It took me longer than what I expected, but school steals most of my time. Anyway, here it is, finally! I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 5: Deep Down in the Dungeons
The sound of some really pointy heels echoed from the stone walls of one of the many hallways of Bowser's Castle. Wendy O. Koopa was walking as fast as her short legs permitted her, without losing the grace and the authority expression she had in her face. Since the moment she had become governor of the most important Shell in the whole state, she felt superior to any other being aside from her father. Her siblings had tried to take her down a peg or two, with no success. The light from his father's room came out from the half-open door at the end of the hallway.
"Finally you're here," grunted Ludwig von Koopa crossing his arms as he saw his sister entering Bowser's room through the big pair of doors.
"I do have things to do aside from composing horrible music," said the female Koopaling to the oldest sibling with disgust in her face.
She noticed the big silhouette of her father behind Ludwig, and immediately changed her displeased expression into a big smile, so abruptly that it sent chills down Lemmy Koopa's spine.
"Hello, Daddy!" she childishly greeted her father, walking up close to him and kissing him in the cheek.
"Hello, Wendy," said the Evil King, cracking at smile at her. "You're slightly late."
"I know, Daddy, I'm sorry," said Wendy O. faking a sad face that didn't convince anyone. "I was attending an important meeting."
"Yeah, right, she was probably buying shoes," muttered Ludwig loud enough for Iggy Koopa to hear him, who was beside him trying not to laugh.
"So, what do you wanted to tell us, father?" suddenly asked Roy Koopa, a hint of hurry in his voice.
"What's with you?" inquired Wendy O. with an eyebrow raised. "Why are you in such a rush?"
"I'm- I'm not in a rush!" hurried to say the third oldest brother, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "I just had a long day and wanna get back home to get some sleep."
Bowser stared at his son suspiciously. The Koopa King was very good at reading people's eyes and could tell when someone was lying to him, but Bowser could only see his own reflection on Roy's pair of shades he wore most of the time.
"Fine, so I will make it quick," decided the Evil King not fully convinced. "Morton reported me today that Luigi was spotted in Rogueport."
There was a moment of silence in The Evil King's spacious room, the only sound coming from the fountain in the corner of the room which propelled water from a mouth of a statue shaped after the Evil King himself. Iggy Koopa had his mouth half-open, looking stupider than ever. Larry and Lemmy had their eyes wide open. Even Wendy O. looked a bit surprised, though she was trying hard to hide it.
"I can't believe he's still alive!" said Larry Koopa, being the first to recover from the shock, running a hand through his blue hair.
"Did they catch him?" asked Iggy quickly.
"No," grunted Bowser with a grim expression on his face.
"And where's Morton right now?" asked Ludwig, now noticing that his second youngest sibling wasn't there. He felt surprised that he hadn't notice that earlier, as Morton's bigger build and dark skin tone usually highlighted his presence among his brothers and sister.
"He's at Rogueport," explained the father to his children, crossing his arms. "He's investigating what exactly happened."
"I knew that you should have given that portion of the Mushroom Kingdom to me too!" exploded Wendy O. in an unnecessary high, annoying pitch. "I if would have been in charge, I would have caught him!"
"I'm sure you would, Wendy," said Bowser, deciding it was best not to argue with his only daughter. The other Koopalings merely rolled their eyes.
"Anyway, you should stay alert," demanded Bowser, looking particularly at Wendy O. and Lemmy. "Your Shells are right next to Morton's, so ask your troops to guard the borders."
Yes, father!" exclaimed Lemmy obediently with a hand salute. Wendy O. merely nodded.
"He won't be getting any far," assured Bowser, trying to convince himself rather than his children.
"How did he manage to survive, in first place?" asked Larry completely amazed. "I mean, isn't it weird that not a single inhabitant had spotted him earlier?"
"He was with other six people," informed Bowser. "And one of them was a Koopa; maybe he was the one supplying Luigi with food."
