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"Larry, I need a favour."

He had found him relaxing alone in his new hangout, listening to a Koopalia CD he'd ordered a few days ago. Ludwig glanced at the cover for the briefest of seconds, taking note of how one of the members was charged with electricity, another was surrounded by a force field, and a third was engulfed in flames.

Thunderhand does not look like zhat. But he digressed. There were more important matters to attend to.

The second youngest glanced up in surprise, pulling his headphones down to hang around his neck. Ludwig wasn't one who typically asked for things, so it was a bit of an understatement to say that he was caught off guard by the sudden request. "Uh, sure. What's up?"

"I need you to acqvire somezing from Vendy's room."

Normally he wouldn't have the foggiest idea of what to do in this sort of situation, but he'd spoken to Pom Pom earlier in hopes of sparking some inspiration. As eager as she was, she hadn't had many ideas on what he could do to help her, and he was beginning to think he simply had another Junior case on his hands. She had finally recalled her doodling in a journal once – it didn't seem like anything of note, until she said:

"Yeah, I don't know why, but it almost looked like a design for a Goomba or something. She'd put it away and totally roasted me for snooping before I could get a good look. You think she'd be a little less secretive around her best friend." Pom Pom had sighed in confusion at that. "And it's, like, super weird to me… if she wanted to design fashion, why not just do it? She's got more style than she does clothes, which is saying a lot. I mean, I definitely wouldn't argue if she designed something for me."

So now he was going to do something incredibly dangerous and most likely stupid.

And as exceptional of a sibling as he was trying to be, he was not above risking someone else's shell if it meant his would be safe. Gotta look out for number one, and all.

Both of Larry's eyebrows shot up at that. "Yeesh… a tall order… but I guess I do owe you one from you helping me out and making me this awesome room…" He picked up his CD case, the back presenting an icy design with yet another of the band's members in the middle of it, a makeshift rope bracelet around her wrist. "What are you looking for?"

His mind flashed back to what Pom Pom told him. "A pink, striped drawing notebook. I do not imagine zhat it vill be somezing kept out in ze open… It may be qvite difficult to find."

That earned a smirk from the resident snoop, who fully removed his headphones this time, placing them on the table, before he got to his feet, stretching his arms as he did so. "Well, I was never one to turn down a challenge." Larry opened his mouth to ask another question, but reconsidered a second later. Deciding to think nothing of it, Ludwig led the second-youngest out and they went down the hallway, keeping an eye out for any unwanted attention.

"So, what've you got for me?"

"She vill be out for most of ze afternoon. I convinced Pom Pom to take her and some of zheir companions to a spa not far from here. Her room should be unoccupied, but I'm unsure of any security measures."

"Eh, not my first time sneaking into Wendy's room. Shouldn't take me more than an hour."

He probably should've been concerned with that, but wisely chose to keep his mouth shut. Unfortunately for him, Larry wasn't a fool.

"She's able to get her hands on some killer jewels and rare coins. I swap them out for ones I don't already have in my collection." His light blue eyes flickered over to him, and he smirked faintly. "I'm not a creep, Ludwig."

"I said nozzing."

"You didn't have to."

"Did you have any success in contacting Marissa?"

That elicited a shrug from the second-youngest. "Haven't tried yet."

Ludwig just shook his head. His brother was as slick as they come – at least according to him – and he still got nervous when it came to just calling a girl up to hang out. Go figure.

"Let me know if you experience any difficulties. I do not vish to draw attention to myself, but if you reqvire assistance–"

"Ludwig, please. If anything, you'd just get in the way." The eldest glanced back to see Larry opening a secret passage and slipping inside with a wave. How he managed to keep track of all the castle's hidden tunnels was beyond even him. Must've been a stealth thing. "I'll be done in no time. Meet you at your music room?"

"Da."

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True to his word, when the eldest showed up around 45 minutes later, Larry was waiting there, sitting on his small bed while twirling a notebook on his claws.

"What took you so long?"

"Off."

"Alright, alright, sheesh." As he stood up, he threw the notebook like a Frisbee, the eldest catching it with ease, careful not to damage it. He had no doubt in his minds that their sister would kill them both if she found out what they'd done. "How dare I slightly wrinkle his Highness' sheets."

