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Author's Note:

Next update will take a while as I start my second rotation soon so I hope you all enjoyed these last two chapters.

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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 87:
Unsuspected Help

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After another interrogation beating, Luigi was tossed into a different room. He lay there on the ground for several minutes, trying to catch his breath as the pain he was feeling begins to dim down. After a while, he slowly began to pull himself up into a sitting position.

Before he managed to sit up completely, the door opened again. He turned his head just in time to see two objects colliding with him. He moaned in pain but quickly noticed that he wasn't the only one doing that. The door was slammed shut. The green man lifted his head up to see the two objects were actually two of his travel mates.

"Corporal… Sergeant…" He sighed in relief. He had been worried about them.

Both of them were injured much like himself but more importantly, they were alive.

Paraplonk was the first to come through his senses. Upon realizing who was with him, he jumped up in enjoy. "Guys, you're okay!"

Sergeant Guy grunted, "I don't know if you can call it okay,"

"Alive feels like a better work for it," Luigi commented.

All three of them were injured, beaten and bruised by Scorpio's henchmen in hope to gain information from them. Metal chains were tied around their bodies, including Paraplonk's wing in what looks like a painful grip. Regardless, the bucket wearing Parakoopa looked just as energetic as ever, maybe even more so.

"I knew they weren't going to break us," He boosted proudly. "We're Bowser's Elite Trio after all; we can take anything they dish out on us,"

"Speaking of Trio," Luigi spoke up. "Do any of you know what happened to Goomp? He wasn't with us when we got here,"

The two elites blink before sharing a glance at each other.

"I don't know," Paraplonk confessed. "As soon as I flew out of the tent, I got caught in this giant spider web which came out of nowhere."

The green man nodded; his suspicions confirmed.

"Well… I woke up and noticed you two were missing." The Sergeant explained. "Goomp and I went out to looking for ya, but then a bunch of Norm's men started coming after us. We got separated and I ended up getting captured." He frowns. "Sorry, but I don't know what happened to Goomp,"

That wasn't very reassuring. All that told them was that Goomp was still out there, probably lost in the desert with Norm's men still after him. Or worse…

"I'm sure he's fine," Paraplonk spoke.

"How do you know?"

"I don't know I just do," he replied with confidence. "By now, he probably already contacted his Baddiness. They're probably on their way here as we speak,"

Sergerant Guy nodded in agreement, leaving Luigi to decide for himself. In many way, Goomp was much like him; timid and unsure but also loyal and courageous. If Paraplonk had fate in Goomp, then he'll have fate in him too.

"You're right," He said. "Goomp is a reliable guy and Bowser is good at tracking people down."

He always wondered how the Koopa King always manages to find Peach. Granted, half the time it was publicly announced days ahead of time, like an annual event or a planned vacation. But other times, it will be completely last minute. Their invitation to Pi'illo Island was a good example and yet Bowser still manages to track them down on the same day.

"Still, we have to figure out a way out of this." He told them. "I'm not sure if I heard them right but it sound like they're planning having an auction show tonight."

"I heard that too," Guy spoke. "This isn't good; if they get sold off, then we may never be able to find them."

"Then we're just have to rescue them now." said Paraplonk. "But first, we got to get out of these chains,"

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The hideout looked…pretty much the same as it always did; old, dusty, and crumbling. A bunch of tiki torches were set up to make the place look fancy in the dark but it wasn't enough to fool anybody.

"Welcome everyone to our humble desert getaway," Scorpio announced as he greeted his guests. He was wearing a top hat and bow tie as he poses as their humble host. His guests varied in their appearances. Some of them were most likely in the same black business as he was but a good majority of the group was his targeted audience – rich people with too much money on their hands.

It wasn't hard to distinguish them; they all wore fancy mask with expensive clothes that most normal citizen couldn't afford to buy. A few of them try to disguise themselves with dark cloaks and hoods, but the quality of the garment was too much of give away.

"The auction show will begin shortly. But first, please have a look at the other substances we have to offer."

He gestured his guests inside and guide them through the halls of the hideout. Expressions of revulsion were clear on the fancier visitors, mumbling among themselves on how hideous the building was.

