[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] 979 (+2)
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (152/90) (-7)
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (84/80)
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (81/80)
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Kitchens
Feat: Rika 
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[color=DeepSkyBlue]”They don't remember, remember Sire”[/color] Kamek reminded the king when the koopa’s rejected his rallying cry out of hand, far too scared of the abusive chefs to do anything for these nobody kids.

Bowser grunted disappointingly, before shoving the proffered pan aside (jr doing much the same with his dish rag) and then told the koopa that [color=FD0000]”Yeah no. See these horns? See these spikes? These mean I’m Roy-al-ty, so I ain't doing no scrubbing work ya hear. And you're scared of those chefs? Ha! Just one look at us sent em running!”[/color] he gloated, even if it had been one look at Blazermate rather than him that had sent them scampering. 

[color=FD0000]”We’ve dealt with a giant fish monsters and a weird floaty hand cyclops jerk already, a bunch of [i]humans[/i], freaky as some of them might be, will be no trouble once we get our hands on em. The big cowards had to barricade themselves inside one of the kitchens to stop us getting them! But we will, oh we will.”[/color] Bowser insisted, entirely sure they could take the chefs in a stand up fight.

[color=SpringGreen]”Yeah, we will. But come on dad we gotta hurry before they try and make soup out of Sakura and the ship girls”[/color] Jr said, already moving towards the exit Ace and Nadia had taken, now even more concerned about how the lives of his friends, and Bella, where at stake.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”But we could use a guide to get us round to another entrance swiftly, rather than bumbling around any which way”[/color] Kamek pointed out, before tapping his chest above his heart covertly.

[color=FD0000]”Yeah. We could. here”[/color] The koopa reached up and laid a hand on the shoulder of the closest koopa, who was only a cm taller than him and told him [color=FD0000]”let me remind you of who I am”[/color] before using his leverage on his shoulder to pull him closer byjusnt and inch and headbutt him square in the face, before slapping a friend heart into him with a flick of the wrist from his chest to the koopa’s.

[hr]

“I mean, it would have been nice to know what the plan was,”was Rika’s initial addition to Sakura and Bella’s conversation about the streetfighter blaming herself for the situation they were in, before realising that this was not helpful in the slightest and quickly adding “but there being more than one big baddy up here took us all by surprise right. Would have worked if there had just been him, I’m sure” 

It was at this point that Bella’s increase in size was pointed out, and the (former?) princess started theorizing about how the food worked. Fattening the kids up so they could be turned into food was both terrifying and confusing to Rika, who couldn’t see the point of it all. Why use this rapid aging food to rapidly grow something like fish instead, other than to be intentionally terrible.

The evil/stupidity of the whole plan was something of an aside. What was important/ interesting, and possibly dangerous, was the aging or enlarging them. Bella had all sorts of fears about this possibly over aging them or causing trouble for if/when they undid the curse, but from Rika’s perspective there was one key factor that needed to be addressed right away, and that the woman’s tail, by which she was bound, had grown significantly even in comparison to the rest of her body. Which was a good and bad thing.

“So, uh, your tails got very big. Which I mean is good, because even if the food doesn't bring Sakura’s training back and just makes her, like, older but with Peach muscles, it will give us our big big guns back! So we can shoot these jerks! But, uh, a bit more of a current problem is that, and don't freak out about this, but it's kiiiiinda straining the rope. Holding you over the fire”

She really hoped Bella would not freak out, because Rika herself kind of was. As she frantically tried to look on the bright side “But its ok! Maybe you can, uh, toss yourself loose with the big long thing when it does break? Maybe? Or, um, lift yourself up to the hook? Is it strong enough to do that?”

While the girls dangled and worried about dropping in the fire, Mimi was left leaderless and without instruction inside the kitchen. There were a whole number of things she [i]could[/i] do but after deciding trying to solo the massive man with his horrible metal clever was not good for her health, she was a little lost without direction in this artificial environment. So she went to get said instruction, which involved trying to creep up to the fire itself and hiding in/behind the pole of pots stacked up in front of the fire, and then waving up again, distracting Rika from her rambling as she herself spotted the little mon for the first time.

“oh, hey look. It’s Mimi! Can you get us down?” she shout whispered down at the little mon

The mon looked over the hooks, then down at the fire and shook its head. There was no way she was going to be able to lift them off even if she could get up there safely. She simply wasn't strong enough.

“Turn off the fire? Cut us down? Or get me something to eat?” the mon shrugged at the first (she didn't really know how fire or ovens worked), but she did nod the second (she could sneak her shadow up and hack at the bonds) and third (there was plenty of food, though she would have to throw it up for them to catch with her legs or mouth which would be awkward)

The question that she had to ask the others was “do you think any of those are good ideas?”