward to seeing how long this one will last before breaking."
With that, Bowser went off to the next Koopa in line and Pip felt himself get tugged roughly back to his feet. Impacto then proceeded to drag Pip out of the room and down a dark and gloomy-looking hall. The Paratroopa growled the whole time, making failed efforts to plant his tied-up feet firmly to the ground. Stupid ropes...and why did Hammer Bros. have to be so strong anyway!? Mustering every bit of strength he had, he made as violent a thrash as he could pull off. This got him nowhere, but it did earn a snarl from his captor and they came to a halt, Impacto snapping at him for what could be the tenth time today.
"Oh, for cripe's sake, will you STOP with your useless struggling?!"
"Let me go, and I will!" Pip snapped back. This got a huff and heated glare from his captor, but luckily, no physical harm was going to come to him...yet. Without another word, -at least not in coherent English; Impacto apparently was quite fluent in Spanish-, the duo continued down the hall and Pip groaned in frustration at still being held captive. Well, nobody said escape would be easy... "Where are we going, anyway?"
"To the medical wing," Impacto grunted under his breath. "As soon as you get your physical exam done, I'm gonna lock you up and then you won't be my responsibility anymore..."
"Gee, it's good to know how loved I am here..." Pip grumbled sarcastically with a roll of his eyes before his mind pondered his fate. Medical exam? Well, it made sense, he supposed. Keeping a record on him would be useful and he didn't think Bowser would appreciate a sick new 'recruit' spreading their germs all over the place... Although that usually means vaccinations, doesn't it? And blood samples? And don't both of those require needles? He tensed with a whimper. Needles...his biggest fear in the world. "Uh, yeah..." He started nervously, unable to hide his fear this time. "There's not gonna be shots, is there?"
"Why?" Impacto grumbled. "You hate shots?"
"Very much so, yes…" Pip was not ashamed to admit it. He remembered back when he was a hatchling; he never minded needles back then. He remembered how the doctor would prick his finger and then give him candy for being a good Koopa. Then that all changed when he was just a little fledgling. The details of his memory were vivid, although the reason for his first-ever freak out evaded him. Maybe it was because the procedure was different; maybe it was because the needle won't be pricking his finger this time; or maybe it was because the needle itself looked bigger than what he was used to.
Regardless of the reason, when he saw that he was gonna get a shot, he dashed out of there fast! He remembered fluttering as fast as his little wings can go and how close to the exit he got. Then, just as he was pushing the door to get outside, he got caught and was carried, beak and claw, back to the exam room. It took five doctors to pin him down and he remembered seeing the needle pierce the scales on his thigh…
He shuddered at the memory and if he wasn't tied up, he would've rubbed the spot on his leg gingerly. Ever since then, he's been terrified of shots more than anything else in the world and if this place so much as shows him a needle, all hell can break loose.
Unfortunately, Impacto chose not to answer his question at all as he reached the end of the hall and shoved open the double-doors with a grunt. Both Koopas were greeted with a sterile white environment typical of a hospital. Pip glanced about to find that the doctors were Shy Guys. He's seen several Shy Guys before, at a distance, but this was his first time seeing them up close. They were weird looking, to say the least.
Walking up to a counter, Impacto knew the drill well and didn't bother talking to the Shy Guy behind said counter as he took a clip board and then proceeded to drag Pip to some chairs. He pushed the Paratroopa into a seat before sitting beside him, pulling out a pen.
"What's your name?" the Hammer Bro. muttered. Pip wondered whether he should share his real information, but figured there was no harm in sharing a name. Besides, what if he got hurt while here? These things could help save his life or something.
"Pip Perry Paratroopa." He muttered softly, feeling slight embarrassment in his name. He couldn't help it; both his first and middle name was stupid in his opinion. Fortunately, Impacto didn't seem to care as he wrote down that bit of info before writing in the obvious parts, like Species, Sex, and Shell Color. As for the more ambiguous ones…
"Blood-type?"
Pip shrugged, feeling genuinely clueless. "No idea. I usually don't fill these things out…" Impacto grunted before leaving the space blank, a slight smirk creeping along the edges of his beak. After all, if the Paratroopa didn't know, then the doctors would have to figure it out for him… Finishing the papers to the best of both their knowledge, Impacto stood for a moment to return the paper to the counter before returning to his spot, waiting.
Luckily, neither of them had to wait long before a blue-garbed Shy Guy peeked out a door over to the right. "Mr. Pip Paratroopa?"
