Across the lake Haruki was fishing from (and what Harvey was running up to) stood a castle. It looked like it could have been grand at one point or another, it's grey cobblestone framework standing resulted despite the destruction around it. However, it too had suffered-several hole in the wall had been made, a bridge that had crossed the river had been blown apart, and most tellingly a stained glass window that had been on the tallest tower of the castle had been blown out from the inside, replaced by a tarp with a grinning reptilian face on it.
To the two Koopas that were currently loitering at the castle's front door, this was a normal sight to them. Haruki and Harvey were not.
"Er, am I seeing this right?" Asked a Green Shelled Koopa to a Red Shelled one. He scratched his head, trying to figure out if Cheep Cheeps could have that much difference between species. The Red Koopa scoffed at the question.
"Wish I wasn't. Those things are eyesores to me," he complained, rolling his eyes "still, that taller one will give us a good meal once we confiscate his bucket of fish. Heck I'd take the fish man himself for a meal personally."
"You and me both. So, shall we report this to General Morton?" Asked the Green Shelled Koopa, referring to his commanding officer. The Red Shelled Koopa eyed the Green Shelled one as if he had just sprouted a second head.
"You do know he's out on a bombing run, right? Lord Bowser doesn't expect him back until later tonight." The Red Shelled one stated simply. The Green Shelled one shrugged.
"You and I both know Morton likes to finish jobs early. I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up in-hang on...Do you hear that?" The Green Shelled Koopa asked, pausing mid sentence. The Red Shelled one blinked a few times, but soon he heard it to. A low, humming sound, like turbines being worked to their absolute limit. And they were getting closer.
"I'll be damned. Guess a broken clock is right twice a day, eh Green Shell?" The Red Shelled Koopa asked snakily. The Green Shelled one ignored his companion.
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To say the Toads were terrified would be an understatement. More and more dangerous looking individuals were coming through the portal, and if this kept up not only would they be out muscled, they'd be out numbered too. With each new motion, be it Kieri summoning her blade, Darth Vader activating his light saber, or Ainz summoning two hellish like beings. Kieri in particular had winced at that last one, somewhat glad now that Ainz had insisted she stay on his shoulder. She couldn't help but wonder what had made the skeleton so protective of her, though she did have experience with those who had less than savory exteriors being rather kind on the inside. Still, it was too early to judge whether Ainz would turn out to be one of those people.
The Toads meanwhile stood their ground admirably. They were obviously scared witless, even their General, but a look into their eyes would tell anyone how hardy they had become. The ones guarding Jasper, who had yet to make a move, could be justified in that they hadn't actually seen anything else that had come through the portal, but the ones who looked them dead on refused to move, merely tightening their grips on their spears as they awaited them to make the first move.
At least, they were, until a siren pierced the eery calm in the air. General Shif T. froze in place, and his face finally betrayed the fear in his mind. "Oh no..." He murmured, his eyes looking past the legion of power forces in front of him and to the castle beyond. Or rather, above it.
"Everyone below ground, n-!" Started Blot T., though he found himself unable to finish that sentence. Jasper had finally gotten bored enough to strike. The powerful quartz warrior had grabbed the Toad by his neck and slammed him back down into the ground, grabbing his spear and snapping it with one hand. The other toads started jabbing and stabbing, but though Jasper would occasionally grunt, she fought on, seemingly oblivious to the dozens of toads running for cover around her.
At least she was, until a shadow was cast on her back.
"What the..." Muttered Jasper, currently rearing back to head butt an unfortunate looking Toad in the face when the shadow was cast. She looked up and suddenly felt very, very small.
Up above were a fleet of five flying wooden battleships. There were four smaller ones, each equipped with perhaps a half dozen canons and kept in the air via propellers sticking up where the sail should've been. The fifth one, however, dwarfed the other four, having a full dozen canons and a far steeper bow. On said bow was a silver face of a bald, roaring face, with a star tatoo over their left eye. Jasper hadn't known it yet, but she had just gotten her first glimpse of Morton Koopa Jr.
