[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6W7bqko.png[/img] [h2][color=FD0000]The Koopa Troop[/color][/h2] [b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,334 (+6) [b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 14 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (155/140) [b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 14 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]////////////////////////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (40/140) [b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 13 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]//////////////////////////////////[/color]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (35/130) [b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aqua]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////////// (56/90) [b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] The Under - Mercy Dreams [hider=warp locations] [s] Central hub: Smash City Alcamoth Accessible locations: Peach’s castle Limsa Lominscuttle Town Lumbridge Twilight Town Kosm’s Beach [/s] [/hider] [/center] [color=FD0000]”COWARD! GET BACK HERE SO I CAN STOMP YOU”[/color] Bowser roared after the absconded F, but it was no use, he wasn’t coming back. Jr more quietly agreed with his father’s sentiment [color=SpringGreen]”I know this makes it easier for us, but it feels bad to let him get away with this”[/color] while Kamek pondered [color=DeepSkyBlue]”It’s strange, he was quite formidable when I tried to take him on. With his ability to reverse time I find it odd he would not even try”[/color] He then had a thought, and proceeded to retrieve and flick through Robin Goodfellow’s tome to see if it had any information on why he might have done so. Unfortunately, unlike the previous owner of the book, F’s entry was rather short. [hider=tome entries] [b]Robin Goodfellow[/b] [i]A trickster straight out of a comedy play, Robin Goodfellow may have once been good-natured. However, when he discovered the play from which he was created, the nature of his existence broke his spirit and turned him cruel and bitter towards humanity. The incarnation of theatrics, mankind's dedication to the art of theatre and storytelling has birthed Robin Goodfellow. Unlike other Archangels, his manifested form has a singular defined origin - the play Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. As an Egregore summoned by the Stagmer-line, Robin is a composite being created by the accumulated thoughts, dreams, and desires of humanity, for good or evil. His random magic tricks allow him to help or hinder as he pleases, but once self-aware his chief pastime became trapping sufferers in dreams, the greatest deception of all, to which he ascribed a noble, even vicarious purpose[/i] [b]F[/b] [i]One of the twenty-six members of Moebius who operate throughout the World of Light as its Consuls. His true identity is unknown. Being utterly above consequence, he is a malevolent manipulator who delights in the suffering of others, if for no other reason than assuaging his own boredom[/i] [/hider] [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Hmmf, so they can keep secrets even from you. Let us hope you are more useful when we get to dealing with the Guardian then, hmmm”[/color] Kamek said to the book, before snapping it shut. Out of all of the troop, Rika was the only one unconcerned with the runaway Consul, as she was instead distracted by shiny things, namely the pile of items that had once constituted Omari’s inventory, commenting [color=Aqua]”wow, look at all these knives he had on him”[/color] about its contents. [hider=Omari’s inventory] - [i]Shiny Knife:[/i] A shiny new knife. You can see your reflection in the blade. - [i]Foe Facts! Journal:[/i] Omori uses this to record any enemies he's faced so far. - [i][url=https://omori.fandom.com/wiki/TULIP_HAIRSTICK]Tulip Hairstick:[/url][/i] Plain, simple, and bulbous. Increases health a decent amount. - [i][url=https://i.imgur.com/wVXYi0V.png]Machete and Pistol:[/url][/i] Two piratical weapons bound together. The machete is short and broad, deal unremarkable slash damage while the pistol is a flintlock, with short range, high recoil, and deceptively big damage. However, the pistol is empty and does not accept ammunition. The only way to load it is by landing two subsequent hits with the machete. They share durability and upgrades. - [i][url=https://i.imgur.com/6GiTpA8.png]Dance Instructions:[/url][/i] While it looks like a classic treasure map at first glance, this scraw of yellowed paper is actually a step-by-step process by which one might, in theory, ‘do the monkey’. - [i][url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/minecraft_gamepedia/images/0/08/Dancing_Gray_Parrot.gif]Cockatiel Bobblehead:[/url][/i] A cute locker ornament owned by a young sailor who wanted a parrot of his own. The merry jig it dances once slapped can bring a smile to even the most world-weary face. - [i][url=https://i.imgur.com/noPFdc6.png]Endless Summer Life Preserver:[/url][/i] (x2) Bearing the name of some long-gone craft, this buoyant inner tube can keep one afloat even on a stormy sea. - [i][url=https://i.imgur.com/Apah7nG.png]Revolver:[/url][/i] A renowned gunblade. What it lacks in power, it more than makes up for with its reliability. Despite its name, it cannot be used as an actual gun, meaning it does not fire projectiles, and can therefore only be used in melee combat. Triggering a round in the gun chamber sends a shock wave through the blade, increasing its damage potential, but the timing required is hard to learn, which is why it takes years to master wielding a gunblade. - [i]Black Cat-eared Raincoat & Black Rainboots[/i] - [i]Large Pack:[/i] Increases inventory space. - [i][url=https://gearsofwar.fandom.com/wiki/Combat_Knife]Combat Knife[/url][/i] - [i][url=https://gearsofwar.fandom.com/wiki/Serrated_Knife]Serrated Knife:[/url][/i] A large dagger most infamously wielded by General RAAM of the