The trio successfully scaled the cliff. The wind blustered about at the top. The viewpoint of the lake's majesty could be appreciated at this height. There were three bridges total, connecting all four isles to one another.
Captain shrooman started off down the first bridge. It swayed slightly in the wind, so he took his time stepping on each plank. Minnie took second place, and Gamer stomped in third. Bummed out, Gamer cast his eyes downward. That's how he knew he needed to dodge in a second. A fish flew straight towards them. He stopped moving and leaned away as the gulp gulp zipped by. It arched and dived back towards the water.
"Oh no, their lust for suckage has granted them the power to fly!" Gamer gasped.
"They can't fly. That doesn't ma-umph!" captain shrooman was silenced when another gulp gulp flew up and suctioned to his itty bitty little face.
He panicked and ran in circles on the bridge. Minnie grabbed the gulp gulp by the tail and helped captain shrooman. Gamer leaned over and searched the waters. More gulp gulps were being launched from the lake. As Gamer traced each spot, he picked up on secondary movement beneath the waves. The rotund man, Marco, zipped through the water with an incredible breaststroke. He'd move, grab innocent gulp gulps, and violently throw them at the group. What baffled Gamer the most was Marco's current outfit. He appeared to be wearing a full-body frog suit.
Gamer gawked, "Is that motherfucker a frog?!"
Minnie finally removed the gulp gulp from captain shrooman. The cleaning removed his moustache, and his beady alien-esque face shined in the sunlight. He guessed, "Maybe he ate a lily pad."
"I'm starting to think he might be from where I came from. He's not acting like you guys, and is more versatile and capable than most," a strange gut feeling overcame Gamer.
Marco sent a relentless amount of gulp gulps at them. Some suctioned to whatever they hit, but the majority of them missed. The trio on the bridge did what they could to dodge them. If one hit them just right, they'd tumble off. Gamer became annoyed, "Let's just keep moving. If all he's going to do is throw gulp gulps, there's nothing for us to worry about. Just hold onto the rope."
One fish flew by, and its huge teeth chomped straight through some of the planks of the bridge. The fish was not a gulp gulp, but looked similar. The main difference was its blue coloration, its hateful eyes, and instead of luscious lips, it had huge teeth. It fell to gravity just like its cousins. The shrooman gasped, "There's chomp chomps in the water, as well. They are super dangerous!"
"You're telling us now?!" Gamer and Minnie professionally panicked. A barrage of gulp gulps and chomp chomps were inbound towards the trio. They kickstarted their sprints and ran across the bridge. A gulp gulp sucked onto Gamer's elbow, and started to clean his wenis. Gamer made an 'aah' face, and it distracted him from one of the chomp chomps narrowly missing the back of his leg. The graze of their teeth sliced open the skin. Not deep enough to hinder him, but enough to draw blood.
The trio made it to the second isle. It was relatively flat, but was also littered with floundering fish. The chomp chomps wiggled angrily at the fresh meat that just arrived. More were lobed high enough to drop down towards the trio. The group dashed on through. Due to the shrooman's size, though, he'd be left in the dust. Gamer picked him up and set the little dude on his shoulder.
Gamer and Minnie raced across the second bridge. Chunks of it were taken out by the projectile aquatic life. A chomp chomp nearly had Gamer, but he used his avid reaction time to smack it first. That's when Minnie yelped. Gamer turned, ready to save her from any vicious biters. Yet, instead of being in peril, the shellie found herself with two new accessories. One gulp gulp on each breast. She laughed, "Well, they do say there's plenty of fish in the sea!"
"Now's not the time!" Gamer grabbed her hand and pulled her along. She removed the gulp gulps and refocused on reaching a safer location. They made it to the third isle, but didn't stop to catch their breaths. They immediately ran onto the third bridge. If Marco threw enough chomp chomps, he could take out the bridge and complicate things further.
A chomp chomp flew by and cut the rope on the right side of the bridge. It caused the bridge to buckle, and complicated things further. The bridge tilted diagonally. Gamer and Minnie paused and held on due to the erratic swaying. The cut happened behind them, but it wasn't enough to completely take out the bridge. If another chomp chomp flew by...
