A/N: With a final score of 7-6, the winner is…
"... Rachel," Mario finally announced after what felt like months of waiting.
"... I'm sorry, what was that?" Rachel asked. "Oh, you chose me! For a moment, I thought that was going to happen next year. That's great! I'll go pack everything I need and then we can get going!"
Rachel then flapped her wings and flew up toward the Raven lookout tree.
"Ah, so it seems that I won't be taking part in your adventure after all; disappointing, but understandable I suppose," said Sushie. "There are only a few situations where swimming is useful, but flying and future-sight could potentially be useful anytime."
"Hey, don't be like that! We could still take you if you want!" Koopie interjected. "It's not like there's a strict party limit that we have to obey, and I'm sure you and Rachel would get along great!"
"I have no doubt about that, sweetie, but it's like I said before; someone needs to be here to watch after the kiddos," Sushie replied sadly. "If Rachel was here, she could keep them entertained, or at least the Yoshis could use her to track them down again, like we did. As it is, it looks like I'm going to have to up my nannying even further to make sure that this never happens again!"
Somewhere in the distance, Mario could hear the Yoshi kids groan and whine at Sushie's declaration. Part of him hoped that the kids just did that out of habit, and that most of them really did learn a lesson about not wandering the jungle alone, but the other part of him remembered just how short the attention spans of children could be.
"Still, if you ever need me for a water emergency, or you just dropped your house keys in a pool or something, you know where to find me!" Sushie said with a cute little salute.
"Of course! We promise we won't be forgetting you anytime soon!" Bombette said as she pulled the fish girl into a tight hug and Chompy stood up to lick at Sushie's face.
"Oh, and don't forget to write!" said Goommaria. "I'm pretty sure that even though this is one of the most isolated islands in the world that you still get mail service, right?"
"Totally! Er, when the mailwoman remembers to come by to visit us, anyway," Sushie replied.
"Then I look forward to hearing from you so-" Mario was interrupted by a bag suddenly colliding with his head.
"Ah! Oh my goodness!" Rachel flew down to Mario and helped the bag off his face. "My bad! I didn't mean for that to happen; I thought for sure that would be the one time that you actually caught it!"
"I-it's okay… things like this happen…" Mario replied as he shook the stars from his vision. "Hey, wait a second… what do you mean by 'the one time'?"
"Er, well, I've actually already seen me tossing quite a few bags to you already thanks to my powers," Rachel explained, slightly embarrassed. "But from all the times I've seen, you've only been able to catch it once. But don't worry, I promise that I won't throw my bag again unless I'm sure that you're going to catch it!"
"Wait… wouldn't the fact that you've seen so many failures in your visions mean that definitely won't be the case?" asked Goommaria.
"..." Rachel glanced away. "Oh, look, the path forward! We should probably get going now if we don't want to be late!'
"Just as a warning, I'm not entirely sure she has the same definition for the word 'late'," Sushie whispered to Mario. "Still, I have faith that she'll take good care of you and your friends! Good luck out there!"
"Thanks, Sushie! I promise we won't let you down!" Mario said as they began walking to the edge of the village.
"Finally, we can get this expedition properly under-shell!" Kolorado said triumphantly as she moved to lead. "Talley-h-"
"Nope! Nu-uh!" Kolorado was abruptly stopped by Bombette putting her hand onto her shoulder. "You're staying right in the middle of the group where we can see you. We don't want to have any more sudden detours, now do we?"
"Ah, yes. I suppose you do have a point." Kolorado blushed and took her spot in the middle of the party. "Very well; lead the way, my dear friends!"
"Yoshi, my dear friends! May the spirits of our dear island look after you as you work to save the world!" Bessie called out after the group as they left.
"Yeah! Don't get lost out there like we did!" one of the Yoshi kids called out from atop a nearby hut. "Because there's no way we're going out to save you!"
"Ah, such kind people… I really am starting to understand why everyone wishes they had a Yoshi as a neighbor," Goommaria mused as they entered the jungle.
"Pfft! You call that being a good neighbor?" Bow scoffed. "Everyone knows that the best neighbors are the ones you never see aside from the occasional, shadowy figure glanced through a window, or the odd scream in the middle of the night. Still, their willingness to serve was appreciated."
"Oh, wow… uh, not to be too judgy about a woman that I just met, but that sounded a lot like something a villain would say," Rachel commented as she followed behind the back of the group, lightly flapping her wings.
"Don't worry, we stopped trying to figure out if she's evil or not a while ago," Bombette joked. "Makes life easier that way."
"Hey, it's just a difference in culture!" Bow complained. "You don't see me judging you all for your disgusting ways, do you?"
"But you literally just… nevermind." Goommaria sighed. "So, Rachel; we have to use this Jade Raven thing that they gave us to get inside the volcano, right?"
"That's right - the Jade Raven is something that's been passed down from generation to generation of Raven, representing how even if our bodies are mortal, our culture is eternal like a statue," Rachel explained. "Plus, it acts as a great key to a secret path to the volcano for whenever there are 'messes' that need cleaning up."
"Messes?" Mario raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you've had trouble on Mt. Lavalava before?"
"Of course! Just look at the place!" Rachel gestured to the big, smoking mountain. "As much as I love this island, this place sorta screams 'evil villain lair', doesn't it?"
"You have to admit, she's got a point," Koopie said as Chompy nodded her head behind her.
"Eh, could be blacker," Nita said dismissively.
"Fascinating! I suppose precious stones would be highly valued in a culture as associated with time as the Ravens'," Kolorado commented. "But you still haven't explained exactly how this cute little doodad will assist us."
"Don't worry, it's easy!" Rachel landed on top of what appeared to be a large boulder covered in vines and moss. "All we have to do is place it into this statue right here, and the way will become clear. Then, all we'll have to do is stop by Raphael's temple and we'll be as good as there!"
"Statue? Hmm, curious. Let me get a closer look." Kolorado took out her adventuring machete and began to tear off the vines, with Chompy joining in to help with her teeth. "My word, you weren't kidding!"
Kolorado gave one last tug on the foliage and pulled it all down, revealing a perfectly preserved statue of a raven woman underneath.
"My word… the craftsmanship!" Kolorado gasped as she ran her fingers along the statue's side. "This rock isn't even native to this island either… how long has it been here?"
"It's always been here," Rachel replied. "And it always will be."
"Right… uh, that totally makes sense," Nita replied.
"I see, I see." Kolorado rubbed her chin as she looked at the small indentation at the base of the statue. "Then what are we waiting for? Tally-ho!"
The Koopa then slammed the statue into the indentation, causing it to rumble and shift. Over time, it moved to the side, the undergrowth parting away to reveal a new path ahead. A path that lit up with strange green lights that seemed to emanate from the plants themselves.
"Wait, how did that work?" Mario asked, puzzled.
"Strange, isn't it?" Rachel replied, nonplussed by the sudden development. "But it loses some of its charm after seeing it for the third time. Or was that the fourth?"
Rachel took off flying down the path a moment later, leading the group through the winding path and ever deeper into the dangerous jungle. Mario shivered as he could hear the various, decidedly non-Yoshi denizens of the island going about their days around them - hunting, gathering, and occasionally doing some very lewd things as well. But strangely, they didn't actually see anyone else on the trail, save for the occasional flash of white on the periphery of their vision.
"Uh, say… are you sure that this path is completely safe, Rachel?" Koopie asked nervously as they walked.
