Roy Koopa wandered through the Koopa gardens, feeling rather depressed. Roy had become a good Koopa, but he sometimes wondered if it had been worth the effort. Being good involved neatness, organization, and control. Goodness held no surprises. Being bad meant that you could decide what you wanted to do, then go off and do it, without worrying about whether it was the "right" thing, or whether you had time. There was always time to be bad.

Roy was shocked out of his confused thoughts by a loud voice. To the side of the path, Ludwig von Koopa let out another yell as he jumped into a huge pile of freshly raked leaves. Roy smiled. Ludwig was always being bad. His life was worry-free and chock full of surprises.

Ludwig saw Roy then. Ludwig floundered up through the leaves, which were now scattered over the lawn as if they had never been raked. Ludwig, still covered with leaves that had stuck to him, walked over to Roy and took a deep breath.

"Ah, fall," announced Ludwig.

"It is a nice time of year," agreed Roy.

"Pop check!" yelled Ludwig. "What is this time of year called?"

"It is autumn, Ludwig," Roy answered promptly.

Ludwig shook his head sadly. "You’re turning into a real good student, aren’t you?"

Roy understood. "Ludwig," he said, "I’ve been thinking. I suspect that being good is not all it’s cracked up to be. Being bad is ever so much more fun and pleasantly surprising."

Ludwig nodded his approval. "I heartily agree, Roy. Being bad is the coolest." Ludwig stopped and stared upwards at the sky. "Master plan coming on," he whispered eagerly.

Roy waited patiently for Ludwig’s next speech. He knew it would be something... surprising.

Ludwig shook his head and looked at Roy again. "I have the cleverest plan. You remember we used to go on candy raids, and we annoyed the Koopalings, and we made messes?"

Roy nodded. Ludwig continued.

"So here’s the plan. We’ll go on a candy raid, a mess-a-thon, and a pester party all at once! Listen carefully, Roy, ‘cause I’ll only explain this once..."

Some time later…

Roy and Ludwig walked smiling through the Koopa Gardens. Innocently, they passed through the guarded main door of the Koopa Castle. Waving amicably at a few servants, they made their way to the Koopa Kitchen.

Phase One...

In the kitchen, Ludwig showed Roy one raised finger, to indicate Phase One of their plan. Roy, doing his best to look like Good Roy, went over to the cooks and politely asked them if they would help him pick out a few choice pieces of fruit, so he could make a salad for his lunch with Larry that afternoon.

Meanwhile, Ludwig hurried through the now empty kitchen to the candy pantry. He picked out several dozen choice chocolate bars. Stuffing the candy in his pockets, in his shell, in his shoes, and in his mouth, Ludwig began sneaking out of the pantry to the island counter in the middle of the big kitchen.

Roy, with his arms full of fruit, thanked the cooks and ducked behind the same island. He quickly dumped the fruit in a drawer and took some candy from Ludwig. Roy put it in the pockets, sleeves, and hood of his jacket.

With all the candy thus concealed, Roy and Ludwig scurried out of the kitchen. The two Koopas moved quickly and returned to their apartments unhindered. Each went into their own room, to meet back in a few minutes.

Roy went to his small private kitchen. He half-unwrapped four candy bars and placed them in the microwave. After heating them for just a few minutes, he lay them on a large piece of wax paper. Roy put the rest of the candy bars in his refrigerator, to eat later. Then he hurried to his study and picked up the small battery powered fan that he kept on his desk. Roy returned to the kitchen, and carefully picked up each of the heated candy bars, which were now slightly melty.

Phase Two...

Roy went out into the hallway. Ludwig, having performed the same actions, was waiting. Ludwig signaled Phase Two, and the mischievous brothers went to the elevator. After a short wait, they rode down to the maze of hallways connecting the Koopa kitchen, dining room, lounge, and other important rooms.

Roy and Ludwig produced their candy bars. They walked over to the hallway wall and drew a line with the melty chocolate. Roy and Ludwig turned on their fans and dried the chocolate line so it would be harder to clean. After a quick peek to make sure they hadn’t been spotted, Roy and Ludwig busied themselves graffitying the walls, and drying each new shape.

When the two decided it was time to stop pushing their luck, they hid the candy bars and fans and returned to their apartments. Roy and Ludwig put away the chocolate and the fans.

Roy and Ludwig went to an electronic map on the wall. Roy carefully typed in Larry’s name and pressed SEARCH. The map beeped and whirred. Soon, an area of the castle was displayed on the map screen, and information scrolled across the text bar. Larry was in his room at the time.

Next, Roy typed in Wendy. The map said that she was in the Koopa Lounge. Roy and Ludwig smiled and headed towards Wendy’s room.

Since Wendy had not gone very far, she had not bothered to lock the door to her room, and Roy and Ludwig had no trouble getting in. Once inside, the two Koopas looked for something bad to do. They spotted Wendy’s desk. Closer inspection revealed a fairly good drawing which had obviously been lovingly and carefully done. Ludwig signaled Phase Three, and the two moved in.

Phase Three...

Ludwig picked up the drawing while Roy searched the desk drawers for drawing supplies. The search produced markers. Roy chose a color that would stand out on the drawing and removed the cap from the marker. Ludwig put down the paper and Roy applied the marker to the drawing. After making several lines across the paper, Roy put all the markers back the way he had found them.

