[center]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ziR5Pse.png[/img]
[b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 4,055, (+5)
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Forbidden Kingdom - Shinjuku 
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 15 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](270/150)
[b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 11 [/color][/b] EXP:  [color=Aqua]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](215/100)
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After managing to evade law enforcement and hide among the citizens of Shinjuku in their borrowed forms, Junior and Rika could finally resume their search for that elusive cassette tape store. As they meandered among the populace, though, they could definitely get the sense that something had changed as a result of their actions. Both everyday pedestrians and news broadcasters alike were buzzing, less about a couple of suspects on the run from the police, and more about the supposed sighting of an ethereal outside a hollow. Apparently, this wasn’t just something that had never happened before, but something that shouldn’t be able to happen period, since ethereals supposedly couldn’t exist outside the ether-rich environment of a hollow. 

[center][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gtik8CVUvWo][img]https://i.imgur.com/eMCA2ze.png[/img][/url]
[i]Click for music[/i][/center]

Fortunately, nobody paid too much attention to the Koopa Kids in their new disguises. It took a while to track the cassette store down, in part due to its unorthodox name: Gramophone Cafe. At length the two finally reached their destination and pushed through the door to find a modest establishment with checkboard tiles and blackboard menus. A single employee worked behind the counter, [url=https://i.imgur.com/2vReX4m.png]Clemence,[/url] wearing a red tie and her equally red hair down over one eye, grinding beans and steaming milk to make coffee for her loyal customers. She did have a [url=https://i.imgur.com/loUr8FB.png]bipedal delivery bot[/url] to help her out, at least. There weren’t just cappuccinos and cold brews on offer, though; a rack of different kinds of blank cassette tapes confirmed that this was the place the kids had been looking for.

A quick look around confirmed the presence of a few other customers in the store. Furthest away sat an [url=https://i.imgur.com/XlqwOGk.png]intelligent construct[/url] in streetwear, jamming away to the tunes on his headphones as he played on a handheld console. With a television test pattern in lieu of a face, he probably wasn’t here for the coffee, but for the pleasant atmosphere. Nearby, a [url=https://i.imgur.com/pEinSHK.png]businesswoman[/url] with black horns and short white hair was competing against him in a turn-based strategy game on her phone, casually sipping coffee as she built up more and more of a lead. Not far away rested a [url=https://i.imgur.com/GEOwjUG.png]middle-aged man[/url] with a green overcoat and white umbrella, so comfortable that he’d apparently fallen asleep at the table. Lastly, there was a [url=https://i.imgur.com/p632f0v.png]young family[/url] closer to the counter. A thin man with messy dark hair, glasses, and a distinctive orange scarf sat by a woman with long, dirty blonde hair and white wings on her head, her black tank top slightly stretched by baby weight she’d never quite managed to lose. In the man’s arms sat their daughter, a bright and joyful girl of no more than two or three, with little wings of her own in her chestnut-brown hair and no trace of sunset-red light in her eyes.

When the little girl saw Rika in her beast form, her eyes lit up as she pointed. “Hop..Hop…Hopskin!” 

Her father laughed. “Yes, Clover, that’s a Hopskin! Very good!” His soft English accent seemed very proud.

His wife chuckled, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. “Guess we know where she got her smarts from, eh love?”

“I’m not sure that…oh, d’you mean me this time?” Her husband raised his eyebrows at her, prompting a good-natured punch in the shoulder. In the aftermath he shot the newcomers an apologetic look. “Scuse us, Clover’s crazy about cassette beasts. Just about learned them all by heart. Though of course, you’re not truly a beast.”

Rika, who was the one wearing the guise of the Hopskin, would have blinked its eyes in surprise if it could at this, not particularly used to being addressed out of the blue like this. Or with typical children who weren't, well, like them. Plus that last comment made her take a notable step back, and for the blade beneath the trenchoach to twitch, which wasn’t a good look.

Seeing his sister’s discomfort with this, and also worried (entirely validly) that she would do something drastic in response to being ‘detected’ like this, stepped in front of her, beaming with Undyne’s [url=https://i.imgur.com/FNhLTnm.png]toothy grin[/url]. 

