[center]
[h2][color=FD0000]The Koopa Troop[/color][/h2]
[b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,256(+3)
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////  (22/90)
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 7 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (87/70)
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Location:[/color][/b] Limsa Lominscuttle Town - Outside The Bismarck
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After a close call caused by Sephiroth’s brazen self transformation, which consisted of him shrinking and getting a makeover into a more summary look. Humans were lucky in that there were so many of their ilk about that they could gain power from without too drastic a transformation, Kamek thought. He wasn't sure if absorbing his own Cia copy would go down quite as well. It would have to wait either way, unlike Sephiroth the mage wasn’t about to go fusing while things were going down that he might need to deal with. It just seemed a rather rude thing to do in the middle of a negotiation, so he tucked it away to use later.

Said negotiations were going well, Geralt’s delivery of the information they had discovered about how the fleet was regenerating getting the admiral to begrudgingly stand down her forces. The ability to win the seemingly endless war they were fighting was worth the damages they had caused. To the town as a whole at least, it left the poor chef to pick up the pieces of his ruined restaurant without any immediate compensation.

Bowser’s attempt at fobbing off the cost of those damages onto Peach got at least one reaction, namely from Blazermate who teased the king about it.

[color=FD0000]”What? Hey!”[/color] The king replied to the ribbing in a fluster. A small part of him wondered what baseball had to do with this and in what version of the game you ran to the bases with some else, but the rest of his mind rolled over to the tradition of the guy paying for dinner. Or in this case an entire restaurant. He immediately scrambled for an excuse and what he found was, to be fair, a pretty decent if somewhat undignified one. He was flat broke.  [color=FD0000]”Look. She has her castle, I don't have mine. When we do find mine, or when we get back, I'll cover the costs or something? Kamek, write the princess an IOU”[/color]

Behind him Kamek notably cringed at the prospect. Their various Princess-nappings and kingdom/world/galaxy conquering schemes were expensive, and what they didn't spend on the preparation was lost as the man in red merrily stormed through everything they could throw at him, hoovering up coins as he went. Now that he thought about it, he wondered how much of Peach’s treasury consisted of money the plumber had taken directly from them over the years. The mage quietly decided he wouldn’t ever remind the king of this IOU if he could avoid doing so.

Fortunately the princess had gotten over her stupor and enthusiastically offered her own finances to aid in the reconstruction of the restaurant and while the frog warrior’s offer of all his fiances had been pushed back people where all to happy to take Peach’s funds, especially because it was now a compassionately offer of aid rather than compensation. It definitely helped that unlike the honorable warrior the princess wouldn't be bankrupted by this bout of generosity. That said, it would be best, Kamek thought, if they tried to avoid wrecking places they might end up having to pay for to rebuild in future, lest they drain the royal coffers. It was the army’s only source of funding after all.

[hider=A conch held to the ear]

While Peach hashed out some of the specifics of how to pay for things with the restaurant owner and how the navy was going to repay them for the information Geralt had supplied Bowser was left with a bit of time to fill. He’d left Kamek to keep up with the details, the mage could fill him in on the actual important bits later, and instead he went to have a look and see if there were any spoils to be had. Unsurprisingly, no one wanted anything to do with the spirits of the bystanders (be it for emotional or practical reasons) and the copies of the mage had all been snatched up, but that did leave a little floating emblem which drew the king’s attention much as they had the Ace Cadet. He approached the spinning trident and then gave it a curious poke with a claw.

The moment Bowser made contact, the sound of a ship’s bell rang in his ears, followed by the crash of a wave on the shore. Beneath his touch the orb rippled and expanded, and a wave of turquoise light or fog engulfed his vision. From its surface, undulating like the ocean waves, an unfamiliar shape was made manifest. After a moment longer the waters parted to reveal a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/hades/images/4/43/Poseidon.png]broad-shouldered man[/url] with wild, sea-green hair and a goatee like a length of kelp, adorned with a seahorse crown and easygoing smile. His twinkling eyes held a profound depth, although they didn’t quite seem to focus on Bowser himself.

“‘Hoy there!” he called out. “Who’s this now, washed upon my shores? Never before have I seen your like, but there’s no questioning that you’re the very picture of oceanic might! We’ve got a lot in common then, haven’t we? I’m Poseidon, the God of the Sea, and since you’ve managed to earn one of my blessings it’s only fitting I grant you a little water power, hm?”

Bowser looked at the god, his mouth agape in surprise at what had just happened, then glanced back and forth at the turquoise void, realised dealing with whoever this was was probably going to be the only way out, then looked back at the (self proclaimed) god. Still rather beset by confusion at what was going on he raised a finger, lowered it, raised it again and found himself asking [color=FD0000]”You’re not like Bacchus are you? Coz the first guy who’s called themselves a god today’s ‘power’ just made everyone dumb and dizzy, and that was not a good time”[/color] 

For a moment the sea god looked perplexed himself, but Poseidon quickly recalled his fellow divinity with a smile. “Ohoho, you’ve met our Roman friend? Watered down he may be compared to Dionysus, but watered down his wine is not! He certainly knows how to have a good time, and while I consider myself no slouch in that department, we are neither equals in responsibility nor strength! You’ll find what I have to offer a far better catch!” He held out his hand, and three diamond-shaped glyphs appeared before him, each with a scroll beneath it offering more explanation.