"Totally - we're under the Great Tree's protection now, so even if something did manage to somehow find us, it won't be able to surprise us," Rachel explained.
"Great Tree?" Mario repeated. "What are you talking abo- woah!" Mario cut himself off as he looked up and saw the sky blocked out by the canopy of the largest tree he had ever seen. "Mamma mia! I thought that was the mountain we were getting closer to!"
"Wooooah… so… wicked!" Goommaria jumped for joy as she got a good look at it. "How old must it be?!"
"Gadzooks! So places like this do exist!" Kolorado marveled. "I have heard that places of great spiritual significance are often marked by giant trees, but I had always assumed that those were just legends or symbolic… but this! Oh, I could write a whole paper about just this sight!"
"Uh, didn't you come here to find out about the ancient humans who used to live here?" asked Koopie.
"Oh, yes, quite right!" Kolorado replied, heat rising up her cheeks. "I'll have to investigate on another visit."
"That's where Raphael's temple will be!" Rachel chimed in. "I mean, I guess it's not so much a temple as it is sort of a nest, but it's still really impressive! Follow me and I'll show you the way to the top!"
"That's great and all, but… how exactly do you plan on getting everyone up there?" asked Bow. "I mean, I know we can both fly, but you can't expect the two of us to carry them up, right?"
"Don't worry, that won't be necessary," Rachel replied. "We'll use a water-rise!"
"... I'm sorry, a what?" asked Bow.
"You know, a water-rise! Those situations where water falls up into the sky?" Rachel replied.
"Uh… I think you mean water-spout," Koopie spoke up.
"Er, right, of course! Sorry!" Rachel apologized. "I'm not the best with words… but I'm not lying! We can use the water spout to get to the top! Here!" She flew down behind a nearby bush and showed the group a small water geyser. "See?"
"... I see that maybe we should have brought the actual water expert," Bow said dryly.
"Don't worry, it'll all make sense soon!" Rachel explained. "All we've got to do is cover up the spout like this!" She clutched a large rock with her talons and used it to plug the spewing water. A moment later and the water began to spay out again from another nearby hole.
"Okay… what now?" asked Mario.
"Now, we cover that hole too!" Rachel explained, demonstrating. "And then the next hole, and then the next, and then the next, and then-"
"Wait, let me guess; the next?" Bow interjected.
"Woah! How'd you know?" asked Rachel. "You're not psychic too, are you?"
"Augh, let's just get this over with," Bow said, picking up some large rocks. "Just plug up literally any hole you see, as soon as you see it. I'm sure we'll get them all eventually."
Bow's friends nodded and, within a few minutes, there didn't seem to be any more water spouts spewing.
"Okay… now what?" asked Nita. "Do we get some prize tickets for beating down all the spouts?"
"Now, we get on that really big rock over there… and wait," Rachel instructed.
The others did as they were told and climbed on top of the boulder, not noticing the subtle vibrations that were starting to occur at the base.
"Wait for… what, exactly?" asked Bow. "For the tree to die of old age?"
"Yeah, uh… not to cast doubt on your abilities as an adventurer, but are you absolutely sure that this was the correct thing to do and it wasn't, like, the answer to another puzzle further down the line?" asked Goommaria.
"Don't worry, I'm certain that we're still perfectly on-track!" Rachel assured her new friends ."In fact, I bet we'll be at the shrine before you can even say-"
Rachel's thought was interrupted by the rock underneath them suddenly rose up on top of a giant geyser, sending them up and up and up, all the way to the top of the tree while Mario and most of his friends - save for Rachel, Nita, and a very enthusiastic Chompy - screamed their lungs out in surprise.
"Alright, looks like this is our stop!" Rachel announced as they hovered at the peak of the water spout as the others kept screaming. "I suggest we get off here."
"Oh, right!" Goommaria snapped herself out of her terror and grabbed Koopie's hand. "Come on, let's go!"
They all jumped off the rock and onto the highest branch of the tree, though Koopie kept screaming even after they were on solid wood and the rock was falling back down behind them.
"Cut it out already!" Bow smacked Koopie on the back of her head with her fan, finally getting the turtle girl to quiet down. "You're safe now."
"I am?" Koopie blinked and looked around. "Oh, so I am! Thanks, Bow!" she said before hugging her.
"Tch, it was no big deal; it's no fun to have people scared when nothing scary is actually happening," Bow said, blushing and crossing her arms. "Now, where's this Raphael that I've heard so… much… about…"
Bow trailed off as she looked up at the thing that was currently blocking the sun in front of them. At first, she assumed that it was just the top of the tree, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be another raven girl like Rachel. Unlike Rachel, though, this one was at least ten feet fall, and was wearing a flowing black, feather down robe that blended in so perfectly with her jet-black hair and wide wings that it was hard to tell where one ended and the others began. And while most of the ravens that Mario had met had friendly or even goofy airs about them, Mario could tell by the calm, authoritative look in her eyes that this woman was all business.
"Oh. So that's her." Bow shook the look of surprise off her face. "Well, she certainly looks impressive, I'll give her that."
"Huh… she's just sorta… sitting there in that big, fancy gilded nest of hers," Goommaria observed, stepping forward. "What is she staring at?"
"I don't know; the jungle?" Bombette suggested.
"Nope; she's probably just checking on the future to check for threats, like she usually does," Rachel explained. "Hey, Ms. Raphael!? Are you there? We came by to say 'hi'!"
The massive raven woman blinked.
"Oh. Hello! Sorry, I didn't notice you standing there; I don't get a lot of visitors up here," the giant greeted, her voice somehow gentle but still powerful. "Please, make yourselves at home here!"
"Er, thanks for the offer, but we don't really plan on staying very long," Mario replied. "Are you the leader of the ravens that we've heard so much about? Ms. Raphael?"
"Affirmative," the bird girl answered as she stood up from her nest. "That is, indeed, my call sign. It is my duty to keep the people of this island safe, so if you have any problems, big or small, just let me know."
"Ah, that's good! Because, as a matter of fact, we've got quite a few problems on our shells," Kolorado replied.
"Really?" Raphael blinked a few times and reexamined the group. "Ah, yes; you're Mario and his adventuring party. Roger that." Raphael stood up out of her nest, shaking both the tree branch they were on and her massive rack in the process. "You can't get inside the volcano, meaning that you can't complete your quest. That is a big problem for you. Not for me, though."
"Ah, so the legends are true! You really can see the future!" Kolorado exclaimed. "Just like the legendary Raven of old, Thatso!"
"Quick; what's next week's Happy Lucky Lottery numbers?" asked Bombette.
"Actually, I knew that because the stars sent me a message," Raphael corrected. "Mamar says 'hi, Mario', by the way."
"Oh…" said Bombette.
"I can see the future, though; and I can tell that your quest is going to get even more dangerous from here," Raphael continued. "But for now, let's go take care of your volcano problem. Follow me."
"Roger, roger!" Rachel replied with an overenthusiastic salute, accidentally slapping her own forehead so hard that she spun around in a full circle.
Raphael then walked to the edge of the branch and jumped off. For a moment, Mario was worried that she might have been too heavy to fly, but she promptly proved him wrong by spreading her wings wide and gliding through the jungle like a magnificent airplane. Rachel followed shortly behind her, though she was a lot less graceful as she jumped off, plummeted several feet, and then flapped her wings furiously to start flying and following her leader.
