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Author's Note:

Last chapter for this month break.

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Disclaimer: This following FanFiction story is a fan-based parody. "Mario" and all of its respectable characters are all owned by Nintendo and created by video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Please enjoy; favorite and review whenever you want.

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Chapter 80:
The Summons

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A Royal Summon…

A call placed by a monarch or high authority to either appear at a place named or to attend to a duty…

This wasn't the first time Luigi was called by a Royal Summon. He remembered Princess Peach had summoned both he and his brother to discuss the Blorbs disease that had overtaken the town. But due to the fact that he had fallen asleep, he couldn't remember much about what they had discussed. There were a few others but they were far in between and he barely remembered the topic of them.

This, on the other hand, was the first time he was summoned as a member of Bowser's court. He was a little nervous to say the least. Unlike those other times, where he just follows his brother's lead, he had to speak up for himself and openly give his opinion on matters. It was his duty, after all, as a high-ranking member of the Koopa Clan.

Letting out a small sigh, he took the chance to glance around the Conference Room. Excluding Iggy, Larry, and Morton, everyone else was here. Kamek and Kammy were standing side by side as the King pace back and forth rather impatiently. Junior was there too, looking a bit worried and concern for his father's behavior.

Sitting not too far away from them were three council members; the elders, Lady Kurenai and Lord Kagan, as well as the Chief of Security, Lord Kenneth. The two elders don't live within the castle; preferring to share a place somewhere within town. They seem calm for the soon to begin meeting. Kenneth was fiddling anxiously a few steps away from them, but then again the Koopa always seem jumpy for whatever reason.

Moving on, Ludwig and Kanary were sitting across from them, patiently waiting for the assembly to start. Lemmy was sitting between him and Ludwig, trying to nurse his head from the brain freeze he had suffered from eating his frozen treats too fast. Roy was here as well, optioning to lean against the wall rather than sitting in a chair. Luigi couldn't tell if he was drunk, but if he was he hide it well.

He looked to his left side where Wendy was sitting next to him. Her arms were across in front of her chest and she was tapping her foot impatiently as if she wanted to get this meeting over and down with. He could understand that; she was in the middle of comforting a friend only to be interrupted by royal duties. But still he couldn't help but be concern. What could be so important that Bowser had to summon them all here, and in the middle of a festival no less?

The sound of the door opening draws everyone's attention. Morton, Iggy, and Larry were finally here which seems to bring relief to the Bowser as he halts his pacing.

"Good, you're all here," He said. "Now we could get started,"

"Oh?" Kurenai questioned. "What about Konnor and Goomboss?"

"They're too far away. And frankly, everyone I need is here in this room." Bowser answered.

"If you don't mind me asking," Kanary spoke. "…what exactly is going on?"

"Yeah, Dad; what got you so worried?" Junior asked with concern.

The Koopa King glanced down at his son and a look of uneasiness overtook him. Luigi couldn't help but find that disturbing.

"Junior," Bowser started; his voice soft yet at the same time firm. "I need you to behave accordingly on this, you hear? This meeting is very important and I can't have you acting irresponsible. If you do, then I won't allow you to participle, understood?"

Junior was surprise by the warning; Luigi was too. Bowser openly threatening his son to behave may surprise anyone outside the family. Even so, he had a feeling that it wasn't too often that he did that which increase the importance of this meeting. Nevertheless, Junior took a serious expression, one almost fitting for a prince and nodded firmly.

"Understood,"

"Good," Bowser smiled, a twinkle of pride in his eyes on how much his son has grown. "Kamek, get everyone up to speed,"

"Of course," The head magikoopa nodded and got the meeting started. "I won't delay things any far. Upon an hour ago, we received a letter from Harold requesting our assistances,"

"Harold?" Luigi questioned. "The Masrestler Chief, right?"

"Yes, indeed."

"What does he need our help for?" Wendy asked, a bit calmer than before.

