Chapter 3.7: Hide the Heirs

Ashley walked out of the front door of the country house. She pulled out her Thieftech and sighed. "Okay, Alboort, where am I going and what am I doing?"

Alboort tapped a couple of keys. "Well, from the best I can decipher these blueprints, the King Koopa family balcony should be on the fourth floor." He adjusted his glasses. "I'll tell you the job when you get up there."

Ashley paused. "So, that's it? No being Mr. Chatterbox or anything like that?"

Alboort furrowed his brow. "Look, I'm not going to lie, this job needs to be done as fast as possible. Just get in there, and I'll tell you what you need to get done."

Ashley shrugged. "Okay. That works for me." She flipped her Thieftech shut and looked over at the castle.

It didn't take long for the witch to get into the castle. She looked around and ran towards the main stairway.

On the second floor, Ashley turned to see a Dry Bones. Before it could so much as hop, she blasted the shell clean out of its body. She ran over the collapsed remains and looked left and right looking through each opening.

After several minutes, Ashley had made her way up to the third floor, through a few more, up to the fourth floor, and turned the whole soldier array into a graveyard. She looked around for a couple more minutes before pulling out her Thieftech."

Alboort looked up from his computer. "Oh, you're already there?"

"After a fashion." Ashley looked down both hallways. "Where is this balcony? I don't see it."

"Well, it's not an open balcony like the two Waluigi visited." Alboort tapped a couple keys. "It should have a figure of Bowser's head on it."

Ashley nodded, walking down the hall. "Speaking of Waluigi, where is he? I didn't see him back in the hideout."

Alboort clicked his mouse a couple times. "Don't worry, you'll see him soon. I needed him to run out real quick." He looked up and adjusted his glasses. "Why? are you worried about him?"

Ashley shrugged. "No. It's just that I thought it was my turn to take care of a mission."

Alboort tapped a couple of keys. "Okay. Just find the door." He paused. "It'd probably be best if you kept the Thieftech on. You know, so I can keep you clued in as to what you need to do."

"Fine." Ashley fastened her Thieftech over her ear and eye. Spinning her scepter in her hand, she walked down the hall.

Soon, Ashley was standing in front of the Bowser door. "Okay, Alboort, I'm here."

Alboort nodded. "Great. Now, back off a bit."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "O-kay. I thought my job was to take out the Koopalings."

"Well, not exactly." Alboort tapped a couple keys. "You see, Koopa Rex, which is the species that Bowser and his children belong to, are primarily immune to magic. Now, I'm not saying you couldn't hurt them, but it would be difficult. Why, a majority of them would probably smirk your blasts off and smack you away."

"Children?" Ashley stood silent for a moment. "How could Bowser have children? I haven't exactly seen any female Koopas." She spun a lock of her hair around her finger. "At least, no Koopas that are spectacularly feminine."

Alboort smiled wryly at the witch. "Well, there doesn't seem to be any accurate records of Bowser ever having a wife." He tapped a couple of keys and stared at his computer screen. "However, there is a popular rumor that Princess Peach may be the Koopalings' mother."

"Un-huh." Ashley looked at the door. "Well, if my magic isn't going to hurt them, then what am I doing here?"

Alboort's glasses almost fell off his face. "What?"

Ashley shrugged. "Well, it's not like I do anything that isn't magic-oriented, so why have me here?"

Alboort swallowed and pushed his glasses up. "Wait! You're not surprised by the idea of Peach and Bowser having children together?" He tugged on his bowtie. "Waluigi nearly had a heart attack when I told him, and you would bet that I wouldn't tell Toadsworth if my life depended on it."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Well, I suppose they just don't understand the magic world very well." She tapped the crystal on her scepter. "It's going to take a lot more than telling me that a princess and a dragon have had children to freak me out, though."

Alboort stared disbelievingly at Ashley.

Ashley crossed her arms. "Now, the job."

Alboort shook his head. "Right." He tapped a couple of keys. "Well, you see, Waluigi's actually waiting for my signal, and he'll run up and knock on the door. Bowser is sure to have one of his children come out to see who it is. Waluigi will then crack them over the head while they're not looking."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "So what am I doing here? Sounds like this is a mission for Waluigi."

"Well, that's only part of the job. You see, we can't just leave them sitting in the middle of the hall." Alboort stared at his computer screen for a minute, rubbing his chin. "According to these blueprints, there should be a large chamber that opens out towards the hall."

Ashley nodded. "Now I get it. You want he to haul the suckers into that room, so nobody will be able to find the." She spun her scepter in her hand. "I suppose I could do it, but there's still a problem. Wouldn't Bowser become suspicious if none of his children come back to the balcony?"