"Doesn't matter ze extent, vhat matters is zhat you did."

"What's so special about the notebook, anyway? It's just some clothing stuff." Larry tilted his head as Ludwig passed him, the eldest meticulously flattening the bedding until it was as straight as could be. "Running out of inspiration or something?"

"You could say zhat."

"Dunno, I think it's kinda weird that you'd pick the option that's most likely going to get you hogtied over a lava moat, but hey – it's your funeral."

"Don't you have a CD to listen to?"

"Hey, I risked my shell for that notebook! The least you could do is tell me why you wanted it so badly."

Now it was Ludwig's turn to smirk, not like Larry could see it with him facing the bed. "I could, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out on your own. Now leave me, I've much vork to attend to."

"Fine. But if she finds out–"

"Ze plan vas all mine. I vill take ze brunt of it."

"Sounds good to me."

With that, he left, leaving Ludwig alone with his thoughts, his dark music room, and a very out of place bright pink journal.

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Sure enough, the innocent looking book held a treasure trove of secrets, and he was able to get to work right away.

The first order of business was making sure that the primary pieces were prepared well in advance. Tuxedo in hand, he made his way down to the castle's tailors – a rather neglected post that was primarily used as dry cleaning, and less frequently used to repair or recreate Princess Peach's outfits so that she would be well-equipped for her… involuntary and sometimes unexpected stays at the castle. And considering most of the other minions didn't even wear clothes – even with the occasional wedding or the extremely rare Darkland Ball that happened randomly once every few years – the occupation had fallen into extreme disuse. The ladies commissioned for the position typically used the time as more of a social get-together than an actual workplace.

It didn't help that they weren't exactly known for throwing parties. Crashing them was more their forte.

Ludwig smirked. It's been years since zhey've had an actual party to prepare for. I zhink ze last von vas a simple dance to give ze minions a day of relaxation… Not zhat I would even refer to zhis as a party, but it does make me vonder vhezzer zhey've even maintained zheir skills.

He didn't dare speak these thoughts aloud, however. The last thing he needed was for them to sabotage his request out of spite for his… ahem… 'uncouth opinions'.

Females. He would never understand them.

As he turned down yet another hallway, strolling with purpose, he could already hear the chattering of the small collection of women that made up the tailoring facility, even behind the closed wooden door with the flowery sign above it.

"Hey, Ludwig!"

He was completely jarred from his thoughts as a hand roughly smacked onto his shoulder from behind, jolting as he was forced to a halt.

Glaring now and irritation spiking at the sudden interruption, he smacked the hand away and spun around. "Vhat is ze meaning of-"

Oh boy.

He used every ounce of his self-control as he forced himself to stay emotionless, although every brain cell he had screamed at him to get out of there.

It was very, very loud screaming.

"…Vhat do you vant, Roy?"

Roy jerked a thumb behind him, leaning to the side in an easygoing manner, a smirk on his face.

"Pop just got back from his meeting. Said he was gonna take us all out to Choco Mountain for some racing and snacks. Gonna be a blast since Wendy's out on the town today!" His smirk grew into a full-fledged grin… one that was unsettlingly familiar. "And I've been looking forward to a rematch since you barely won the last race. You in?"

Nein nein nein I do not vant to deal vith zhis right now!

He shook his head slightly, keeping his tone formal and polite, while the grip on his tuxedo increased the tiniest bit, staying tense in case things started to turn ugly. "I am unavailable at ze moment."

Roy shrugged uncaringly in response. "Eh. Your loss. Want us to try and save you some desserts, then?"

"Zhat vill be acceptable."

"No promises Morton won't scarf it, though." He let out a laugh. "Guy's gonna have to roll home, knowing him."

"Most likely."

The pink-headed Koopaling tilted his head, grin flickering just the tiniest bit.

"…you sure you don't wanna come? I mean, you're the one who's been all about 'family-bonding' junk lately, and I doubt you're doing anything important."

Ludwig internally bristled, feeling his anger violently spike, but he visually managed to keep himself calm. As if Roy knew anything about assisting his siblings… the big brute didn't even care. Probably just trying to start a fight with him, as always.

"I'm certain."

"Well… if you say so…" Roy paused, almost as if he wanted to say something else, before shaking his head and turning away. "See you later, then."

