Well, guess it's time to go recruit Mario and Luigi (and whoever they think should be brought along) to find out what happened to Bowser.

So are me, TBB, and my comrades still waiting?

Pretty much.

If I have to, I'll start doing you guys via, I don't know, PM or something.

That's naaaaaaasty

All right, time to take matters into my own hands.


CharlesX figures out that the loot is a lute. Filled with the need to hear some beautiful music, he strums the lute...and, as it's a relative of the magic warp whistle, it magically transports CharlesX and his cronies into a distant, wonderful, magical world!

INTO THE PIPE! HA HA HA HA HA HA! YES!

Next time: we find out what's in the pipe as this drama draws to a close!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeevil!

"I'm going to take YES!" (Body)

Dang it, he tricked us! It was a trap!

So for future reference, next time we find a single piece of loot in the wreckage of whatever we've just finished fighting and the exit is nearby, we don't take that loot until we've accomplished whatever secondary missions we've decided JackA has been overlooking.

Hey, Jack! Don't I get xp for strumming the lute?

Wassup with that????

Wait, the game is almost over?

Not game over. We're going down the pipe into another scenario.

And me without my transport.

Now I can't yell at Pax: "HEY YOU! Get offa my cloud!!!"

Off YOUR cloud?

I believe I negotiated the price of that cloud for us.

Speaking of which, can we bring the cloud down the pipe with us? I'll feel bad leaving it behind. That cloud and I have been through a lot together.

Someone needs to do a barrel roll with the cloud before we leave!

Rather than splitting up, our intrepid heroes boldly make their way down the big pipe, fearless in their desire to act as a unit and confront peril together!

(there may be an editorial slant here or there)

All the Defenders of the Realms have emerged into a dark, cavernous underground chamber. Bars of fire spin ominously by bottomless pits. A small cage hangs impossibly high overhead. In it, you can barely sense a weeping figure. A large, hulking presence lurks in the nearby shadows.

"You may have defeated my army," snarls the presence, "but I have new allies...allies that have defeated me in the past! AND THEY'RE SURE TO DEFEAT YOU NOW!"

Two plumbers in brightly colored outfits, one in red and one in green stand before you, their eyes swirling from hypnosis.

"Mama mia," says the first one. "You're gonna die! Yippie!"

"Do the Mario!" snarls the one in red. "Do the Mario! Wahooo!"

I'm guessing that the weeping figure is Peach, the large presence is Bowser, and of course the other two are Mario and Luigi.

It is time to #### some #### up!

What kind of attack would most impress the princess, do ya'll think?

I'm definitely going after Mario, since that would be a more impressive kill than Luigi.