Another chomp chomp flew by and detached the right rope still clinging to the post on the final isle. The entire right side of the bridge collapsed and swung down. Gamer and Minnie held onto the left rope, still taut, but they now dangled freely.
"What do we do?" Minnie asked. She barely held herself up.
"Use your broom!" the shrooman shrieked in Gamer's ear.
Gamer squinted an eye in pain, "Yep, I'm going to go deaf. Do shroomans even have ears?"
"No, we have head sphincters!"
"I regret asking," Gamer icked. He bore bad news, "Look, the broom only supports one person. I can't get all of us over there with it."
The shrooman scampered up onto the rope and off Gamer's shoulder. He stood perfectly on the rope, small enough for him to balance. His beady eyes squinted, "I'm good."
The shrooman made it to the opposite side with no issues. Gamer grumbled to Minnie, "So if I accidentally stepped on him..."
"Go," Minnie solemnly said. Gamer raised an eyebrow, and Minnie closed her eyes, "You need to bring the princess back to her people. They need to reclaim their land from the horrible deeds we committed against them. Help them, and defeat Marco."
"Minnie...no," Gamer wanted her to abandon such finality. He used one hand to hang and pulled out the broom. He handed it over to her.
Minnie flashed him a forlorn smile and let go. Gamer stabbed the broom between her legs before she plummeted. It caught her, and she instinctually gripped onto it. She puffed up her cheeks, "No! You can't save me!"
"Please, every video gamer saves; it's the smart thing to do. Besides, I'm not a fan of letting people I care about get hurt," Gamer countered with a wink.
A chomp chomp found the taut rope and snapped it. Gamer held onto the rope as the whole bridge swung towards the cliffside of the final isle. The collision knocked Gamer for a loop, but he held strong. Marco popped his goofy frog head out of the water and glared.
Minnie flew over next to the shrooman, and they peered down the dangling bridge at Gamer. Minnie held the broom in both hands and tried to puzzle out the best way to reach Gamer, "Hold on, I'll get to you."
Gamer cracked a smile at her kindness. He then sent a butt shake and ire towards Marco, "Hey, frogger, want to play a game of hangman?"
A thrown chomp chomp made bull's-eye with one of Gamer's ass cheeks. Their bite loosened his grip on the rope. Gamer plunged towards the waters below, "Aye!"
Minnie flipped the broom over and held it like a spear. She entered a state of mind that took her back to spear training as a shellie trooper. With all her might and determination, she threw the broom at Gamer. The broom pierced through the air better than the hucked fish. Gamer, back towards the water, saw the glimpse of hope. He cracked a smile, and decided to reject death once again. He reached up for the broom. It was almost in his reach halfway to the water. Marco circled beneath him like a hungry crocodile frog. The Italian psychopath locked in to attack. With only fifteen feet left, Gamer finally had the broom. He transitioned onto it right above Marco and pulled up. Marco leapt out of the water to try and uppercut Gamer, but the speed of the broom saved him from the knockout. Gamer jet back up to the top of the isles and left Marco out to dry.
When Gamer landed, the shrooman clapped furiously at the display of teamwork. Minnie jumped onto Gamer with a hug, and fought back the tears welling up. He embraced her with one arm, regardless of the embarrassment. Because he was happy to be alive, "Thanks."
"You're welcome!" Minnie wiped her tears. She adopted his virtue and parroted, "I'm not a fan of letting people I care about get hurt."
"Let's get inside, before Marco bombards us with more super problems," the shrooman stepped up to the hut. He waltzed in without even a knock.
The hut resembled a giant version of a red cap. The walls were the white stem, the roof was the polka dotted cap, and a single door was set in the front. A couple of round windows were open on the sides, with little streams of smoke coming out. By the skunky smell, Gamer learned that the princess was dank.
"Go on without me. I'll stay out here and patrol for Marco. I'll shout if he tries anything," Minnie said.
"You don't want to meet Princess Persica? She sounds - and smells - dope."
"I've been thinking about it. My people have been her enemy for a long time. I believe if you want to convince her to help, I shouldn't be in the picture yet."
Gamer couldn't ignore the social tensions, and decided to respect Minnie's choice. He nodded, and entered the mushroom hut.