[center][h3]Koopas in Shinjuku, Finale[/h3]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ziR5Pse.png[/img]
[b][color=FD0000]wordcount:[/color][/b] 3598 (+4)
[b][color=FD0000]Location:[/color][/b] Forbidden Kingdom - Shinjuku 
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 15 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](287/150)
[b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 12 [/color][/b] EXP:  [color=Aqua]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](123/110)
[/center]

Rika was a less able to carry her brother around now that she was a fair bit shorter, and so the prince had to put Roxas’ flowmotion skill to good use to keep up with her, slowing them down a fair bit as said skill wasn’t quite as absurd as Rika’s warframe agility. He wasn’t able to just chain wall-jump up a vertical surface for example.

The gum also did nothing for him, which he was pretty mad about. Apparently not a single member of the royal koopa line had taken up ninjutsu (which according to Seek was a requirement for the gum to work its ‘science’). To be fair to them, this was hardly unsurprising given their weight class when fully grown.

Still, after the run-in with the ninja kids, the koopa kids managed to steer clear of any other trouble, being a little bit less brazen in their rooftop running now that they knew they weren't the only ones parkouring around up there.

Once clear of the Shinobi district, the kids made their way to the mildly mistake-able for it Sotenbori district, where the question arose of how they were going to find the specific apartment they were looking for. 

Unfortunately, it would be a challenge just staying focused on their mission, for Sotenbori was the entertainment capital of Shinjuku. Starting with the bustling [url=https://www.scribblinggeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/yakuza-2-kiwami-sotenbori-1.jpg]main street[/url] with the larger-than-life, eye-catching, lavish food decorations and signs. The warm, laidback, and lively atmosphere continued on through to the [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FSKF8ZNagAIPYiR?format=jpg&name=large]picturesque  boardwalk[/url] that straddled the Sotenbori river, where all kinds of fun [url=https://i.imgur.com/BJPBqN9.png]watercraft[/url] could be found engaged in aquatic activities. Compared to the rest of the human-dominated city, this area seemed to have a more varied populace, everything from [url=https://i.imgur.com/oMGDvUc.png]morel mushroom men[/url] to raving rabbids to black-suited [url=https://i.imgur.com/RSOB9Xw.png]content creators[/url] roaming the streets for anything they could make into inter-knot videos. Wherever one looked, one could typically find something weird or at the very least interesting, such as the roaming [url=https://i.imgur.com/t5DFb3K.png]toilet herd[/url] that occasionally stampeded down the street, or the cute, cuddly [url=https://i.imgur.com/hRI6O2b.png]Rot[/url] that tended to hang out by trash cans to help kickstart decomposition. And of course, it paid to avoid traffic violations with a [url=https://i.imgur.com/lwoRTrh.png]giant spherical parking attendant[/url] looming overhead, always on the lookout troublemakers. In the midst of this overload, though, Junior’s phone received a new notification from Taion.

[i]Made it to Sotenbori yet? Our apartment is over a diner called Rikimaru Ramen. As far as I know, there’s just the one location, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. If you see a green alien in a UFO eating ramen, you’re in the right place.[/i]

They, unsurprisingly, got left on read for a while.

In the kid’s defence, part of this was because they kept having to hide from the giant parking attendant which Jr assumed would let the police force at large know they were here. Entirely against their defence was the fact that had it not been for said attendant, they would have been on the water getting involved in the frivolities, be it under their own power or in one of the watercraft.

As it was, they used the busy crowds as cover, and slowly made their way towards the location of the ramen place that Seek tracked down for them. On the way they had to resist the temptation to buy any other food despite how many mouth-watering aromas they passed by. Rika got Seek to note down half a dozen places that they were probably never going to have the time to visit, but which she aspired to visit nonetheless.

They also went through an awkward song and dance number trying to both see/snap pictures of the various oddities, and also avoid being caught on camera by any of the content creators. Possibly this was paranoia, but Jr wanted to avoid being caught live on camera and having someone recognise them from a news report.

Once they were five minutes away, Jr had the presence of mind to mention to respond [i]we’re close[/i] after which they promptly took another fifteen minutes to get there. Still, eventually, they did arrive at the restaurant and, after taking a moment to appreciate the described [url=https://i.imgur.com/hClkFxs.png]sign[/url] in person, made their way inside.

