Role Play Pool Party!

Still floating on her back, Koopette had an awkward look on her face that quickly turned to a toothy smile. "Skits!", she shouted in excitement. "I thought you were dead, how in the heck are ya?"

She began to backstroke her way over to the shore. "You and your um.. thinking stones!", she said with a chuckle. "I'll be right over!"

Turning to the vehicle for a moment, he shook his head. "Damn it all!", Skittles exclaimed as he ran over to the machine and quickly turned the key back, turning it off. "Big thinking doesn't always pay off, Clive.", he said in a serious tone as he looked at him. Walking back over to the shore, he awaited Koopette's swim over to them. "Maybe Koopette has a bucket that we can use.", he whispered over to Clive.

Giving the crocodile/koopa beast a wave, he smiled. "Long story, I'll tell you as we go!", he said with a smile on his face.

~~~

"Let's just say Goombas can't cook.", Orinda said to Crystal with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He moved to the doorway where Crystal was with the canister of gas. "Dragon eating spiders? That's just gross, I didn't know there were other dragons here nonetheless ones that eat those disgusting bugs."

He hurried out the door with excitement and began the trek up the hallway.

"Huh. Do you know this Boo?" Clive asked Skittles when he saw Koopette.

"Oh I'm sorry about getting your vehicle wet," he added before turning to the stranger.

"I'm Clive Koopa, a senior koopa troopa for the Koopa Empire. Well I was until Bowser dissapeared. I recently returned to find some dragon called Orinda has took over. Pleased to meet you," Clive said saluting Koopette.

As she got to the shore, she stood up revealing a set of beautiful turquoise scales covering her petite figure. Watching Clive carefully with her piercing silver eyes, Koopette ran her hands through her flowing green hair, squeezing the excess water from it. She then turned to Skittles and tackle hugged him to the ground playfully.

"Gosh, it really is you!', she gushed as she kissed him on the cheek. Sitting up on Skittles chest, she coughed and looked around. "So uh, what brings you all here and who is this dragon that is now ruler?"

Xiuhcoatl read the note, it was definitely baffling to him.. the last line was anyways. Looking back to the horizon in front of him, the walls that he had climbed the night before shone like stars against black velvet. The crystal embedded in them were sure beautiful when they shined. Turning attention back to Chumagi, he twiddled his fingers in attempt to find something to talk about while they were up there. His tail was in no condition to travel any further, anyhow.

"So, you never told me how you arrived here", he said in a quiet voice. "Where are you from, what's your story?"

"...My story?" Chugami repeated. He took several moments to think about it. "That's a... That's a good question, actually. I think I'm from the Chai Kingdom in Sarasaland. That, or the Dry Dry Desert. I don't really remember. I've been traveling so long, seeing and taking in so much of the world, I... I guess I wasn't paying as much attention to myself." He gave a few chuckles, but they weren't 'ha-ha' chuckles, and instead seemed somewhat solemn. "Seems kinda sad, now that I think about it... Realizing you've spent your whole life observing everything but yourself..."

Walking down the hallway along side him, Crystal couldn't help but giggle at the jokes and puns of King Orinda. He certainly had a likeable charm, there was no doubt about that. The hallway ahead of them was unlit but saw there was light coming from around the bend of the first staircase just in front of them. Odd, she thought to herself.. either Chugami had already lit the lamps in the next section or Xiuhcoatl had already lit them.

"Wonder who lit them?", she asked Orinda as she continued to walk. "If it was Xiuhcoatl, why would he be going up to the roof?"

Getting taken to the ground by Koopette, Skittles gave her a big hug. "You look great!", he exclaimed to her. "Anyways, we're here to clean up Donut Plains and establish a lookout fort by the bridge over there where the Ghost House once stood.", he said, as he struggled underneath Koopette. "If you don't mind getting off of me, I can explain the rest to you."