[color=SpringGreen]”Yeah no worries we think they’re pretty great too”[/color] he said, trying to keep the conversation on tapes and not on who was beneath the ‘mask’ so to speak. Besides, this was the second time they’d heard about ‘cassette beasts’ specifically in the city, and so he was genuinely interested to ask [color=SpringGreen]”But I didn’t know they were they’re own, like, specific thing. I mean. Obviously I guess, but there’s so many different kinds of people… Creatures... Monsters out there, ya know? Till someone tells you there’s lines between em you don’t see em”[/color]

Junior glanced over at Rika, who had fortunately been distracted by the cafe menu (running around a hollow worked up an appetite especially when you were a kid avoiding eating your veggies). Rather than break this off, however, he leaned against the wall and tried to look cool (mainly because he thought Undyne looked cool and that she’d totally do this kinda lean if she wasn’t doing important guard leading stuff) and then asked [color=SpringGreen]”You two also fans?”[/color] 

The man smiled as he tousled his daughter’s hair, careful with her head wings. “Mostly for her sake, really. Though, I'd be lying if I said they weren't interesting. There's no scientific explanation for how the tapes work, you know. They just…do.”

“Pretty fun though, innit love?” The woman grinned. Though she also had an English accent, hers was a coarse cockney compared to her husband’s more refined speech. “I en't been in a proper firefight in ages, so cassette fightin’ keeps me sharp. Ever since Clover here took a shine to ‘em, we've been collectin’ ‘em, tryin’ to tape all the original beasts. Only, there’s so many of the sparkin’ things…”

“Eunie!” The man admonished, covering Clover’s ears as she giggled.

Eunie covered her mouth, acting surprised. “Whoops, sorry Taion me love, don't know what came over me~”

“Hopskin, Hopskin!” Clover sang, beaming at Rika. “Fight, fight, fight!”

Taion gave her an apologetic glance. “Cassette fights get her so excited,” he explained. “All those flashy moves, she can't get enough.”

Having been trying to ignore the attention, Rika now failed as she glanced over and actually looked at the kid this time, and only now really took in that Clover’s eyes were free of Galeem’s light. She tilted her head in confusion before remembering the whole thing about children being free of the system by default. Or rather separate entirely. Meaning they only lived once.

Given that the ship girl thought of this as her only life as well, given how much it deviated, she felt a little pang of empathy for this little one. Enough to awkwardly, carefully, extend Hopskin’s claw and use it to wave at her, before glancing at Jr and bobbing her head towards the kid.

[color=SpringGreen]”huh? You wanna fight?”[/color] Jr asked, confused, before coming to his own conclusions and turning back to Clover’s parents and offering [color=SpringGreen]”Guess we could do with the practice. Plus advice. Not exactly used these for too long”[/color]

[color=SpringGreen]”Where do you do that kinda stuff? The city seems pretty bor-peaceful, ya know? Besides the Hollows. And the crazy internet”[/color]

At that point Clemence, who'd been listening in since the Koopas were right by her counter, spoke up in a soft French accent. “We do have a lot out back where cassette users can practice. And if anyone's tapes take damage, I do sell rewinds and respools.”

Clemence wasn't the only one drawn to the conversation. “Huh? There’s gonna be a tape fight?” From his seat in the back, Teevee lowered his game and looked over. “Real tape fights are always two on two, though. You lovebirds gonna show these newbies how it goes?”

“Could be fun,” Eunie looked over at Taion, grinning.

He seemed less enthusiastic. “I'd rather just watch but…maybe.”

“Well, I've been itchin’ to give my new tape a try!” Teevee stood, revealing that his headphones were connected to a cassette player. He glanced over at his competitor. “How about it, miss Malina?”

Though she looked rather sour, the demoness didn't seem totally opposed to the idea. “Well…” she grumbled. “Tape fighting [i]is[/i] pretty much a turn-based strategy game.” With a sigh she got up. “Whatever, sure.”

Rika had not at all intended this. After all, if she lost, then she lost her disguise, and then they’d  probably have problems if anyone here had paid attention to the news beyond the bit about an ethereal outside of a hollow. Jr apparently hadn't thought about this, or was just arrogantly assuming she’d win with a monster she’d never even used before, saying [color=SpringGreen]”Alright, let’s do this”[/color] as he confidently strode towards what he assumed was the back door.