"I'm afraid his letter contains dreadful news," Kamek said solemnly. "As of a few days ago, his daughter, Brianna, as well as 7 other children has gone missing, and the adult guide leading them was found dead."

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~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

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"Brianna's missing?"

The air around the Conference Room had thickens once the reason of the summons was revealed. For a quick moment, everyone was silent and still as the news of it all sinks in. It was soon broke by Junior's question.

Kammy nodded. "It seem so,"

"But…What…When…Who?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." said Kamek. "Although, with a death involves all evidences clearly points into kidnapping,"

"Kidnapping sounds about right," Lord Kagan asked calmly as he strokes his chin. "Was there a ransom of any kind?"

"It didn't say, but I doubt this is any normal kidnapping," Bowser said.

"Your meaning, my Lord," Lady Kurenai asked.

"What I mean is...it's most likely these children have been kidnapped to be sold as slaves to the Underground Network."

"That makes sense..." commented Ludwig. "The Masrestlers don't own a kingdom or anything so it can't be political kidnapping of any kind."

"Plus it won't be da first time they went missin' thanks to those traffickers," Roy added with venom in his voice.

Luigi was confused; the Underground Network? He never heard of such a thing before but everyone else seemed to know and they don't seem happy about it.

"Uh, excuse me, but what exactly is the Underground Network?" He asked.

The whole table turned to him, some with looks of confusion. "Wha? You mean you don't know?" Lemmy asked.

"Well that isn't too surprise," Bowser said. "The Underground Network was meant to be a secret after all. It's only until recent years that it became somewhat of a major highlight."

"To answer your question, Luigi," Kammy started. "The Underground Network is a whole system of connections, smuggling, and shady dealings which eludes the government's control. You may know it as the black market."

Luigi nodded in recognition. "Yeah, Princess Peach mentioned it a few times before; she talked about how people were smuggling in exotic items into the Kingdom and selling them for a reduced portion of their true value."

"The Underground Network doesn't only deal with item smuggling," Wendy spoke next to him. "The whole industry is consisted of criminal organizations from all over the world. Illegal drugs and weapons are also marketed and smuggled between kingdoms and other countries, as well as businesses for slave trades, prostitution, mercenaries, and hit men for hire are held in numerous secret locations."

"So it's a world-wide problem," He said solemnly; coming into terms with the issue at hand. "Have there been any attempts to do stop it before?"

"There have been a few attempts that we've heard of," said Lady Kurenai. "But fighting against the Underground Network is like fighting through a war. People will die, no matter what the cause may be. This will not settle well for someone as kind-hearted and sympathetic as the Mushroom Kingdom's Queen who hasn't waged any war in her entire life."

"So what are going to do now? If the Underground Network is as vast as you say it is, then it's only a matter of time before any trace of their location disappears completely, right?"

"Exactly," Bowser spoke suddenly "Which is why we're heading over there to help out with the search,"

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The rest of the meeting, as well as the remainder of the day, felt nothing more than a blur to Luigi. It only took everyone about hour before they were all packed and ready within the Koopa Cruiser. As of right now, they were currently on their way to Muscle Canyon, the home of the Masrestlers.

Bowser's plan, in itself, was plainly simple; everyone was to company him to Muscle Canyon to help with the search and rescue mission. The only ones not coming were Kanary and the three council members who were keeping an eye on things while they're away. While it wouldn't have been the first time he just got up and left without assigning anyone in charge, it seem to have brought a bit of relief whenever he does.

The plumber opened the door to step out into the Cruiser's deck. The sun had set over two hours ago and they have been flying for over three hours. They weren't set to arrive at the Valley until early tomorrow morning so everyone took the time to relax and rest themselves for tomorrow. Luigi would love to do the same; the only problem was that he was missing something.

….Or rather someone…

His blue eyes scanned the deck and quickly fell upon the figure leaning against the rails. Her pink shell was all he needed to acknowledge to confirm it was the one he was looking for.