"Huh, so what do you know… they're flying all the way back down to the ground," Goommaria said as she glanced over the side of the branch with the others. "Sure wish they could have told us they'd do that before we came all the way up here."
"Bark bark!" Chompy agreed.
"So… how exactly are we going to get back down?" asked Koopie.
"Well… I suppose we could take the stairs," Kolorado said, pointing to the long staircase hidden in the trunk of the tree.
A few minutes later and Mario and his exhausted friends were finally back on the ground, all panting and sweaty from both the climb down and the jungle humidity. Even Bow was starting to feel her black eyeliner run a little and was fanning herself constantly to stay cool.
"Phew… made it," Koopie sighed as everyone stopped to catch their breath. "Now, where did Raphael and Rachel go? I don't see them anywhere nearby."
"Huh?" Mario put his hand to his ear. "I think I hear something that way. It sounds like… construction?"
Mario followed the sound of hammers, saws, and ropes being stretched to find a large group of Ravens, including Raphael and Rachel, busily working on something in the trees above them. Peering through the branches, Mario could see that they were constructing some sort of pulley system. They did so by tying and nailing one end of a very long rope to one of the sturdier trees in the forest, tying the other end to a large boulder sitting over a cave hidden in the upper part of the volcano. Then, they quickly weaved a giant basket using grass at a shockingly fast speed and placed the handle on top of the rope.
"There we go! You should be able to get into the secret entrance easily and back using this," Raphael explained. "You'd do well to avoid being careless once you're inside, though. Who knows what sort of Mono are in there, and the kind of molten hazards that might await you in there."
"Uh… don't you know?" asked Bow. "Because you know all of the future and all?"
"Yes, but I can't tell you - that would be spoilers," Raphael replied.
"Spoilers? What in the world are you talking about?" asked Bombette. "It's not like we're in the middle of a novel or something; spoil away!"
"I think what she's trying to say is that by revealing the future, she might accidentally change it," said Goommaria. "So it's probably for the best that we just go in and trust that things will work out for us."
"So in other words… you just want us to trust in fate?" asked Koopie. "I don't know if I like that idea… fate can be so, so cruel sometimes, after all."
"Bark bark!" Chompy agreed, glancing down at the collar on her neck.
"Roger that; but I'm afraid that is just how it has to be," Raphael replied. "But if it gives you any comfort, I promise to throw you quite the celebration, should you return."
"Should we return? You mean, when we return, right?" asked Bombette. She was met with silence. "Great… guess I won't know how short my fuse is until it runs out."
"Well, if you're frightened, then perhaps I should be the one to take the first steps into the mountain. You know, to take the blunt of the risk," Kolorado volunteered. Mario was about to say that might not be the greatest idea, but she was already climbing up the tree and then using the pulley to take herself over the lava flow and to the volcano.
"Huh, look at her go; I almost forgot what a Maverick that Kolorado was," Raphael admired. "It's certifiably nuts to charge into a volcano like that alone, but it is undeniably impressive."
"Was? You mean, still is, right?" asked Goommaria.
"... anyway, it is a shame that she is not around to see my gift to you. Here you are." Raphael said before tossing a red stone to Nita, who caught it with relative ease.
"Huh, what?" She mumbled a bit as the orb burst into particles, enveloping her in a vermillion glow before dissipating, leaving her seemingly as she was before. "I'm sorry, did I miss something? I thought we were just playing dodgeball for a moment. I suddenly feel really good somehow… like my apathy for this world is being literally burned away."
"Um… what did you give to Nita?" Mario asked, concerned as she began to shake.
"That was an Ultra Stone, a magical relic that aids in power allocation." Rachel replied simply. "Your petite friend has a lot of potential, but at the moment, she can't use much of it herself. So I gave her the means of sharing that potential with others."
"Uh, like how?" Goommaria asked, not realizing the looming (or rather, overshadowed) presence lurking behind her before it was too late. "Hey, what th-"
"Hey Goomi, why dontcha ever focus on your legs whenever you headbutt?" Nita chimed in before hitting pressure points in her legs. "It's not just your upper body that's important, but your lower body as well!"
"Whoooooaaaaa!" Goommaria started zooming off, sprinting a short distance before leaping with all her might, heading directly for a tree… and pulverizing it.
"Oh, dear! Is she okay?" Koopie was so concerned for her well-being that she was ill-prepared when Nita appeared behind her next, pressing a spot in the base of her tail that made her retreat into her shell with a yipe.
"I saw this technique in a comic once! Didja know that Koopas can make their opponents extra dizzy when you spin your shell fast enough that it forms an updraft before you launch yourself, huh huh huh?" She asked, speaking like a 5-year-old who just found a book about sharks before spinning her shell like a tilt-a-whirl and kicking it towards Mario, who then proceeded to spin like a Twisty 5 yards from where he'd been standing.
"Mamma mia…" Mario uttered groggily as he tried to reorient himself.
"All right, you, the jig is up." Bombette said, jumping right in front of Nita before she could find her next victim. "If you think you can just poke our friends and make them do crazy shit, think again."
"That was the plan, silly! And now for my next trick" Nita rushed forward before squeezing her breasts in a series of gropes, caresses, jiggles, and bops before pinching her nipples, adding in a long squeeze for good measure. "So I know you Bob-Ombs get taken out of action for a week if you Overload yourselves, but what if instead of focusing all your energy at one point, you could balance it across your entire body instead?" She asked before hightailing it, Bombette's body taking on a glow of power as her ponytail lit up with a white spark, ending with everything in a 6-yard radius being consumed in energy.
"Aroooo…" Chompy whined sadly, as Bombette's silhouette could faintly be made out of the smoke and debris as it fell to the ground, which gave Nita ample time to approach her.
"Heya puppy, have you ever wanted to go bowling?" With surprising ease, Nita lifted her up, with Chompy instinctively curling herself up into a ball, and she threw her like she was trying to get a strike, which resulted in Chompy mowing down everything in her path.
"Really now, must you be such a pain?" Bow asked derisively. "No matter. Your silly taunts will have no effect on a lady such as I."
Her confidence was short-lived as Nita began following her around, keeping pace with her as she floated along the ground. Even as she rose up to the tops of the trees, Nita remained on her trail by swinging on vines. "Hey, hey Bow. Boo. Bo. Bee. Beau. Bye. Boh. Resaresa-"
"WHAAAAATTTTT?!" Finally snapping, Lady Bow's visage distorted to a sickly yellow color as her face elongated to frightening proportions, her screech being heard for miles around.
"EeeeeeeeeeeThisIsExactlyWhatIWantedEeeeeeeeeeeee…" As Nita ran off, she finally encountered her last victi- uh, or rather, future protege. "So then… it's just you, and me."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, Nita." Rachel said, very calm about everything that had just happened.
"So you know what I'm going to do next, right?" Nita asked, approaching her slowly.
"Oh yeah, I saw this coming a while ago. You want me to do this, right?" Rachel asked before she performed a somersault, grabbing Nita's torso as she was rising with her claws, then swiftly dunking her into the ground in a makeshift suplex. "Since us Ravens have strong appendages, you wanted me to make use of my feet since I usually focus on using my wings to get around. Neat, huh?" She asked, matching Nita's earlier giddiness.
"... Right." Nita croaked as her head lay buried in the forest floor. After a few moments, she finally managed to peel herself off the ground, though she had to readjust her mask to avoid it from falling off. "Alright, you have learned everything that I have to teach you, my students. Thank you…"
"I… think I preferred learning from my comic books and encyclopedias," Goommaria said as she brushed splinters and twigs off her mushroom cap. "But, at least this means that we've got a fully-powered Nita on our side now, right?"