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"Sir is there any particular reason we've flown past the castle? We're running on empty in regards to fuel, troops, and explosives." Berated the Hammer Bro assigned as the second in command to this particular bombing run. Morton, who had been looking out a window down on Toad Town, glanced over his shoulder, a mischievous looking spark in his eyes. He turned on the Hammer Bro, somehow making him look larger than the Hammer Bro despite said Hammer Bro having four inches on Morton.
"You remember how we're supposed to make sure no structure in Toad Town is supposed to be standing, right?" Morton asked in a gruff voice, a toothy grin adorning his face. The Hammer Bro looked incredulous.
"Yes, we made sure of that last week," the Hammer Bro explained slowly "there's no way they would be dumb enough to-"
"Well they have!" Declared Morton, pushing the Hammer Bro's face against the window he was looking out of. Though his face was being a bit smooshed against the window, the Hammer Bro could see the newly 'constructed' portal that now stood in Toad Town Square.
"Huh. Alright, fine, they have something new," the Hammer Bro said, his voice a bit smothered due to the aforementioned window smooshing "but we're so low on everything sir. Surely General Wendy or Ludwig can-"
"NO!" Said Morton quickly, grabbing the Hammer Bro by the lapel of his...Shell "We are going to handle this. Prep the Bob-Bombs." The Hammer Bro briefly questioned his line of employment before giving the signal to the coopers around him piloting the battleship. A few button presses later, and the hull started opening.
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The hulls opened slowly, making those on the ground wait to see what was actually inside the ships. However, it soon became apparent when what was inside started falling to the ground. From a distance, they looked like large black balls, each about the size of a small boulder, falling from the ships with little organization over Toad Town. They occasionally flashed a bright reddish orange, but exactly what they were didn't become apparent until two of them got too close to one another and crashed in the air. The resulting explosion gave away their identity as bombs.
Kieri watched this with wide eyes, quickly channeling whatever ice magic she could in her hands as they got closer and closer to the ground. She was intent on freezing them before they even had a chance to explode, but there would be too many for her to get before they hit the ground. She glanced down to Ainz, hoping his assistance would continue.
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"Ah, my apologizes," York stated simply at Roland's instance on getting a move on
"there are times where I stop to smell the roses at perhaps inappropriate times. Zach can testify to that." York finished. He was able to keep up with Roland surprisingly well despite helping Ken along, never more than five feet behind the cowboy. It was somewhat slow goings, but York soon arrived at the same destination all the same.
He had just missed Ainz, Vader, and Kieri entering the portal, but he could still see the man with the turret standing guard. And what an impressive turret it was. York was fairly certain not even the FBI had access to a machine quite that intimidating looking, and he couldn't help but wonder if it was as lethal as it looked. He could easily ask the apparent maker of the machine, but it would likely end with him getting blown to smithereens. If The Engineer was that kind of person. York put his index and middle fingers t the side of his head.
Profiling StartThe machine had no black marks around any of its firing holes, leading York to believe that it had yet to actually be used. Furthermore, The Engineer standing behind it didn't look like the lethal sort at all, at least not without reason. A man who could build something like that had certainly killed before, but he didn't strike York as the type who would kill for sport. The nearby crater briefly made York reconsider this stance, but there were no blast marks around the rubble. Whatever made that crater, it wasn't the machine or it's maker, and whoever had had to have gone into that portal.
Before York could consider the portal for profiling however, he noted Roland. The cowboy looked uncharacteristically pale, something York took note of. He didn't think Roland was the type to get scared by a man and his gun, so it had to be the portal that had led them here. He quirked an eyebrow at this.
"Look familiar to you?" He asked bluntly, deciding now was as good a time as any for a cigarette, which he withdrew from his carton and lit quickly, waiting for Roland's response.
@Deathxthextree @CrimsonCastle @Lmpkio @Scrapula @clanjos
