[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] 856 (+6) 
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 10 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (173/100) 
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 9 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (131/90) 
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 10 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]/////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////(51/100) 
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Bottomless Sea – Carcass Isle
Feat: Rika
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The heroes (and one big spooky mon) swarmed the orphan and put into practice all they had learned over the long, hard, grueling fight. With masterful grace hard ingrained by the Orphan’s punishing cleaves the fighter’s danced around it in sync, delivering blow after blow after blow until, at last, the miraculously revitalized Sakura came sprinting in and gave it a stomp to the cranium that would have made Mario proud. Or left him mortified considering the headshot straight up decapitated the abomination, causing it to sink to its knees and then start to dissolve into ash and dust.

There was little energy left for jubilation, only an overwhelming sense of relief from the troop, best reflected by Kamek breathing [color=DeepSkyBlue]”thank the stars”[/color] and then lowering her raised wand down, leaving Mimi to shrink back down to her usual size.

[color=SpringGreen]”I gotcha”[/color] Jr told the little mon as he reached down and carefully picked her out of the, for her, deep water. The prince gave a little grunt of pain as he did so, but soon enough Mimi was back on his shoulder, shaking herself as dry as she could while the prince hobbled up the beach clutching his side. Rika trudged alongside him, her legs still a little shaky from the shock, while Kamek herself hovered down and landed among the others.

“Well. Glad that’s over” Rika said as Jr gave a very tired little cheer to Peach’s little speech and Kamek leaned on her broom for support. All of them were looking forward to getting out of here, while also starting to worry a little bit about how Bowser was holding up on his own now that the adrenaline was leaving their bodies. The faster they got out of here, the sooner they could reunite with him and then get some well deserved rest. 

Unfortunately, reality had other plans, because things were not over yet. Nadia realizing that there was no spirit to be found tipped them off to the start of the problem, and then a few moments later everything went to hell. Or perhaps hell came to them.

Fog swept in and black tar started swelling up from the sand like a bursting oilfield. Ruins and derelicts followed the muck in its ascension and then it arose. A titan of sludge, who began gazing down at them from the waves with an eye reminiscent of the sickening moon in the sky. It’s glare bore down on them for a few scant horrifying moments, and then it started moving towards them.

The protective link moved first, picking Jr up (with a [color=SpringGreen]”wow”[/color] from the heavy boy) who found himself quickly passed off into Rika’s hands, who strained a little more under his weight than she had last time.

[color=SpringGreen]”Hey, I can still walk!”[/color] he complained, and then grimace as he tried to wiggle free to no avail

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Perhaps not for much longer with the beach going the way it is”[/color] Kamek said as she remounted her broom and hovered up above the rapidly deteriorating land. She was impressed with Link's seemingly bottomless well of energy, which he put to work helping Blazermate out next. She might be younger now, but she was nowhere close to hero in terms of reserves. Jr, who was presently up far past his bedtime, had a similar problem, leaving only the nebulously aged Rika with any amount of reserves still going for her.

“Mmm, if I can float on it, this’ll be safer than you riksing sinking into it” Rika agreed with the koopa, hugging Jr to her chest so he could hold onto her as she carried him, before asking “but what can we even do against that thing?”

[color=SpringGreen]”I. Uh.”[/color] Jr said, entirely unsure while Kamek had one basic idea and that was [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Distance first, I think. The more time it has to spend walking towards us the better”[/color]

The others nodded and soon enough they were retreating back up the beach while Link wailed on a rock for a reason the troop were too tired and worried to put together. As the burdened Rika navigated the mess the beach was becoming, Kamek had one other idea. She hovered over to the nearest table looking building and then summoned his pair of sniper strikers.

Neither looked pleased with where they were, and the End was more than happy to vocalize that by saying “Would it kill you to give us a bit of sunshine?” before shrugging and saying “Ah well” and kneeling down next to Quiet to ready a shot. 

“The eye, I take it?” he said, as the pair got a good unsettling look at the titan’s torso bound socket.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Those are normally weak spots, yes”[/color] the mage agreed, to which the old man mused “Didn’t take you as someone prone to gouging eyes out” in response. 

Kamek cocked her head in confusion at this little comment, but she didn't have time for clearing up misunderstandings, instead drifting down and heading after her wards while the pair of sharp shooters lined up their rifles, checked the wind and the distance, and then began delivering lead and darts to the titan’s eye at high velocities.