Locust Horde. Although it is a knife in the hands of RAAM, by human standards, it is a short sword. - [i][url=https://gearsofwar.fandom.com/wiki/Boltok_Pistol]Boltok Pistol:[/url][/i] The standard-issue sidearm of the Locust. a high-caliber, double-action revolver with a 6-round capacity, a side swing chamber, and an enclosed hammer. It is heavy, slow to fire, but does unequivocally more damage per shot and has exceptional stopping power. - [i][url=https://media.tenor.com/0pnQabk3vHUAAAAC/mewo-omori.gif]Mewo[/url][/i] Omori's pet cat. - [i][url=https://i.ibb.co/sK7dLYn/Firefly-Head-Lamp.png]Firefly Headlamp:[/url][/i] For shrunken down 90's kids! - [i][url=https://i.imgur.com/ArQMKG0.png]Boxing Glove:[/url][/i] A gun that shoots a limited-range boxing glove with a chance to stun. Each time it kills an enemy, it gains a star up to 3 stars. When at 3 stars, it can be charged to consume the stars and fire a high-damage super punch. [/hider] The ship girl had crouched down to look at all these, and while at it promptly flicked the little Cockatiel Bobblehead, who’s dance she found very amusing. Indeed despite how inappropriate it was to have it be dancing over a child’s grave, it was simply too merry a jig, resulting in a slight bit of mood raising all round. Enough for the others to approach and inspect the items at least. Or rather at Kamek’s insistence, move them, so he could sweep the ash into a pile and then have some Toadies build a small cairn over it, along with one for all the other fallen Seekers (and Undyne). A bit of respect that made deciding what to do with the spirits and items feel a little less like grave robbing. In the end, Jr ended up finding himself slipping the tulip hairpin sideways into his topknot, before fusing both Undyne and Omari into his right arm in a bout of sentimentality. Both had deserved better. Nocturne might have also deserved better, but having never actually met her, there was little sentimentality to be found, and she was promptly crushed into an item. [hider=For Junior]Notable spirits consumed: [url=https://i.imgur.com/M4UUWKr.jpeg][b]Undyne[/b][/url] and [url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/34/e8/99/34e8990e2dc69d720d6f1833d34562d9.jpg][b]Omori[/b][/url] (Right arm) The scales on Junior's right arm turn a bit more blue, but then the colors on his arm got more muted overall. It has some light piece of metal armor strapped around the forearm and bicep, as well as a light gauntlet and shoulder plate. The minor personality changes cancel each other out. These spirits confer the Strengths [b]Lance Aptitude[/b] (which includes both wielding and throwing proficiencies) and Emotions, which affect his stats a little based on his emotions: angry (+attack/-defense), happy (+speed/-accuracy), sad (+defense/-speed). These spirits also confer the Weaknesses [b]Worse Depth Perception[/b] and [b]Spider/Drowning Phobia[/b] New item obtained: [b]Volt Gun[/b] A rather heavy pistol that can essentially fire electric bolts. Their damage is okay, but they can build up stagger quickly and even apply paralysis, as well as trigger electric elemental reactions. While this gun can't run out of power its fire rate is very slow, one shot every five seconds, and the bolts' travel time means they can be dodged[/hider] The results of the fusion were nothing flashy, though they did result in jr turning down a replacement mount upon having a rather adverse response to a proposed spider steed, and a slight red glow when he got annoyed at his new irrational fear of the multi legged creepy crawlies. The volt gun was promptly stashed, along with everything else that wasn’t claimed, and with that they were ready to move on and face the final boss of the area. Well. Almost ready [hider=level ups] Kamek level up: Beast inside (Tigren Sourceress + Devan Shell): augment’s Kamek’s devil form, granting it the claws, fangs and agility of a Dire Panther, allowing for melee attacks as well as a pounce attack mid ranged, which lands the user behind their foe, facing their back and in a defensive posture. Rika Level up: Denting Blows(Vi): If Rika can land a series of 3 punches (vault breakers included) on a target within 4 seconds of each other, the third blow will be empowered. This third blow deals extra damage equivalent to 15% of the enemies max hp (though there is a hard cap of 3 punches worth of extra damage, and armor/defense still reduces the damage), as well as increasing her attack speed by 60% and reducing enemy armor by 20% (both for 4 seconds). The effects do not stack, but can have their durations refreshed, and the third blow procs her Hexed-teched weakness, disabling the fist that deals the third blow for 2 seconds. Jr level up: Monster metal (Vespikan Ferromancer/Undyne): via a combination of the Ferromancer and Undyne’s magic, Jr can now produce magic infused iron, as long as it comes in the form of spikes and spears. As well as giving it the ability to better harm foes with physical resistance (such as ghosts), it also lets the summoned objects still be manipulated even once they are no longer in contact with his body. They can either float close to Jr to be later launched at targets, or can have their trajectory altered once while in flight, letting the shots re-adjust if they miss, rain down from above when shot over a target, spike up after being launched under, or even orbit around the foe inorder to shoot them in the back. [/hider] They also had to open up the seal, a task easily done, though the result certainly was dramatic, followed by a dark and daunting traversal through a gloomily lit corridor, which had Bowser agreeing with Nadia that [color=FD0000]”Yeah, definitely building some good tension here”[/color] The area’s bosses chamber was certainly getting a good rating, as the payoff of the heavily chained Hollow Knight and its dramatic escape from its bindings right when they appeared was a nice capping off for the presentation, at least in Bowser’s books. [color=FD0000]”Now this is more like it, none of that sad sack of a beach baloney. Let’s rumble big guy”[/color] Bowser said, smacking a fist into a palm as he prepared to go toe to toe with the towering foe, each punch reducing that height difference as he enlarged himself as much as he could. