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[img]https://i.imgur.com/kNmO8zV.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ziR5Pse.png[/img]
[b][color=DarkOrange]wordcount: [/color][/b] 1545 (+3)
[b][color=DarkOrange]Location:[/color][/b] Forbidden Kingdom - borderland badlands
[b][color=DarkOrange]Amaterasu: level 9 (1 level up stored) [/color][/b] EXP: [color=DarkOrange]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color]/// (86/90)
[b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 15 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](360/150)
[b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 12 [/color][/b] EXP:  [color=Aqua]/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](199/110)
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A yellow light lit up the darkness Mimi formed an electroball and then nailed it into the the desiccated form of a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/39eea4128d08.png]Dweller[/url], sending the clumsy cursed corpse stumbling back. A moment later Jr (wearing the form of Undyne thanks to a cassette transformation) has a massive water spear crash up beneath it, smashing it into the ceiling of the tunnel they were fighting.

To their side a Rika, who had transformed into a [url=https://i.imgur.com/2xDa56H.gif]hopskin[/url], ate a pickaxe blow before stabbing back with a revenge strike, and then digging her teeth in to restore her vitality.

The rest were rather handily cleaned up by an unexpected addition to this typical crew, namely Amaterasu, whose unseen divine weaponry cleaved through the not-quite-undead with ease. There was something deeply unpleasant about the area’s smell, and not just because of the cadaverous state of its denizens, which was why she’d insisted on coming along when the koopa siblings had discovered a [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/bd055e33ec5f.png]cave entrance[/url] up above.

Not that they appreciated the babysitting, with Jr saying [color=SpringGreen]”Good job Mimi, n nice one sis, we’ll get that fusion meter filled up n ready for R in no time!”[/color] and pointedly leaving her out of any praise or thanks.

She rolled her eyes at this and padded forwards, leaving the faded spirits in her wake to be collected by the kids, only to be taken by surprise when they emerged into a cavern lit by lanterns and a crack in the ceiling. It wasn’t the light that was surprising, but instead the stately [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/a9315209113d.png]home[/url] that existed down here beneath the earth.

To the sides of this chamber were several other passageways like the one they had entered through, and from these shambled more of the Dwellers, these ones hauling yellow glowing crystals they had, presumably, mined from deeper into the dungeon. 

The wolf wondered why, and for who, they were bringing these crystals here for, but the kids were more interested in the glittering prizes on offer, and the prospect that there was a full stash of them to be found within the structure. They hurried across the bridge and immediately laid into the shamblers, while Amaterasu more cautiously padded after them.

Her caution was warranted, as in response to the noise outside, a set of purple skinned and black nailed fingers hauled open the round upstairs window of the dwelling before the [url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/02d55a54d284.png]body[/url] they belonged to launched itself up over the cherry tree with a cry of “Those spirit stones are miiiiiine!” 
With her view further back Amaterasu got eyes on her first and, with a duo of dashed lines drawn in ink, she slowed time enough for her to run in and bring her sun disk up to slap the descending scythe to the side before it could cleave one of the children in twain.

The full bulk of the creature (twice the height of Jr’s Undyne form even in its favored crouching stance) crashed down among them, creating a shockwave that sent them all flying back. The thing that had once been human before the massive spirit stone atop her head mutated her into this monstrosity hoisted her blade over back and then told them with slavering malice that “What sort of idiots are you, trying to steal from the greatest bandit to ever live?!"

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSrORfxx4G0[/youtube]

Before they could recover from her knocking them back, Tate Eboshi raised her scythe up overhead, enlarged it to twice its already absurd size, and then leapt towards the trio while swinging it overhead. They all did their best to evade the blade itself, but the resulting explosion of crystals from the ground cleaved into both Rika and Jr’s cassette beast forms, with Mimi only being spared thanks to her position atop Jr’s shoulder. 

Amaterasu meanwhile had dashed clean out of the way, and now came right back in, slamming her sun disk into the mutant. She screeched in agony as the divine weapon burned her corrupted flesh, leaping back as she demanded to know “what is thiiiis!?”

The divine wolf did not reply, but she did keep up the attack, harrying Tate Eboshi as the others recovered from the blow they had received. A shockwave releasing stomping of the mutant’s foot drove the divine wolf back a few moments later, after which Tate Eboshi swung her scythe forwards in two massive cleaves.

