[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] 1,049  (+2)
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (126/90)
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]///////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////// (52/80)
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]/////////////////////////////// (48/80)
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Depths
Feat: Rika
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“He’s really doing it, huh” Rika commented as Link started stirring up one heck of a ruckus to try and bait the big fish jerk into a trap “he must really care about Jr to risk himself like that huh?”

[color=FD0000]”Eeeh, we barely know that guy.”[/color] Bowser waved his hand dismissively at the idea. He wasn't even sure if the hylian and his son had ever spoken [color=FD0000]”Putting their lives on the line for strangers is just kinda what heroes do, and while it's mostly a pain, you won't see me complaining about it this time round.”[/color] 

“I see” Rika said, before asking “You worried about him?”

[color=FD0000]”I mean yeah, but he’s a tough kid. I’m sure he’ll be fine.”[/color] Bowser replied, [color=FD0000]”We just have to be ready and on-point up here to do what we can. Like roasting this big fish if getting a platform dropped on him doesn't finish the job.”[/color]

[hr]

As Link made a nuisance of himself to attract the giant fish’s attention, Jr descended into the depths along with the two machines piloted by Mirage. Or the machines with copies of mirage in them. Jr did not know what their deal was, and frankly he did not care either. What he did care about was the fact that once they started getting deeper they ended up spitting up and away from him.

[color=SpringGreen]”Hey, you're supposed to be protecting me, not running off like that”[/color] Jr wanted to yell at them, but the oppressive atmosphere of the depths caused him to whisper-shout it instead. Not that they would have been able to hear him anyway. Probably. That was what he was assuming anyway, that the metal hull and dense water would smother his words as much as the water would smother him if the thin glass separating him from it got busted.

As the others drifted away, not even that far really, but far enough that they were beyond Jr’s biological sight, the prince was left feeling alone in the dark abyss, staring down a narrow beam of light surrounded by blackness.

“Mimi?”

No. not alone. Mimi was there, Jr was reminded as the fay specter bopped its cottenball of a ‘head’ against the side of his own, the little interaction letting the boy release a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. 

[color=SpringGreen]”Yeah, you're right. Just gotta keep moving.”[/color] He said after a few more breaths and then did just that, continuing to sink down into the depths, following his memory of Peach’s map towards their destination. 

As they sank the prince carefully scanned the surroundings with the lamplight of the sub, doing his best to spot anything he might bump into, while also trying to avoid shining it over to where the big fish was rampaging around. He hadn't actually seen what the fish had looked like himself, but boy oh boy could he hear it making an awful ruckus even from down here, though even that was fading away as the sub continued to descend, which was good. If it was still making a nuisance up there then they were alone and safe down here. 

That turned out to be a very incorrect assumption.

Jr flinched as he came across a body drifting in the water, and then shivered as he saw it had no face. That was never a good sign, he reflected. Still, it wasn't moving, so after getting over his shock the boy endeavored to keep moving rather than sit lingering on the drowned body for any longer than he had too. Staring at an example of how you might die was not a good way to maintain your sanity after all.

It wasn't clear if Jr caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eye, unconsciously picked up on the slight vibrations through the water, that he was in tune with Mimi’s animal/ghostly instincts or if part of his brain remembered that [i]there were no dead bodies in this world of light[/i] but something made him swing the light back to the body to give it another look mere moments after swinging it away. And then scream as he found the faceless thing now swimming right at him at shark-like speed with a hand outstretched towards the sub’s front window, which Jr’s brain registered as an intent to punch said glass out.

[color=SpringGreen]”oh nononononononono! Go away! Go away!”[/color] Jr yelled at the thing in panic while ramming the sub into a full speed reverse, which was probably a stupid idea because he had no idea but there was a freaky fish lady swimming at him and he had no way to- No wait, he did!

[color=SpringGreen]”Mimi! Do the shadow claw thing!”[/color] Jr commanded his pokemon, who responded by squeaking  “kyu? MiMiMiMi!” back at him in response, the Pokemon trying to explain to him that she didn't know shadow claw yet, as that was a level 42 move.

Jr, still backing up, practically screeched over her explanation in a rapid fire panic [color=SpringGreen]”What? You did it before! the thing where you snuck your shadow out and-”[/color] 

“Mi!” Mimi broke him off (or rather just ignored the rest of his yelling) now getting it. Well it still wasn’t the actual name of the move but it was close enough for her. She shoved her hands into her shadow, which grew longer behind her and then twisted, swinging around her like a pendulum across the inside of the sub and then, impossibly, stretched out the window, past the lamp light that had been creating it and onward towards the faceless woman. Or was it a girl? Whatever it/she was, despite not having eyes, it/she was clearly not enjoying the bright light from the lamp and had, while Jr and Mimi had been yelling at each other, actually stopped charging after them. Instead it/she was in the process of swimming up and out of where jr had left the light beaming pointing after spotting her when a shadow suddenly dimmed the light.

Whether it/she felt glee, relief or nothing at this or not was unknown, but if it/she did feel anything then that feeling would go away just as swiftly when the Mimikyu shaped shadow started trying to scratch it’s/her blank face to ribbons with her spectral tendrils.