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Less commentary, more taking it down”[/color] Kamek insisted, before belated adding [color=DeepSkyBlue]”If you please sire”[/color] only for the Hollow Knight to seized the initiative and lunge across half the arena while thrusting its blade towards the king. The king had barely a moment to bring his guard up, the blade ramming clean into and out the other side of his forearm, but stopping before it reached his chest. In response to this blow there came twin cries of ‘Papa!’ from both Rika and Jr who had been flanking their father, and who both now came to his defense, starting with Jr unleashing a barrage of spears he’d prepped and had floating with him, the blades thunking into the knight even as the prince himself raised his staff to heal his father. Rika meanwhile went in, fists at the ready, slamming into the knight’s chest with a vaultbreaker to drive it back, and forcing it to extract its blade from her father, before driving her other fist into one of its legs upon landing and then, when the first gauntlet came back online landing a third strike for good measure. That third strike was accompanied by a flash of light and a crack as jagged glowing orange lines formed on the hollow knight’s armor, briefly weakening its defense. She went in for a fourth punch, only for the knight to have gotten wise to this gnat smacking it, preemptively blocking this next predictable strike with its nail, and then retaliating with a massive slash that sent Rika tumbling back. A freshly healed Bowser was right there to take over however, declaring [color=FD0000]”Now you’re gonna pay”[/color] as he full charged the knight on all fours, goreing it with his tusks and launching him up into the air, putting him in prime position to be blasted by Kamek, who, alongside 4 clones, all shot the predictably arcing knight with a Volt Gun each, overcoming its shoddy fire rate with volume of fire. Briefly staggered by a combination of the bolts and a bad landing, the hollow knight was then assailed by all three of the Troop’s royals at once. Both Rika and Jr (in the form of Undyne) stabbed their spears into it from either side, skewering it, before Bowser came in last to deliver a healthy punch that messily ripped the Hollow Knight off of the impalement and slammed it back into a wall. Infection dripped from the wounded knight’s guts as it pushed itself away from the wall, but rather than weakening it, all the damage they had done seemed instead to have empowered the Hollow Knight, for while it had moved slowly in between actions before, now it seemed more alert. Or perhaps, more easily compelled to move. It also pulled out a few new tricks while it was at it. First it teleported into the air before slamming right back down to the ground with meteoric force, causing columns of infected fire to burst up from the ground around the impact site, blasting the Troop back and away. Then it opened its cloak, revealing its infection dripping wounds in full, out of which globs of infection lept in a barrage of blight, furthur scattering the troop who did not want to get in contact with that one bit. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I don’t understand, if this is the source of the infection why is only using the infection now that we’ve caused it to leak out”[/color] Kamek asked no one particular, and then, remembering he had a source of answers that he had intended to use anyway before them getting targeted first rather distracted him, put the lighting gun away and asked his book. [hider=tome entry] [b]The Hollow Knight[/b] [i]A fully-grown vessel created and trained for the purpose of sealing the Infection and saving the underground kingdom. To harbor such a virulent plague and keep it sealed within, absolute emptiness was required, but in the course of its upbringing the vessel's purity became tainted by its bond with its creator. When the time came for the vessel to fulfill its destiny, it failed to contain the Infection completely, ensuring that one day the plague would rise again No trace of the original vessel remains except a powerful urge to kill the infection, even within itself. Its nail is ancient, but every bit as deadly as the day it was forged. Deep within lurks a virulent hatred of all living things, but no matter how deep the vessel's nail sinks, it will never reach the source[/i] [/hider] [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Oh… oh dear”[/color] Kamek muttered, before calling out a warning [color=DeepSkyBlue]”The Knight is just another level of the seal! A living prison! If we kill it, the real source of the infection may well get out”[/color] before remembering what they’d been told they needed. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Ah. That is why we need the dream catcher? To… enter its dreams? Akin to what Robin did to us? Is that where the infection is? In its… mind? Its soul?”[/color] He wondered out loud, as the Troop grouped up defensively around him, opening the way for someone else to take over. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I dearly wish we’d had a better explanation”[/color] the mage complained as he put away the book, and instead brought out the staff they had retrieved from the prison, holding it aloft. Nothing happened [color=SpringGreen]”So what do we do? Weaken it? Will that make it work?”[/color] jr asked, having turned off the Undyne recording so he could heal them all. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Something like that?”[/color] Kamek replied with uncertainty, before deciding the best they could do was [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Put it down, but not out!”[/color]