>>30047277
Forgot my trip. How silly.

>>30047277
Tanoomba. Time to see how to make up for Darryl's schemes.

Tanoomba. Let's bro it up with DK as we traverse the island of the dead.

I'd prefer Leonardo but Tanoomba is cool as well.

>>30047387
>>30047484
>>30047535

+ + +

You are Tanoomba. Just a moment ago, you were consumed by Bob-Omb flame.

As you open your eyes, the heat of the explosion fades away. You look around and see brown grass, dry dirt, stale air and brackish brown water all around you. You turn around, and surrounded by a great stone wall is Darryl's rusty domicile.

You waddle inside, staying out of the way of the many wandering skeletons. When you push the door open, it gives in and falls over, its metallic clang echoing throughout the house. You can hear heavy, strained breathing from inside.

>Enter peacefully, stating you mean no harm.
>Enter with fists raised in threat.

>>30047610

>Enter peacefully

Skeletons don't breathe so we're cool.

>>30047610
>Enter peacefully, stating you mean no harm.

>>30047719
"Look... I'm not here to hurt you! Just come out, I'm not with Darryl!" The breathing slows. It gets closer and closer, and soon the breather limps out of the dark.

Yelmont Toad, brandishing a rusted pipe, hobbles toward you. His skin is flushed white, and he's shaking all over. "So... if you're not here with that s-skelet-ton... you must be... here on Bowser's o-orders."

>How do you respond?

>>30047831

>Uh, nope. I'm here on my own. I'm taking some time off to clean up messes and find myself. Stuff like that.

>>30047831
"Not right now, I'm not. Until I'm back at Bowser's castle (whenever that is), I'm freelance. And right now, I'm here to make up for whatever that Dry Bones did to you."

>>30047933
"Uh, nope. I'm here on my own. I'm taking some time to clean up messes and stuff. Stuff like that." you tell him with a hint of smugness. Yelmont locks eyes with you, his dead eyes staring straight through you.

He stalks to the wall and slams his hand on it. The lights flicker on, revealing the whole room. Inside, all of Darryl's belongings save the machines and notes have been violently thrashed. The floor is strewn with glass and burnt wood.

In the corner of the room, you can see what remains of Blueford. He stares at you through sunken eyes. His mouth wobbles as if trying to form words, but his hand is stuck inside.

"So how do you expect to 'clean this mess'? My best friend is... THAT, and I'm living without lungs. This entire island has been turned to dust!"

>"We should focus on getting back to Toad Town."
>"We should stay here and look through Darryl's work. There's got to be something."
>"It's a stretch... but don't you know where Professor Elvin Gadd lives?"
>"I... don't know."
>(OtheR)

>>30048163
>"We should stay here and look through Darryl's work. There's got to be something."

>>30048163

>I was kind of putting my money on Donkey Kong accidentally fixing it

>>30048336
DK may be an idiot savant, but if anything, this is a job better suited for Cranky.

>>30048243
"I think we should stick by and look through Darryl's work. There's got to be something on this."

Yelmont shakes his head. "Alright," he mutters in his dry voice, "if you want."

You take a look around, and find that there are three notebooks in Darryl's home. One of them is a small, green one on his chair by the broken television, a red one is marked with Bowser's insignia and sitting by the phone, and the last is black, placed next to the control pad for the chamber where Blueford underwent his transformation.

>Green
>Red
>Black

>>30048390
>Black
The most grim of notes.

>>30048390

>Green

We must know the secret of the TV.

>>30048433
You open the green notebook, and on the first page in block letters is written "A BONE TOO FAR: A GRIPPING ADVENTURE by DARRYL. BONES and EDITED BY T. BOO". On the bottom half of the page is a carefully drawn picture of a Dry Bones in a vest and sombrero.

You flip past the first twenty pages. Each of them is marked with red arrows and crosses to signify intense proofreading.

"'This town ain't big enough for the both of us!' shouted the Big Bob-Omb, brandishing his revolver. 'Senor Bones, y'all know one of us is gonna be six feet under t'morra afternoon!

"Senor Dan Bones gripped his golden six-shooter with a grin. 'Then let me make the decision a little bit easier.'

"The Big Bob-Omb barely had time to react before his steel-hard casing was pierced with lead. Dan sheathed his revolver, tipping his sombrero to the good Mayoress Peach. She swooned into his strong skeletal arms, one hand on her forehead, and the other on her ample bosom. 'You can have me, Senor Bones,' she whispered as she kissed his cheek."

You're about ready to vomit when you put the book back.

>Red notebook
>Black notebook

>>30048631

My sides

>Red

Let's see what kind of failed world-conquering machine that is.