[i][b]Poseidon’s Aid[/b] - Surge forward on a crashing wave while impervious for 1.2 seconds. Must be charged over the course of a fight
[b]Breaking Wave[/b] - Slamming a foe into a barrier creates a blast of water in the area
[b]Razor Shoals[/b] - Nonphysical moves with knock-away effects also Rupture foes (Rupture deals damage to enemies as they move, increasing with their movement speed)[/i]

Bowser didn’t exactly understand everything that had been said, but Bacchus being confirmed to be considered a god by someone who definitely had the vibe to be one (Bowser’s understanding of the word lined up much more with the greek’s version of divinity than it might with, say, the Phantom Thieve’s) wasn’t great news. Fortunately Poseidon’s boons spoke for themselves in terms of his wisdom and sanity, each offering up potential synergies with the King’s power and fighting style. 

[color=FD0000]”Hmmmm. This one.”[/color] he said after some consideration, pointing at Razor Shoals. While the other two would make him more powerful in places he already exeled, the king knew his weaknesses. Fast things were incredibly annoying, so being able to give them a spray down AND punish them for running around afterwards? Even an idiot could see the worth of that. Maybe too worth it

The king paused right before touching the scroll and asked [color=FD0000]”Wait, what’s the catch?”[/color] Both the king’s own experiences, and the incident with Linkle earlier today, had instilled a mistrust of using the powers of others. There was always a price. 

For the second time Poseidon looked bemused. “Catch…? Oh!” He realized the other definition of the word. “Zeus’s beard, you’re skeptical one!” the sea god laughed. “All I ask is that you use it well, as a sign of respect to both myself and the power granted you. Not everyone comes by my blessing, after all!”

[color=FD0000]”That it? Yeah I can work with that. Also look man... God, stuff’s gone wrong in the past with this kind of thing... and less than an hour ago too. Don’t suppose you know what a Skullheart is and how to get it out of someone?”[/color] Bowser explained and then asked. You never knew.

The sea god shook his head. “Not me! All I know is that with me in your corner, you’ll be sailing with the wind at your back! Prove yourself worthy of another boon and I’ll be happy to make you stronger still. Until then...I’ll [i]sea[/i] you later!” The chosen glyph zipped into Bowser’ chest as the other disappeared, and the vision faded away like smoke on the water, leaving Bowser standing back in the ruined restaurant as if the whole thing had never happened.

[color=FD0000]”Sea you later. Realy? … Pffff. Ok that’s actually pretty funny”[/color] 

[/hider]


With the big problems out the way, there was only the minutiae of the arrangement to handle, and once that was all settled the team all wound up back in the Drowning Wench.There Peach suggested everyone take a load off after a long, long day. That was all and good for some, but not everyone’s work was done. No sooner had they arrived in the bar than Kamek and Geralt were summoned to give a briefing to the heads of the city’s navy on everything they knew. Before they headed out, the mage approached Peach to get her up to speed with the one part of their airship ride that they hadn’t told the admiral about.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”I’m afraid there's one more thing that needs doing tonight, your majesty. We have a, hmmm, a new friend that is in need of that spirit removal ability you have. They’re with the young master and Sakura back at the airship, which is parked in the cove with Briny-Beard’s ship. If you could let her know we’re meeting with the Admiral and that it might help us introduce two other new friends if she were to vouch for them in that meeting. That is only if they are all up for it, make sure they know that,”[/color] Kamek told her, hoping she could put enough of what he meant together that she wouldn't be surprised and need Sakura and Jr to explain everything on the spot, while also using candid enough language that he wouldn't worry the other people in the public setting they were in. 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”If you think that last is a good plan, Geralt?”[/color] He asked the Witcher, not wanting to be on a different page from the person who was going to be the key half of their briefing/negotiation team.

[color=FD0000]”If you're going to where Jr is, I’m going too. Also someone’s gotta make sure no more kidnappings happen today,”[/color] Bowser asserted, partially wanting to see his son, partially wanting to avoid Bacchus if he came back to the bar, before sucking air in through his teeth as he remembered he had bad news to deliver. He sighed, and then laid out the situation as best he could [color=FD0000]”So uh. Linkle. She was a brave idiot and used this cursed wish granting thing called the Skullheart, which turns people into crazy dangerous monsters called a Skullgirl if their wish isn't ‘pure’. Big problem is the heart’s super blatantly evil and nitpicks every wish to find something, anything, that isn't pure and so. Yeah. Skullgirl. Then before we or she could do anything she got nabbed by one of those hooded jerks, this one could stop time, and dragged off to who knows where through a portal,”[/color] 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”That. Oh dear,”[/color] Kamek was at a loss as to what to say to that [color=DeepSkyBlue]”A monster, really? Can’t anything be done?”[/color]

“People with a strong will can resist, especially if they are trying to stay focused on their wish” Marie told them, the former skullgirl summoning herself to give a better explanation than the King could “and her wish was simply to become powerful enough to fulfill your quest, which is straightforward enough. She might have her mind for a while, but in the end the skullheart will win, take control, and rain down destruction upon everyone and everything. And no. there is no undoing it. I’m sorry. I’m speaking from experience here.”

[color=FD0000]”Where you’re from maybe. We have every world’s power all shoved in here. Maybe your soul thing can fix it? If not, the mercs are looking out for both her and a way to fix it”[/color] Bowser retorted. He was absolutely sure that something could be done. If they were home there’d be a way out, be it true love’s kiss or folding 100 paper cranes or something else that would undo the curse and wash away the harm it had inflicted.

The former Skullgirl shrugged apologetically and left them to it.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Well. I suppose all we can do now is hope and keep our eyes and ears open?”[/color] Kamak said. It was dower news. The mage knew that Bowser had actually liked Linkle and he suspected part of the king’s self assurance was a coping mechanism for dealing with what had happened.