The sound of dismay Gamer made called for concern. The shroomans gasped, "Are they fighting again?"
"I don't think so. But if Gamer needs help, he'll let us know," Minnie believed in her friend.
(⸝⸝⸝O﹏ O⸝⸝⸝) Samira's text box fazed through the grand hall doors. None of the NPCs could see her, though. She digitally ran away from the loaf of bull meat and Gamer's pansexual tendencies. It did take some time for her to close Photo Mode.
(˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵) "Homina homina homina...uh, big W, bro. I'm logging out now. Byyye! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡"
While Samira's textbox scuttled away, Persica walked by and approached Minnie. The princess appeared way more sedated, and her eyes were slightly sunk, "Are they still in talks?"
"I think so. They might be fighting," Minnie scratched her chin curiously. The ladies listened in, and soon heard the repeated grunts and groans of the two men. It sounded like a table buckled under a few command grabs.
"Preposterous! Why are the men in my life so set on bodily harm? You'd think them masochists at this juncture. I will not stand for this," Persica drearily snapped. She decided to put her foot down and stomped to the doors. She flung them open and partially stepped in. Gamer and Asterion's erotic wrestling could be heard all across the foyer now.
"Don't hold back! Faster!" Gamer goaded.
"Take it! Take it!" Asterion growled.
Persica reversed her steps and quickly slammed the doors. Her face had turned quite red, and her expression contorted.
"Is everything okay?" Minnie raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that's one way to use a red cap. Let them...settle the dispute. I'm going to the dungeon," Persica excused herself and power walked away. It must have been hot in the grand hall, too, since the princess fanned her flustered self.
The grand hall's chairs and tables were shoved to the sides and corners. The stones of the floor were streaked by webs of cracks. Asterion stood up near one of the ends of a long table, and breathed rapidly. His muscles rippled with sweat, and his nudity could make Greek sculptors blush.
"Grapple!" Gamer yelled from the floor. He sprang up and hugged his legs around Asterion's waist. He, too, lacked clothing and shined like a 3D beta model. He no longer had the effects of the red cap – after all the damage he took.
"You're too difficult..." Asterion grumbled. Gamer's rump put pressure on his mini taurus.
"Yeah, well, I already mastered hard difficulty," Gamer wiggled his eyebrows like snakes.
"Oh, brother..." Asterion rolled his eyes.
The grand hall doors burst open. In ran Minnie, who darted over to the two men. She paused in place when she saw Gamer being cradled by the bull man.
"Pardon the indecency, ma'am," Asterion apologized.
"Cool! You guys are getting along again! Good job, Gamer," Minnie celebrated with a thumbs up.
"Das me, number one," Gamer pointed to the sky.
"Is this normal?" Asterion noticed their lax reactions.
"Everybody knows about Gamer's magic touch," Minnie informed.
"Not everybody! Only those who consen..."
"You fuck mushrooms?" Asterion yucked.
"NO!"
Gamer backflipped off the minotaur diving board. He faced Minnie, proud and nude, "What's up, Minnie?"
The shellie gasped, "Oh, right! We have an emergency! Cammy and the prisoners escaped!"
Gamer and Asterion put their clothes back on and followed the frantic Minnie to the dungeon. A handful of shroomans were here with Persica. They immediately saw the problem; the cell bars were bent open. A dead shellie lay on the ground at Persica's feet, its shattered shell scattered around her.
"They forced a shellie through the bars, its shell broke, and they promptly killed it. Barbaric things," Persica nursed a joint. She tapped her foot in subtle irritation.
"This isn't right..." Minnie fidgeted at the sight.
"Any sign of them?" Gamer asked.
"Not a one throughout the castle," Persica denoted the patrol shroomans.
Gamer darted by Persica. He bounded into the underground dock area. As he feared: the gummi boat was missing. Minnie and Persica stepped down the stairs.
"There were more than six shellies incarcerated," Persica still found it odd.
Gamer surveyed his minimap and saw multiple blips across the dock area. He sighed, "I know you're hiding! Come on out."
Shellies emerged from behind corners, boxes, and out-of-sight places. A couple dozen of them wrangled near the center to face the trio. They jeered the usual nonsense, "Death to the princess!", "A shellie without a shell is a lie!", and "Your mother is gay!"
"Back in your cells. Now," Gamer gave them a single warning.
"We'll kill you and take back the castle!" one shellie declared. The rest rallied and agreed.
A large presence reached the bottom of the stairs. Asterion towered over Gamer from behind, and instilled in the shellies true despair. His aura alone defeated their spirit. He remained next to the dungeon stairs to oversee the dejected shellies as they shuffled back.
"Have their shells taken away. No need to repeat history," Persica instructed her shroomans.
This startled the shellies. They went from dejected to devastated. Soon enough, their riled up emotions echoed through the stone halls, "No! Nooo!"
"You can't take our shells!"
"We'll become defective!"
"Quiet!" Minnie shouted over all of them. It worked, as the shellies snapped their attention on the betrayer. Even Persica found her lips shut. Minnie spoke firmly, but earnestly, "Take a look at my friends. We've defeated Marco. Do we look defective? No!"
"But...a shellie without a shell..." some of the shellies were truly torn up.
"Cammy didn't have a shell. And even though I have a shell again, it's not for me. It's so that I can be the shield of my group. All of you have been told by Lord Shellie that our armor is what values us. I have found value without it. Not just in myself, but in others," Minnie glanced at Gamer. He winked at her, and she gleefully smiled.
The shellies shuffled away in contemplative silence and Asterion oversaw their return to jail. Gamer, Persica, and Minnie moved onto the actual docks. The gummi boat was long gone.
"That still means six of them escaped," Gamer scratched his chin.
"They are likely returning to Lord Shellie. He'll soon know of what has transpired here. Cammy will spill the beans of our alliance and the death of Marco," Persica sucked on her doobie like a medpack.
"Alright! We'll use them as a calling card," Gamer smirked. He faced his companions and declared, "It's time we paid Lord Shellie a visit!"