Impacto wasted no time getting the Paratroopa to his bound feet and dragging him towards the doctor. At this point, Pip was starting to feel like a ragdoll… Stupid Hammer Bro. … Leading the two Koopas to the examination room, the Shy Guy held the door open helpfully for them before following them in. Impacto hoisted the smaller Koopa up onto the table before wandering to the door and leaning against the wall, apparently standing guard. Pip wondered why such a thing would be needed before he felt the Shy Guy undo his restraints.
Feeling blood-flow in his hands, feet, and wings again, the young Paratroopa felt the powerful urge to run for the door, but he knew better, especially with his captor fiddling boredly, and yet threateningly, with a hammer. So instead, he sat up and rubbed his wrists tenderly, watching the Shy Guy carefully in case he was hiding a needle somewhere in that ridiculous outfit.
"So you're one of the new recruits?" the Guy asked as he prepared the stethoscope that was resting around his neck. Pip blinked at this thing's strange voice before nodding begrudgingly.
"Unfortunately." He grumbled as the Guy placed the cold disc to his chest to listen to his heart and lungs.
"You'll get used to it," the doctor responded in a cheery, laid-back tone as he put away the stethoscope and checked the Paratroopa's eyes. "This isn't too bad a place, y'know."
"Yeah, right." Pip hissed, crossing his arms before giving a surprised cry as the Shy Guy unexpectedly pried open his beak.
"Eh, you'll turn around once you see your first paycheck." Doc chirped as he examined the inside of the young Koopa's mouth quickly before letting go and moving to check his wings' condition, performing these tasks quickly and expertly. Pip chewed a bit, rubbing his cheek as his eyes widened in startlement at the doctor's words.
"Wait, you guys get paid?" he couldn't help but ask in his surprise. It didn't change the subject of his overall hostility, but it was still unexpected regardless.
"Of course we get paid," Impacto answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I wouldn't bother dealing with annoying Koopas like you if I wasn't."
"And the best thing is, your food and housing's already taken care of, so the money you make can be used for pleasure spending." The Shy Guy continued as he finished with the wing exam and then proceeded taking the youngster's blood pressure.
"Well, that doesn't change the fact that you're basically slaves with wages," Pip sneered, ignoring the tightening device around his arm. "Don't you guys have to follow Bowser's orders to a T or risk getting punished or something?"
At this, there was a pause and the Shy Guy glanced over at Impacto before answering. "Yeah, but it's still a good deal. Besides, most of the Koopas here follow King Bowser out of loyalty rather than fear or money. This might surprise you, kiddo, but King Koopa's done a lot to save our butts multiple times. Most of them just aren't made public," He removed the device from Pip's arm and took out the papers the two were filling out earlier, looking through them as he continued. "Just give him his due respect and you'll find he's not that bad a leader."
Pip rolled his eyes with a doubtful scoff. He knew what these guys were doing; they were trying to make it seem like it's not a big deal, but it's all probably just some brainwashing technique. They were just trying to convince him to their side of thinking. Well, they're going to find that this Paratroopa wasn't to be so easily fooled. All his life, he's been told that Bowser was just a greedy, bloodthirsty monster and so far, nothing he's seen suggested otherwise.
There was silence in the room as the Guy flipped through the papers before noticing something. "The Blood-type section was left blank."
"Yeah," Impacto spoke up. "The kid didn't know, so I figured you would find out for him." An amused smirk came to his face and the Guy grunted, putting down the papers and wandering towards the drawers. All the while, Pip was watching warily, having a feeling that something bad was on its way now that they were on the subject.
"We're on a bit of a tight schedule today, so we'll postpone your vaccinations," Doc stated and at this, the young Paratroopa felt a strange mixture of relief and dread. No vaccination shots, but does that mean- "Close your eyes, bud, you might feel a slight pinch."
Pip froze with a whimper. He knew exactly what those words meant and an oh-so-familiar terror washed over him, a terror that was actually worse than the one during the raid, and also worse than his fear of seeing Bowser for the first time. No, this one has been firmly planted and NOTHING was going to remove it, EVER!
So, in a typical Paratroopa reaction, he screamed and took off, almost braining himself on the ceiling as he fluttered about in a panic. "SHOTS! NEEDLES! KEEP IT AWAY FROM ME!"
"Hey, calm down!" the Doctor shouted helplessly from the ground. "It'll just be for a few seconds, and it's not gonna hurt that much!"
Pip knew very well that the pain of an actual shot wasn't bad at all, and it certainly didn't warrant this kind of reaction. But that did little to negate the fear and the whimpering Koopa swooped for the door, uncaring if there was a Hammer Bro. standing guard. He wanted out! Unfortunately, to nobody's surprise, he wasn't going to escape that easily and Impacto tackled him to the ground, holding the struggling Koopa down as Doc hurried over to get the blood sample. And Pip was still screaming.