For some, this was their first time shopping within the black market. Their expectation had been high prior to arrival but has now been replaced with great disappointment as they wondered through the halls of the crumpling hideout. The more experience shoppers had kept their expectations low, but they didn't stop them from showing their displeasure. They knew the best places to go for their spending needs; it was only because of talk about this new rare "goods" that they came here in the first place.

As everyone was lead through the building, no one notice the figure falling behind the group. The figure came to a slow halt in the middle of the hall and glanced around the area to see if he was alone. After one more glance at the group, the figure turned and started wondering around the hideout, already knowing where to look.

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Brianna was scared…

Besides from her visits to the Darkland, she had never been this far away from home before and without her father too. She didn't know what had happened the night they were ambushed; one minute they were getting ready to camp for the night and the next, they were attacked and captured.

Alden fought against the attackers as bravely as any Masrestler can, but somehow they overpowered him, defeated him. She had known the fellow warrior since she was little, she always considered him to be one of the strongest among the village. She yelled her heart out for Alden to help them but he couldn't as the kidnappers dragged them all away. She prayed that he was alive; prayed that he'll be okay but something deep inside told her that her prayers would be wasted.

She didn't understand... why did these people come after them? Why did they take them away from their home? She knew the people of Sarasaland didn't like them because of their strength but... did they really needed attack them? Did they really need to take Alden away from them?

Fresh new tears started to run down her cheeks but she quickly wiped them away. Now wasn't the time for that; she had to tend to the others. Her father was chief for a reason; he was the strongest among the village and therefore he held the responsibility of being their leader. As the chief's daughter, she too held some responsibility for the younger generation of their people. She may not be as strong as some of her other peers, but one day she hopes to win the belt like her father did and become the new Chief of the Masrestlers.

A soft cry draws her attention. She moved over to the source and wrapped her arms around the young Masrestler.

"Don't cry, Chloe," she said softly. "We're going to be okay,"

"I miss her..." The young girl sobs. "I miss...my sister,"

Brianna held her tighter. Chloe was the youngest of the group, being only a few years younger than her. She wore a similar style yellow and white jumpsuit with a short skirt and sandals. Her mask was yellow with white stripes that allow her short brown hair to show.

"It'll be alright," Brianna cooed, "Father and the others are coming; they'll save us,"

"Are you really gonna believe what that human said?" Another child scowled, crossing his arms. "He could easily been trying to deceive us,"

Brianna turned to the boy with a frown. The boy's name was Ranbir. He had light blue skin, and dark brown eyes, a short snout with two small pointed teeth visible from his upper jaw. He wore a black and white mask around his face and tight black briefs.

Ranbir was about two year older than Brianna and she did not like him as much. He always acted unkindly to her and said mean things like she would never be strong enough to become Chief. Because of this, they didn't always get along and considered each other to be rivals.

"He wasn't lying, Ranbir; Luigi won't do that."

"Do you know that human, Brianna?" asked another one, Tapi.

She was oldest one within the group. She had grey skin and dark eyes, wearing a simple singlet and sandals. Her mask was a simple dark blue color with two silver stars on each side.

Brianna nodded. "I do; his name is Luigi. He's Big Brother Bowser's comrade and Sister Wendy's new mate."

"Her mate?" Tapi asked with wonder, the other children mumbling among themselves.

"That's her mate? He didn't look very strong," Ranbir scoffed.

Brianna scowled the boy; how dare he make such as bold claim on someone he didn't even know. Luigi may not be physically strong like her father or Big Brother Bowser, but he did held some strength to him.

"He is strong Ranbir, and he won't let anything bad happen to us," She argues, before turning her attention back on Chloe. "Just you wait; he'll come and get us out of here before you know it,"

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Luigi would like to keep an open-mind, especially in their certain situation. But at this moment, it was kind of hard to do. Their opinions were very limited and they were running out of time. Sure, desperate times called for desperate measures but...

Trying to chew off the chains...? The idea alone was just...dumb.

Nevertheless, that didn't stop Paraplonk from trying and boy was he trying.

"Ah shell!" The bucket wearing koopa scream and fell back behind him.

Luigi turned to check on him. "What is it?"

The Parakoopa groaned painfully, "I think…uh, I think I just broke a tooth,"

Well, so much for that idea. The green man sighs and turned his gaze at the door. He could hear Paraplonk and Guy talking behind him but he mentally blocked them out.