"I've said it before, have I not?" Raphael chimed in, having observed the whole thing from a distance. "All I have given her is the ability to share her potential with others, not tap into it herself. For that, she must- oh wait, sorry, that'd be spoiling things again."
"Yep, she's right - I'm still about as motivated as a deflated soccer ball. I just wanted to help you guys out since your fighting skills are all kinda meh." Nita immediately fell down onto her side, inadvertently showing off her green panties to Mario in the process. "Say, can one of you carry me into the volcano? I'd go up to the pulley myself, but I don't really feel like it."
"Augh…" Bombette dusted off all the black soot from her body and put Nita's arm over her shoulder. "You're lucky that the new technique you gave me is really good, or else I'd totally leave you right now."
"Still an option, you know," Bow pointed out as she and all the others headed up the tree as well.
"So long, my compatriots," Raphael said as everyone but Rachel crammed themselves into the basket. "May you all prosper and succeed in saving our jungle home. Over and out."
"Ooooh… so… is everyone alright?" Mario asked with a groan as the Koopie moved the basket forward and Rachel flew alongside them.
"I think so," Koopie replied. "The only thing really wounded is my pride… a-and the base of my tail too."
"Yeah, that sorta hurt, I'll admit." Goommaria plucked some grass out of Chompy's teeth. "But if it means we'll have a better chance against our enemies, I can take flying through trees."
"Tch, as if fancy moves like that will even be necessary," scoffed Bow, floating above her spot in the basket. "I mean, you've beaten all of Bowsa's minions so far, even before I joined up with your crew and made it ten times stronger. What more could she possibly throw at us?"
"Ooooh, you just had to say that, didn't you?" Koopie groaned as the basket came to a stop and they finally reached the volcano.
"Koopie's right; we can't afford to drop our guards," Mario said as he took the first steps toward the cave. "Everyone, go in slowly and keep an eye out for anything suspicious, okay?"
"And my neighbor, too!" Koopie spoke up. "I don't think it needs saying by this point that Kolorado is probably in trouble again already."
"Yeah, that too," Mario said before delving into the volcano.
"Huh… you know, it's a lot brighter in here than I expected it to be," Nita noted as she continued to be dragged along by Koopie.
"Augh, tell me about it," groaned Bow. "And here I was hoping to finally get a place that's pitch black on this island."
"Wow - it must be all the lava that's inside! Even from here, the red glow still reaches us!" Goommaria marveled.
"I see… uh, does anyone have any sunscreen, SPF nine million?" asked Koopie.
"Alert! Alert!" A voice suddenly cut through the red, smoky haze of the volcano cavern. "Intruder detected! Identified as… Mario!"
"Huh?" Mario peered through the ambient glow and smog of the cave to spot a Putrid Piranha planted at the end of the corridor, spying on them very non-stealthily from behind a rock. "Hey, hold it right there! Tell us where the Star Spirit is right now!"
"Alert! Alert!" the plant girl continued, ignoring what Mario said. "Must report to the boss immediately!"
Mario lunged at the girl to try and capture her, but she disappeared into the ground, a patch of displaced igneous the only evidence she was there. "… Now that I think about it, how are these girls living here in this volcano if they're plants?"
"Well, volcanic ash is actually pretty rich in nutrients," Goommaria pointed out. "So as long as they don't accidentally catch on fire and remember to go out every once in a while to get sunlight, this is actually a pretty good place for plants to live."
"My guess is that won't be the case for all the plants outside if the volcano blows its top though," Bombette pointed out. "Doubly so for the people."
"I mean, they managed to survive the volcano exploding in the past… mostly." Rachel glanced away as she said that.
"Well then, we'll just have to figure out a way to cool the situation back down then!" Mario stood up and gripped his hammer tightly in his hands, his gloves lightly touched by some of the ash that littered the ground. "Come on! We beat those puny plants before, and we can do it again!"
"I admire your optimism - it reminds me of a lot of the people who inhabit the graveyard near my mansion," Bow said dryly as she floated to the front of the group. "I'd rather not have any of you join a graveyard anytime soon though, so I'll be leading the way. If any rocks or lava suddenly fall, it'll just pass right through me."
"Bark bark!" Chompy ran up behind Bow and thanked her by licking at her floating legs.
"Hey, quit it! I'm not being kind, just pragmatic." Bow hid her blush behind her fan as she continued onwards through the cave, eventually coming across the source of the ominous orange light that had been illuminating their path.
To absolutely no one's surprise, it was lava. What did surprise the party though was just how much of it there was. In the next area of the cavern there was river after river of the terrible molten rock, each drop of it so hot that it almost made the air itself boil around it.
"Woah…" Goommaria's jaw nearly hit the obsidian ground as they walked closer to the lava flows. "This is just like the comic books I used to read! I mean, usually it's the final bad guy's lair that's covered in lava, but still, very impressive!"
"Yes, quite," Kolorado said as she walked up behind the group. "Nature is indeed a beautiful, if cruel, mistress."
"Ah, you're still alive," Bow said, disappointed. "Did you find any proof of the human civilization that you are apparently willing to risk your life for?"
"I'm afraid not, old chum," she replied. "I've tried getting to the next cavern on the other side of these lava flows, but the rocks are a bit unstable and I keep falling in and burning my toes like fresh biscuits."
"Wait… did you just say that you fell in the lava?" Mario asked. "I know those turtle shells of yours were tough, but I didn't think they were that tough."
"Oh, they aren't really. Not unless you happen to be Queen Bowsa herself or a relative; she actually bathes in the stuff," Kolorado replied. "But fortunately, modern magic has given us all alternatives to becoming island turtle soup. Here."
Kolorado reached into her shell and pulled out a handful of pins shaped like white snowmen.
"Ah! Are those what I think they are?" Bombette reached over to the pins and put one onto her dress. Instantly, it felt as if a cool breeze had suddenly descended upon her and she was no longer sweating buckets. "Sweet, they are! Cold Touch badges!"
"Oooh, how nice! Thank you, Colorado!" Koopie said as the badges were passed out to everyone. "With these, Mario, we'll be able to get through the mountain unharmed, and we'll even be able to touch fires and be just fine! Though, touching the lava itself will still be a bad idea. Some things are too hot even for magic."
"Wait, what?! You had these on you this whole time?" Bow snapped. "Not that I'm complaining, but why didn't you bring this up when we were traveling through that swelteringly hot jungle?"
"And risk getting them covered in mud? Have you no shame? These are all brand-new!" Kolorado replied, offended.
"Augh, whatever." Bow put the last pin in her bow and let the coolness wash over her. "So, what's the plan now? We just keep wandering this place until we finally find the Star Spirit and whoever's holding them hostage?"
"Oh, that won't be necessary," said Rachel. "There's a sanctum at the center of the mountain that I'm pretty sure is where the big bad is hiding out. I might not remember time strictly linearly, but I'm sure that evildoers always make their secret lair there."
"That sorta makes sense, I guess - can't deny the aesthetic appeal," said Nita. "But isn't going in there also super inconvenient?"
"It is; but to tell the truth, I think there's a reason why they keep coming back," Rachel explained. "It's as if there's something in that room that draws them there, no matter how many times the volcano seals it up."
