[center][img]https://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/b/b2/Koopa_Troop_artwork.png/658px-Koopa_Troop_artwork.png[/img] [h2][color=FD0000]The Koopa Troop[/color][/h2] [b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,744 (+3) [b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (96/90) [b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 7 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]//////////////////////[/color]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (22/80) [b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 7 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]////////////////////[/color]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (20/80) [b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Belly Feat: Rika [/center] “You know. I think I could just make this one myself?” Rika said, looking at the gap between them and the last block pillar they’d be able to use to move towards the vent. “Because I think I’ve gotten the hang of walking like this, with the battery pack and everything” [color=FD0000]”You sure?”[/color] Bowser asked “Mmm” Rika replied with a nod [color=FD0000]”Go for it then”[/color] Bowser told her, receiving another nod from the girl, who was now sporting a knee length skirt she’d looted off of a doll along with her battery backpack, before she started psyching herself up for the leap [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Sire, Rika, I'm not sure if this is wise”[/color] Kamek interjected [color=FD0000]”What’s the worst that could happen?”[/color] Bowser asked as they watched Rika take a practice run up, failing to stop said practice quickly enough and only avoiding tipping over the edge into the ball-pit far below because of Jr running up and pulling her to safety. Despite this brush with death the girl eagerly backed up for another go at it. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Do you really want me to list all the ways this can go poorly?”[/color] Kamek was saying, but it was too late. Rika thundered across the ground just ahead of the gap and then leapt high into the air. Holding herself up with her gauntlets, her arms straining as they supported her whole body weight on the floating battery powered machines, she soared through the air, new skirt fluttering beneath her, and then landed on the final block tower. She stumbled upon landing, leaving the rest of the troop’s hearts in their throats as she teetered close to the edge again, but she caught her balance and stepped forwards to safe solid ground before then pumped her arms up in triumph. A few moments later and the rest of the troop had jumped or been tossed across the gap as well, Rika was congratulated on her success, and then together they all walked over to the other edge of the towers of blocks and looked out across the final two obstacles in their course. [color=SpringGreen]”You know, we’ve been pretty good at not making a bunch of noise so far but uh”[/color] the prince looked directly at the various musical instruments that they would probably be forced to use at least some of, along with, among other things, a few broken workbenches, toolboxes that would have been handy if their tools weren't twice as big as him, a pair of bikes, a skateboard and an entire car that was missing its wheels and doors, all massively oversized. [color=SpringGreen]”that might not be to easy with all this”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]”And with this pass the parcel leapfrogging method we’ve been using, it would be really bad to get spotted on something with no cover, because we cant run away fast.”[/color] “Ok but I can just be myself now. So we should be faster right? Oh, and maybe you can just carry Tyrant and Kamek (and Mimi) and just jump with me? No more tossing would be way faster right?” Rika suggested enthusiastically, a bit of self reliance and outfit personalization having done wonders at restoring her self-confidence. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I’m not sure. Maybe it would be best to try and mimic what Peach is doing?”[/color] the princess’s hiding under an umbrella strategy when her kubo shoo kicked something was working very well so far [color=DeepSkyBlue]”We could perhaps grab something to take with us to hide under?”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]”Urgh. but that’s more stuff to haul! Plus if we land on an instrument and it makes noise and we’re on it and the big guy wrecks it behind us”[/color] Jr pointed out [color=SpringGreen]”We can go fast with Rika doing her own jumps. So why not just rely on that?”[/color] [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Speed isn't everything young ma- hey wait not again!”[/color] Kamek retorted, only to be interrupted when Bowser picked him up and slung his shell under his arm [color=FD0000]”Too much talking, not enough moving. Let’s roll!”[/color] Bowser declared, prompting Jr to collect his horned hog while Mimi hopped down onto Tyrant’s noggin and wrapped her arms around his horns for stability. [color=SpringGreen]”Yeah, let's go!”