'Staring at the door is not going to get it to open,'

Luigi scoffed and was about to reply when a heavy CLINK sound fills the room. Both Paraponk and Guy cease their conversation to turn to the door as well. There was a tense silence before the door slowly but surely began to open.

'You were saying?'

'I…stand corrected,'

The rusty hinges of the old door cause a loud screeching sound to echo throughout the room. When it finally stops, a strange head pops out from behind the now opened door. The figure enters inside the room quickly before closing the door shut behind him.

Luigi and the others grew wary of the figure's presence. The figure was a human man – he was tall, probably taller than Luigi, and quite muscular. He wore a black shirt that was obviously two sizes too small for him; a worn out trench coat, dark jean pants and brown combat boots. He also wore a white facial mask.

The man took a step towards them and the three all grew tense. They didn't know who he was or why was he here? Was he sent to continue interrogating them? The man notices this and pauses in his approach. Surprisingly, he raises his hands up in a defensive manner.

"Relax…" The man said; his voice sounding low and rough with a bit of an accent to it. "I'm not here to hurt you,"

"Really?" Luigi asked suspiciously.

"Yes, really," Slowly, the man started to remove the mask from his face. Dark eyes pierce through a mop of dark blond hair. "You want to get out don't ya? Well, I'm here to help,"

The green man blinked in surprise. This unknown man wants to help them escape? But didn't he work for Scorpio? Why would he go against his boss' orders?

'Who cares? What matters now is that you're escaping,'

Luigi didn't say anything as the man kneeled beside him and began working on the chains. Upon a closer, the plumber could see that the man was around his age; his dark eyes were actually a green color and he had a piercing on his right ear.

"You probably didn't notice this," The man said suddenly, causing Luigi to jump. "...but these chains come with their own lock,"

The plumber blinked. "A lock?"

The man nodded. "It's designed to look like the rest of the chain; don't ask me why. The lock is noticeably bigger so it's not that hard to find."

He turned the chain to demonstrate what he means. Luigi look down at the bonds holding him and noticed that one of the chain links was noticeably larger than the rest. He had never noticed it before; probably because of it was hidden behind him.

The man dug through his pocket and pull out a small key. He inserted it into a small hole and unlocked the lock with a small but satisfying clink. He unhooked it and unwrap it around the plumber, who let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you,"

The man nodded again and did the same thing for Paraplonk, who felt great relief the second his aching wings were freed, and then Guy. Once all three of them were free, the man started to take his leave.

"Wait!"

The figure paused midstride, turning his head slightly behind his shoulder. For the second time that day, his green eyes met up with blue as the man in the green hat stares him down. Even in the poor lighting, he could make out the fear and uncertainty in those narrow blue orbs, but also a sense of determination within them.

"Why did you help us escape?" Luigi asked; his voice holding little emotion. Paraplonk and Sergeant turned to him too; both wondering the same question.

The man was silent for a moment, as if debating on whether or not he should tell him. Lying wasn't really his strong suit so he decided to just tell him the truth.
"Those kids don't deserve to be part of this,"

Luigi tries to study the man a bit more, trying to determine any ulterior motive. By all means the strange man was intimidating but besides from that, he couldn't get any bad vibes from him. After a brief moment, Luigi soften his tone and relax his body, but only slightly.

"Well, you're right on that one. But helping us escape won't do them much good." Luigi sadly admitted. "We're outnumbered and overpowered, and to top it off, we're also too injured to do a decent amount of damage."

Blond man turned his body fully, taking a more thorough look at their appearance. All three of them were injured, no doubt beaten and bruised by Scorpio's men. The Shy Guy's mask was cracked, and one of the Parakoopa's wings was slouching. But out of the three of them, the man with the green hat looked worse off. His clothes were torn and dirty, his right eye was half closed, he was holding onto his left side and to top it off, his breathing was off.

"Fuck," He groaned loudly in annoyance.

For some odd reason, the green hated man found the man's response to be a bit humorous as he smiled "Didn't think this plan all the way through uh?"

The man shot him a heated glare. "Shut your laughing gear!" He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Great…now what I'm supposed to do?"

"Well, there is this one thing," Luigi told him. "You could help us help them,"

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Ending Note:

See ya'll next time.

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