Tunnel Trouble

"Eww! Gross! Get it away!" Wendy shrieked and scampered up Roy's shell, where she clung to him like her life depended upon it.

Roy rolled his eyes. "It's just a scuttle-bug, no need to flip," he glanced down at the dirt floor of the underpass then at her and wondered if she was ever going to get off of him. He would force her off his back, but he didn't want her to retaliate. She normally didn't hesitate to do so.

"I don't care, it's creepy and it should be nowhere near me, how come I had to come do this? I should be back in the castle getting jewelry tips from Princess Pea- I mean, doing my makeup," Wendy was now gracefully positioned on the top of Roy doing her makeup in her handheld mirror and keeping her balance.

"Wasn't my idea to walk down a three-mile tunnel, with a pig on my back."

Wendy closed her mirror forcefully at the insult, "What did you just call me?"

"Will you two morons keep it down? Some of us are trying to get some work done," Ludwig looked up from his checklist and meandered over to them, surveying the dozens of Monty Moles working on the inner structure of the tunnel. "It's not exactly easy to do the work of seven, especially when two are a noise box and the others ran off ahead."

Bowser had ordered all the Koopalings prior to take part in a surveillance mission to see how the underground passageway that would run from the Koopa kingdom to the outskirts of the Mushroom kingdom, was coming along. Ludwig was the only one doing any actual work, Larry, Iggy, and Lemmy had run off ahead racing to see who was faster, and Morton was held back somewhere, engrossed in a conversation with a Monty Mole. Roy and Wendy where the only two who accompanied Ludwig on the walk, and Ludwig was begging internally for it to be any other pair of his siblings. Two that didn't argue all the time.

The tunnel was long and straight, with barely any curves or turns. It ran directly threw the rim of the Beanbean kingdom and straight towards Princess Peach's castle. The passageway was so long, that you couldn't even see the ends of you stood in the center. Barrels filled with construction equipment and supplies lined parts of the unfinished walls as well as being rolled down by the Moles. The tunnel was going to be the new route the Koopa King would take whenever he kidnaps the Princess. Instead of using his clown car. It was going to be more incognito instead of flying in from above and snatching Peach with everyone noticing.

Wendy just scoffed but kept her position on Roy's shell rim. This was going to be a long hike for Roy. Ludwig just kept checking and looking over everything as he paced alongside them.

...

About halfway threw the passage, still carrying Wendy, Roy stoped and squinted at the scene ahead. "Come on! Don't stop let's get back to the Castle already!" Wendy didn't even look up from her mirror when she complained.

Ludwig was checking off something on his clipboard then looked up and saw what Roy was staring at.

A little ways in front of them, there was a dirt hole in the center of the ceiling, big enough for a small person to climb threw. Underneath where a bunch of rocks and debris from the implode. But the strange part was that there was a rope dangling in the center. A strange individual dressed in a pink striped shirt, mask and a dark gray hat, tied the end of the rope around a barrel containing supplies, then stood on the barrel and called up threw the hole. A few of the Monty Moles ran over to stop him but he just shoved them aside, "See ya suckers!" The imposter waved mockingly at the three Koopalings.

Ludwig stormed over to the guy, who now looked worried and kept tugging the rope and calling up but nothing happened.

"Excuse you! And just what do you think your doing? Place that crate back, so demands Ludwig Von Koopa!" Ludwig pointed, mindlessly handing his clipboard to Roy and marching towards the intruder.

Many of the surrounding moles where trying to get on top of the barrel or cutting the rope, but their tries where futile. The imposter, now frantically yanking and kicking the moles off yelled, not paying attention to Ludwig, "Rookie! Pull em up already!" Finally, there was a faint reply, and the rope pulled the thief and the barrel upwards.

"Get back here you thief!" Ludwig called.

"Nada chance, ya drips! But thanks for the stuff see," The burglar called back down before disappearing upwards and back onto the surface.

...

Roy stood over to his brother, "what just happened?"

Ludwig growled, and stormed back down the tunnel. Then turned around because he forgot his clipboard.

"Are we back at the castle yet, Roy?" Wendy wined still looking in her mirror on top of Roy.

"I'm almost there, but you ain't!" With that he pushed Wendy off his shell and onto the ground then started running back down the tunnel following Ludwig. Wendy took no time before melting into a rage and started to give chase after her soon-to-be-regretful brother.

...

That evening, all seven Koopalings, Bowser, and Bowser Jr, had dinner together, in the vastly lit dining hall of one of Bowser's many castles. Everyone gathered in their seats and waited till some koopa Troppas came out of the kitchen and laid the meal on the table.

Ludwig had decided it best not to say anything about the stolen goods, that put a dent in Bowser's plans for the passageway. And he was about to believe that he wouldn't have to mention it. That was until Bowser asked how the tunnel was going along. Ludwig opened his mouth to explain someway to tell him about that thief without saying it was his fault, until Roy answered first.

"There was some bad news, didn't Ludwig tell ya?" Ludwig could've sworn he saw Roy smirk at him, but he wasn't sure.

"No, he didn't," Bowser turned his head slowly towards the oldest Koopaling and glared. As did Everyone else but mess menacing, they all started, waiting to hear what he would say. As well as what sort of story he would make up. Ludwig didn't want to tell the king that a thief broke in and stole some important supplies, there's no doubt he's going to be blamed for this little setback.
Ludwig let out a uncomfortable laugh "Well- you see."