The path towards the Shhwonk Fortress was littered with the remnants of its civilisation.  Crumbling mortar that once stood tall as either houses or fort guards, it was a far cry from the peaceful unspoilt field far to the west behind them.  Ruined remains of walls and garrisons stood defiant against the wind, their cold dark-grey stone forever standing long after all had crumbled around them.
James however was ready for a fight, tenderly gripping the handles of his scissors behind him, but not pulling them out just yet.  The grin on his face unnerved Koopin, seeing that he was spoiling for a fight as he said:
	"If it's those same fuckers again I'm gonna enjoy this."
	"Why did you do that?" asked Koopin.
	"What?"
	"Talking like that to the guard back there, he was only doing his job."
	"I just don't wanna waste time, I thanked him right?"
	"Alright...are you seriously gonna hunt down thieves?"
	"Oh don't worry...they'll be happy to see me again."
	"I'm sure they will be," said Koopin sarcastically.
	"Look, I'm just gonna beat 'em up, teach 'em a lesson, and get the mayor's purse back, no biggie, I done this before.  Like, literally done this before."
	"I remember you telling me yeah...I wonder what they're doing here."
	"Looking for new victims to score from, thieves always move around, they never really stop until they're caught for real."
	"I guess so..."
	"Besides, you shouldn't worry your pretty little head about it...Rupin."
	"Wha-h-hey!"
	"Hhhahahahahaa, seriously what was up with that?"
	"Well, JANE, the mayor never had good eyes...or good hearing when I was around so...he kinda mistook me for a female."
	"...if you were a girl I'd still fall in love with you."
	"Wha...a-awwww James."
Koopin blushed hotly at such a strange comment, making the raptor laugh as they headed on further.  Somewhere halfway between the fortress and Petalburg however, they soon had their encounter.  From behind a wall, something came hurtling towards the two of them like a cannonball.
	"KOOPIN!"
James shoved Koopin behind him before trying to deflect whatever the object was.  But as it came closer, he was more confused by what it could be.  A blue spiral of some sort, which hit him square on the head and exploded into a kaleidoscope of colours into his eyes.  The whole world spun around him insanely fast, spiralling into a blurry mess of brown, green and grey.

Koopin's voice called out to him from far away, fading as his eyes unfocused far beyond anything.  He wasn't unconscious, but he was clearly in no condition to fight, groaning as he stumbled drunkenly around in a circle before falling onto his tail.
	"GRAB HIM!" said a voice nearby.
Four koopas with bandanas on their eyes leapt out of cover and eagerly piledrived onto James, shoving Koopin hard to the ground.  Three of them quickly held down the raptor, before tying up his arms.  James could barely recognise any of them, or their colours of red, green, black and yellow.  They pulled him up into a sitting stance, the black, green and yellow koopas holding his body tightly to make sure he couldn't get up.
	"Well well well," said the red koopa in front of him.  "Look who crawled out of the pipe."
	"Wh-whuh...nnnngh...y-you...red...f-fucker...wh-whut did you...do?"
	"Looks like SOMEONE'S looking a li'l dizzy there huh?!  Want me to DIAL a cab for ya?!"
	"HAH good one Red!" said Black.
	"Yanno it's pretty amazing what you find in some people's purses.  Who'da thought an old kook like the mayor in that li'l town would have something like a Dizzy Dial huh?  Guess ya never knew about it, when ya throw it at someone it tends to make their head spin reaaaaaal good.  Howsit feel no-shell?  Doesn't feel good having a weapon used on ya, ISN'T IT?!"
Red kicked James hard in the gut, making him cough and bend over while restrained and forced to sit.  His head was forced back up before being kicked hard across the face, crying out and trying to regain his senses.
	"AGH!  F-fuck!  Gonna...kill you!"
	"Hahaha, sure, come on then!  Why dontcha fight me NOW?  Hey boys, let him stand up a bit!"
Black and Yellow let him stand up onto his feet, which he barely could by the way he was stumbling slightly, his eyes bleary and blinking hard at the barest colours he could make out before him.  Red stood a few feet in front of him, opening his arms invitingly to be hit.  The moment the raptor charged forwards, he tripped in his step before Red slammed his boot squarely into James' gut, making him crumple and heave with abdominal pain, almost retching from the blow.
	"HAH, what a mook, you can't do anything now huh?!  Not with yer freaky weapon all heavy on yer back, now yer gonna pay for last time!"