On the other side of the door lay a tarmac lot completely enclosed by brick buildings, except for the paved alleyway that provided the sole access for sufficiently small vehicles. Half of the courtyard appeared to be a parking lot, with five out of six spots filled with either cars or bikes, and the sixth reserved for neighboring buildings’ dumpsters. The other half, courtesy of a couple tall chain link fences, was a makeshift basketball court. While it had definitely seen better days, it still had hoops (if not nets) and a few strips of flaky paint outlining the three point, side, and midcourt lines. The only other signs of life here were a khaki-clad [url=https://i.imgur.com/T5nvXn9.png]Exploreboo[/url] restfully charging in the only working port in a bangboo charging station, and a tired-looking [url=https://i.imgur.com/oVCgQYZ.png]Cryboo[/url] waiting for its turn nearby.

The Koopas were followed out into the lot by their competitors, followed by the young family, who crossed the court in order to watch from the parking lot. Teevee and Malina took up positions on the far side of the basketball court, reading their cassette players. “Alright!” Teevee pressed play, then transformed in a burst of static. When his body coalesced, he’d been replaced by a [url=https://i.imgur.com/OGQHohy.png]feline with a flat screen[/url]. With substantially less enthusiasm, Malina took the form of a [url=https://i.imgur.com/2IFDl7v.png]towering vending machine demon[/url]. 

The koopas took up the opposite spots in their respective guises, with Jr in particular grinning toothily as he told them that [color=SpringGreen]”This isn’t really me either”[/color] as if this was some big revelation and not fairly obvious. Rika stepped up beside him a little more nervously, but fortunately a crowd of 3 was a lot less intimidating than the thought of the ones that the Esaka tournaments would have had. Plus the enthusiastic little kid was infinitely more tolerable than the Yokai where, even from as little as she had seen of both.

Plus, in a way, it wasn’t her they were watching in a way. It was the ‘Hopskin’ she had transformed into that was the focus of the kid’s attention, not Rika herself. 

She could work with that, standing up a little straighter, and intentionally mimicking the movements of the one they’d recorded, wearing the shell better, in a way, than she had been. Ironically, this made her even more shifty looking, but then that was the Hopskin’s whole vibe so it worked as intended.

[color=SpringGreen]”Yeah, that’s more like it. Leaning into the whole vibe of em really helps, don’t it?”[/color] Jr said, noticing that, before adding [color=SpringGreen]”Speaking of”[/color] before dramatically pulling off and tossing the rainjacket off like it was a dueling cape, properly revealing Undyne’s armored form below. He then twisted the hand on the outstretched arm that hand thrown the jacket into a fist, forming a glue glowing spear in the grip, before slowly swinging the arm forwards to point the spear tip at his opponents, and boldly challenging them to [color=SpringGreen]”bring it on!”[/color] 

While Teevee couldn’t speak as Cat-5, his dramatic action poses made his intention clear. Taking the initiative, he used the beast’s index and thumb fingers to frame a square around Junior before a crackling electric energy beam shot out, so fast that it would be very hard to dodge. In comparison, Malina’s Gumbaal beast was slow and lumbering, and rather than launching an attack, she used Gambit. Playing cards fluttered around her as an ace of spades stuck to her forehead, signifying that she’d raised her melee and ranged attack and defense, as well as her speed and accuracy, by four stages. Only time would tell if this gamble paid off, though.

That was her plan anyway, which Rika rushed in to prevent, popping her Hopskin’s head down into its coat and then popping it back out with a burst of frightful energy as she used Peekaboo to try and spook the slow foe into inaction. The fright worked, but with Malina’s accuracy already amplified so much, all it did was reduce the bonus by half.

Rika ducked her head into her coat again, but this time out of embarrassment. It was jumpscare that was the move that had stunned them back when they’d captured the recording of the Hopskin, not Peekaboo 

Undyne meanwhile wasn’t exactly built for dodging, armored up as she was, and so the cool factor Jr’s dramatic challenge was immediately undercut by being hit by one of the fish woman’s type weaknesses. Electricity crackled over the woman’s armor as she became electrified, guaranteeing she’d be hit by extra damage whenever an electric type attack was used. Worse, his retaliation, based on pokemon type matchups, of launching water spears at the electric type only empowered it, granting the foe a multitarget buff that would let him hit both of them with normally single target moves.

