10-26-2016, 09:55 AM
Fifteen hours later, Seventeen found himself standing on the other side of a small moat of lava. For some reason, Bowser had redecorated the confines of his throne room, but fortunately for the confused outsider, Seth Koopa had been there to casually remark that this was a fairly common practice by their ‘fearsomely feng shui’ king. Seventeen wasn’t one hundred percent sure what the fuck that meant, but it allowed him to just nod his head and go along with the debriefing in the throne room.
“So these are the humans?” Bowser asked as he shifted in his large chair and glimpsed at Julius and Sebastian. “The dark one is quite large for someone from Dalaran.”
The astronomer grinned at the compliment from the oversized turtle. “Magic isn’t just about mental strength, Koopa King,” Julius retorted, eliciting a grin from the reptilian sovereign. “Someone like you certainly would understand the benefit of working on one’s physique.”
Once he realized that Julius was being serious, it took every ounce of Seventeen’s willpower to stifle the laughs vying to spew out of his mouth.
After that test of mental fortitude was finished, the cyborg cleared his throat and motioned to the little glowing star that rested in one of Bowser’s oversized hands. “So what do you think it is?”
Bowser turned his eyes to the scrawnier of the two humans and scowled. “We would call this a ‘star piece’ where I’m from, because it’s tiny,” the reptile snickered. “Much like you, little ghost-colored human.”
Seventeen swallowed the snarky remarks in his mouth and instead simply smiled at his pseudo-boss. As Bowser had technically employed him to go retrieve the little trinket, the cyborg knew he had to play by the big turtle’s rules, and that meant a smile and a nod at the ‘humorous remarks.’
“Is this something from your world then?” Seventeen inquired in an attempt to steer the conversation back to business.
In response to the question, Bowser at first offered merely a shrug. Once he realized that the human was expecting something of more substance, he leaned forward to get a better look at the trinket. “It might be.” He offered. “Or it could just happen to resemble something from my world. It’s hard to tell what’s authentic in the Omniverse and what’s just some sort of knockoff or imitation.”
Seventeen nodded his head. “Makes sense in a world where someone can turn their thoughts into reality.”
“Originality goes out the window,” Bowser added before leaning forward and tossing the star toward the raven-haired warrior. “Either way, you earned that little thing. I’m not sure what it might be, but I know I don’t want it here at my castle. Seems like the type of little trinket that’ll convince people to make stupid decisions.”
“Got’cha,” the cyborg muttered as he ran his thumb across the surface of the warm, red object. The group had been mostly silent on the way back to the fortress, and the star piece had been stashed in a metal canister. Even so, the little thing emitted a faint amount of warmth. Seventeen, who had been exposed to a variety of horrifying artifacts over the years, figured that the star piece probably had some sort of immense power locked inside of its tiny, unimposing shell.
The dragon balls were kind of like this… The traveling ones, at least. The set native to the planet Namek had been the size of basketballs, which meant someone would have to either find something strong enough to encapsulate them or opt to drag them around in a large, burlap sack. The cyborg’s daughter and her allies had managed to collect the set against the backdrop of a planetary invasion. The seven orbs granted a wish to the being who collected them, but Seventeen couldn’t recall what his time-displaced daughter’s wish had been.
I wonder if she’s alive? The cyborg scowled at the thought. When last he’d reached back to Earth, he’d still sensed the ki signatures of his allies, but they had been… on the wane. That sensation had been the impetus for his decision to go all out in ensuring that the Praetor Jarek never returned to threaten the Earth. I wonder if that mother fucker is here too? Wouldn’t that be a fucking laugh.
“King Bowser,” one of the koopas—Dutch—inquired. “What will you have of us, oh infallible monarch?”
Bowser scratched the side of his fanged maw for a few moments as he chewed over a response. “It’s obvious that you are all battle-tested, so you’re more than welcome to remain here in service of your Kingdom. You may also opt to accompany the ghost-skinned human here as emissaries of the Kingdom in the verses beyond our humble, scorched home.”
“Thank you, oh Mighty King!” Dutch replied as he rose from his knee and turned to look back at Seventeen. “I will accompany skin and bones…” The muscular reptile grinned at his own wit as he walked over to join the cyborg a few yards behind the rest of the turtles. A beat later, all of the surviving Koopa Troopers had made their decision to remain with their cybernetic troupe leader.
“I’m touched… metaphorically.” Seventeen muttered as he glanced over at Julius Peppers. The broad-shouldered astronomer smiled before turning to look at King Bowser.
“We will make our leave, King Koopa,” the man spoke, his booming voice a near match for the giant turtle’s own tone.
“Of course,” Bowser remarked before glancing back at Seventeen. “I’ll be in touch with you. Just make sure you keep an eye on your emails, and if we need anything, let us know.”