He sighed softly as he closed the door behind him. He casually walked upon the deck until he was standing by her side. He stood there for some time, unsure if she was too deep in thought to notices his presence. After a while, he spoke.

"Hey,"

She hummed in response; letting him known that she did acknowledge him.

"You said you'll be back in an hour,"

She hummed again but didn't say anything.

"It's been two hours,"

Again he got another hum. He tilts his head to the side and asked,

"What's on your mind?"

She sighed, "You know…Koren,"

"Oh? Was there something wrong with her?" He asked innocently.

Wendy rolled her eyes and gave him a clear look. "Don't play dumb," she says. "I know you were listening,"

"I…uhm…" He answered honestly. "Okay, I saw. But I was trying not to,"

"Hmph, you're so nosy," She shook her head; a small smile coming in play. "But then again…you probably got it from me,"

He shrugged. "What can I say, you're a bad influence on me," He smiled softly. "You're worried about her, aren't you?"

"Of course I am…It's hard to believe that a one-time mistake can come to this. Koren has always been a bit of a drinker but never so much that it'll lead to a problem." She sighed and leaned against the rail again. "Now there's a problem, and to make matters worse, she's pregnant and with no certainty on who's the father,"

The green man hummed in agreement. He stood beside her and leaned against the rail as well.

"I agree with your statement before," He said "…that she should talk to her boyfriend, Cole."

"Of course, she has to; it might be his kid after all,"

"Even if it isn't, he still deserved to know the truth."

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed, supporting her head with her palm of her hand.

"She'll also need her friends around for support; I imagine the whole pregnancy thing can be quite stress for the mother,"

Back to humming; the only sign that tells him that she was listening,

"Of course, if she doesn't think she could handle it, she could always terminate the pregnancy,"

Wendy shook her head. "She can't; abortion is against the law around here,"

Luigi turned to her with a curious brow. "Really? Why?"

"Yeah…about a hundred or so years ago, a catastrophe over took the land and eliminated a large portion of the Koopa population including the current Koopa king. To restore the population, the heir…" She paused for a moment to think of the name. "Regina, I think? Yeah, Queen Regina; she took control of the situation and passed a law stating that all pregnant Koopas, their eggs, and children under the age of 14 were to be handled and treated as if they are natural treasures; anything that may or will lead to a child's life to be terminated in any way will result in harsh punishment."

Wendy smirked. "I'm surprise you allow such a thing in your kingdom."

"Well, Peach was against," Luigi argues. "She said all life was precious and that we should cherish it. However, some of the council members didn't completely agree with her; saying scientifically, when the baby is an embryo, it wasn't alive."

"And which side did you pick?"

"Neither… both sides weren't wrong so I was always neutral about the issue. Kind of glad they decided to leave it up to the states but Peach wasn't too please on the matter of it."

"Hmph, good to know Mrs. Always-Perfect doesn't always get her way,"

The green man leaned his head against his hand. "Was the catastrophe really that serious that you had to pass out a law?" He asked with great wonder.

"I guess so at the time. As you could see our population has greatly refurbish since then. Although I don't remember what the catastrophe was exactly, Queen Regina was known to be one of the best throughout our history. She was the first and only female to seize the throne. Strong and firm, yet passive and diplomatic – she was the ideal feminist role model."

"Oh wow, I can see why she was so popular,"

"Yeah she was," Wendy stood up and stretched. "Anyways, we should probably hit the sack early." She started walking back inside. "We'll be hovering over Muda Kingdom in a few hours so we're bound to get there super early."

Luigi blinked in confusion. "The Muda Kingdom? As in Sarasaland?"

"Yeah, Muscle Canyon is in the Sarasaland's Birabuto Kingdom?" She turns back to him with a look of confusion. "Didn't you know that?"

Luigi's eyes widen before he face palmed. "Uh, I knew that name sounded familiar."

Wendy chuckles. "You're silly sometimes you know that?"

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Ending Note:

School starts again tomorrow so updates are going to be at random.

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