[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] 921 (+2) [b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (152/90) [b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (85/80) [b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 8 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (82/80) [b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Bottomless Sea – the Maw - the Kitchens Feat: Rika [/center] [color=FD0000]”Ha”[/color] Bowser laughed in relief when Sakura followed up his cooking based joke with her own, glad that he had not upset her with his own joke at least, before reassuring them both by saying[color=FD0000]”yeah well, we’ve got you now so don't worry. You’ll be down in just a second, no sweat. Right son?”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]”uh yeah just about”[/color] the boy replied unconvincingly. Indeed the truth of the king’s second statement was debatable as the king and his minions (along with Mirage and Peach) wrestled with their stack of pots and pans, trying to keep it from tipping over while Jr hacked away at the knots binding the pair of ladies to the spit hanging over the now doused fire. To their aid came Bella, who’s cannibalistic spree they had missed due to being out of the room at the time, but the results of which could not be ignored as her now comparatively towering, but tubby, form hurried over to help them. [color=FD0000]”Aw no not again,”[/color] Bowser muttered under his breath, being reminded of the time he had been forced/convinced to eat so much that his fattened up form broke through the floor and left him stuck there till a certain bit of inside help let him rapidly lose that weight again. As the king looked down to check himself for weight gain the others were mainly happy to have her help. Jr at least was very relieved to have the teetering under him till thanks to her penance, and the chef bros were equally thankful that they weren't at risk of being chewed out for letting him fall. Rika meanwhile was alarmed by the curse affecting her friend in the way it had, having to watch it all unfold while hanging above the fire, but also had to deal with the mixed feelings resulting from the fact that she had been saved predominantly because of the strength it had given her. Strength enough to hug her in Sakura in her arms and lift them down to the ground, onto which Rika found herself sitting down on, her knees feeling weak from the stress close call and her general fatigue. Kamek, who was the only one in the Troop who had the whole picture, eyed the now larger women with some nervousness. Of all the people to have the truth of the hungering compulsion completed by this place come to light in, the former abyssal princess was perhaps the worst possible one. Before he could begin worrying about what it would take to set her off in a way that threatened them, or theorizing as to why the curse worked in the way it did, they were interrupted by a pair of Tempura Wizards. The floating cyclopean creatures where half fried seafood, half bare heated muscular man, and seemed so ridiculously out of place in the land of horror that it left the troop stunned at first, right up until they transformed Bella into the cuisine of their namesake when she took the first volley of magical fire for them and then, revealing their reason for fitting right in, one proceeded to unveil vicious jaws with which it came snapping towards the foodified woman in-order to devour her whole. [color=FD0000]”You’ve got that right!”[/color] Bowser agreed with Peach’s assessment of the awful ship as he and Jr dropped their things and rushed to follow the princess's lead, leaping to protect the simplified shipgirl from harm. [color=FD0000]”Give it a face full of spikes!”[/color] he commanded, resulting in both royal koopas presenting their spiny shells on either side of the princess’s umbrella, forming an impromptu round-shield wall in the defense of their deep fried friend. Mimi, mostly unaffected by her blood consumption either due to lack of volume or lack of any actual meat in her meal, rushed to rejoin her trainer while the remaining koopas all legged it in the opposite direction to hid, something that Kamek was incredulous about when he found the chef bros (who knew exactly the fate of those who tangled with the Tempura Twins before they launched their first spell) trying to find cover with him. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”What are you, Toads!? Fight them!”[/color] The mage damned as he did no such thing himself. “Hey but your also-” one began to protest, only to be cut off by the mage once again. [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I am in a koopa troopa child’s body! What am I going to do, toddle into them?”[/color] which shamed them enough to get the adult sized koopas to bravely… thrown kitchen equipment at the wizards from behind cover. Admittedly, their larger bodies and training in the art of tossing as an offshoot of the hammer bros corps made them a fair sight more dangerous than children doing the same thing had been be at least. The last of the troop to move was Rika, who hauled herself up as danger came and, though tired, nodded in accent to Mirage’s plan, before taking cover behind the pot pile. Resting her guns on one of the pots she made a quick, basically instinctive, assessment of the state of the battle and her remaining ammo reserves. Deciding that the trio of royals maybe had Bella safe, and that the charging one was hard to hit anyway, she aimed her shots at the one still floating above them and looking to turn another one of them into lunch meat. A moment later twin firecrackers barked as she fired off a pair of miniature cannon shells at its floating bowl, just as instructed.