~~~

"Well", Orinda said in a calm voice, "If I recall correctly from last night, Xiuhcoatl was pretty cold to Chugami after the swearing in ceremony." Spotting the light source coming from the stairwell as well, he thought as he walked beside Crystal. "If he's gone up there, how would he know Chugami was up there.", he said aloud, sounding somewhat stuck in thought. Stopping and looking to Crystal with a worried look on his face, he thought of the worst possible thing. "Either he's gone up there to apologize or he's up there doing something much, much worse."

He began to pick up his walking pace as he rounded the stairway. "I seriously hope it isn't the latter of the two things.", he said in a worried tone.

Giggling, she rolled off of Skittles and got to her feet. Helping Skittles back onto his, she smiled to him and extended a handshake to Clive. "I'm Koopette LeBoo, Guardian and Gate Keeper to the Vanilla Dome Ghost House.", she said as she continued to mess around with her hair, trying to get it out of her eyes.

Looking to Skittles, she was confused. "Why aren't you the King?", she asked, looking somewhat hurt. "I mean, I thought Mario knocked you into that pit of lava and had you burned to death. Everyone heard about it.." Sitting down in the grass, she held onto her head and sighed. "I.. I don't understand it. Please tell me what's going on and why a dragon is now king?"

"Sometimes, you need to just stop and learn to observe yourself.", Xiuhcoatl responded. "Easier said than done, especially for myself.. I'm used to fighting, being tough and defending my home for everybody who lives in it." Looking behind him and seeing that nobody had came up to find them yet, he continued on. "I'm so used to it at times that I come off on folks a little rough."

Fighting off the emotions and thoughts racing through his mind, he looked out to the darkness again.

Seeing Orinda picking up the pace, Crystal quickened her step too as she walked along the stairwell and onto the next floor. "He seems big and tempermental", she said as she got along side Orinda, sounding a little winded, "but he's really quite soft.. or I hope he is with Chugami."

The lamps were all lit in this hallway as well, both of them just had to be up on the roof. She hoped they wouldn't get there too late.

"Well, I will admit, you seem the rough-and-tumble type."

Skittles kneeled down by Koopette and gave her a big assuring hug, holding close to her. "I survived that attack that Mario did into the lava pit, I got lucky where I landed in that mess. I swam through it despite the burning liquid going all over my body, into my shell and onto my face. I found the wall that had an escape on the other side and I managed to climb over it. I was so deformed and burned from the lava that I had to stay hidden from the world forever. King Dad wouldn't of wanted a kid so destroyed and deformed." Looking into Koopette's eyes, he smiled softly. "I gave up my life as a koopaling that night, King Dad took off with the rest of the family and left this place to ruin. The dragon Orinda was turned into a koopa by Xiuhcoatl of Soda Lake, he sent us here to restore the Plains and the rest of Dinosaur Land to the once beautiful and flourishing place it was in our time, Koopette."