Roy and Ludwig left Wendy’s room and went to Lemmy’s room. Again, they had no trouble entering. Lemmy was a joker, but he was a diligent student. Roy and Ludwig knew this, and had a plan in mind.

Roy and Ludwig went to Lemmy’s study. On the desk was his school box. Ludwig opened the school box and removed a blue folder. Ludwig opened the folder and removed several sheets of paper. He flipped quickly through the papers until he found the ones he wanted. Ludwig pulled out a lined piece of paper with the heading Creative Writing, and a printed ditto labeled Language Mechanics. Ludwig passed the papers to Roy, and neatly packed up the school box. Roy tucked the papers into a pocket.

Roy and Ludwig went to Morton’s room. They easily knocked down a tall block tower standing in the middle of the room. The two went into the bedroom to search for some more mischief. Suddenly they heard the door open. Roy and Ludwig heard the deep roar of Bowser, followed by the excited, high-pitched chatter of Morton.

Roy and Ludwig scrambled to hide at the sound of the approaching voices. Ludwig squeezed into the closet, but Roy couldn’t resist knocking over Morton’s assorted collections.

When Bowser and Morton entered the room, they saw Roy running his hand along a shelf full of plastic figurines. Bowser strode across the room and snatched up Roy. Bowser carried Roy out of the apartment. Morton followed, still happily chattering away. Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief, and slipped out of the closet. He ran back to his apartment.

Bowser brought Roy to the Throne Room and threw him to the floor. Bowser marched up the steps to his throne and stood there, glaring at Roy. Roy picked himself up and stood respectfully, away from the steps.

"Tell me exactly what you did today, Roy," Bowser said quietly. Roy related the details of his evil afternoon. Bowser shook his head sadly.

"I thought you were good, Roy," Bowser said.

Roy nodded. "I tried to be," he offered. "But Ludwig just..."

"I know," said Bowser. "I understand, but I will have to punish you. You do have the power to resist Ludwig. I know you do. Because you could have prevented this, you are responsible, and you will have to be punished."

Roy nodded. He understood the punishment system in the Koopa castle. Roy expected several days in the dungeon, and was totally taken aback by Bowser’s decree.

"Roy," announced Bowser. "I will take away your magic powers for a week. That is your punishment. If I do not see you in this room at 9:00 tomorrow morning, you will be in bigger trouble. Unless you have something important to say now, you may go."

Roy went. He got into bed and thought depressed thoughts until he fell asleep.

The next day...

The next morning, Roy was in the Throne Room at five minutes to nine. Bowser walked in a few minutes later. Bowser indicated a chair on a colorful round floor tile. Roy sat down.

Bowser began reciting a mystical chant. As he danced around, Roy felt unusually weak and empty. As Bowser began a different chant, Roy felt as if he was being stuffed. Bowser nodded to him, and Roy began to leave. He found it harder than usual to move.

"It will get better," Bowser assured him.

Roy returned to his room. He stayed in bed for the rest of the day. Day 1 of no magic passed.

When Roy woke up, he felt better. He looked at the clock and saw it was 10:30 in the morning. Roy wanted to read, so he pointed a finger at a book on a shelf just out of reach. Roy expected the book to levitate and float towards him, but it did not. Roy remembered that his magic was gone. He sat up and stretched for the book. Day 2 of no magic passed.

The next day, Roy was hungry. He tried to make a meal appear, but of course it didn’t work. Roy had to walk out to his front hall and call the kitchen, then wait half an hour for his food to arrive. Day 3 of no magic passed.

The next day, Roy felt well enough to go talk to Ludwig. Ludwig acted sorry and tried to make Roy feel better, but Roy doubted he was being truthful. Roy wanted to mind merge with Ludwig to see his thoughts, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t the kind of couldn’t that meant that Ludwig had his mind cloaked, Roy just couldn’t. Day 4 of no magic passed.

The next day, Roy went for a walk in the gardens. By late afternoon, he was very tired. Roy tried to fly back to the castle, but he couldn’t. Roy was exhausted by the time he got back. Day 5 of no magic passed.

The next day, Roy realized he was almost late to a meeting. He tried to transport himself there, but he couldn’t. Roy had to take his doomship, and was late to the important meeting. Day 6 of no magic passed.

The next day, Ludwig wasn’t sorry anymore. He tried to beat Roy up, for fun. Roy used as much magic as he could, but none of it worked. He resorted to running away, but didn’t escape without a few bruises. Day 7 of no magic passed.

The next day...

The next day, Roy returned to the Throne Room at 9:00. Bowser was waiting for him. Roy took a seat in the chair and waited. Bowser performed a ritual similar to the one he had done a week ago, but his dance steps circled the chair in the opposite direction, and the words of the incantation sounded like they were being pronounced backwards.

When Bowser finished his "un-spelling", he gave a short nod. Roy went back to his room. He felt very good. The stuffed feeling was gone, and Roy could almost feel his magic bubbling around inside him, the stuffing he was used to.

Roy returned to his room and practiced a little magic. He levitated a book, made a snack appear, and transported himself from his front hall to his bedroom.

"I’ve learned my lesson," Roy thought to himself. "I’ll never be bad again. At least, not until the next story.."

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