He stood frozen in place, keeping an eye on the hothead until he rounded a corner and disappeared from view.

Ludwig proceeded to audibly sigh once he was certain he was alone, allowing himself to relax a bit. That had been far too stressful. He had enough on his plate as it was without Roy messing everything up. Shaking the encounter from his mind, the eldest walked over to the tailor's and stepped inside.

The room was a sharp contrast to the rest of the castle. Light pink carpeting and bright yellow walls assaulted the eyes immediately, and vibrant plastic chairs surrounding white tables littered the room. There was sewing equipment of all types scattered about, measuring tapes and needles and fabrics of all sorts.

The seamstresses were gathered together, seated in a circle, chatting about who knows what. The eldest didn't particularly have time for casual conversation today, and he highly doubted that it would be something of interest to him, so he paid it no heed.

"Ah, Ludwig!" One of the ladies, a smaller Sledge Br… Sis? (He really had to remember to ask one of these days about the proper terminology) smiled over at him the moment he entered, and he returned the greeting with a curt nod. She was the one in charge, so it was natural for her to always have her eyes on the door. "It's been awhile – how have you been?"

Actually, given the fact that he typically strived to look his best during his musical performances, he was probably one of the most regular visitors to the tailors, if only to have his suit cleaned and pressed to perfection. So it wasn't too unusual for him to be here, albeit rather infrequently with how rare it had gotten for him to publicly perform in the past few months.

"Busy, as is expected." He passed his suit over to a waiting Paratroopa, who carefully folded it over in her arms before fluttering over to deposit it on a table for inspection.

"Just the suit, dearie?"

He hesitated. This was the awkward part, but he knew he couldn't pull it off himself unless he wanted his room to look like a fabric explosion.

"Actually, I come bearing a razzer… prodigious reqvest."

The room's chatter quieted at the unexpected breach in protocol. While the eldest did occasionally stick around for a few moments of idle chitchat – next to Larry, the tailors tended to be a surprisingly good source of information – it was almost unheard of for him to request something of them beyond making sure his suit was in tip top shape.

Steeling himself, Ludwig pulled the notebook from his shell and approached the Sledge Sister, holding it out for her to take. She obliged, getting to her feet and standing in the middle of the circle of chairs.

"I vish to recreate ze designs located in zhis notebook."

The seamstress flipped through it silently, carefully scanning each page with trained eyes, no words escaping her lips as she examined the designs. The others in the room stared at her expectantly, curious as to what the notebook contained but not daring to interrupt her musings.

"Your sister's got quite the skills…" she finally murmured, tracing a finger over one of the pages. "How long has she been working on these?"

"I don't know," he admitted, folding his arms, "She hasn't been doing vell, so I figured zhat zhis may assist her."

"…You know what these are, right?"

He nodded, unsurprised that she had picked up on the minute details of the designs so quickly. She was a professional, after all.

"I do not vish for vhat I've done to leave zhis room, if zhat is possible."

"No problem at all, sweetie. I know how boys get with girly things like this."

Ludwig resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the good-natured remark.

"I think she's really going to appreciate this."

"Let's hope so. Ozzervise you may not have a suit to cater to anymore."

She laughed at the comment. "How soon do you need them?"

"As soon as possible." He glanced around the room. "Zhis is a matter zhat reqvires utmost urgency – leaving it for any extended period of time vill simply prove detrimental. Undt if she discovers ze notebook is missing, she vill turn ze castle to rubble in an attempt to find it."

That received a determined nod, the notebook closing with a faint clap. "Give us two days. Measurements won't be an issue – given their natures, all of these are pretty regular. And our lips are sealed even if we have to go hunting for them, so you don't have to worry about anyone finding out."

"Zhank you. Zhat is much appreciated." He paused, thinking to himself. "I vill send Fizzlip should anyzing change. You are all more zhan velcome to come, should you vish."

The Sledge Sis smiled warmly up at the prince. "That sounds wonderful, Ludwig. Thank you. It's always a treat to see how our work is appreciated." She suddenly lit up as a thought struck her. "Oh, and before you go, I have something important to show you... I think you'll find it very helpful to your plan."

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Gotta love Ludwig being a total jerk even when he's helping people XD

Also... I don't know if you guys are going to be ready for this next chapter... XP