Koopin was slowly getting up from having being shoved around twice in the past few minutes, rather confused as he rubbed his head from the soil to see what was going on.  To his horror he saw James lying on the ground, roaring with pain as four koopas brutally kicked his body repeatedly at the same time.  Stomping on his back, kicking his face until his eye was swollen, slamming their feet into his gut to make him vomit dryly with a strangled roar.
	"STOP IT!  LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Without a second thought, he charged forwards and punched the green koopa square in the jaw, knocking him back hard before throwing Black into Yellow.  He stared straight at Red, who chuckled meanly in mid-beating.
	"Oh yeah, forgot about you.  Who are you, his boyfriend?!"
	"Yes.  Yes I am.  And if you don't leave him alone then I will make you leave him alone."
	"Hhhhahaha, really?  Really kid?  You know who I am?"
Red shoved Koopin once on the shoulder, just enough to be threatening.
	"I'm the leader of the Koopa Brothers.  I worked for Bowser, I was THERE serving the most powerful koopa in all the land."
	"Yeah.  I know.  I'm a tour guide at the fortress that YOU stole from the bob-ombs.  Yanno what my favourite part of that job is?"
	"Whassat?"
	"Telling everyone how Mario whupped your butts!  Over and over AGAIN!"
The red koopa sneered with insult and gave a warning to the koopa upstart, prodding him dominantly in the shell-belly.
	"Last chance kid...get out of here, and you get to keep your money AND your face clean."
	"No."
	"You sure about that?  We got business to settle with this guy, and it's nothing to do with you."
	"I said NO!  I will NOT abandon him and if you don't leave him alone RIGHT NOW, then I'll MAKE you!"
	"Alright that's it!"
The moment Red tried to swing a punch at Koopin, his muscle memory kicked in fuelled by determination.  He didn't even register his hands moving towards Red's arm, grabbing the wrist with one arm before punching out the upper arm furiously hard.  Red cried out and winced right before an elbow to the jaw knocked him backwards.
	"OW!  AUUUGH!  You...oh NOW you done it, I'm gonna beat your face in!"
The red koopa charged towards Koopin, who waited before sidestepping in order to slam his leg straight into Red's underbelly.  Knocking the wind out of his sails, he followed up by punching Red straight through his cheek, knocking him down into a spinning fall.
	"BOSS!" cried out Green.
	"We'll help ya out!" said Black, "we'll knock down this punk for ya-"
	"NO!" said Red sternly.  "Don't you let go of that freak or there'll be trouble to pay!  I can handle a lucky punch or two.  You wanna mess with the Koopa Brothers, huh!?!  Try THIS!"
As Red began to charge again, Koopin waited on the defensive before the red koopa suddenly ducked low, spinning himself into his shell while in mid-charge.  Before Koopin could even realise it, he quickly leapt out and kicked straight into Koopin's jaw with the power of his spin.  Koopin stumbled back, wincing from his jaw as he tried to refocus before Red took the chance to come in close for a beatdown.

The red koopa wailed his fists on him powerfully, trying to break Koopin's guard of having both hands up by using furious haymakers.  Despite the severity of his punches, Red couldn't break Koopin's guard quick enough before he tired out.  As a result, he was given several sudden jabs in the face before Koopin stomped on his foot and shoved him down hard.  The red koopa's foot hurt like hell when Koopin twisted his foot further to really grind his heel in.
But Red was undeterred, stumbling back onto his feet with a limp as he tried to attack Koopin once again.  With a feinting dodge, he managed to trick Koopin into blocking low, before slamming his fist hard into Koopin's snout hard, eyes clenched and squinting with tears from the pain.  Red took his chance, and slammed his fists repeatedly into Koopin's face, both cheeks being battered left and right before Koopin managed to block at last.
With one arm blocked by using his own, he waited for Red to try and hit with the other, which was also blocked by Koopin's arm vertically pressed against the upper sections of both arms.  Then came the headbutt, resisting the pain as Red cried out from the sudden smack.  Then came the axe kick.  Right down onto the red koopa's head.  Koopin's cry of exertion was his only clue before he saw the boot slam down onto his face, knocking him out onto the floor.
	"RED!" cried Yellow.  "COME ON, GET UP!"
	"GET UP BOSS," panicked Green, "GET UP!  ...THASSIT, YER GONNA PAY FOR THAT!"
