[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] 1,229 (+2)
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (134/90)
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]/////////////////////// (59/80)
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]/////////////////////// (56/80)
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Depths
Feat: Rika
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With some difficulty, because dropping down caused an even more heavy an impact from the weighty Koopa king than jumping up had had and thus had an even higher risk of breaking platforms, Bowser managed to eventually make it back down to meet up with Kamek. The mage himself was anxiously watching as Link taunted the big fish jerk, which caused him to yell some rather pitiable things back up, which bought jr a bit of time, but then after that he resumed moving in a rather more general pattern, attacking anything that moved.

From their raised angle the older koopas could see him peeking his head over a pile of junk well out of rage of the initial stomping ground rampage to assess the situation. Link’s ploy had bailed him out of being homed in on, and also gave him a few precious moments to dart away from flow control, but now the jerk was patrolling the grounds at a semi-random basis. Still, he was big and noisy and so figuring out where not to go wasn't that much of an issue. The big issue was figuring out where he needed, or even could, go to get out of here.

With that in mind Jr started searching through the waterlogged scrap heap that was the bottom floor, his head for a way out or anything that might be useful in the junk, his stomach for anything that could be eaten, as far a stretches that might be. 

Up above, that last point was very much on Bowser’s mind as well, the king asking [color=FD0000]”Don’t suppose you found anything to eat while you were at it?”[/color] while taking the key mold off of Kamek and giving it a quick mental comparison to the one Jr had just in case.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”No not really. All I found was this scrap metal, two canisters of goo, one of which got emptied and made a weird eyeball thing that you should not look at… not look at sire”[/color] Kamek said, rapping a knuckle on the king’s shell to break his gaze from the bio-goo-eyeball thing, [color=DeepSkyBlue]”and a load of scrap metal”[/color] 

[color=FD0000]”I’ll take that, the machine probably needs stuff to smelt into other stuff or something.”[/color] Bowser said, moving to pick up some of the metal junk, before asking again [color=FD0000]”So no food?”[/color]

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”No, and, like I said, eating is probably a bad idea seeing as it is a cursed hunger after all”[/color] Kamek reminded him

[color=FD0000]”Easy for you to say, mr sitting on your butt all the time. I’ve been jumping around all day and I. am. starving!”[/color] Bowser retorted grumpily.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Sire, look at me, I am tiny and also, not exactly a jumping species. Do you see any wings on my back?”[/color] Kamek replied with frustration directed both at his weakness and that the king kept bringing up and complaining about his obvious helplessness, as if doing so would allow him to miraculously do something about it. 

[color=FD0000]”You don't need to jump to drop down after Link. Go use your brain to figure out how to help Jr or something, or maybe I’ll end up finding a use for you as a survival ration”[/color] Bower replied with even greater amounts of frustration, jabbing his advisor in the chest with a claw and causing the tiny turtle to stumble back in surprise and even a little fear. 

The two stood and stared at each other for a moment before Kamek responded with a [color=DeepSkyBlue]”As you command sire,”[/color] in a forced monotone before turning and leaving, leaving Bowser behind with his regrets. And his stomach, which growled loudly at him.

[color=FD0000]”Oh shut up! This is all your fault.”[/color] Bowser demanded of his ravenous gut, which showed no sign of shutting up. 

The king grunted and focused on getting back to work as a way to distract himself, awkwardly trying to piling up scrap metal and the two remaining forms into his hands, only to lose his grip on the bundle when he went to pick up the last piece he wanted, causing it all to clatter to the floor.

[color=FD0000]”Stupid. Gah.”[/color] The king growled, kicking one of the boxes in frustration and tipping it over, spilling reams and reams of paper covered in recordings of private conversations all over the floor. In a place filled with corrosion, decay and corruption plain old sheets of paper were a surprisingly mundane thing to find.

Bowser's stomach growled again.

[color=FD0000]”...”[/color] 

And again, painfully so.

[color=FD0000]”Grrrr…. Maybe this’ll shut you up!”[/color] He told it, before grabbing a couple of layers of of documents and biting a chunk out of them.

[hr]

While Bowser tried to eat paper, Kamek was grumbling to himself as he followed Link’s route as far as he could without the ability to jump. He did at least have one advantage, and that was that no one from his world had ever had to worry about fall damage, and so like a goomba he wandered off the end of the non existent descending stairs and dropped down to the next floor without fear or even consideration. That's about as far as he got however, but he wasn't really intending to put himself in direct chase-able danger like Link was risking, because he wasn't able to dodge out of the way like the spry Hylian. Getting to the second floor was fine as far as he was concerned.

Still, he had to do something, and so he started talking.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”If you don't mind me interjecting, the reason no one loves you is because the people you're trying to get  to love you are a big jerk of a boss”[/color] Kamek called down the fish monster conversationally, not at all projecting his current emotional state with regards to his own boss, [color=DeepSkyBlue]”and her menagerie of horror show minions. I can assure you that no matter how loyal or helpful you are, you are never going to win the respect you so crave in a place like this. It's not exactly what I’d call a loving environment after all. Even if you were the most charming and effective little monster, you’d still just be that, a useful monster.”[/color] 

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”You're clearly unhappy here, so why don't you just leave? Pack your bags and strike out into the great ocean blue? There's plenty more fish in the sea after all, ones that aren't running some rust-bucket of a submarine that exists purely to eat up cruise goers. There’s that Tyl Regor fellow who probably knows a thing or two about biology, or you could head for one of the cities around the coast. There's people from all over available, and I'm sure you’d be able to find people who know how to make you better who aren't, you  know, a horrifying wraith of a lady that keeps you around as a guard dog. A guard dog that's attacking children, I should remind you out. Is this really where you want to be?”[/color]  He concluded before, rather belatedly, adding [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Also, while I’m at it, hello, I’m Kamek. What’s your name?”[/color] 

Kamek knew that, due to Galeem’s influence, convincing the fish to leave them be or give up  was basically impossible, but maybe he could get the guy talking and buy time for them to work out how the heck they were going to get Jr up to their floor.