"Oooh! Perhaps there is some sort of ancient sealed evil in there!" Kolorado suggested. "You know, I've actually written a few papers on the subject of sealed malevolent beings across the world and their effects on the people around them. For example, did you know that there may be something called the Dark Star hidden in the Mushroom Kingdom that could be causing all sorts of…"
Kolorado then noticed the blank stares that Mario's party was giving her.
"Ahem, right! I realize that we have better things to do right now, and so I will save my lectures for later," Kolorado said, blushing. "For now, though, I'll leave blazing the trail ahead of us to you, Mario. That is more your department, after all."
"Oh, so now she wants to stay in the back… typical," Bow sighed before looking back at the river. "Well, me and Rachel should fly over all this easily, but everyone else is going to have to jump from rock to rock to avoid falling in the lava."
"Yeah, but that's okay; we've got the king of jumping with us!" Goommaria pointed out. 'Just lead the way, Mario, and I'm sure we'll make it!"
"Right, right… king of jumping…" Despite wearing the Cold Touch badge, Mario still sweated a little as he looked over the fiery precipice. His last rites prepared, he steeled himself before looking onwards. "All right… here we go."
With a running start, Mario bounded over the pit and landed on the other side, unscathed save for the dirt on his shoes. "I… I did it! Wahoo! Hey, everyone, I made it across!"
"Wow! Great job, Mario! I knew you could do it!" Goommaria shouted, clapping her hands. "Now, do you think you can make it to the next one?"
"The next one?" Mario turned around and saw that the jump to the next rock was even further than the last jump. "Mamma mia… alright, everyone… do your best to keep up, and don't be afraid to ask for help crossing the gaps!"
Koopie looked nervously at the lava for a moment before extending a hand towards Bow.
"Yeah, no - you should still fear me" she said cooly before floating over the lava after Mario.
"Don't worry, I've got you!" Bombette said as she forced Koopie onto her back.
"Oh, uh, actually, I think I can just-" Koopie began to say, only to be cut off when Bombette dashed across the platforms, Koopie in tow. "Whaaaa!"
Bombette pumped her fists in the air before taking a running jump to the next platform. "See you on the other side, girls!"
"Bark, bark!" Chompy followed along next, using her long chain tail to swing across the lava flows using stalactites. Goommaria followed shortly behind, leaving Kolorado alongside Nita and Rachel as the only ones on this side of the lava flow.
"So… I don't suppose you could fly me across the fire, could you, old chap?" Kolorado asked Rachel.
"Nah - you're a bit too heavy for that," Rachel replied. "And trust me, you don't want to know what the futures where I drop you look like."
"Ah, I see." Kolorado adjusted her scholarly tie. "And what about the futures where I don't get fried?"
Rachel's response was to look toward Nita.
"Me? Augh, you guys should all know I'm bad at protecting things." Nita proceeded to lift the archaeologist over her head by her shell like she was an empty picnic basket. "Even if you have future vision, I think your faith in me is misplaced."
"W-well, if you don't think you can do this, then I won't sto-waaah!" Kolorado screamed as Nita took off after Mario and the others. Despite the slump in her shoulders and the weight on her back, she seemed to have no problem keeping up with them.
"W-woah!" Mario gasped as he nearly stumbled on one of the further rocks along the path. He could almost feel his mustache hairs singe as he nearly tumbled into the lava, but fortunately he managed to stop himself at the last moment. "Phew… it's fine, Mario, it's fine… just like pulling mama's ragu out of the oven, but… ten times more dangerous."
Mario took another leap across the lava and managed to land squarely in the center of what he thought was a solid rock - only for it to start sinking underneath his added weight. Part of him wanted to panic at that moment, but something in his mind told him to keep going. It was almost like some straight instinct, but the moment he felt like he was closest to danger, he just kept on jumping to the next rock - and then the next rock, and then the next rock, until he finally arrived at safety at the entrance to the next part of the cavern.
"Woah! Nice moves, Mario!" Bombette complimented as she landed next to Mario, placing Koopie back on the ground. "You sure you were just a plumber in your past life, and not an acrobat?"
"Nope, definitely a plumber," said Goommaria as she landed next. "But that just makes it cooler in my opinion."
"Phew… that took way more out of me than I expected," Bombette said, wiping the sweat that had gathered on her forehead. "I better pace myself for this place… say, you girls don't mind if I let my babies breathe a little bit, do you?"
"If by 'babies' you mean those oversized gams of yours, then yeah, we don't mind," Nita replied.
"Great!" Bombette pulled down the top of her pink, silk dress and revealed the overstuffed white bra that she had underneath. Her breasts were so covered in sweat by that point that the droplets twinkled like stars in the light of the lava.
"Arf, arf!" Chompy barked in approval at this as she began panting even harder than before.
"Phew! That's better!" She said as Koopie got an eyeful.
"Woah!" the Koopa girl blushed as she couldn't help but stare. "Er, I mean, uh… it looks like we made it across faster than I thought! Eheh… did I, uh… miss anything while I was in my shell?"
"WoAoAoAh!" Koopie groaned as her shell spun towards Mario across the lava, having bounced against the cavern walls multiple times now, only for Bombette to stop her with her heel. "W-wait, what were you guys talking about? W-what did I miss?"
"Oh, nothing important, I'm sure," said Bow, appearing suddenly beside Mario. "Can we move on from this overlit place already? It feels like we've been here forever."
"Maybe, but we know there are enemies around here!" Goommaria pointed out. "We need to take our time to avoid running into an ambush."
"Sounds like hard work," said Nita, still casually carrying Kolorado as she landed with everyone else. "Hey, Rachel; is the next room going to be safe, or not?"
"Hmm… it's a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure it is going to be safe…" the bird girl replied from the air.
"That settles it then; no more delays!" Bow grabbed Mario with her cool hand and began dragging him into the next room… only to find 3 naked girls who had fire instead of hair chatting idly in a hot tub made of lava together.
"What the… I thought you said this way was safe!" Bow complained.
"Yeah, and it will be!" Rachel replied. "Once you get rid of all the enemies, that is."
"Huh?" One of the fiery girls turned toward Mario's group and gave them a smile and a wave. "Oh, hey there! Nice to meet you! How's it going?"
"Uh… fine, thanks for asking," Mario replied nervously, not expecting such a warm reception. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know the way to the inner sanctum of the volcano, would you?"
"You mean, the place where all the plant girls keep going to and coming from? Yeah, totally!" one of the girls replied, to which she sank further into the lava hot tub and sighed happily.
"So… are you going to tell us?" asked Nita.
"Ooooh, you were expecting us to tell you that! Heh, my bad!" she replied.
"I mean, we could tell you, but then you'd probably leave to go fight them," said another one of the fire girls. "You know, classic hero stuff."
"Yeah, and that would be fun, but you know what would be even more fun?" asked a third girl. "Staying here and playing with us!"
She then proceeded to splash some of the lava she was bathing in at Mario playfully, forcing him to jump back a little in fear.
"H-hey, be careful! Even with our badges, that stuff is dangerous!" Mario complained.
"Well, that's Lava Bubbles for you," said Goommaria. "They're friendly and playful, but they are always more into doing what they think is fun rather than what others want to do… or is safe for them."
"But you three aren't with the Piranha Plants?" Kolorado asked curiously.
"Nope; they're just here to use the space," a Lava Bubble replied.