[/color] “Yeah!” “Mimi!” went three cheers of agreement [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Oh dear”[/color] [hr] Despite Kamek’s trepidation, the Troop initially made Excellent time, leaping from workbench to skateboard to toolbox with their powerful or anti-gravity assisted leaps and bounds, the three jumpers and their cargoes reaching the bonnet of the broken car in record time, before swinging around the windshield and using the driver’s seat to cousin the fall down into it. The inside of the car was as trashy as the rest of the room, tough some of this was general junk spillage, the floor of the vehicle was low enough that the ambient junk sea flowed in to smother it lightly, while the rest was filled with varicose rubbish that might have belonged to the car’s previous messy owner. Plastic wrappers, bottles and bottle caps, chirps packets, polystyrene containers and all sorts of other junk food packaging was strewn around on all the other seats, adding to the already wretched smell of the car. A quick jump from the gearbox got the troop into the back seat, a fair bit of shimmying through a hole got them from there into the boot and then some finagling with the internals of the boot’s lock and some timing to avoid the watcher in the ceiling got the boot open, revealing that the only way forwards from here to the normal sized houseboat beyond was [color=SpringGreen]”oh you have got to be kidding”[/color] an almost pristine drum kit, surrounded by much of the other instrumentation, such as a guitar and a saxophone. [color=FD0000]”I’m sure it’ll be fine. Here watch!”[/color] Bower announced, and before anyone could stop him he leaped across the gap onto the closest drum and landed with a loud bong. [color=FD0000]”Uh oh”[/color] Bowser said, realizing his mistake as the eye started drifting rapidly towards them. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”oh no no no no go back go back”[/color] Kamek, who’d been brought along for the ride, whisper-yelled at him, prompting the king to leap back into the boot of the car moments before Bongo Bongo banged the drum into the dust, causing an almighty racket as he did while the troop hid in the boot. [color=SpringGreen]”Urgh. So that's what they’ve been dealing with out there. That was. Uh... not so bad. Yeah. Not scared at all”[/color] Jr said once they were quite sure the hand had left [color=DeepSkyBlue]”That was. Too close.”[/color] Kamek said, not bothering to hide their own fear like the royals were doing. [color=FD0000]”Yeah. My bad. Guess we just got lucky till now.”[/color] Bowser said, peaking out to see where the eye’s gaze had wandered off too. “So. Now what?” Rika asked. Now what indeed. There was still a way forward, a much trickier jump to another drum, but that had the same flaw as Bowser’s first attempt. The idea of just running it was dismissed. They’d be spotted for sure due to much of the path being drums, and the dreadful drummer might, might, be smart enough to follow the pattern across the rest of the drums even if it didn't catch up to their path while they were running it. Camping out in the back of the car, the troop mulled things over till Jr had an idea. Climbing back into the car, the prince found a set of bottle caps and brought them back to the boot. There he hefted a cap, he took aim and then one by one hurled them at an acoustic guitar lying nearby, which was out of jump reach but in range of a good discuss toss. The metal caps weren't perfect frisbees, but the quick barrage struck the cords of the guitar a few times, summoning the gaze and floating hand which punched the guitar and, when that proved insufficient to destroy the hefty wooden instrument, grabbed it by the neck and proceeded to smash it into the ground over and over like a guitarist at the end of a kick ass concert. The cacophony caused by the instrument's repeated impacts with the wall was deafening, and gave the troop just enough time to bong their way across the drums without being detected by Bongo Bongo’s thanks to its own awful music making. The Trio of carriers hurried into the ship to make sure that they weren't caught up in a subsequent sweep, and then emerged onto the half sunken ship’s deck when the coast was clear. The first thing they did was take a look at how far along everyone else was compared to them, which turned out to be a question with a very mixed answer. Some were way back, some real close. Notably, Mirage and Miss Fortune were perhaps second closest to them, but their rout looked like it wound up being a dead end just a few stones throws away from where the troop were, which was right next to the exit. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Maybe we should help them out?”[/color] Kamek suggested [color=FD0000]”By we you mean me right? Urgh. So tired of hauling people around. How’d we even do it?”[/color] Bowser asked [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Well...”[/color] Kamek began, and a quick bit of scrounging later they had drenched the life-raft on the side of the ship out of the trash and pulled a dust rag off a piece of normal sized furniture that was sitting on the deck. This was draped over the King to obscure him from view as he used the little ship’s pair of oars to row out and try and help the stranglers catch up, ferrywoman Bella style. As the King rowed out into the junk, Rika and Kamek went inside the ship to see if they could find anything handy and them sized within, while Jr stayed on deck, prepping a life ring and some other junk to throw at music instruments as a distraction, which left him the only one on deck if and when Missfortune’s wheel came rolling in a few moments after Bowser set off. The King would be forced to row like hell out of the way, while Jr would do what he could to either stop the wheel if he could (either just stopping it by bracing, or tackling the side to tip it over depending on the amount of momentum the thing still had) and then rush to a hiding spot like the ship’s bridge with Miss Fortune to avoid Bongo Bongo’s inevitably incoming wrath.