Marco did not pop up soon thereafter. Minnie and captain shrooman stayed on edge, but Gamer literally skirted it. He lounged, and allowed one hand to dip in the water. He stuck his middle finger out, just to bait the Italian.
"What has the princess been doing this whole time?" Minnie asked.
"Hmm, well, she's been resting, primarily. Super important to do. Aside from that, she is biding her time. Our hopes are that Marco and Lord Shellie destroy each other, and then the princess returns to pick up the pieces and restore order," captain shrooman explained.
"She's a pacifist, right?"
"Super correct! That is why we shroomans are so easily bullied."
"Hehe, yeah, it was pretty easy for Lord Shellie to take over."
"Twas truly terrible," the reminder depressed captain shrooman.
Minnie's guilt returned, and she finally said, "I know it's not much, but I'm sorry for what happened. All we shellies ever wanted was a place to belong. Lord Shellie gave that to all of us, and promised to lead us to brighter fields. One way or another..."
"The grass is always greener on the other side," captain shrooman replied. He shot Minnie a smile to calm her nerves, "And the skies are always darkest before dawn. Keep a super stiff upper lip, Minnie. You've shown us not all shellies are bad."
His words lightened her heart, and she was able to smile again. She looked at Gamer and understood. He was busy watching the horizon, caught up on the serene thought of, 'I need to nut. I need to nut. I need to...'
Something clamped onto Gamer's middle finger in the water. He bugged out and pulled up his hand. A red and white guppy-like fish had latched on. Its appearance freaked Gamer.
"Ah, a gulp gulp," captain shrooman identified the fish. He scanned the horizon and then pointed ahead. Peeking over the waters were a few sheer cliff islands. Rope bridges connected the islands, with the last island having a small, shaman-looking shack on it. Captain shrooman laughed for comfort, "Gulp gulps live around these islands. Super good show, Gamer!"
"Are they dangerous?" Gamer was hesitant to fling the fish away. The gulp gulp didn't do much on the outside, except look around with its big eyes. In its mouth, on the other hand, a tongue-like appendage swirled, stroked, and sucked all over Gamer's middle finger. The wetness and sensation reminded him of an electric toothbrush.
"Not at all," Minnie stuck her hand in the water. After a moment, she fished out one of her own gulp gulps. It latched onto her forearm, sucked for a moment, and then detached back into the water, "They love dirt, grime, and sweat. They are used all over Chanterelle to clean bodies, as well as for massages."
"They love it?" Gamer raised an eyebrow. His gulp gulp finished cleaning and detached. Gamer flipped his hand to catch it, and the gulp gulp licked its sussy, thick lips. It nodded and winked in response to his question. Indeed, it was sentient...and consensual...
"Huh, cool, WHAT IS THAT?!" Gamer pointed overdramatically behind Minnie and captain shrooman. They spun on the spot, afraid that Marco had made a reappearance. However, aside from the stretch of lake and mountains in the distance, there wasn't anything. When they faced Gamer again, he had returned to his lounged position. The gulp gulp was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged, "Must have been the wind."
"That was scary. I'm still worried about Marco," Minnie checked the surroundings. Still no sign of him.
Gamer's leg twitched, but it looked like he was just readjusting himself. His facial expression also shifted. His lips and eyebrows were trying to restrain emotion. He took in a deep breath before letting it out with a hanging mouth.
"Are you okay?" captain shrooman asked.
"Ooh yeah, fantastic...haa..." Gamer slumped back more. Minnie noticed a bulge in Gamer's pants. She blushed, thinking he checked out her rear end when she turned.
The islands where Princess Persica stayed were less than a hundred meters away. However, captain shrooman and Minnie were preoccupied by Gamer. He appeared to squirm and crumble.
"Is this what they call seasickness?" Minnie asked the captain.
He shrugged, "I dunno. I've never been on a boat before."
"But you're the captain."
"I've never been a captain before."
"Oooh..." Gamer groaned. He placed a hand over his stomach and hips, and made a face that Minnie could only describe as somebody in total, complete, undeniable agony. His moans dragged on like the legends of undead shellies spoken about amongst her people.
"Can seasickness kill a person?" she had to ask.
"It's a sickness, right? Lots of illnesses kill people," captain shrooman figured.
"Oooh, this is heaven..." Gamer muttered.
"He's dying!" Minnie and captain shrooman screamed. Gamer's eyes crossed and his lips puckered into a weird smile. The man stood on the brink of death, and fought to stay alive. He rolled to the side and began panting. His eyes started to roll into the back of his head.
Captain shrooman grabbed a small lever switch on the side of the helm. The engine kicked in to overdrive. Gamer and Minnie braced against their seats, and the shrooman clung onto the helm. They sped towards the beach of the first isle.
Captain shrooman exuded determination, "Super hang on, Gamer! I'm not going to let you die!"
Minnie reached over and grasped Gamer's hand. It was clammy, and his grip was weak. They were losing him, "Don't give up, Gamer!"
"So...close..." Gamer barely got out.
"No!" Minnie cried out.
The gummi boat rammed into the beach. The speed and force of the crash catapulted everybody. Captain shrooman landed head first in the sand and successfully became stuck. Minnie skidded on her butt, and was barely missed by Gamer, who skidded along face and chest first. Both safely bumped into sand mounds. Nobody died.
Gamer quickly lurched forward with a sharp cry, "Whyyy?!"
"Are you okay now?" Minnie crawled over to check on her friend.
Gamer ran over to the waters while reaching into the front of his jeans. He pulled out the gulp gulp from earlier, and to his dismay, the fish was knocked out. He dropped to his knees and repeated his cry, "Whyyy?!"
Minnie walked over and saw the harmed fish friend. Now she understood why he was heartbroken. As he sobbed into the sand, and released the gulp gulp back where it belonged, Minnie patted him on the shoulder in solidarity. She reassured him that the gulp gulp would feel better in the lake.
Captain shrooman popped his head out of the sand. He rushed over and checked on the boat. The front, as expected, didn't take a bit of damage thanks to the gummi material. He then examined the sheer cliff that made up most of this small isle. The rope ladder that led up to the top, and thus access to the rope bridges, was still in good shape.
The captain moved over to the others, "The ship is in good condition. Now, it's time to meet the princess. We have to climb, and then cross."
The trio made their way up the rope ladder. It would take some time, but Gamer knew of longer ladders. If he had to take a guess; it would probably be about forty minutes before they'd reach the top.