Almost immediately, they received a new message. [i]I said our apartment was over the restaurant, not that we were inside it. Nevermind, though, just find a table in there. We’ll be right down.[/i]

A minute later, the familiar face and white-feathered headwings of Eunie appeared as she pushed through the restaurant’s door, followed by Clover and Taion. They’d all changed clothes in the intervening hours since the two groups’ last encounter, possibly in an effort to not be recognized as easily after the chaos of their back-alley brawl. Eunie wore her light brown hair in a short ponytail with a white baseball cap on, as well as jeans and a black tank top beneath a green and white varsity jacket for the Yoshi Islanders, while Taion had donned a more techwear-inspired blue overcoat plus khaki cargo pants. Clover, meanwhile, came with a set of denim overalls plus brown sweater. When the trio saw Junior and Rika, they made their way over. Taion’s keen eyes lingered on Rika for a second or two, registering the difference in her appearance, but after a brief moment he wrote the discrepancy off as a product of mistaken memory and thought nothing of it. The family joined the siblings at their table, their cursory glances at the ramen menus a mere formality. Though it was getting to be later in the afternoon it would be a while longer before dinnertime rolled around, and they weren’t here for food, anyway.

Clover seemed wary of Junior and Rika, knowing nothing beyond their fierce clash with her parents, but as Taion tried to help explain the misunderstanding Eunie gave the koopa kids a sheepish smile. “So, er…sorry about all that, loves. From before. I guess we weren’t in our right minds.” She put a hand to her temple and sighed. “It’s still a lot to take in. Like wakin’ up from a dream that went on too sparkin’ long…”

“The worst part is, this isn’t necessarily our first time,” Taion added, his voice low. “We originally came from different worlds ourselves. Though we’re still not privy to all the details, it seemed like one original planet split into two as a result of some disaster, fated to eventually drift back together and recombine. Before it completed, though, Moebius hijacked the process, leading to the malformed amalgamate world called Aionios. We had to undo that conflicted merge in the hopes that our worlds would someday fuse together properly.” He squeezed Eunie’s hand. “That meant us two separating, maybe for good, with nothing to go on but hope…”

Eunie smiled weakly. “In a way, this chance to be together, all this…” She hugged Clover. “It’s exactly what we wanted. But it isn’t right. That sparkin’ ball of light that consumed everythin’…its Moebius all over again. So we know what we gotta do, but with her here…it’s gonna be even harder than before.”

The pair of kids glanced at each other (over the top of a pair of [url=https://i.imgur.com/fEjWNT1.jpeg]nano colas[/url] they’d ordered before the family had arrived) at the mention of that name, after which Jr started to go [color=SpringGreen]”uhhhhh”[/color] only for Rika to jump in and say it outright:

[color=Aqua]”Yeah those are a thing here too. Moebius I mean. I mean, probably not the same ones coz they’ve probably died and been replaced a whole bunch but same idea I’d guess. They do sorta look a bit like your fusion form thing you had.”[/color]

[color=SpringGreen]”Yeah, those were the guys I was worried might have people listening. I mean they seem kinda lazy and disunited n stuff but there might be one smart tech nerd in em that’d, like, have something watching for emails for words like Moebius and Galeem and stuff”[/color] Jr added, before adding as an afterthought [color=SpringGreen]”Also Galeem’s the name of the big winged lightbulb.”[/color] 

Taion rested his chin on his fist, his elbow propped on the table. “Galeem. I see.” He said it matter-of-factly, but his hard voice and stony expression suggested no small amount of repressed anger. “As for that form we took, it’s called an Interlink. We two are Ouroboros, as are several of our friends. Noah and Mio, plus Lanz and Sena…”

“Those names ringin’ any bells for ya?” Eunie asked hopefully, her brows knitted together with concern.

[color=SpringGreen]”Um”[/color] Jr replied, before glancing at his sister who did a big shrug, and then looked back at the pair before shaking his head and saying [color=SpringGreen]”No, don’t think so?”[/color] 

[color=Aqua]”They’ll be fine anyway. If they get sunk Galeem’ll just pop out a new copy”[/color] Rika then informed them with unhelpful non-specificisity, leaving her brother to sigh and lay out the mechanics of Galeem’s world, starting with the fact that they were copies of people, moving on to flame clocks, and then finally to the ten year limit on the lives of everyone except those like Clover who were ‘new life’. 

Her explanation left the Ouroboros grim. “Un-sparkin’-believable,” Eunie moaned, her head in her hands.

“It really is like we’re right back in Aionios,” Taion murmured. He squeezed his wife’s shoulder. “But that just means we know exactly what to do.”

“Kill off Moebius and kickstart our worlds back into gear.” Eunie smiled weakly. “Second verse, same as the first, I guess. Least it’s old hat to us now.” She picked up Clover and sat her on her lap for a big hug. As she held onto her daughter, her eyes narrowed. “If it really is more or less the same as before, we need to strike at the heart.”