"We've tried playing with them a few times, but they always slip away whenever we try," another one whined. "It's because they don't jump… friends are always so much easier to catch when they jump!"
"Right, of course," Bow said sarcastically. "I'm afraid we've already wasted enough time in this sulfurous pit, so if you don't mind, we'll be leaving."
"Leaving already? Aww, don't be like that!" With wide smiles on their faces, the girls pulled themselves out of the super hot tub and materialized dresses made of blue flames around their bodies. "Stay a while! I promise that we'll all keep you nice and warm~"
"Uh oh… I was afraid this was going to happen!" Goommaria said as Chompy stepped forward, trying to ward the girls off with loud barks. "Whatever you do, everyone, don't let them snuggle you!"
"O-oh no! They won't burn us alive, will they?" asked Koopie.
"Well, no - even without the badges, you'll be fine… hopefully," Goommaria replied. "Their fire works a little… weird compared to normal fires. You'll still probably lose all your clothes, though."
"All my clothes?" Nita reflexively reached for her mask. "I'll, uh, let the professionals handle this one then. I'll be out in the other cavern if you need me!"
"Wait, Nita-" Mario reached out his hand, but she had already disappeared. "Ah… well, that's fine! I'm sure we've got this, right girls?"
"Right!" the others all replied - and so the battle began.
Mario, once again, charged in first despite his fear, hoping that his new badge really was all it was racked up to be. His hammer, at the very least, still did its job well, smacking the closest assailant around with its powerful weight. She didn't seem to be all that bothered by being hit by a hammer, though, and merely giggled.
"Hehehe! Oh, wow! You really know how to stoke a girl's fire, don't you? Well, I suppose it's only fair if I returned the favor." Seductively, the fire girl batted her eyelashes, rubbed her finger under his mustache, and then leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was warm, of course, but its pleasantness surprised him so much that he actually paused his attacks for just a moment to enjoy it.
And that was when his mustache caught on fire.
"Maaaamaaa!" Mario shouted, jumping as his whiskers burned with intense heat. He quickly began dashing the way that Nita had left, spinning like a tornado as he did so. The force of the spins thankfully seemed to help put the fires out, but even after they were gone, he didn't stop running.
"Aw, come back!" the Lava Bubble whined. "We were just starting to get to know each other!"
"Sorry, but I think you might be a bit too hot for him," Bombette cut in as she slid up behind the Lava Bubble. "But fortunately for you, I don't mind getting spicy!"
She then wrapped her sweaty arms around the Lava Bubble's torso and picked her up. Instantly, Bombette's ponytail caught fire and began to burn up at lightning speed - but unlike Mario, this was all part of her plan. As soon as the fuse burned out, she focused all her energy and threw the Lava Bubble directly toward one of her friends.
"Power Bomb!" Bombette shouted as the two went flying off into the distance, crashing hard into one of the volcano's many pools of lava.
"Ooooh yeah…" Bombette moaned, her hands shivering as she admired her handiwork. "That's… the good… stuff… ah!"
Bombette then collapsed onto the ground, completely exhausted and her brain still shaking with the aftershocks of the powerful orgasm she had just had.
"Heh, nice trick!" another Lava Bubble girl said as she and two more fiery girls popped up out of the lava around them. "But you'll have to try a lot harder than that if you want to avoid our snuggles~"
She immediately headed toward Bombette, intent on giving her even more reality-shattering orgasms, only for her to be intercepted by a certain Chain Chomp girl.
"Bark bark!" she said before licking at the Lava Bubble's face, her natural heat resistance working with her badge so well that she wasn't even bothered by her fiery clothes.
"Oh my! Aren't you a friendly girl!" the Lava Bubble giggled as Chompy's saliva evaporated off her face. "It's good to see at least one of you is willing to cuddle up!"
"Bark!" Chompy nodded in agreement before she suddenly wrapped both her arms and her legs around the Lava Bubble's body. She then began violently rolling around, bumping into multiple other Lava Bubbles along the way and leaving them all feeling quite sore and bruised. But that was nothing compared to the unfortunate girl that Chompy was rolling around with, who was so exhausted and dizzy by the time she stopped rolling that her flames had almost all gone out, leaving her short-haired and naked.
"Uuuh.." she groaned, eyes spinning. "Good… girl…"
"Ow! You know, for people who are supposed to be our guests in this place, you're being rather rude!" one of the Lava Bubbles whined. "But that's okay; I like to play rough sometimes!"
She smirked and summoned fire balls into the palms of her hands, which she began throwing at Mario's friends as casually as snowballs. They all ducked and dove for cover, but there seemed to be no escape from the shower of flames.
"Hahah! Now we're having a good time!" She laughed, skipping as she spoke. "But why do you all keep running away? Don't you know how to catch?"
"H-hey! Stop that right now!" Koopie interrupted as she stepped out from behind a large stalagmite. "Can't you see that you're the only one having fun right now!? I swear, you're even worse than the Shy Gals - at least they were usually harmless!..."
"Well, you know what they say about playing with matches - it's fun, but dangerous~" She winked at Koopie, causing a spark to flitter out of her eye, before she tossed a fireball directly at Koopie.
"Eee!" Instinctively, the Koopa girl retreated into her shell and began to spin at a dizzying speed. The ball of fire hit the shell a moment later and, instead of just dissipating harmlessly like most would expect, the fireball instead bounced straight back at the Lava Bubble and smacked her right in the face.
"Ooof!" The fiery girl stumbled from the shock. "Hey! This isn't as fun when you fire back! Quit it!'
She threw more fireballs at the spinning Koopa shell, but no matter how many balls bounced back, she didn't seem to learn her lesson, and just kept throwing them.
Meanwhile, a few feet away, another Lava Bubble was hot on the trail of another one of Mario's friends.
"Hmm… where did that green one go? Her curls looked so bouncy… and flammable!" Bouncing on her heels, she looked around jagged rocks and pools of lava in search of the ghost girl that had entranced her earlier. "Hmm… she's not under this rock…" She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. "Hold on a sec, I'm busy." Another tap. "Hey, quit it, I'm trying to find a new friend!" She felt a third, much firmer tap. "Hey, I told you that I'm-"
The Lava Bubble turned around and found… no one standing there.
"Huh… that's weird." She turned back to continue to search, but instead of a rock she was met by the site of a giant, glowing set of fangs coming right toward her.
"Whaaa!" Instantly, the Lava bubble's blue dress flames disappeared, and she took off running across a nearby lava flow. "S-someone help me!"
"Heh, that trick never gets old~" Bow said smugly as her real form rematerialized. "Now, how many of these idiots are left?"
"I believe this is probably the last of them - though I never was good at counting," said Rachel as she circled above the action.
"Well then, how about we teach you a lesson then?" a Lava Bubble suggested as she began tossing fireballs at the raven. "One, two, three~"
"Hmm… I appreciate the help, but I think I'd rather count down today instead of up." Rachel then flew up to the ceiling and began flapping her wings as hard as she could. Instantly, everyone in the room was hit by strong gusts of wind, which stung the eyes of her friends a little because of the ambient heat of the room, but had a much more profound effect on the Lava Bubbles.
"Kyaa! You ruined our clothes!" one of the now-naked Lava bubble girls complained. "How are we supposed to play like this?"
"Sweet! You blew them out like birthday candles!" said Goommaria. "Well then, time to finish them off!"
