Role Play Pool Party!

Seeing that the last four boulders were placed on the catapult by Clive, Skittles jumped down hard onto the end of the device and hurled the rocks high into the air. Stepping back, he watched as the boulders landed into the back of the trailer along with the rest of them. Scratching his head, he turned to Clive and nodded.

"We need something to take water from the lake, some sort of bucket." Walking over to the trailer, he turned the key to the left as the hammers began to slowly move up and down. "These hammers will break the boulders down to grain", he said from a distance. "The water will mix with it and turn it into cement, which we'll use for the foundation of the new post."

~~~

"Thanks, Elaine", Orinda said with a smile as she returned with the water. "I think I left something down in the lobby, I'll be right back."

Heading out the door of the throne room, he walked down the hallway and into the lobby. Lying on the lobby floor was a piece of paper that was shaped in the form of an airplane of some sort. Picking it up, Orinda read what was written on the paper. "What the heck is he doing up there?", he asked himself aloud. Turning the paper over, he began to write out his response.

Gas and oil in the McDonald's
Planned on lighting on fire
Never got to it, don't let goombas make you Big Macs
Can't send them up to you, too heavy
Michael Dean Anderson needs rubberbands, can't get out of well
-Orinda Tarsa

Folding the paper back into an airplane shape, he walked out of the castle lobby and in front of the moat. Taking a deep breath, he threw the paper up towards the roof of the castle. I hope it makes it up there, he thought to himself.

Still deep in thought, Xiuhcoatl heard some noises up above him. Someone was up there.. he wasn't sure who it was, but he had to investigate. Groaning as he got up from his sitting position, he picked up his bandaged tail with his right hand using it as a sling of some sort.

Exiting his room and into the hallway containing the chambers, he looked around and figured he couldn't navigate through the darkness. Pulling his wand out form his shell, he waved it around in two full circles as the lamps along the wall began to lit. Light navigating towards the stairs, he began to slowly make his way up the stairs and towards the roof above.

Chugami was lying on his back and counting the stalactites when he noticed a paper airplane flying back out. "A response!" he cried out. Thank god, it felt like months!

When it flew close enough, he hopped up and grabbed it, then pulled away from the edge to open it up and read it. On one side was his original note (which he then noticed he unconsciously written as a haiku), and on the other was the response from the king.

"...Who's 'Michael Dean Anderson?' Oh well, at least they know I'm up here. I'm sure someone will come up with the supplies eventually."

Normally, he would've just thought all that instead of speaking out loud, but he was jonesing for a sound besides the ambient wind blowing through. From where, though...?

Skittles observed the hammers as they propelled faster and faster. The boulders were chipping and cracking, causing sparks and clouds of dust to come from the back of the trailer. Stepping back from the trailer, he looked at the early evening sky and wondered what king dad was doing right now. What if he was watching us from above right now?

~~~

Seeing the paper plane float safely over the roof, Orinda rushed back inside to the castle and sprinted back to the throne room. Stopping at the door and nearly wiping out in the process, he leaned against the doorway catching his breath. After a moment to catch his wind, he looked to Crystal and Elaine with a sense of urgency.

"He's on the roof", Orinda said with a stern voice. "We have gasoline and oil in the McDonald's, but someone has to haul it through the stairs and up to the roof." His eyes looked around the room for a moment and then back to the two ladies. "Who wants to go? We may need two people."

Making his way to the first stairwell, Xiuhcoatl leaned close against the left side wall as he began to ascend the steps that rounded the corner. With his tail out of commission, his balance was nearly nonexistent. Watching the lamps automatically light up as he walked, it felt like the stars in the sky were one by one exposing their light just for him. Slowly clearing the corner of stairs, his eyes set on a narrow hallway in front of him, lined with doors like the one below. He began to wonder about those who residated up here as he heard a voice cry out, echoing through the empty hall. It sounded like Chugami, he felt bad for how he treated the guy just the other day.

"Hello!", he shouted at the top of his lungs, filling the hall and probably most of the castle with his voice. "Chugami, is that you?"

Chugami's ears twitched. A shout was coming from the still-open door leading back into the castle. Back into the darkness... But it was a familiar voice. He skittered up to the threshold, as close as he dared, peering in. "Xiuhcoatl?" he shouted down the circular stairway that was contained in the miniature tower. "It's me! I'm up here on the roof!"

Xiuhcoatl wasn't sure why he was waundering the castle with his tail in the condition it was in, it wouldn't be useable until it was healed.. but he was now completely sure that Chugami was the source of the noises that had been above his chambers. He shook off the thoughts and twirled the wand in two full clockwise circles, lighting up the hall and staircase down the end. Spotting Chugami's head darting out just around the threshold, he slowly made his way over to him. He gave a quick wave and continued down, his tail still cradled in his hand.

Chugami waved back before he hopped back to give the reptilian space to pass through the door. "Thank god you're here! I think I found the way to get the electricity to the whole castle back on!"

Stopping as she met with Murcury, she looked at him as if she had seen a ghost.. or at least she felt like she just had.

"I swore when I looked up there, I saw Skittles Koopa.", she said with anxiety in her voice. "The heir to the throne lives, you know what this means?"

Taking Murcury by the arm, she swam back over to the plateau and rested on it.

Swimming over to the rock with Koopette, Murcury nodded in response to her question. "It means that if that was really him on the shore, our new King has finally arrived to restore order."

Taking her hand in his, watching the reflection from above the plateau form along her beautiful, scaly body he looked deep into her eyes.

"Dinosaur Land, our home.. will be beautiful again.", he whispered gently into her ear.

"Where can I find a bucket?" Clive asked. "I don't see anything we can use to hold the water."