The green koopa rushed in before his friends could stop him, swinging his fists wildly so to try and hit Koopin at least once.  His energy was made even greater by his fury, swinging out punches left and right that while Koopin did his best to block or dodge, still managed to hit him at least two or three times.  Then he blocked with his elbow, turning to one side in a half-spin and causing Green to punch him in the elbow.
Green cried out in pain as his knuckles cracked against hard bony elbow, making him fall back and nurse his hand.  Koopin used this perfect position to slam his foot straight into the green-masked koopa's face, a powerful side piercing kick that sent devastating vibrations through Green's head.  All he could do was fall, lifted into the air slightly by such a force as he fell fully onto his side, roaring as he clutched his hand and skull.

Seeing his friend get hurt, Black ran up behind Koopin and clotheslined him brutally to the ground, smashing his arm straight into the back of Koopin's skull and making him fall forwards with a dazed shriek.  But before the black koopa could deliver a beatdown on the floor, Koopin hurriedly got back onto his feet and tried to focus his gaze on his new opponent.
	"That," said Black, "was a real bad idea kid.  Now I'm gonna send you to the hospital, straight to intensive care!"
	"I warned your pals to leave him alone," replied Koopin, "you got ONE chance to stop this now and go, or else!"
	"Try and stop THIS!"
The black koopa quickly receded into his shell, spinning furiously hard until he created a miniature whirlwind around himself.  Koopin was ready, desperately trying to think of a way to handle this sort of move.  But he would never find out, as from out of nowhere, a yellow blur flew past Koopin only to collide against Black, like two bowling pins.  Both yellow and black koopa groaned from their dazed state on the floor, before Koopin turned around at the sound of James' voice.
	"I stopped it, now what?"
	"James!"
The raptor was now standing tall, his face bloodied and beaten with a swollen left eye as he sniffed back red streaks from his snout.  But his eyes were now focused again, and his stance remained firm despite the many deep bruises upon his body all over.
	"Heh...how about you and me give them a real fight?"
	"...yeah."
Koopin turned back towards the two remaining Koopa Brothers, who were soon joined by a wincing green koopa as they said:
	"You ain't gonna get away with this!"
	"Yeah!  There's three of us left, and we can STILL whup yer butts!"
	"Really?" said James cockily.  "Koopin...I got an idea."
	"Huh?"
The raptor leaned down and murmured something into Koopin's ear, something along the lines of "using their tactics against them".  Koopin looked at James oddly, before slowly nodding to the idea.  Whether it was his confidence or the adrenaline surging through him still, Koopin agreed, and quickly popped into his shell.  The moment he did, James stood on top of Koopin's back and pulled out his hard hammer handles.
	"Bad enough you piss off one of us," taunted James, "now you got both of us mad."

With the three koopas looking rather confused at this odd display, Koopin soon spun himself round and round, mimicking the Koopa Brothers' most famous attack.  James spun with him in turn, closing his eyes and extending his arms fully out with hammer sticks at the ready, going faster and faster.  Just before Koopin spun himself forwards, both of them cried out:
	"RAPTORNADO!"
Before the Koopa Brothers could even comprehend what was to happen, all three of them were at the end of a ferocious beating, the rapid-spinning raptor slamming his hammer sticks furiously across all three of their faces.  A violent whirlwind of wood-beating agony awaited them, as Koopin kept spinning whilst FG kept spinning above, a deadly top of destruction that plowed straight into the three koopas.
They weren't standing long after their faces were turned into prune-sized welts and bruises, falling back onto the ground and spitting with painful exertion.  Groans of blinding pain signalled their defeat, now completely incapable of fighting.  Soon Koopin stopped spinning, and James waited for the inertia to stop before he opened his eyes and stepped off.  Slightly dizzy, but nowhere near as bad as he was before.
	"Now then," said FG as he sniffed back a bloody nose, "doesn't feel so nice to have your own tricks thrown back at ya, huh?  I think you have something that don't belong to you.  Which one of you's got the old mayor's purse?"
He walked over towards the one the others pointed out, the red koopa unsurprisingly.  Ruffling through his shell, he found the small velvet purse with silver lining, still weighty with gold coins.
	"Thaaaank you.  Right, I think my boyfriend here's got something to say to all of you.  Mind doing the honours Koopin?"