Focusing all her energy into her cap and her feet, Goommaria charged directly at the remaining, defenseless Lava Bubbles, colliding violently with them and sending them all tumbling into the nearest sea of lava.
"Ptoo!" one of the Lava Bubbles resurfaced and spat out a chunk of molten rock. "Fine! If you don't want to play with us, then we'll just have fun elsewhere! Come on, girls; let's go outside and set ferns on fire!"
"Yeah!" the other girls agreed before swimming off.
"Phew… glad that's over with." Goommaria wiped the sweat off her cap and nearly collapsed to the ground. "Is everyone okay?"
"I mean… aside from the fact that my legs feel like jelly, I'm doing great…" said Bombette from the ground nearby.
"H-hang on a second… has anyone seen Mario, Nita, or Kolorado?" Koopie asked as she finally got out of her spin.
"It's okay, everyone - I'm back," Mario said as he walked back into the room, Kolorado and Nita following closely behind him. "Thankfully, I don't think I got too singed… it's, uh, not noticeable, right?"
"Er, right, totally!" Bombette replied with a nervous laugh. "I mean, it's a bit darker now, but that just makes it more distinguished!"
"Yeah, you've got a real 'worn firefighter' look to you now," Nita said sarcastically.
"Really? You think so?" Mario took out a mirror to examine it, only to be interrupted by Bow appearing behind him and slapping him in the back of the head.
"Hey! I can't believe I'm saying this, but we need to keep focused on the mission," she scolded. "The longer we waste time here, the closer the volcano gets to bursting!"
"I couldn't agree more, old chap," Kolorado said as she stepped forward. "Which is why we must remain single-minded in our pursuit of- wait, hang on a second is. Is that… a spoon over there!?" Without a second thought, the archeologist took off running down the next corridor.
"Wait, hang on Kolorado! Wait up!" Mario called out as he ran after her. "Not again…"
"Right… about that." Koopie walked up to Nita, and addressed her as Mario chased off after Kolorado. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"
"What do you mean? They were made of fire, and fire burns. Any one of you would've done the same thing…" Nita replied simply.
"But we didn't." Bombette pointed out. "Bow hates being around here, and even she stuck around to help. No offense."
"None taken, I just want to get out of here as fast as possible. I'm getting ashy, and not in a good way!" Bow complained.
"Mario ran away, although his mustache was burning off, so he was kinda panicking at the time. He's even running away right now!" Rachel said.
"You don't understand! Do you know what it's like for a Shy Gal to be exposed like that? Normal people seeing your bare body? All those eyes staring at you, degrading you, judging you?" Nita cried, lamenting her situation.
"... I don't know what it's like for Shy Gals." Koopie said, adopting a warmer tone. "But I have been exposed like that. I have had people see my bare body. I've been stared at, degraded, and judged for what I'd been doing… and it was the only way to save my friend."
"... What?" Nita asked, perplexed at what she'd just heard.
"When Mario had to sneak inside of the Koopa Sisters' Fort, I had to pretend to be one of their minions in order to bring him in, as a fake prisoner. But in order to convince them I was genuine, I had to… have sex with Mario. In front of everyone." Koopie trailed off a bit, growing somber, before continuing. "I had to strip in front of everyone, pretend to be someone I'm not, and had my first time spent by acting like I was taking advantage of someone."
"You did… but…?" Nita trailed off. How could someone that wasn't a Shy Gal have a comfort zone. And to cross it at that?
"I'm not saying that you have to do things you're uncomfortable with. I'm not forcing you to fight alongside everyone else. But from one shy girl to another, if you're in doubt and afraid, I'm here for you. We're friends, right?"
"... Friends…" Nita looked at Koopie, the blank sockets of her mask revealing nothing but a faint glimmer of… recognition? Of hope?
"Arf arf!" Chompy ran over and hugged Nita, licking her mask!
"Ah, germs, getaway, getaway!" Shaken from her reverie, Nita gave into Chompy's snuggles and started playing with her.
"I can't help but feel we're forgetting something. Oh right, what about Centucky?" Rachel pointed out.
"Centucky, you mean Kolora-... oh right, she ran off! Let's find her, quick!" Bombette said with a start before bolting down the corridor she'd run down before, following the sound of Mario's footsteps. "Wait for us!"
*Bad End*
"Hehehe! Oh, wow! You really know how to stoke a girl's fire, don't you? Well, I suppose it's only fair if I returned the favor." Seductively, the fire girl batted her eyelashes, rubbed her finger under his mustache, and then leaned in for a kiss. The kiss was warm, of course, but its pleasantness surprised him so much that he actually paused his attacks for just a moment to enjoy it.
And that was when his mustache caught on fire.
"Maaaamaaa!" Mario shouted, jumping as his whiskers burned with intense heat. Not thinking clearly, he began to run around the cavern in random directions.
"M-Mario, calm down! It's okay!" Goommaria shouted, putting up her hands. "Just hold still, and I can put you out!"
She tried stepping in front of Mario, but the only thing she got as a reward was being knocked right onto her ass.
"Grr…" Chompy stepped forward next, her tail clacking loudly on the ground behind her as she growled and tried to intimidate Mario into slowing down. "Bark bark bark bar- arf!?" However, her sharp teeth proved to be ineffective at preventing Mario from knocking her right into a nearby lava flow, sending her skipping across the surface like a human-shaped stone before crashing through a wall and out of the mountain entirely.
"Okay, that's enough going off-script, girls! It's time you started playing nice!" Rachel declared as she flew up toward the ceiling, intent on calming the situation down with her powerful wings. She quickly began flapping as hard as she could, and at first it seemed to do a good job at putting out the flames of the Lava Bubbles gathered around below. However, they didn't seem to be that intimidated, and just smirked as they all raised their hands and summoned fireballs into their palms. A moment later, and the extinguishing gust was transformed into a whirlwind of flame, overtaking Rachel and sending her asunder.
"Cough cough…" Rachel, now covered head to toe in black soot, floated there in the air for a few moments before falling to the ground and crashing.
"Well, I suppose it's about time I got out of here," Bow said as she began to disappear.
"Uh, you mean to get help, right?" asked Koope.
"Huh? Yeah, sure, whatever," she said before disappearing completely - at which point Koopie realized she was completely surrounded.
"Oh, uh… high there, everyone!" The Koopa waved nervously at the Lava Bubbles as they surrounded her with evil grins. "I'd, uh, love to play with you all, really! But I'm more into solo games myself!"
She then retreated into her Koopa shell and dropped to the floor, seemingly safe for a few moments. That illusion was quickly ruined, however, as the fiery girls picked the shell up together and began heating it with their hands.
"Wait, she's not supposed to learn that yet." Rachel pointed out as she lay on the ground."Back off!"
Inside, Koopie watched her thermostat in horror as it slowly ticked up degree by degree until, finally, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Gah!" she gasped, face drenched with sweat, as she popped her head out of her shell to try and get fresh air. "Phew… I almost turned into turtle soup in there…"
"Ooooooh, mind if I try?" A Lava Bubble asked before licking her face.
"A delicacy like this can only be properly enjoyed when it's shared with friends~" the Lava Bubble answered with a mischievous laugh. Poor Koopie barely had time to swallow nervously before she was yanked out of her shell, laid bare, and had her entire body fondled and licked. To say that it was a steamy situation would have been an understatement, as hot vapors trailed from her body with every touch she received. And the sweat only kept coming and coming as she kept cumming and cumming herself.