"Those filthy traitors!" hissed Wendy O. sharply. "What the hell are those Magikoopas for? Lazy bastards, they can't even do their job right!"
"And to which race belonged the other five?" asked Ludwig, ignoring his sister's complaining.
"Morton didn't give details about the rest," stated Bowser, pacing around the red carpet with his hands behind his back. "But they managed to kill one of them, though."
"For real?" inquired Lemmy absolutely intrigued about this new piece of information. "Were they able to identify them?"
"Flavio Pierpont," recited Bowser, not looking at any of them but at the red carpet down at his feet. "That's the name Morton told me."
"Who on earth is this guy?" asked Iggy Koopa confusedly.
"He was a rich entrepreneur of Rogueport," uttered Bowser, still not making eye contact with his children.
"What connection could this guy possible have with Luigi?" wondered Larry, scratching his head.
Before anyone could make a guess, Roy cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention.
"This is really interesting and all," commented Roy to his father. "But I really need to get some sleep."
"Fine, leave," said Bowser curtly, narrowing his eyes.
"But I will advice my troops to watch out for Luigi," added Roy when he had a hand in the doorknob, feeling a little guilty for leaving his father so abruptly. "We'll find him, Dad; don't worry."
"I should probably go too…" began saying Larry Koopa apologetically a few seconds after Roy had closed the door behind him.
"Everyone, get the hell out here!" roared Bowser, getting really upset and stamping the red carpet with his right foot.
All of the Koopalings knew that when his father wasn't in a good mood, it was best to leave him alone. Even Wendy O. didn't argue, and hastily followed his brothers outside Bowser's room silently.
"Ungrateful children!" hissed Bowser angrily after Wendy O. had closed the door behind her. "Now they don't have time to listen to his damn father for a few minutes!"
In an attempt to release his anger, he grabbed a Boo figurine made of crystal that was in his desk and smashed it on the floor, breaking it into tiny pieces that scattered all around the stone floor and the carpet.
"I need to relieve this stress," groaned Bowser to himself, pacing around his room.
He stopped to watch the dancing flames in his fireplace and slowly smirked.
"And I know exactly how."
"He just broke another figurine," informed Iggy Koopa shaking his head as he walked with the rest of his siblings along a castle's hallway. "I hope it wasn't the Shy Guy I gave him for his birthday."
Larry was about to reply when he suddenly stumbled across Roy, who was coming from a staircase beside them.
"Roy?" said Lemmy confusedly. "I thought you had left already!"
"What were you doing in the dungeons?" inquired Wendy O., staring at him suspiciously.
"I- umm… nothing," mumbled Roy hesitatingly, "I just got lost."
"I get lost all the time too!" exclaimed Larry in comprehension. "The castle is so freaking big!"
Iggy and Lemmy nodded at his brother comment, but Wendy O. knew that her brother wasn't being completely honest.
"Hello, my princess," greeted Bowser after he entered a dim room, lit only by torches hung on the stone walls. At the end of the room was a cell, enclosed by vertical iron bars and a metallic door. Bowser closed the door behind him and walked closer to the cell. When he was close enough, he was able to see the face of Princess Peach enlightened by the torches nearest to the cell. She didn't look like a princess at that moment, though. Her face was covered in dirt, and her blond hair was greasy and untidy. Her pink dress was torn in some areas, and she wasn't wearing any footwear.
"I have been feeling very stressed lately," whispered Bowser, approaching a silver key to the cell's door. Peach immediately backed away to the wall at the opposite side.
"But you can give me hand, right, princess?" asked Bowser maliciously, opening the metallic door. "Don't worry; we are going to have a very good time."
Peach gulped as her whole body was trembling in fear.
I apologize for ending the chapter in such a pervert way, but I always thought of Bowser that way. I mean, he didn't kidnap Princess Peach just to have tea with her, right? ;)
I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to point out grammar mistakes, or just write your thoughts about my story. I hope to upload before December. Thanks for reading!