Koopin stepped forwards to stand between all four of the wounded koopas, his arms still shaking a little from the fight before proclaiming:
	"I want all of you out of here, and back home where you belong!  You oughta be ashamed of yourselves, stealing from an old koopa like that!  You're just a bunch of COWARDS!  Now get outta here!  And if I hear anymore of your antics anywhere, then either me or James here are gonna find you and teach you a lesson!  Got it!?"
All the Koopa Brothers could do was nod sorely before struggling to get up, helping each other walk softly away to nurse both their egos as well as their bruises.  James spat out a bloody spitwad at one of their shells in defiance, smirking as he turned towards Koopin.
	"You alright there?"
	"Y-yeah...I'm fine...jeez look at you, you're covered in bruises!"
	"Heh, you just noticed now?  I'm fine man, don't worry about it."
	"N-no no they ganged up on you James, look at you!  Oh gosh your eye, how hard did they kick you?!"
	"Yeah I...oh boy...um, that move we did maybe wasn't the best idea."
	"Mmmmaybe...but...it DID whup all of them at once, where'd you get the idea?!"
	"Well they did it to me a year back so I thought, well you can do it too right?  Since you're a koopa?  Why not team up together and beat all their asses down at once?"
	"Hehehehe, yeah."
	"Yanno...maybe we can like, in future, maybe team up together in some fights and I dunno, think up some pretty wicked moves together, sync each other up yanno."
	"That'd be cool...but let's get back to Petalburg, you should rest and get healed up, I'll pay for the inn."
	"N-no no," insisted James, "lemme pay, I got myself beat up."
	"No please, let me."
	"...alright.  Hey, Koopin?"
	"Yeah?"
	"...thank you."
	"F-for what?"
	"...for saving me."

James smiled weakly as he nodded at Koopin, the koopa smiling back with immense relief.  He softly helped support James, slowly wrapping an arm around his shoulders as they hobbled back towards Petalburg.  Evening was starting to come soon, the sky turning just a little bit darker.  James was burning with pain on the inside, and as much as he didn't show this to stay strong, he appreciated Koopin's assistance, kissing him on the head.
Yet despite having proved himself well in this situation, there was no reason for Koopin to stop his personal quest.  Not even the strangest feeling on the back of his neck that he was being watched from a distance.  When James wasn't looking, he swiftly turned his head back towards the Shhwonk Fortress ruins, almost imagining that he saw a shadow softly step back behind a ruined wall far away.  He put it down to his nerves, as the adrenaline started to wear off while carrying James' weight back to Petalburg.
While James recovered in the Petalburg inn, which him and Koopin eventually agreed to split the pay on, Koopin returned the purse to Mayor Kroop.  For the rest of the day, Koopin spent his time catching up with childhood acquaintances, the mayor included, and did his best to relax.  He was extremely glad that James was finally recognising him as a strong and able person, and spent the night before bed at the inn talking to him.
The next day, James had recovered reasonably enough to keep walking, thanking his nanos for such a fast recovery rate as they returned to Rogueport.  They immediately headed towards the bar, receiving a message from the bartender that Kuribo was willing to meet them in the afternoon at the Rogueport Sewers' town square.  James was uncertain, but Koopin reassured him that the Master would not associate himself with any dubious characters.

The time of day mattered little to the subterranean inhabitants of Rogueport's sewers.  The constant sounds of water however were surprisingly soothing, as well as the constant flow of wind throughout the surprisingly large cavern.  James could even see houses upon ledges far off in the distance in some areas of the sewers, as they sat beside the dried-up fountain in the square.  His eyes was still bruised but the majority of him had healed up.
	"Good thing I had money for food," said FG, "was starving after yesterday."
	"Hehehe yeah," said Koopin.  "How come you didn't go for salad?"
	"Hah, salad?  After healing up in bed?  No way man, I needed a steak."
	"Well least you had honey shrooms with it."
	"Ohhhhh yeah, oh my god that Zess. T. woman is gooood with those."
	"She is!  I think she's Tayce. T.'s sister, yanno, from Toad Town?"
	"Really?  I can see the resemblance."
	"...hold up, that makes her the Master's sister too!"
	"Wait what?"
	"Yeah, Tayce. T. is the Master's sister, I totally forgot about that!"
	"No way."
	"Seriously!"
	"Hah, wow, small world this place is huh?!"
	"I know, right?"
Eventually their conversation attracted someone from out of the shadows, a rather rough old-sounding voice that called out to them.
	"Hello there!  You boys know the Master?"