When the Koopa Kids’ foes launched their repartee, Malina’s boosted speed brought her to the forefront. Rather than attack, though, she used Shrapnel, an inexpensive status effect that applied Conductive to Rika as well.

Now just the second-fasted beast present, Teevee’s Cat-5 followed up with another Energy Shot. When it blasted Undyne, it not only applied thirty more seconds of Conductive, but dealt an extra jolt to both Undyne and Hopskin because of it. Since each beast gained two AP per round, with an extra gained on super-effective hit, and Energy Shot cost two, that left Cat-5 at two AP, and Gumbaal at one.

Rika flicked her claw back in a revenge strike, delivering a light retaliatory strike, then lunged for Cat-5 and delivered a bite with Hopskin’s smiling grin, receiving 25% of the damage she dealt as HP back. Which felt like less than she got when she did the same with the Beast.

Also focusing on endurance, Jr used Ritual, pumping Undyne full of determination to return for one last hurrah after what looked to be his inevitable loss.

As little Clover cheered everyone on from the background, the challengers kicked off another exchange of blows, and each beast gained two AP. Three AP was enough for Malina to unleash Shield Bash, wallop that scaled off her physical defense rather than physical attack. Though Rika’s proximity made her a tempting target, she made a point to go after Undyne instead, and that full-body blow packed a real punch.

Meanwhile, Teevee went for Double Smack, slapping Rika twice with an electric paw. Despite having the same cumulative base power as Energy Shot, this move hit harder since Cat-5’s melee attack was higher than its ranged attack. Thanks to Multihit, Undyne received the same damage, and both Koopa Kids promptly received an extra jolt from Conductive. The damage was starting to add up.

It had been adding up all day and here, now, with them both transformed, they could feel a connection forming that they had bridged once before. But it wasn’t quite there yet, not in this fight.

[color=SpringGreen]”Endure!”[/color] Jr called out, as he, of all things, Raised Undyne’s spear up to buff his offence. Rika meanwhile used Peekaboo correctly this time, spooking Cat-5 to try and prevent it from multihitting them again via reduced accuracy.

Malina hesitated for a moment, now in trouble. She’d been counting on the huge buffs from Gambit to score at least one easy knockout before her time ran out, but Undyne was impossibly sturdy, still on her feet even after multiple electric attacks and that brutal Shield Bash. Now Malina had just one turn left, and not enough AP to use Ritual herself. Her Sugar Rush passive would be useless, too; if only she’d been able to strategize an AP-oriented team herself, and not gotten stuck with Teevee, who only cared about straightforward attacking. Oh well.

With a shrug, she used Treat on Teevee, giving him a random buff. In a stroke of good luck he received Cottoned On, but the next moment Gumball dissolved into static, reverting into Malina’s human(?) form. She slumped down onto her knees with a groan of resignation. “Up to you now, I guess.”

Surprised by this turn of events, Teevee knew he had no choice but to act. Though tempted to attack, his weakened accuracy drove him to pick Fire Wall instead. A barrier of flame surrounded him, strong enough to soak up any three hits.

[color=SpringGreen]”Hey nice I can hit that”[/color] Jr said with delight, even if his self buff was totally useless vs it, he still got a good swing in thrashing the firewall with a double slice that should knock off two hits, leaving Rika to use a low AP Jump Scare to try and knock off the last hit the wall could take. That left her with a small amount stored up, and Jr with basically none however (which went the same for their hp levels).

Once their attacks resolved, though, it was clear they’d been mistaken. Cottoned On allowed Teevee -and by extension his wall- to evade both attacks, even if it faded afterward. Still, Teevee had another ten seconds of lowered accuracy, and only two AP, so there was nothing for it but to try another Double Smack. Unfortunately he missed Undyne, and even though Conductive did kick in automatically, the jolts weren’t enough to take the Koopa Kids down.