Rika ducked her hopkins head into her trenchcoat to get under the second swing and then clobbered Tate with two strikes of her lunging arm. In retaliation the mutant spun around rapidly, holding the scythe down so that it slashed into Rika rapidly, before slamming the but of the weapon into her and sending a pulse of magic into her that flung her back.

This resulted in an alarmed cry of [color=SpringGreen]”Rika!”[/color] from her brother. The prince had been busy double slicing through the remaining Dwellers, but the powerful blow his sister had taken took his focus back to the battle. Not quite enough for him to evade Tate lunging towards him and grabbing him however.

As Amaterasu watched on dismay, the mutant leapt up with Jr’s armored form in her grasp, before hurling him up above the tree. Tate Eboshi then leapt off of the cave wall, cleaving into Jr, before bouncing off of the opposite wall and delivering another blow. Then another and another before cleaving the blade down into the prince and slamming him back down to earth.

Rika ran to her brother’s aid, only for Tate Eboshi to jump back, cling to a wall, blast her with a barrage of crystals, before leaping forward again and slamming the scythe into her.

Rather than death, or at least blood, for her efforts, Tate Eboshi was confused to find that the result was the two turning to static and shrinking, before revealing the true forms of the royal siblings, both now down monster recording cassette each.

[color=SpringGreen]”Alright. That probably charged it up. Dodging time”[/color] Jr said as he picked himself up, before maga-dashing out of the way of a cleaving strike from Tate Eboshi, leaving her an explosive mine for her efforts that promptly exploded in her face. He stopped a ways away, crouching down to let Mimi jump back onto his shoulder (the disguise pokemon having been knocked off of his shoulder when he was being pummeled in the sky) and then healing the damage she’d taken from that fall.

The then follow, Tate Eboshi pivoted and swung her second slash at Rika, only for the ship girl to launch herself up and over the swing, before firing her disruption cannons down into the foe, launching herself back and touching down further back.

Enraged, Tate Eboshi began to stamp the ground, building up energy with each stomp till the third sent out a pulsing shockwave across the entire island. In response, in almost perfect sync, the trio all leapt over the shockwave and struck at the mutant. Amaterasu first cleaved down her great sword Tsumugari, then got to painting the world in support of the others. She added an ink bullet to empower Rika’s maneuvering thruster boosted lance strike, then drew a cherrybomb on top of Jr’s hucked fireball, creating an explosion that slammed Tate Eboshi back into the tree, showering them all with cherry blossoms.

As the mutant tried to rise, Rika, Jr and Amaterasu all landed near each other, pivoted, and unleashed their firepower. Rika splattered her with shocking ink from her grizco blaster, Jr formed an iron javelin to hurl at her, Mimi slapped an electoball into her and Amaterasu rattled her with a hail of devout beads.

Still the mutant rose to her feet, inverting her scythe and running towards them, before cleaving it up and sending out a shockwave that forced them to scatter.

The kids grouped up again after, prompting Tate Eboshi to go for them, pulling her scythe back to cleave into them, at which point Amaterasu drew two lines to slow down time again. At quad speed she slashed into the back of the mutant’s legs with her sword over and over, scoring deep gashes and sending their foe crashing to the floor once more.

The mutant tried to rise once more, but the trio laid into her, spears stabbing, blades slashing, lighting crackling, and moments later she was no more, her spirit settling down into her ashes.

[color=SpringGreen]”Phew. We got her”[/color] Jr said as he shook iron filings off of his metal tattooed arm, before looking at Amaerasu and saying [color=SpringGreen]”Guess you can fight for real when it counts”[/color]

She was about to growl in annoyance at him when she supposed that she never had been in a life or death fight with the children before. So she let it lie and put on haughty airs instead, because of course she could fight when it counted.

After that, they chatted a bit more over the pearl links, recommended the cave as a good meetup/hiding/attack launching spot (Tate Eboshi’s home had a fair amount of amenities, including a kitchen that Rika thought they might be able to use later) and counted their spoils from crushing the mutant, her thralls, and looting her stash of crystals.

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[url=https://nioh.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Rain_%26_Thunder]Black Rain & Thunder[/url]: magical axes with the water and lighting elements respectively, require a fair amount of skill to use effectively.
[url=https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/5c1f2da29668.png]Spirit stones[/url] x29: golden crystals made of physical life force that can be used to gain supernatural abilities (stat points) if ground up and ingested in the correct manner. The downside of the consumer’s corpse reanimating as a ‘demon’ after death is non-existent in the world of light. 
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