	"Um, yeah?!" said Koopin eagerly.
	"You waitin' fer someone called Kuribo by chance?"
	"Yeah!  ...are you him?"
The shadow eventually hobbled forwards into the dim light of the catacombs.  An old-looking goomba, with tired humble eyes and a crude smirk upon his lips.  His face had a burn mark on one side with a particular bruise upon the other, the bottom of his mouth having the rough stubble of age.
	"Hehehe, sure am.  Name's McGoombus fer real.  So yer the koopa that Catherine wrote to me about.  She warned me about ya."
	"Mmhmm!  Koopin Kennidon, pleased to meet you sir!"
Koopin shook McGoombus' foot, bending down in order to reach while James looked at him oddly, saying:
	"I didn't expect a goomba to be your next opponent Koopin."
	"Why not?" replied Koopin.  "Catherine did say Kuribo."
	"What DOES that mean anyway?"
	"It's the ancient word for goomba...did you even READ any of the books at my house?"
	"I was busyyyyy."
James threw up his arms and hung his head back in a mocking whine, making Koopin giggle.

	"What can I say?" said McGoombus.  "I love history.  Me an' Catherine enjoy a good writin' chain back an' forth about stuff.  Hope ya got better since ya faced her though, I wouldn't wanna be disappointed."
	"Oh believe me sir," said Koopin, "I'm gonna give it my best shot!"
	"Hah, good.  Yanno it's nice to see kids like you wantin' to get outta town an' explore the world a lot more.  Yer a tour guide right?"
	"Right!"
	"Heh...first time in Rogueport?"
	"Not really, I came here sometimes as a kid, my dad's from Petalburg see."
	"Ahhh, good, nice corner of the world."
	"What do you do sir?"
	"Hehehe...I'm a professional entertainer."
	"What like a clown?" asked James with a smirk.
	"...yer quick on the ball arentcha uh..."
	"James, James Campbell, I'm with Koopin."
	"Ahhhh...yeah, I work in the circus.  Have been fer thirty years, keeps my skills sharp without hurtin' anyone."
	"That's amazing!" said Koopin.  "What sorta stuff you do?!"
	"Acrobatics mainly," said the goomba.  "...heh, got a lotta scars from some shows, but it's all part of the business.  You'll get yer scars from yer own business soon enough."
	"Heh, believe me, I got enough on me to last a lifetime."
	"I can tell...got into some trouble at the port?"
	"Uhhh there were some thieves yeah."
	"Good.  Hope they got worse off than you, hahaha.  So...you wanna start now?"
	"Um...sure!  If you're not busy right now, sir."
	"I got time.  Down here I got all the time in the world."
	"Oh?  How so?"
	"...let's just say that there are some above ground who REALLY wanna see me fer a...private discussion."
James chuckled and crossed his arms, knowing full well what he meant.
	"Hehehe...trouble with the mob?"
	"Youuuu guessed it, boy you fit real good in Rogueport dontcha kid?"
	"Loved it the moment I stepped off the boat...hell if I wasn't with Koopin I'd live here."
	"First time I seen someone wanna be here by choice...alright now uh...Koopin.  You got your gear?"
	"Sure do!" said Koopin.  "You got yours?"
	"Ohhhh it's around, you just get yer stuff on."
As he put down his backpack to put on his padded gear, Koopin looked over towards McGoombus who hobbled away to behind a building, gently rolling something out.  The strangest sight of a large bouncy ball, coloured red, white, yellow and blue, being rolled by a goomba cautiously from the side, confused both raptor and koopa.  The ball itself was twice the height of McGoombus himself.

	"Um...what's that?" asked the koopa.
	"My gear," said McGoombus proudly.  "Gonna need this fer the fight son."
	"Wait, what do you mean?!"
	"...ohhhh...Catherine didn't tell ya?  So it's a surprise then.  Let's just say I'm rather quick on my feet...and I always appreciate having somethin' to give me a li'l...range for attack."
	"Wh-what do you mean?  Are you gonna use that in the fight?!"
	"Kid, I'm a student of Koopoeira...I'll let you figure the rest out."
	"...Koopoeira?!  But...that's so old, isn't that like, from the island koopas?!"
	"Sure is!  I heard about how they use their feet to fight and, what can I say, when you only got feet, you can kick some butt faster than any other.  Then I got a li'l fancy with this thing right here.  Now dontcha get scared now, this is part of yer test Koopin."