Crystal shivered at the question. She remembered living in this castle with her parents as a young koopa, the sounds of footsteps echoing down the hallways and coming from above their one room home and the sound of koopa prisoners screaming and suffering in the cells well under the ground floor of the castle. She knew the castle just as well as anybody, perhaps a bit too well. They weren't all particularly good memories, most of them bad.. the screaming, the pounding footsteps, the horror and terror it brought to her in nightmares that occured since those days.

Trying to not show the tears in her eyes, Crystal looked to Orinda and nodded. "I'll help haul the supplies up to the roof", she said, her voice quivering. "I'd prefer you came with me, in case we run into any dark spots."

Making his way through the doorway, Xiuhcoatl thanked Chugami and gingerly lowered himself to a sitting position against the wall so he wouldn't sit on his already banged up tail. Looking around the area, he noticed the contraptions and devices in the room and pondered to himself.

"So, what's your plan?", he asked thoughtfully.

Walking back over to the lake's edge, Skittles thought about how they could get water over to the trailer so they could mix the concrete. Kneeling down and peering into the water, he wondered what life was under the surface.. or was it just as barren as the land above it? The thoughts whirled in his mind like a merry-go-round.

"I don't know Clive", he said in a quiet voice. "There has to be a way."

~~~

"Alright Crystal, you come with me and we'll haul the gas and oil up to the roof.", Orinda said with a smile. Then turning his attention to Elaine, he pointed to the walls. "If you don't mind getting started on the walls, Crystal and I need to go take care of the emergency on the roof."

Looking around the room one last time, he exited the throne room swiftly and headed back to the McDonald's to retrieve the supplies.

Clive nodded and looked around for something to hold the water. He scratched his chin as he tried to think of what to use.

"There's nothing here," Clive said as he paced around looking for some kind of container.

"Do you have any ideas Skittles?"
--------

"Yes sir," Elaine replied as she got to work on the walls. She wondered if anyone else would be coming and the whereabouts of her old colleagues including Clive and also Bowser and the koopalings.

Chasing after Orinda to catch up with him, she exited the throne room and met up with him at the entrance of the eating facility.

"Where are they located?", Crystal asked him. "I asked for you to come along because of your fire breathing ability, I'm sure the hallways are still dark."

"Well, see," Chugami explained to him. "I set out this morning to wire the castle with electricity in order to dispel the nasty darkness that's filled the place, and I found out that it's already wired, it just needs power." He pointed to the tower that held the nook with the inactive generator. "I found the main generator up here, and if we can get it running again, power should be restored. However, we're going to need some gasoline and oil for that, at least until I can find some sort of alternate power source."

"You know what I did as a young Koopaling when I needed to think, Clive", Skittles said with a smile on his face. "Thinking stones, I threw one in the lake every minute until an idea popped up."

Finding a worn out boulder resting beside the lake, he leaned down and picked it up. It was about 15 lbs., but liftable nonetheless. With both arms going down in a granny motion, he flung the rock forward and sent it flying into the water with a big splash.

~~~

Orinda stopped at the doorway and looked at Crystal with a smile. "Right behind the cash registers, they're both fairly heavy."

Walking over to the counter, he walked behind it and picked up the canister of gasoline.

Xiuhcoatl looked at Chugami and thought to himself. He had to give the guy credit, he was sure good with his smarts.

"Chugami", he said in a soft voice. "I apologize for my resent and actions towards you last evening." Looking into the darkened sky of the Valley, he spoke again. "If you are willing to accept the offer, any friend to the king is a friend of mine. You're more than welcome to join us as a permanent resident, if you choose. Did you send a note or signal out for the supplied?"

"Apology accepted," Chugami replied. "It is good to know I am still desired as a part of this unfolding story. As to your question, I did. The king sent a reply. I'm not sure exactly what it means, especially the last line," he continued, showing Xiuhcoatl the appropriate side of the unfolded paper airplane, "but at the very least he knows I'm up here."

Clive smiled back at Skittles and nodded.

"Let me try then," Clive replied as he picked a rock up and threw it in the lake.

"This isn't working. Nothing is coming to my head at all," Clive said as he threw a massive boulder into the lake resulting in a massive splash causing some water to splash onto Skittle's vehicle.

"Ulp," Clive said as he looked at Skittles worried.

Koopette had become lost within Murcury's eyes when she heard large splashes coming from the water's surface. "Now who in the bloody koopa hell is throwing large stones like that in here?", she asked Murcury, she was clearly upset. "They could hurt us with things like that, no damn common sense I swear!" Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she swam off the plateau and on her way back up to the surface. Stopping in midstride, she turned to Murcury who was almost halfway across the lake from her. "Nobody screws with our lake, I'm going up there to give them a boot to the ass!", she yelled out to him, her voice echoing around the lake's bottom. Continuing her charge back up to the surface, she pulled a loop de loop and floated up onto the surface upon her back. Looking at the two strangers on the land upside down, she glared in anger. The sunlight shone along her tourquise scales, creating sparkles from the water as it dripped off her stomach.

"Now who in the hell do you think you two are?", she shouted in anger. "You could hurt someone throwing rocks like that!"

Skittles was about to turn to Clive and blow over about throwing the huge rock into the lake when he saw the slender, reptilian figure floating on the water's surface. The color of her scales, those gray eyes.. it was a koopa that he knew from long ago, there was only one like it that he remembered.

"Koopette!", he shouted out to the hybrid. "Is that you? It's me, Skittles!"

Moving behind the counter, she grabbed the other can that had been resting behind the registers. "Unusual spot for flammable liquids like this, isn't it?", Crystal asked Orinda cautiously. "Anyhow, Chugami is located just above the living quarters. Hopefully he hasn't gotten into anything too serious, let's get going."

Heading towards the door carrying the can with her, she turned to Orinda and smiled to him. "It's not too scary up there, just some dragon eating spiders."