"NO! SHOTS! SHOTSSHOTSSHOTSSHOTSSHOTS!" He was about to bite the hands that held him before the door swung open and hit Impacto, forcing him to let go in his startled burst of pain. A bunch of Shy Guys were crowding the doorway, alarmed at the noises coming from this room, and Pip knew he had to get away from them before they got the sense to pin him down too. So he took off again in the opposite direction, still shrieking at the top of his lungs.
Throwing himself towards a locker, he squeezed into the nice safe comfort within the space between the locker-top and ceiling, his wide and dilated eyes darting from one part of the room to another, as if paranoid more enemies will show up with needles! Below was chaos as the newly arrived Shy Guys began talking over one another as to what was going on. Finally, Doc managed to raise his voice above all the ruckus.
"Everything's fine! I'm just trying to get a blood sample from an unruly patient, is all…" 'Unruly' was a huge understatement and he looked up at the shivering bundle of shell perched above them, wondering how to get this done.
"Anyone have a tranquilizer gun?" one Shy Guy muttered before Doc glared at him.
"Yeah, let's dart the needle-phobic Koopa. I'm sure that'll help," he said sarcastically before shaking his head. "Besides, unless we get animal control, we don't have a tranq gun."
"Then let's call the animal control…" another Shy Guy muttered, prompting a face-palm from Doc.
"Alright, alright, fine," the blue-garbed Shy Guy grumbled, willing to make use of a certain point in their suggestions. Turning to face them, he whispered softly so Pip would be unaware of the plan. "We'll give him a small amount of general anesthesia. Enough to calm him down, but not enough to knock him out and endanger him."
The others nodded before they looked up at the Paratroopa. "Only," one of them started. "How're we going to get him down?"
Before anyone could answer, Impacto decided to help out in that department, as he felt it was his fault to some extent. He knew the Paratroopa hated shots and he thought it would be fun to watch the panic; however, he didn't know it would be this bad! He owed it to the Shy Guys for not giving them warning. Tossing a hammer at the smaller Koopa, he purposely missed him and ended up hitting the locker instead. Pip jumped at the unexpected hammer toss and the loud noise of the locker, and by pure reflex, he took off again. The Hammer Bro. quickly took a second to measure the distance to the airborne Paratroopa and to predict the panicked Koopa's course...
Within the confines of the room, Pip couldn't go very high and he was perfectly within jumping range, so Impacto leapt and tackled him to the ground, pinning him down again. Pip blindly struggled with everything he had, but there was to be no escape this time. The Shy Guys quickly prepped the sedative gas as Doc hurried over with the hopes of getting the blood without having to use the gas. Unfortunately, it proved useless as Pip still had enough sense to avoid the needle, kicking it out of Doc's hold and trying to bite anything that got into range.
Finally ready, one of the Shy Guys dashed over with the mask and pressed it onto the Koopa's muzzle, his other hand keeping the youngster from pulling away and retreating his head into his shell. Pip squawked and warbled in a Paratroopa distress cry, still struggling under the larger Koopa's hold and trying to pry the mask away. Unfortunately, more Shy Guys came over to pin his arms down as well and the restrained Koopa could do nothing but thrash in vain as the gas was turned on.
Pip whimpered as he felt his struggles begin to die down against his will and he began feeling very sleepy. His cries softening to incoherent grumbling sounds, he finally went limp as he bordered unconsciousness and his foggy mind hardly comprehended the prick of the needle in his arm. It was done and Doc sighed in relief, everyone around him finally relaxing.
"I think we should give him his vaccines now. We certainly don't wanna go through this again." He muttered, earning nods of agreement from his fellows. So those shots were given with no hesitation and within moments, the mask was finally removed. Pip hardly comprehended any of it, barely able to keep his eyes open and he was still limp as Impacto let him go and nudged him with a foot.
"How long's he gonna be like this?" he asked. Doc gave a shrug, too tired to come up with too specific an answer.
"Not too long; probably about 30 minutes. That should be enough time for you to take him to his new room without having to tie him up again." He answered, shoulders slumped in exhaustion.
"That's good…" Impacto grumbled, not knowing if he could handle another difficult journey with an uncooperative Koopa. Grabbing hold of the drugged Paratroopa, he hoisted him over his shoulder and walked out the door. With the departure of the duo, Doc quickly went over to the locker and began gathering his stuff, much to his fellows' confusion.
"Hey, whaddya doing? Your shift's not over yet." One of the piped up as Doc swung on a backpack and began walking for the door, answering as he did so.
"I'm gonna ask King Bowser about the chances of retiring early…"
END OF CHAPTER 2
The next chapter will be up a lot sooner! Sorry for the delay and I hope you guys are still interested!