	"I'm not scared.  Just...surprised is all!  I'm still ready to fight, and I'll still give you my best shot!"
	"Good!  You ready?"
	"Ready!"
	"Then let the show begin!"
Without warning, McGoombus kicked his ball hard towards Koopin, smacking him backwards into a surprised stumble.  The ball bounced off his body back towards the goomba, who simply kicked it back once more at a faster speed.  The ball itself was rubbery, and not particularly brutal, but the force at which McGoombus kicked it at was enough to sting Koopin's eyes, yelping at the hit.
	"OW, H-HEY!  What are you doing?!"
	"Koopoeira, my style!  Not everyone you meet's gonna fight with JUST their hands an' feet son, so you gotta think fast."
	"B-but a ball's a stupid weapon, nobody's gonna-"
	"THINK FAST!"
The warning was enough to make Koopin dodge to one side, strafing to let the ball smack against the fountain display behind him before it bounced back towards McGoombus.  Koopin focused himself readily for the absurd fight, his confidence stronger after dealing with the Koopa Brothers.  He knew that a goomba wasn't going to have a lot of endurance compared to other creatures, which was precisely why McGoombus was compensating with an extra aid.
The goomba smacked the ball hard once again towards Koopin, who tried to punch it back towards him.  He mistimed the speed of the ball and received another fierce smack to the face, groaning as it bounced back off of him.  Trying once more, he decided instead to use his kicks, turning to the side and waiting for his chance before snapping out a side piercing kick.  He kicked it straight into the air above them, grinning at his strategy of keeping it out of the goomba's grasp.

Unfortunately, said goomba was not completely without a grasp on the situation.  With a hop, skip and a jump, McGoombus suddenly leapt absurdly high into the air, higher than either of them could jump, and simple axe-kicked the ball straight down towards Koopin's head.  He was too awestruck by such a powerful jump that he received yet another blow to the head, stunning his senses briefly as he stumbled backwards.  McGoombus laughed as he planted his feet on the ground, tapping the ball to a stop beside him.
	"A-AAGH!  NNnnnngh!"
	"Haha, gotta expect the unexpected Koopin, or else yer gonna be seein' stars afore ya know it!"
	"R-right...owwwww my head."
	"When yer ready, just look sharp!"
Koopin quickly shook off his dazed state and readily adopted a fighting stance, breathing hard and trying to refocus, while James stood behind the fountain asking:
	"Need any help?!"
	"NO!  This one's mine James!"
	"Alright, keep at it sexy!"
	"D-don't call me that when I'm fightin-WOAH!"
Ducking the ball that came the moment he turned his back, Koopin rolled forwards and decided to just take the hit itself, charging forwards to shut down any attempt to kick the ball.  Coming close, he was met with a surprisingly fierce resistance from the old goomba, who simply headbutted him in the gut before leaping upwards with a rising kick.  With twin brown shoes, McGoombus spun briefly in the air straight in front of Koopin's face, dual-kicking him hard in the snout before backflipping off of him and readily trying to sweep his leg.
Koopin however backed off the moment he couldn't see, getting away from the goomba to avoid a sweep kick attack before coming in close once more to utilise his own kicks.  Due to the goomba's rather low height, punches were out of the question, and he could only resort to using fierce turning kicks at a low angle.  But McGoombus was all about kicks, and as such he knew every little trick in the book.
He jumped every turning kick, dodged every axe kick, blocked every snap kick by using his own feet as a brief but sturdy shield.  Whenever Koopin struggled to think of another move, he would kick him around the shins before rising upwards into another furious spinning kick attack.  Koopin however winced at the pain in his shins before sending down his fist like a hammer straight onto McGoombus' head the moment he came up.  A rising kick was shut down, slamming down the goomba back to the floor with a throbbing head.
On the plus side, this prevented McGoombus from even trying his rising kicks again.  On the down side, this merely gave him opportunity to back away and use his ball for distraction, kicking it out towards Koopin.  But the close distance was not enough to gather enough force to hurt him, as the koopa simply batted it away in irritation, only to receive a rather surprisingly painful multikick attack to his legs.  McGoombus' distraction had worked perfectly, allowing him to spin on his head behind the ball and turn into a vortex of breakdancing doom.