"Bowser might be smart, but he doesn't have a lot of common sense." Alboort tapped on his keyboard a few times. "He'd probably think that either the conversation they're having is taking a long time, or he'll think that they used it for an excuse to join the party in a more direct manner."

Ashley fingered her scepter. "All right. Let's get this over with."

Alboort adjusted his glasses. "One more thing. We don't want to be known quite yet, so you need to stay out of sight until Waluigi has knocked out the Koopalings."

Ashley sighed. "Very well." She ran around the corner.

After a minute, Ashley looked around the corner to see Waluigi knock on the door. He hid behind it as something that looked like Bowser with massive blue hair. The purple clad man quickly slammed the door shut and smacked the creature over the head.

After Waluigi ran around the corner, Ashley ran around hers. She looked down at the Koopa. "Wow, you don't see that hairstyle anymore."

"Yes. That's Ludwig Von Koopa." Alboort tapped several keys. "He's the oldest of the Koopalings and heir to Bowser's empire. He specializes in musical talents."

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Musical talents? Is he any good."

"Well, at first, no." Alboort clicked on his mouse. "But a few years ago, Mario somehow shook a flying ship that the teenage Koopa Prince was on, awakening a true ear for music. Noone's exactly sure if he still plays instruments."

Ashley shrugged. "Ah well. Let's just pitch him into this room." She pointed her scepter at Ludwig. A beam of magic wrapped around the Koopa. "Oh man, it's no wonderyou wanted me to carry these guys. They're huge and even heavier than they look."

Alboort nodded. "So you should probably hurry up and take him to the chamber. I've projected a destination marker on the specific door."

"All right, I get it. Just let me work." Ashley strained slightly as she carried the large reptole down the hall. She soon found the door and flipped it open. She threw the limp Koopa in and slammed the door shut.

Alboort tapped a couple keys. "Good job. Waluigi's already got the next kid down. Go get him."

Ashley gave a curt nod. She ran down the hall and skidded to a halt near the Bowser door. "Since when is rainbow a hair color?"

"Rainbow hair?" Alboort clicked on his mouse and stared at his computer screen. "Oh, that should be Lemmy Koopa, the second oldest." He held his chin. "It would make since that Bowser would start from the oldest and continue going down until the youngest."

Ashley stared down at the Koopa warily."The second oldest? But this guy's puny."

Alboort nodded. "Lemmy's has a past of sicknesses. His growth is stunted, he has a lazy eye, and it's unknown what his exact mental facility quality is."

Ashley shook her head disapprovingly. "It must stink to be him."

Alboort chuckled. "That's not how he sees it. He spends most of his time playing, especially on his performance ball. He's always dreamed about joining the circus."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Interesting." She pointed her scepter at the Koopa and lifted him up. She ran down the hall and threw him in with the first. "Okay. Two down."

"And six to go." Alboort tapped a couple of keys. "But Waluigi's helping us. He's already knocked out another Koopa."

The screen split in half, and Waluigi appeared. "And this guy's huge. Took me three cracks with my bat to knock him out."

Alboort jumped. "Did I already show you how to use this feature, Waluigi?"

"Nah." Waluigi tapped his Thieftech screen. "Waluigi just found this button that says split-screen."

"Oh." Alboort fiddled with his hands. "Well, I suppose that those labels were handy." He turned back to Ashley. "Go back and get the next Koopa. Time's being wasted."

"Right." Ashley turned Waluigi off and ran back down the hall. She collided with something and fell backwards. She sat up and looked at what she had collided into. "What kind of monster is this?"

Alboort tapped a couple of keys. "That must be Roy Koopa, the third oldest and the tough guy in the pack."

"Tough guy?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. "But he's pink. All pink."

Alboort shrugged. "Some people think that pink is the color of true men. Roy will crack you over the head with his skull and ask questions later."

Ashley crossed her arms. "Well, he's going to be a pain to carry." She pointed her scepter at the pink Koopa and lifted him off the ground. She slowly carried him down the hall and wedged him through the door.

Alboort nodded.

Ashley stared at him silently. "Look, I don;t mind the info, but I get it that Waluigi is knocking Koopas out while I'm walking down here. Okay?"

Alboort shut his mouth. "Oh. Okay."

Ashley ran back down to the Bowser door and stopped. "Wow. This guy wears glasses that look even stupider than yours."