The machine-hybrid lifted a ‘thumbs up’ to his proxy monarch before turning and departing the recently redecorated throne room.
“So these are the humans?” Bowser asked as he shifted in his large chair and glimpsed at Julius and Sebastian. “The dark one is quite large for someone from Dalaran.”
The astronomer grinned at the compliment from the oversized turtle. “Magic isn’t just about mental strength, Koopa King,” Julius retorted, eliciting a grin from the reptilian sovereign. “Someone like you certainly would understand the benefit of working on one’s physique.”
Once he realized that Julius was being serious, it took every ounce of Seventeen’s willpower to stifle the laughs vying to spew out of his mouth.
After that test of mental fortitude was finished, the cyborg cleared his throat and motioned to the little glowing star that rested in one of Bowser’s oversized hands. “So what do you think it is?”
Bowser turned his eyes to the scrawnier of the two humans and scowled. “We would call this a ‘star piece’ where I’m from, because it’s tiny,” the reptile snickered. “Much like you, little ghost-colored human.”
Seventeen swallowed the snarky remarks in his mouth and instead simply smiled at his pseudo-boss. As Bowser had technically employed him to go retrieve the little trinket, the cyborg knew he had to play by the big turtle’s rules, and that meant a smile and a nod at the ‘humorous remarks.’
“Is this something from your world then?” Seventeen inquired in an attempt to steer the conversation back to business.
In response to the question, Bowser at first offered merely a shrug. Once he realized that the human was expecting something of more substance, he leaned forward to get a better look at the trinket. “It might be.” He offered. “Or it could just happen to resemble something from my world. It’s hard to tell what’s authentic in the Omniverse and what’s just some sort of knockoff or imitation.”
Seventeen nodded his head. “Makes sense in a world where someone can turn their thoughts into reality.”
“Originality goes out the window,” Bowser added before leaning forward and tossing the star toward the raven-haired warrior. “Either way, you earned that little thing. I’m not sure what it might be, but I know I don’t want it here at my castle. Seems like the type of little trinket that’ll convince people to make stupid decisions.”
“Got’cha,” the cyborg muttered as he ran his thumb across the surface of the warm, red object. The group had been mostly silent on the way back to the fortress, and the star piece had been stashed in a metal canister. Even so, the little thing emitted a faint amount of warmth. Seventeen, who had been exposed to a variety of horrifying artifacts over the years, figured that the star piece probably had some sort of immense power locked inside of its tiny, unimposing shell.
The dragon balls were kind of like this… The traveling ones, at least. The set native to the planet Namek had been the size of basketballs, which meant someone would have to either find something strong enough to encapsulate them or opt to drag them around in a large, burlap sack. The cyborg’s daughter and her allies had managed to collect the set against the backdrop of a planetary invasion. The seven orbs granted a wish to the being who collected them, but Seventeen couldn’t recall what his time-displaced daughter’s wish had been.
I wonder if she’s alive? The cyborg scowled at the thought. When last he’d reached back to Earth, he’d still sensed the ki signatures of his allies, but they had been… on the wane. That sensation had been the impetus for his decision to go all out in ensuring that the Praetor Jarek never returned to threaten the Earth. I wonder if that mother fucker is here too? Wouldn’t that be a fucking laugh.
“King Bowser,” one of the koopas—Dutch—inquired. “What will you have of us, oh infallible monarch?”
Bowser scratched the side of his fanged maw for a few moments as he chewed over a response. “It’s obvious that you are all battle-tested, so you’re more than welcome to remain here in service of your Kingdom. You may also opt to accompany the ghost-skinned human here as emissaries of the Kingdom in the verses beyond our humble, scorched home.”
“Thank you, oh Mighty King!” Dutch replied as he rose from his knee and turned to look back at Seventeen. “I will accompany skin and bones…” The muscular reptile grinned at his own wit as he walked over to join the cyborg a few yards behind the rest of the turtles. A beat later, all of the surviving Koopa Troopers had made their decision to remain with their cybernetic troupe leader.
“I’m touched… metaphorically.” Seventeen muttered as he glanced over at Julius Peppers. The broad-shouldered astronomer smiled before turning to look at King Bowser.
“We will make our leave, King Koopa,” the man spoke, his booming voice a near match for the giant turtle’s own tone.
“Of course,” Bowser remarked before glancing back at Seventeen. “I’ll be in touch with you. Just make sure you keep an eye on your emails, and if we need anything, let us know.”
The machine-hybrid lifted a ‘thumbs up’ to his proxy monarch before turning and departing the recently redecorated throne room.
![[Image: 17.jpg]](http://omniverse-rpg.com/images/17.jpg)