Putting a hand in her hand, he sat in the grass just across from her. "Things are going to be okay", he said with a warm and gentle smile. "Take my hand, please trust me on this."

~~~

Orinda was now in the first hallway that consisted of the living quarters. He spotted a light coming from the next stairwell far down at the end of the hall. It was awful quiet.. he had his fears of what was going on but in a sense he trusted Xiuhcoatl. He believed in him and his word. Turning to Crystal, he could easily see the same fear in her eyes. He couldn't blame her one bit for it, but he had to give his friend the benefit of a doubt on this.

"Chugami, Xiuihcoatl!!", he shouted out as loud as he could. "Are you okay?!?!"

He had began to drift off yet again when he heard the faint sound of voices coming from behind him. He couldn't make out what was being said but he recognized the voice. Xiuhcoatl nudged Chugami with an elbow to get his attention from the subject that they had been talking about.

"Did you hear that?", he asked him. "It sounds like King Orinda. I think help is finally on the way!"

"Orinda!", he shouted into the area behind them. "We're fine, come quickly!"

Chugami's ears had twitched about just before Xiuhcoatl's nudge. "I did," he replied. "I do hope he brought the supplies."

Down the stairway back into the castle, he shouted, "We're up here, on the roof!"

Looking up at him with tears in her eyes, Koopette put her hand in Skittles and grasped it tightly. "Family trusts each other", she said, with a smile. "And as a Koopaling carries honor of his family and father's name, your word to me is as true as any."

Slowly picking herself up off the grass, she dusted herself off and noticed the machinery next to the broken down bridge. Walking over to it with a sense of caution and wonder, she looked it over from a closer perspective. It had a set of relatively worn hammer bros. hammers and a key on the back, there was grounded up rock beneath the hammers and all around it. "You're grounding up rock", Koopette said aloud to Skittles. "What is it for and is there anything you both need for this? I imagine you're building something with it."

Skittles walked over to the machine a few steps behind Koopette and nodded his head in response to her. "Honor of family and King Dad, always and... forever." Coughing for a moment in attempt to change subjects, he was now standing next to her by the rear of the vehicle. "Xiuhcoatl and Clive were sent here by the newly formed King Orinda, for well obvious reasons of the conditions around you and Dinosaur Land in general." Motioning a hand to the fine rubble of the boulders, he looked her in the eyes. "They've been sent to establish a lookout post here for Koopa Patrols, which is where all this comes into play." Moving next to a large pile of lumber just a few feet away from the trailer, he set one foot on it in a kneeling position. "The wood here was found down around my home on Yoshi Island and is being used for the housing of the post. Xiuhcoatl was wounded by a pack of wild yoshi that we encountered trying to retrieve the lumber."

He walked back over to Koopette and smiled to her. "We're trying to turn the grounded up rock into concrete to begin the base but we have no way of getting water from your lake to here to begin the process. Do you have anything we could use to transport the water?"

~~~

Orinda placed a hand on Crystal's shoulder. "They're fine, let's keep moving our way up there.", he said assuringly. Still carrying the canister, he began to walk the hallway and approached the stairway. Turning the corner, he found the two exactly where they said they were.

"Crystal and I have brought the supplies your letter asked for", he said with a nod. "Sorry if it took so long, we were in the throne room trying to start tidying up the castle." Setting the can of gasoline down on the ground, he waited for further instruction.

Smiling at the two voices that came from above, Crystal walked behind Orinda and carried the can of oil. She was glad to hear that both Xiuhcoatl and Chugami were safe and sound, though she wasn't sure why Xiuhcoatl had gone up there after just being wounded earlier that day. Moving her way down the hallway and around the stairwell, she arrived next to Orinda and indeed saw Xiuhcoatl and Chugami sitting there just before the roof.

Setting the oil down next to the gasoline, she gave Xiuhcoatl a gentle hug and sat down next to him. "I'm surprised you're up here, especially in your condition." Brushing hair out of her face, she smiled and began to gently check over his bandaged tail. "But nonetheless, thank you.."

What a relief it was to see Orinda and Crystal, Xiuhcoatl thought to himself. "I wouldn't of been up here if it wasn't for Chugami working around here.", he said with a bit of soft sarcasm in his voice. "But you guys came through with what we needed to power up this joint, so we're good all the same."

Looking to Crystal, he smiled softly and gave her a gentle hug in return. "You've saved my life twice now", he said quietly to her as he observed her inspecting his tail wound. "I thank you for your hospitality and unconditional kindness, I'm glad that Clive and I found you in the dome.. we'd be goners without you."

"After how unnerving it was to get up here, I'm just glad to see more friendly faces," Chugami replied. He moved over to the cans of gas and oil. "...Cooking oil... Not motor oil, but it'll have to do. I intend for this generator to be temporary anyway. Probably something geothermal with all the lava around... Nonetheless." He picked up the two cans and started carrying them across to the generator, though between his short height and their relative weight they dragged along the ground a little.

