[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6W7bqko.png[/img]
[h2][color=FD0000]The Koopa Troop[/color][/h2]
[b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 1,054  (+2) 
[b][color=FD0000]Bowser: Level 11 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=FD0000]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (240/110)
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 12 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]//////////////////[/color]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (17/120)
[b][color=DeepSkyBlue]Kamek: Level 12 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DeepSkyBlue]////////////////[/color]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// (16/120)
[b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 6 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aqua]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]/ (59/60)
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] The Under - The Ruins - Dripstone Cave
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Through flame, light and blow darts from a swiftly recovered critter the initial swarm of mozzies and their slow moving reinforcements were utterly exterminated from the swamp, with Bowser’s slow moving mega fireballs claiming what was quite possibly their first kills of the entire adventure.

Bowser certainly seemed pleased by this triumphantly cheering [color=FD0000]”That’s right burn you schmucks!”[/color] as the last of them fell, before rolling his shoulders and rhetorically asking [color=FD0000]”Man why can’t every fight be this easy”[/color] 

Kamek meanwhile turned his eyes to the one who had won the battle before it had already begun, and offered him some praise [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Quick thinking there Rubick, and masterfully done. I would not have wanted to wade through all that mess to reach them that is for sure”[/color]

He then turned and addressed the one who the magus had saved, saying [color=DeepSkyBlue]”As for you,  I am glad to see you have made such a swift recovery mr…”[/color] and leaving things open ended so that the fellow might introduce himself

Unfortunately, before Kamek could follow up and do the same for himself, Bowser did it for him by complaining [color=FD0000]”Urrgh, Kamek, that idea of roasting them all was awful, it stinks even more now”[/color] while fanning a hand in-front of his face in a futile attempt to clear the air.

His comment got a seconding from Rika, who had it worse both because her gauntlets stopped her pinching her nose like Bowser was, and because she was also getting a hazy wisp of it though the cockatrice’s own nose, linked as it was to her senses.

The mage couldn't exactly disagree, the rotten blood of the burnt bugs had done nothing to improve the smell, even if the general vibe of the area had improved now that the danger and annoying buzzing was gone. At least that last was something they could still enjoy after getting out of the stink zone.

[color=DeepSkyBlue]”Yes, well, how about we head back to safety? There’s a more pleasant spot where we can talk, as we have a few questions for you regarding some missing friends of ours, if you’d be willing to answer them?”[/color] he suggested to the others and requested of Teemo before noting with a hint of (fortunately unnecessary) worry that [color=DeepSkyBlue]”I also can't help but notice, but we’ve lost track of miss Primrose, I hope she hasn’t gone far”[/color] 

Unfortunately, the way back to where the dancer had gone wasn’t quite as safe as the mage expected, as the boy prince’s attempt to help one the clown bugs had some unforeseen consequences. 

His attempt to heal and cure the sickly looking Migospel did not go as hoped, and instead seemed to only make things worse. It jerked, squirmed and the sickly golden glow seemed to only spread, which left Jr only confused and annoyed, right up until the poor ant burst and revealed that it had been a living corpse, or an imposter, or something in between.

[color=SpringGreen]”Ew, what in the world is that?”[/color] he asked, with a mix of revolution and curiosity. The answer came swiftly, as Barnabee lept in and sliced the creature in half, crying out about something called the infestation.

[color=SpringGreen]”The what?”[/color] Jr asked, but he didn’t need to be told to know that the light seeds that burst from the collapsing corpse were bad news. He thrust one finger out, commanding his circus sea lion to attack with a cry of [color=SpringGreen]”Dazzle, blast them!”[/color]


This the Popilio did as commanded, switching right from putting on a juggling act to an attack by slapping each bubble of water with his tail in quick succession, trying to nail the light seeds with water gun shots. Then he bounced up off of his beach ball sized bubble perch and landed back in Jr’s car to avoid being swarmed by the wretched little viruses.

Jr, even as he had been issuing the command, had used his other hand to hammer a button on his clown car, causing the side to pop open to deployed a robo arm that had the fleshy lightning gun know as a [url=https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warframe/images/2/24/Synapse.png]Synapse[/url] grafted to it. Turning the repurposed product of one infestation on the spreaders of another, the hovering Jr unleashed a tight beam of lightning from the weapon that sketched a squiggling line across the stone as he tried to use it to burst the luminous pustules while avoiding shocking the monsters.  

Further back, the rest of the troop only got a half understood impression of the whole situation from Barnabee’s yelling. Bowser, much too slow to reach the site of the conflict, could only call for his son to [color=SpringGreen]”Be careful junior, I'm coming!”[/color] as he started to stomp towards the fray

Kamek meanwhile heard ‘don’t touch them’ and reacted by casting [color=DeepSkyBlue]”Sphere of Protection”[/color] upon the group of small monsters, hoping to at the very least slow the contact and infestation spread, and not thinking about how bad it would be should that fail and they be faced with massively damage resistant infected. 

Then, with clearer thought, he sent his copies flying fourth to try and snatch up the incredibly stupid creatures in their drake mount’s claws, in order to kidnap them away from their own demise.

Rika meanwhile charged on ahead atop her swift steed, and as a result most likely put herself as the closest grounded hero to the light seeds. She tried to blast them with more of the cockatrice’s stony gazes that had proved so effective against the mosquitos, but it was really a flip of a coin as to whether the light based attack would be effective, or would be stymied by the seed’s own light related nature. 

Should her attack, and/or subsequent attempts to backpedal to escape fail, and the pustules be able close in, then fortunately enough the cockatrice mount had one more trick up its sleeve. If attacked, the ridiculous creature demonstrated the agility of a prize fighting rooster, swift talons, flapping flightless wings and swift wyrm muscled body letting Rika maneuver herself such that she could land the first strike against her diminutive attackers, heavy gauntlets smashing down or forwards to pulp or bat away the golden blobs, combination of steed and rider unintentionally mimicking the shape and prowess of the mighty Brachydios the ship girl was fused with.