>>30048631
>Red notebook
A Bowser playbook? I wonder why he would keep Bowser's stuff around if he hated the guy.

>>30048738
>>30048739
You pick up the notebook and open it. On the inside cover is an embossed note.

"Thank you for joining Bowser's Army! You're on your way to a comfortable bed in the barracks where you'll be equipped with the finest armor and weapons available, and you may one day have a chance to show the Mario Brothers what they're up against! Due to recent insurgence, we now require all recruits to keep notebooks detailing their every activity of the day, which will be updated each day with a new entry. If you are just now receiving this notebook, please report to the Magikoopa Corps for your mandatory compulsion implant to ensure your continued journal-writing! Thank you!"

It ends with Kamek's signature. You flip through the pages. They're all written in drab, clinical terminology. But as they go on, they mention new discoveries, new technologies and more ideas for ships.

One page is ripped out. The next one details his unemployment and banishment, the next ten seem to be far in between. They tell of how he gathered metal to construct his dome, and his growing hatred for the Yoshi. The final page is chickenscratch, the paper torn from violent writing. It says "HATE HATE HATE HATE" over and over.

You carefully place it back down and back away slowly.

>Read the black notebook
>Talk to Yelmont

>>30048966

Well, only the notebook of doom left...

>>30048966
>Read the black notebook
Gotta get to the grim stuff sooner or later.

>>30049104
>>30049107
You waddle to the chamber, avoiding the pieces of glass from Yelmont's apparent rampage. This notebook has far fewer filled-out pages, with only three completely written. On one is two sketches of Toads, presumably Yelmont and Blueford.

"Test one: an experiment on the combined effects of the Entropy Blaster and Star Power on an adult male Toad.

"Subject: Blueford Toad.
"Equipment: 100 grams of stardust and 60 liters of Congealed Entropy.
"Findings: The healing effect of Star Power has counteracted the Entropy in a way I couldn't have imagined. It has taken the inert matter of subject's decayed body and brought it back to life in a horrible new form. The mind of the victim is presumably preserved, as I have seen him show empathy to Yelmont multiple times. I shall perform the same test on Tanoomba and Spectro after they are no longer necessary, with consideration of John-Omb."

On the next page, it details his removal of Yelmont's lungs and how he remained alive through Star Power. You hand Yelmont the book, and he flips through it. He puts it down with a shake of his head.

"Well... obviously, me and Blueford's problems can't be solved with Star Power... but there's got to be a way to save this island. There always is. Got any ideas?"

>"We should go to Toad Town. Someone should be able to help."
>"We need to fix this ourselves. Maybe if we turn the Entropy Blaster upside-down..."
>(OtheR)

>>30049444
>"We should go to Toad Town. Someone should be able to help."
This is a little above our heads. Never mind we're still technically a fugitive.

>>30049444
Maybe that Professor Gadd guy can reverse the Entropy Blaster. We should find him.

>>30049444

Consult Cranky!

>>30049535
You shake your head. "We need to go to Toad Town. That's our best bet of getting any help." Yelmont nods.

"You know, if what you say is true..." he stresses, "you'll have to pay the piper, big time. Blueford and I'll stand up for you in court... if we get him back to normal, that is, but we can't guarantee you'll get let off."

>"That's fine. I've evaded the law for too long."
>"On second thought, let's find some other help."
>(Other)

>>30049633

>"On second thought, let's find some other help."

No way are we going back to that dumb jail, no matter how lax it is.

>>30049633
>"That's fine. I've evaded the law for too long."
Anything's better than Darryl.

>>30049788
>>30049759
One and one.

First to three votes wins. A word of warning, though... this could be a turning point of the entire quest!

>>30049921
Toad Town has some of the brightest minds in the world there, including E. Gadd when he visits every so often (hell, they can make a special call for him to come over once they find out what they're working with). If anyone can make sense of Darryl's tech and reverse-engineer it, it's them.

>>30049993

I'm still putting my bananas on Cranky.

>>30050030

Honestly, I don't think there's that many on right now. You could just roll a 1d2 for it or something.

>>30050119
You're only saying that because Cranky's local right now.

>"That's fine. I've evaded the law for too long."

>>30050150

And you do not buy your power-up potions at the mad scientist's market? Way to support the local community.

>>30049993
>>30049788
"That's fine. I've evaded the law for too long, and all that matters now is that you, Blueford and Yoshi's Island all get back to normal."

Yelmont laughs as he walks out the door. "Aren't you a nice guy. Come on, that prison library truck's still in working order. You wouldn't happen to have anything to do with that, would you?"

You shrug. With that, the two of you jump into the car. Blueford wades through himself and sits in the backseat. Yelmont looks at him through the mirror with equal parts pity and hope. "We'll fix ya up, bud. Don't worry."