Alboort raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a compliment." He looked back at his computer screen. "Anyways, that must be Iggy Koopa. He's the fourth oldest and the inventor of the group. He's the smartest out of all the Koopas. Well, some say that Ludwig is smarter, Ludwig doesn't care to show off his intelligence."

"So he's an even bigger egghead than you." Ashley tilted her head to one side. "Must be one of those irony things: the stupider the glasses, the smarter the brain."

"Enough with the glasses jokes." Alboort crossed his arms. "Just get the job done."

"Fine." Ashley pointed her scepter at Iggy, muttering under her breath "I bet Waluigi would have thought it was funny."

Alboort stared at Ashley. "What was that about Waluigi?"

"Nothing!" Ashley turned down the hall. "Just let me stuff this guy in the closet. Sheesh!" She ran down the hall and threw the Koopa in with his brothers.

This time, when Ashley ran back, she almost fell over. "What happened here? Did Waluigi knock out Peach?"

Alboort jumped. "What? That can't be possible! Princess Peach isn't scheduled to be brought down for a while." He filed through his computer, tapping keys and clicking his mouse like crazy. "Oh. You must be looking at Wendy O'Koopa. She must have grown hair since her last encounter with Mario. Flip her over and you'll see the obvious differences."

"I'll take your word for it." Ashley pointed her scepter at the Koopa and paused. "Wait. So is this the only female Koopa?"

"Well, I'm sure there are other female Koopas." Alboort adjusted his glasses. "But Wendy is Bowser's only daughter. She also is a brat and thinks herself the most attractive thing in the world. I suppose she might specialize in seduction techniques, if she's hit puberty yet. And given the Koopalings' size, I'm pretty sure they're adults and that she has hit puberty."

"Puberty, shmuberty." Ashley raised Wendy over her head. "I'm just going to take this Koopa over and put her away before you get all scientific and lecture-crazed." She ran down the hall, opened the marked door, and threw the female Koopa in with the rest.

Ashley sighed as she walked back. "More than halfway there. I'm getting there." She looked down at the Koopa at her feet. "Okay. This guy looks like a total weirdo."

"Yes, Morton Jr. Koopa must look a little strange. His unique appearance is only surpassed by his unique mouth." Alboort grabbed his head. "Aand it's a good thing Waluigi already knocked that mouth shut. Morton Jr. never stops talking."

Ashley eyed the white-headed Koopa. "Okay. So how about I shut him up in a room before his mouth stops being shut."

"Sounds like a good idea."

Ashley whipped the Koopa over her head and ran him down the hall. She threw him in and slammed the door shut. She turned and ran back to the Bowser door. "Two more left." She raised an eyebrow. "Good grief. More blue hair. I thought Bowser had red hair."

"Larry Koopa. The sporty one." Alboort tapped several keys. "He may be the youngest of the original seven Koopalings, but he is one of the most active. Baseball, soccer, football, basketball, he plays them all."

"Okay. So one of the youngest is the biggest jock." Ashley rolled her eyes. "Why am I even listening to you? I don't even care about these guys' biographies."

Alboort shrugged. "I don't know, but it gives you something to listen to while you work."

"I suppose that's true." Ashley pucked Larry up. "But I'd rather just get this over with." She ran down the hall and increased the collection of trapped Koopas. She returned to the Bowser door. "By the way, you said the original Koopalings, so who's the eighth guy?"

Alboort adjusted his glasses. "Bowser Jr. Koopa. He's the youngest, most likely still in the crib when Mario faced Bowser's other children the first couple times. He likes to use his magic paintbrush in battle, and he likes to think himself as evil as his father."

"Sounds like he's an annoying little imp." Ashley looked down at Bowser Jr. "But putting him away means I am done with this." She picked the small Koopa up and carried him down the hall. She threw him in with the other Koopalings and slammed the door shut. "And I'm done."

"Looks like it." Alboort clicked on his mouse a couple times and adjusted his glasses."I certainly hope that you aren't too tired because we need you pumped for tonight."

"No, I'm not tired. Just bored." She crossed her arms. "I was really expecting this to be a more exciting job."

Alboort shrugged. "Well, you should probably get out of there, just in case Bowser does it suspicious."

"All right." Ashley pulled her Thieftech off, flipped it shut, and stuck it in her pocket.

Mission complete,

signed,

-Ashley and Red

---

Okay, I just thought I should at least mention the Koopalings. I realize that Bowser Jr. technically isn't a Koopalings, but he's a son of Bowser, so I count him a Koopaling.

Also, I suppose Waluigi's baseball bat must seem all powerful, but it's just that these characters are running that fast.

The Bowser heist is up next, so stay tuned.

Please enjoy and review.