Jr hesitated for a moment, and then called out [color=SpringGreen]”Everything!”[/color] as he gripped the spear in two hands and delivered an all mighty swing of Desperation at the foe despite the type disadvantage. Rika followed suit, lunging forwards to deliver a hefty bite.  

With Cottoned On gone, the two attacks chewed through two of the Fire Wall’s three hits, leaving Teevee with just one. It was then that his eyes cleared, and though Rika’s Conductive reaction had worn off along with his Multi-hit, he could see a path to victory. It would take too long for him to work through both foes, so he needed to be able to attack both at once despite his lost Multitarget. Teevee used Broadcast, his flatscreen displaying a connectivity symbol, to give himself Multitarget once more and prepare for the final showdown.

[color=SpringGreen]”Wait, I thought, uuuhhh, me then you!”[/color] Jr called out, having missed that they’d missed in the heat of the moment, and now just lightly slicing the last shield pip while Rika used up the last of her spare AP to deliver another hp draining bite.

The chomp took out a chunk of Teevee’s HP, since Cat-5 wasn’t exactly built for defense, and Rika got some of hers back. After backing off in a hurry, almost to the boundary of the basketball court, Teevee unleashed another Energy Shot split into two by Multitarget. Both Koopa Kids received a decent zap, and yet again Undyne suffered another shock from Conductive.

That was more than enough to proc ritual, causing Undyne to briefly melt and then solidify into Undyne the undying, and then get knocked right back down to low health. Rika meanwhile only survived thanks to the hp she’d drained with her bite attack.

They were on their last legs, again, and even if it wasn’t as serious a situation it was still a bit dire, given the risk that losing entailed. It was then fortunate that their ‘strategy’ involved being beaten up a lot, because that connection that had been forming solidified in that moment.

Jr beamed toothily, while Rika glanced over at little Clover and leaned her Hopskin’s head back to expose its own grin in mimicry of this, before both turned to static. The blobs of it lunged together, but unlike last time the result the resulting fusion did not come out massive and monstrous, but instead human and heroic, with just a little a little edgy.

A knight in metal armor appeared in their place, but one with a grilled helmet with two little ‘ears’ and two small gems on top that made it reminiscent of Hopskin’s head. It was also wearing a red coat over its shoulder’s, without the arms in the sleeves, like a cape, and a gold buckled belt on its hips. 

Finally, in its arms, it held a scythe with a blue glowing shaft and a purple blade. 

It hefted this blade, ran forwards, leapt up and, lacking any and all AP to deliver anything better, served up an empowered double slice followed by a basic smack with the base of the shaft to the foe.

Though only an amateur tape fighter, Teevee knew a fusion when he saw one. If Cat-5 could speak, he might have blurted out a resigned cuss, but he didn’t even get that chance. The fused kids’ first attack was enough to whack Teevee into the back wall, at which point Cat-5 dissolved into static. It flowed down the bricks like water, then coalesced back into the intelligent construct’s original body as he slouched down. “Ah, man…” He rubbed his electronic face, trying to massage the dead pixels back into place.

By now, Malina had risen to her feet, her expression somehow even more sour than before. “Whatever. My strategies were going to work with some random doofus anyway.”

Teevee shrugged as she swayed dazedly back into the cafe. “Well, at least we gave it our all,” he piped up.

“Woooooow, that was so so cool!” Clover cheered, unable to look away from the fusion as her parents clapped politely. “Mommy, daddy, you gotta do that too!”

The gaze of the scythe wielding fusion rested on Clover for a moment, on her eyes free from Galeem’s light, and in that moment information crossed the gap from Rika to Jr. Then, it gave the kid a thumbs up and said “yeah I am!” only to falter and correct  “We are…” before greasing down into an uncertain “uhhhhh” before the fusion collapsed under the weight of existential confusion, the two very beat up component parts being ditched onto the floor. Or rather Jr in Undyne’s body ended up on the floor, while Rika and Hopskin’s ended up sprawled on top of the fish warrior.

It had been so much easier to keep it together when they had been screaming mad the whole time. Talking was, as it turned out, much harder. Which didn’t bode well for their handling of  Clover and her predestined fate of becoming an orphan in at most 7 years.