Yelmont starts the car, and the Entropy-weathered engine putters to life. The car moves down Darryl's dirt road as fast as it can.

>Talk to Yelmont
>Keep to yourself

>>30049633
"On second thought, let's be honest here, you and Blueford are pretty much the two most competent people in Toad Town."

Let's just find one of Darryl's Entropy Cannons and hit the "reverse" setting.

I mean, this IS a Mario setting.

>>30050233

>Talk to Blueford

>>30050233
>Talk to Yelmont

>>30050233
>Keep to yourself

>>30050438
You reluctantly turn around to face Blueford. The gray mound of ooze meets your gaze without expression.

"Hey Blueford. How you holding up?"

Blueford gurgles in response. He seems indifferent, if not a little melancholy. Yelmont turns to you with a frown. "I don't think he wants to talk right now, uh... what's your name?"

"Tanoomba," you tell him. Yelmont nods and looks back at the road. You've got a long ride ahead.

+ + +

You sit in Bowser's office as Kamek flips through Fawful's pages. The mask is on Bowser's desk before him.

"Well," he says as he floats down to face you, Lily, Sal and Jimbo, "I've gotta say this is some impressive stuff."

>"Tell me about the mask."
>"I want to know more about Broque Monsieur."
>"We don't have time for learning! Just tell me where I need to go next!"

>>30050717

>Tell me about the mask

>>30050717
>"Tell me about the mask."

>>30050806
>>30050971
"Tell me about the mask, Kamek." you say from your chair. Kamek nods and shuffles through the papers.

"From what I can gather, this mask has some strange life-giving qualities. It attempts to create life where there is none, resulting in things like that block you showed us. Based on Lily's behavior and the logs in Fawful's journal, I think it has an effect on the brain. Its tendencies to create life make something of a split personality when it brings life to the subconscious babble of the mind. All I can say is thank goodness we got Lily out of the mask, or we might have to put her in a straitjacket."

Lily seems nervous at the comment. Kamek waves his hand at her.

"It's nothing to worry about now. Your split mind is fairly stable, and with a good night's sleep, it'll fade. Anyway, this mask appears in Shy Guy legends as an item of great power. It is said that creatures of great heroism or villainy can wear the mask without experiencing the split-mind effect and still gain its power. But there's a more pressing matter at hand."

He pulls down a map of the Mushroom Kingdom. "As far as we know, Mario and Luigi are... permanently out of the issue, leaving the remainder of the Mushroom Kingdom as ours for the taking."

Bowser chuckles. "Yep. And for your services, we're going to make you Generals in the final fight. Are you in, or what?"

>"Of course, your radness!"
>"I'm sorry your bad-dudeosity, I cannot accept."

File: 1391658263916.jpg-(29 KB, 350x250, Aidan-Gillen-in-The-Dark-(...).jpg)

29 KB JPG

>>30050717

>>30051155

>"Of course, your radness!"
>"But one thing: Seeing as this mask seems to just cause chaos, wouldn't it be best to smash it to firewood? I mean, 'dark tribal' and clothes made of meat loaf aren't exactly your style, your spikiness."

>>30051155
>"Of course, your radness!"
Though it begs the question HOW the Mario Bros. got taken out of the picture. You don't just...get rid of them.

>>30051379

Last time, the bros were on the observatory as it got blown into smithereens. Either they got shot to the ends of the earth, or they're chilling with Rosalina.

>>30051242
"Of course, Your Radness! But one thing: seeing as this mask just seems to cause chaos, why don't you smash it for firewood? I mean, the 'dark tribal' look isn't really your style, Your Spikiness."

Bowser holds the mask up and turns it toward his face. He squints at it, trying to make a decision. He puts it back down on his desk.

"I'll keep it around for now. No reason to throw something away just because it causes problems."

"Sweetums!" trills Peach's voice from down the hall. Bowser grins as he leaves his desk.

"Speaking of which..." he bounds out of the room and slams the door closed.

Kamek puts his hand to his face with a sigh and salutes with his other. "Generals Leonardo Koocaprio, Sal Guy, Jimbo O'Malley and Lemon the Clone of Peach, you are dismissed. Please report back here tomorrow morning to discuss war strategy."

You bid Kamek goodnight and make your way out the door.

+ + +

Thanks for being part of tonight's abominably slow Mushroom Kingdom Quest! I hope you enjoyed it. The next thread is on Sunday.

>>30051379
See:
>As far as we know, Mario and Luigi are... permanently out of the issue
>As far as we know

>>30051502

>General Jimbo

To think he was a common steel drum koopa just a couple of episodes ago.

>>30051433
But Leo and company don't know that. All we know is that they were sufficiently distracted.