Taion nodded. “Origin. The database where all our captive souls are kept and copied. The hard drive of the World of Light itself. Moebius didn’t make it, but they hijacked it, taking the reigns of the world to make it into their Endless Now.” He crossed his arms as he looked at the koopa kids. “Aionios was ring-shaped, and last time we found Origin smack dab in the center of the empty space in the middle, hidden away in a cloud bank. Do you have any insight on this?”

[color=SpringGreen]”Oh wow, yeah, we have got to get you the Avenger. People on there, they’ve only got like, theories that there’s a ‘source engine’ storing all the info on people”[/color] Jr said, before pulling out his phone and getting Seek to find them a map of the world, which did indeed have a sort of ring shape, and at the very least a big bit of empty space in the middle which he pointed too [color=SpringGreen]”so here then?”[/color] 

[color=Aqua]”Pretty sure there’s already stuff in that space, right? Plus people like those short beardy miners from the Under go to above us space, so unless that middle space is extra weird, then you woulda thought people’d have found it already, right? Can’t just be defense through obscurity”[/color] Rika pointed out, slamming a military term down the end of her childish speech, only for both to come to a realization at the same time, namely that the reason was [color=Aqua]”The guar[/color][color=SpringGreen]dians”[/color] 

Jr then turned back to Clover’s parents and asked [color=SpringGreen]”Did you have anything like that? 13 super strong bosses that needed to be taken down before you could get to that server? We’ve been told they were protecting Galeem but maybe it’s both? Or they’re, like, the same thing and it actually straight up ate everything”[/color]

Eunie gave him a bemused, uncertain look.

“I think these ‘guardians’ you speak of are new to us,” Taion admitted, his arms crossed. His eyes rested on Clover, who’d been busying herself by playing with a couple [url=https://i.imgur.com/vYVQrgK.png]green action figures[/url] and not paying much attention. “Makes sense that they’d implement some extra security if they’re trying to do better than last time.”

While he considered the Moebius angle, Eunie fretted about where her daughter fit into all this. “You mentioned ‘the Avenger’, mate. Wot’s that, exactly? Is that like, your base?” It seemed obvious where she’d be going with this line of questioning.

[color=SpringGreen]”Mmm hmm. Its a super cool invisible metal airship”[/color] Jr informed them, before amending things a bit by saying [color=SpringGreen]”well, it's more the lost number’s base which we’re using than our base specifically. Still don’t know where papa’s castle is and the seeker base got wrecked by a different giant metal airship”[/color]

For once it was Rika who stepped in to explain a term, rather than the other way around, but then again, it was one that was very relevant to why all of this had gone down [color=Aqua]”Lost numbers are people like Clover. Never been Galeeming ever, and so there’s no falling apart after ten years. If we fail like every other seeker group, it’d be the best place for her given that you’ve only got so much time left”[/color] 

[color=SpringGreen]”But obviously we’re going to win!”[/color] Jr insisted, before adding a little quieter [color=SpringGreen]”We have too”[/color] which got a little smile out of Rika where the bravado hadn’t. That need, that care, was worth far more than any arrogant self confidence.

Eunie gave him a wry smile. “We know the Lost Numbers. Well, maybe not these ones. But they ain’t the first. An invisible airship, eh? Sounds like a right laugh.”

“Can you take us to them?” Taion asked. “Or…arrange pickup, perhaps?”

[color=SpringGreen]”Galeem really did ape a lot of stuff from your worlds huh?”[/color] Jr commented, before thinking for a moment and adding [color=SpringGreen]”Even stuff that feels like it should be, like, a glitch? That’s sorta weird, right? Like even this was planned”[/color] before making a sound of discomfort. 

[color=Aqua]”I mean, maybe it was from them”[/color] Rika pointed out, which wasn’t a perfect explanation, but it was enough for Jr to move on

[color=SpringGreen]”So, uh, yeah, anyway, yeah, we can get them to pick you up. Well. Kinda. We’ve got these fulton device things that just, sorta, yank you up into the sky with a balloon and then they’ll grab you from up there”[/color]

[color=Aqua]”Us up too?”[/color] Rika suggested [color=Aqua]”Might as well head back to our room instead of running around here more or trying to find somewhere to stay in Esaka”[/color] 

Jr agreed to this with a nod, before adding [color=SpringGreen]”Plus we’ll probably have to explain this to em? I mean you're not Galeeming so it's kinda obvious who’s side you’re on but still. Context and stuff”[/color]

Though both seemed eager to join the Lost Numbers, their daughter’s safety was of utmost concern to them. “That seems…very dangerous,” Taion said, his tone making it clear that this was a severe understatement. “Hmm..”