Which only left one non-bubble standing… Bombette, who was currently completely surrounded by Lava Bubbles on one side and a lava flow on the other.
"Looks like you're all alone, bombshell~" one of Lava Bubbles teased. "You know it's not safe to store explosives somewhere so hot… they might just blow up in your face~."
"Yeah, well, I'm pretty good at blowing up in other people's faces too, you know!" Bombette wiped the sweat from her face and bounced up and down in a fighter's stance, her breasts audibly bouncing in her exposed bra as she did her best to look intimidating. When the Lava Bubbles still didn't back off, she brought her fist back and prepared to charge. She then threw a punch at the nearest girl, but before she could land a blow, her hair was yanked from behind her, sending her aim off-course and her hair ablaze, resulting in a premature explosion that completely threw her off.
The Lava Bubbles were then on her like an eruption, their hands grabbing and massaging every part of her body that they could reach. Soon her clothes were all left in flaming tatters on the ground as they played with their supple prize.
"N-no! Get your hands off me!" Bombette begged as she struggled. "You're all too hot! If you keep going I'll… I'll… aaaaaah!"
Just like with Koopie a few feet away, Bombette found herself in the throes of ecstasy as she was forced to climax again and again. However, given her Bob-Omb nature, Bombette's orgasms weren't just relegated to her clit; they shot through her entire body, each one overwhelming her senses so much that the whole world became nothing but pure pleasure for minutes at a time. Then, after what felt like her millionth orgasm, her body stopped spasming and collapsed as her powder was all spent and she passed out in the arms of the Lava Bubbles.
"Oooh, that really was a lot of fun!" the Lava Bubble who had been eating Bombette out said as she stood up straight. "It's a shame that you're all burned out, though! We could have had so much more-"
"Aaaahahahhaaaaaaaa!" The Lava Bubble was interrupted by Mario, his mustache still on fire, slamming into her rear so hard that he knocked himself onto his back. There, he laid on the ground as what remained of his mustache fizzled out and he was left completely cleanshaven… but unharmed.
"Well, looks like I spoke too soon!" the Lava bubble said as she and her friends looked down at Mario together. "I was so focused on our little tinderbox that I forgot that we have a perfectly good match right here!"
Mario's overalls sizzled as the Lava Bubble burned the straps off and tore off his pants, tossing them into a nearby lava flow. He felt upset at first, but he had a feeling that he wouldn't be needing those again anytime soon.
"W-wait, hang on!" Mario said desperately as he was pinned down and the lead Lava Bubble straddled his thighs. "I'd love to have fun with you all, really, but… I have to get going! I've got to save the Star Spirit before-"
"Sorry, Peppino, but we don't really care about what your future plans are," the Lava Bubble in front of him said as she traced a hot finger across his chest.
"Yeah, I suppose you could say that our kind are kind of… burnouts," another behind Mario said before leaning down and giving him a passionate upside-down kiss. "We live fast, and short, and have fun the whole way."
"Plus, I'm sure you know that fire spreads quite quickly," another said as she climbed onto Mario's thigh and began to rub her molten pussy against him. "Which means that we're almost always… in heat~"
"So stop worrying about saving the rainforest or whatever - and just let the warmth overcome you~" said another. Mario tried once again to protest, to let the girls know that he really couldn't stay, but by then it was too late.
The Lava Bubble who was straddling him lifted her hips, lined up his shaft with her glowing tunnel, and thrust herself downwards. Despite technically being completely dry, he had absolutely no trouble fitting inside her, her warm walls sliding along his dick and sheathing it in 1000 degrees of pure ecstasy.
"Aaaaah!" Mario screamed even louder than when his mustache was on fire as he felt himself bottom out inside her. It felt so good that he couldn't help but buck his hips, sending his throbbing dick even deeper into her and rewarding the girl with a pleasurable jolt directly to her glowing clit.
"Aah… so good~" She moaned happily with a dopey smile on her face as she began to grind her hips slowly from left to right. "You know, it's funny… I know your body is actually a lot cooler than mine, and yet… I've never felt hotter in my life than right now, with you inside me!"
"I know, right? Our old obsidian dildos simply can't compare!" another swooned as she forced Mario's fingers inside her snatch.
"Hey, hurry up! I want to have my turn too!" the one who had been kissing Mario whined. "I'll be so steamed if all I'm left with is embers again!"
"Don't worry, I don't plan on having a slow-burn romance today!" The Lava Bubble riding Mario placed her hands onto his stomach and began to thrust herself up and down, swallowing him up into her burning folds again and again. The sensation of it all was almost indescribable to Mario; despite how warm the volcano air was around them, it still paled in comparison to the heat inside the fire girl. With every time that she lifted her hips up, it was like exposing his shaft to an icy tundra while his tip remained enwrapped in a tight, squeezing oven.
Just like with Bombette, it became too much for Mario too quickly. He tried his best to take his mind away from the mind-melting sensations that were constantly shooting up through his dick, but all his thoughts of baking pizzas and spaghetti only served to remind him of how desperate this fiery girl was for him to stick a bun directly into her oven.
Finally, after a few minutes of furious fucking, he simply couldn't take it anymore and his balls began to boil over. Shot after shot of his thick white seed was fired into her squeezing folds, finally delivering some relief to the searing heat that seemed to have plagued the fire girl her entire life.
"Aaah… that's the stuff~" The Lava Bubble sighed contentedly as she rubbed her lower stomach. There, Mario could actually see all the thick spunk that he had just planted inside her floating around in a big orange sphere - like she was some sort of human-shaped lava lamp. "Alright, Emmy; it's your turn now!"
"Yes! Finally!" The next Lava Bubble wasted no time, shoving her friend off Mario's dick, taking her place, and thrusting his dick inside her with barely any time for the poor plumber to recover. "We are going to make so many little sparks together, just you wait!"
"Gaaah!" Mario gripped the ground underneath him hard as he tried to regain control of his body and his senses, but he soon came to accept that there was no longer any chance to escape. "Ah… well… at least this means I'm out of the frying pan of trying to save the world…"
"... and into the fire of parenthood…"
A few years later, and Mario still found himself buried beneath Mt. Lavalava, though it had been so long since he had been outside that he had no idea how deep he was. All he did know was that his fiery new wives constantly kept him busy with games, hot tubs, acrobatic tricks, and lots and lots of sex.
This of course produced lots and lots of little Lava Bubbles to be raised, and he got to learn that the little ones survived off a mixture of molten rock from the mountain's core and sticks and leaves from what little remained of the forest outside. They were incredibly excitable little mono who seemed to refuse to stay still, even when sleeping, and they seemed eager to invent a new game to play every single day.
He didn't get to spend too much time with them, but when he did, it was almost always with the girls gathered up closely around him to listen about his stories from his time outside the island. Apparently the nature of being a Lava Bubble meant getting a ship off the island was incredibly difficult, and it wasn't like they could hold books to read, so his stories were the best that they could do. It was a nice break, and it even allowed him some time to reconnect with some of his captured friends when they told stories together, but he couldn't help but notice that his memory of the outside world was starting to fade with time. For a while, he thought that the outside world would one day become nothing but a hazy memory to him… that was, until he heard that someone was coming to the island in a metal boat…
The End
A/N: Hello all. Sorry I've been late, I've been busy for a while. While you're waiting for the next update though, there's this really, really good story called Love on the Brain by XerricklaMerrick on Fimfiction. You should definitely check it out if you haven't already.
See you next time.