"Of course", Koopette responded with a smile. "I've got a few old items laying around the cave that you can use to transfer the water to where you need it, Skittles." Placing a finger from each hand onto each of her temples, she closed her eyes and sent a signal through the spirit worlds down through the lake to Murcury. Her body began to shiver as she concentrated her thoughts:

Bring the two buckets up from the cave
Everything is fine up here
Love, Koopette

Opening her eyes a few seconds later, she removed the pressure off of her temples and smiled to Skittles. "Done and done, it'll be a few minutes."

He had been resting on the rocky plateau when the signal arrived and came into his mind. Murcury wasn't able to communicate through the spirit world like his mate but he could understand her thoughts. Gently lifting himself off of the plateau, he kicked his back feet and swam back through the warp pipe that led to the Vanilla Dome. Clearing through it easily, he arrived on the other side and saw a dark opening with sharp rocks about it.. home sweet home, that's what it was for them. It had been home for years now, it was about as cozy and private as locations in Dinosaur Land came.

Swimming into the darkness of the cove, he found the two moss covered buckets laying on the ground next to a large, flat rock. He picked up both buckets with his large, sharp teeth and swiftly turned himself around. Using his feet and tail, he safely propelled himself out of the cove and out of the Vanilla Dome through the pipe. Once again on the other side, he timidly began to swim up towards the water's surface. It must be okay up there if she said it's safe, he thought to himself.. he trusted her more than anybody else, she was really the only one he really knew in fact.

His head peeking above land for a moment, he scanned out the surroundings and saw Koopette standing with two people he couldn't recognize. He guessed that the figure with the rainbow colored shell was the Koopaling she mentioned to him earlier, he didn't look king like but he wasn't going to question it. Giving his feet one final kick from below, he propelled his body upward and splashed out of the water as he came back down on his stomach. Floating silently along the water's surface, he slowly made his way towards the shoreline, still holding the buckets securely in his jaws.

Finally reaching the shore after a few moments, he stood up and walked his way up onto the lands. His green-gold scales reflected the light from the sun as the water dripped off of it similar to how light would come off of a mirror. Slapping his very long blue hair from out of his sight of vision, he took the buckets from his jaw and held one in each hand by the handles. Making his way over to where Koopette was standing, he set the bucket down at her feet and gave off a toothy smile. "Ready whenever you are, dear.", he said to Koopette in a soft tone as he looked the two strangers over his light blue eyes.

Crystal blushed at Xiuhcoatl's remarks as she slowly removed the bandages from his tail. Looking deep into his eyes, she smiled gently to him. "I'm a healer, it's what I do.. was just the right place at the right time, friend." Speaking no further, she observed that the sword wound had healed quite significantly. It was less than half the size it had been from the moment that she originally took care of the wound. She placed both hands down around the edges of the injury and gently put pressure on it as she massaged her hands along his tail.

Skittles tilted his head as he saw the other hybrid rise from the waters and approach the shore. Just as Koopette had said, there was the buckets and she didn't even have to say a word. It made his head hurt thinking about it, but whatever she had just did was amazing to him. Shaking his head loose of the thoughts, he looked to the newcomer and extended a hand to him in greeting. "I'm Skittles Koopa, we're here on orders from the king to clean up Donut Plains and to establish a lookout post for Koopa Patrols."

Looking to Clive and Koopette, he smiled. "This may require all of us to get the lookout completed, if you are all willing to help. If you'd put one of the buckets on the ground at the back of the trailer, Clive then we'll get started."

~~~

Orinda saw that Chugami was struggling with the cans and came after him. Offering to take one of the cans for him, he looked around the roof area and marveled at the scenery around him surrounding the castle. "So where exactly are we taking these and how long will the power last us?", he asked thoughtfully.

"Greetings, I am Clive Koopa," Clive said to Mercury extending his hand for a handshake. Turning to Skittles, he nodded his head and replied,

"Indeed, then as soon as this is completed, we can hurry back to the castle."

Clive picked up a bucket and placed it neatly on the ground at the back of the trailer.