“Ooh, what if we both hugged her between us as we went up, love?” Eunie smirked. “That way there’s no chance of her fallin’!”

Taion scratched his neck. “I was thinking more along the lines of a rope or something?” He offered the kids a polite smile. “We’ll figure something out. Let’s get our affairs in order here. How about we meet at the temple a couple streets over in half an hour?”

[hr]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wiJ7gJm.png[/img][/center]

Twenty-eight minutes later, the family of three reached the temple at the southwestern edge of Sotenbori, using the nearby boardwalk to avoid disturbing the carefully cultivated sand patterns of the rock garden. The temple itself, being little more than a fancy shell around a great hanging bell, was a perfect meeting spot, since there wasn’t much reason for anyone else to be here. More impressive than the temple, and even the vivid pink petals of the cherry blossom trees nearby, was the view from the back side of the temple, where a stone platform overlooked nothing less than Empty Space itself. The very tip of one wing of that vast void formed much of Shinjuku’s western border. Before them lay an unimaginably long fall into pitch blackness, less like a grand canyon and more like a rift in the world itself. With this branch much narrower than most of Empty Space, onlookers could see clear across to the snowy mountains and pine trees on the far side despite the great distance, though the land’s elevation was much higher over there. The Frozen Highlands were not so far away, it seemed.

The family found Jr and Rika staring down over the edge, watching stray flowerpettles falling further and further and further into the abyss till it was so small as to be out of sight. 

[color=Aqua]”I thought you said stuff floats in space”[/color] Rika was saying, having conceptualized it as some sort of sky sea, to which her brother replied [color=SpringGreen]”Well. Yeah. but it also just keeps going for some reason? I dunno, space is weird”[/color]

Upon getting their attention, the pair both backed away from the edge and joined the trio in a spot out from under the shade of the branches that’d make for a good launch site.

[color=SpringGreen]”Got all your stuff shoved into the armory?”[/color] Jr asked, having passed along how to use Edward’s magic to them so they could do their very fast move out. Odds were Sagi, the quartermaster, was equal parts confused and concerned that the seekers had picked up some kind of hoarder who was going to start sending them everything not nailed down. 

[color=Aqua]”Like all the tapes”[/color] Rika added, before thinking for a moment, recalling their post battle looting, and adding again [color=Aqua]”Some of which I guess we should give back to you.”[/color]

“That would be appreciated.” Taion nodded. “Other than that, got everything squared away.” 

The ship girl looked visibly disappointed, but despite this picked them out of the pocket she’d stashed them in and handed them over.

Eunie squeezed Clover’s shoulder. Despite the uncertainty ahead of her, she looked excited as she flapped her headwings. “Ready to fly! You ready, love?”

“Yeah!” Though she didn’t quite understand where her family was headed or how they’d be getting there, Clover knew better than anyone that any outing with her parents would end well.

[color=SpringGreen]”Ok, here’s the fulton thingies”[/color] Jr said as he handed the pair one for themselves and one spare for Clover, before starting a demonstration of how to use them

[color=SpringGreen]”You just strap em on like this, and then you, pull this and-”[/color] he said while doing this, only to be cut off at the end by his own scream/yell of fear/exhilaration as the demonstration ended abruptly with the prince launching into the air.

Everyone watched him disappear into the open sky in the same way the blossoms were disappearing into the nearby empty space for a moment, before Rika casually said [color=Aqua]”Yup, that’s how they work”[/color]

Taion looked horrified, but it looked like a blast to Clover. She cheered, jumping up and down as she clapped her hands, and much to her father’s chagrin, Eunie was almost as enthusiastic. “Bahaha! Right then, love, it’s your turn!” She shoved a fulton into her husband’s hands. It took some encouragement from both Eunie and Clover, but after steeling himself he bravely donned the device.

Then Clover climbed into the backpack her parents had prepared, with only her head poking out. Taion wore it on his chest rather than his back, and once Eunie put on her fulton, she wrapped her arms around Taion in a tight hug, their child sandwiched between them. “Agh…fire and sparks.” With a final deep breath, the tactician pulled the cord, and in a blink his family soared skyward.

Having seen them off, Rika then launched herself into the sky under her own power at first, aim-gliding there for a moment as she took in the city around her one more time. All in all, she thought, it had been a neat little sidequest. Then she yanked the cord on her futon device and with a [color=Aqua]”Weeeeee!”[/color] flew up to join the others.