Feeling several furious spinkicks smacking into his legs repeatedly made Koopin cry out and fall to his knees, gasping from the throbbing pain before struggling to back off.  His legs were hurting, and he felt inclined to use them as little as possible with such pain now forming.  McGoombus was banking on that as he kicked out his ball, watching to see how Koopin would counter it now without kicking.
But the koopa had thought ahead, remembering that if he wanted to disarm his opponent of a weapon, he had to make them drop it.  Even if he didn't have an arm to disarm, he could still use one part of the maneuver by means of his elbow.  With a strong stance, he slammed his elbow forwards like a spear, his other hand pushing his fist forwards with the pace of a battering ram straight into the ball's soft rubbery body.  His force was firm, as the ball bounced back towards McGoombus, who took the blow rather unexpectedly from surprise, falling hard onto his back.
	"UNF!  H-hah!  Good, yer learnin' to guard well, but how long can ya last kid?!"
Stopping his ball, McGoombus kicked it furiously up into the air before bouncing up with it, smacking it down with a tremendously strong kick straight onto Koopin's head.  With a stupidly simple move that Koopin mentally facepalmed at never using before, he simply ducked his head back into his shell to let the ball smack harmlessly against it.  Bouncing back towards McGoombus still in mid-air, the old goomba swiftly spin-kicked like a helicopter to smack the ball right back.

Now it was at a proper angle, bouncing not so high from above but rather more in front of Koopin's eyes, barely peeking out of the shell before his head popped back out in one single move.  An elbow slam once again, summoned by a roar of his confident strike.  The ball propelled much faster than McGoombus expected, easily knocking him out of mid-air like a baseball to the bat.  He hit the cobbled ground of the Rogueport Sewers, looking pretty beat up from what few strong counter-strikes that Koopin was able to do.
	"Hhhh...hhhhuh..."
	"You okay sir?!" asked Koopin.
	"Yeah yeah I-ngh...awwww geez my back, I gotta stop doing this...hhhehehehe..."
	"Um, can you still fight?"
	"Yeah sure I just gotta get my breath back.  Hhhh...hhhoooo..."
	"Do you um...wanna plan this another day?"
	"No no no, that ain't fair fer either of us, I just gotta get my wind back an-OH!  OHHHH JEEZ!"
The goomba suddenly felt his back seize up and he struggled to stand fully up, hunching over with what little he could in such a small body as Koopin hurried over.
	"Wh-what's wrong?!"
	"Agh!  My back, it seized up!  Dammit...nnnngh...today of all days...I think I pulled somethin' there...hhhhohhhh I knew I was too old fer this."
	"No no not at all, I had a great fight!  It was real tough!"
	"Yeah I...heh...that's nice of ya kid.  This is kinda embarrassin' to ask but, couldya help me get back home?  My house is nearby...I'll give you yer reward if ya do."
	"My reward?"
	"Kid, I can't fight no more and yer still standin' tall.  I mean, technicalities an' all, until one of us can't fight no more, that means you won.  I think you earned that victory regardless."
	"I won!?  A-already!?!  I MEAN-um, seriously?!"
	"Hah...you expected a longer fight?"
	"Um..."
Koopin nervously pressed a finger of each hand together, trying to think of the least offensive answer he could give.
	"Well...you ARE one of the World Warriors right?"
	"Back in my younger days, yeah...but not all of us age gracefully.  Now come on, help me up and I'll give you yer star an' where the next opponent is.  Catherine gave ya a star right?"
	"She sure did!"
	"Good!  Now you'll get another one from me.  And uh, bring the ball with ya too, don't wanna leave it out here in the open."
	"Okay.  James?"
	"I'm on it."
James carefully rolled the ball towards McGoombus' house, while Koopin carefully accompanied the old goomba back home, hobbling alongside him.  He had to reflect with a smirk to himself that it was the second time he had to assist a stronger warrior to a comfortable bed, hoping that it would not become a trend.  James however was rather offput by the whole fight, as well as by how soon it had ended, even with the old goomba's problems.
Well this feels bullshit, thought the raptor, he just smacks you around with a ball and he was no trouble at all?  Hell the Koopa Brothers were harder than this guy, what the hell's up with this gimmicky crap?!  Well, least it makes Koopin feel good and the guy's nice enough to let him have his win.  Besides...I got my own wins to earn in a couple of months.
Chuckling smugly to himself, all the raptor could think of now was the next big event that was yet to come.  Koopin had his quest already half-done.  But James had yet to begin his own race to victory.  He was just waiting for the right moment to tell Koopin the same.