Super Mario RPG
The Second Coming
Chapter One
AN: I know, this was an incredibly fast update, but this story wants to write itself, I swear! That said, on with the story.
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"Gandalf, my old friend, this will be a night to remember." Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Mario, sometimes called Super Mario, sat on his porch, watching a few mushroom children act out a somewhat nonsensical adventure the group of them had thought up the previous night. He had a small, content smile on his face, one that was almost overshadowed by the thick black mustache growing under his round nose. As always, he wore his typical adventure gear, a blue shirt, red overalls, red cap, white gloves, and thick work boots, but he had not been on an adventure for a long time. Not for several years, in fact, since the fiasco with Smithy, the being from above with a definite case of megalomania and a desire to rule all the world. Mario, along with a few friends and his archenemy, banded together and had managed to stop the great evil that was Smithy from taking over the entire world below. In the process, they were able to fix the broken Star Road, enabling wishes to come true once again.
In truth, Mario wasn't sure whether one of his wishes hadn't been granted now, what with his lack of adventures since that last fateful journey. His wish, the wish he kept private and secret from all others, was to have a quiet life. He firmly believed that he'd had all the adventures a man should have, and now he wanted nothing more than to sit on his porch and watch children live out their own imaginary adventures.
As the sun set, Princess Toadstool entered the small clearing that Mario made his home, her face grim. Mario raised a questioning eyebrow, to which the Princess merely nodded. Mario got up from his chair, collecting the children and telling them to head on home for the night. He'd long since cleaned out the monsters in Mushroom Way earlier that day, and knew they wouldn't return until the next morning, so he felt safe in the ability of the group of four children to return home safely. They all bowed to the princess as they left, despite her laugh and protests each time. Once the children were gone, Mario looked to the princess before smiling slightly. "Princess," he said, nodding in greeting.
"Mario," she returned, smiling slightly. The smile faded rapidly, though, and her grim look returned. "We need to talk." Mario gestured for her to follow him into his home, but she shook her head. "I don't have time for a long chat, Mario," Toadstool explained.
"What's wrong, Princess," Mario asked, concern seeping into his voice despite his attempts to hide it.
"We received a message from Rose Town an hour ago," she explained.
"Rose Town," Mario questioned, furrowing his brow. Why would Rose Town send the Mushroom Kingdom a message? "What for?"
"It was Geno," Toadstool replied, a slight hint of fear in her voice.
"Geno," Mario yelped, his eyes widening. "But I thought…well, I thought he wouldn't come back. I mean, the Star Road was fixed, wishes are being granted…."
"I know, Mario," Toadstool agreed. "Which is why it was such a shock when the message came in. The messenger carrying it was out of breath, but managed to get out that the sender of the message had said that it was urgent."
"Who received the messenger," Mario asked, the tone of his voice revealing his inner confusion.
"I did," she replied, removing from her sleeve a rolled up piece of paper. She unrolled it and handed it to Mario, who read the contents of the brief message out loud.
"Hello, Princess. It's Geno. Please, don't question, just trust and have faith. I'm sending you this message to tell you that I'm back, and that I need you to get Mario and bring him to the Mushroom Kingdom. I need to take care of a few things, but I'll be there by morning, and with any luck, Mallow will be with me. If you could convince Bowser to come to the meeting as well, that would be great, but I know he may not be willing to do so. If not, don't push him, just return to the Mushroom Kingdom and wait for me. Should you run into any trouble – and yes, there may be some – fight it off as best you can, but if you can't, retreat to Mario's home. If I find that the Mushroom Kingdom has run into trouble, that is the first place I'll go. Forever your friend, Geno." Mario looked up, his eyes at first wide, but then narrowing in grim determination. "I'm not sure what's wrong, but for Geno to be back…Bowser will come. I know him better than he thinks." Mario rolled the paper back up and handed it back to Toadstool. "Come on. The both of us should go to Bowser's Keep now."
"What are we going to do once we get there," Toadstool asked, sounding uncertain.
"Knock on the door," Mario replied, locking his house behind him.
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Mario and Toadstool hurried along to Bowser's Keep, admiring how much it looked like it had used to. While there were still a few spots that needed polishing, it was, for the most part, back to the way it had been before Smithy crashed his huge sword through the middle of it. The two of them now stood on the bridge, in front of the door. "Mario…are you sure about this? What if he decides to start trouble?"
"He won't," Mario replied, raising his hand to knock on Bowser's door.
"What if he does," The princess insisted.
"…We'll deal with it," Mario responded, sighing slightly. Toadstool considered that for a moment before nodding, and Mario wrapped three times on Bowser's door. A few moments later, the pair heard the sound of shuffling feet, and a small slot on the top of the door opened up, permitting two eyes to glare out at the pair standing before the door.
"Who goes there," the sentry asked, obviously still a bit high-strung after the Smithy disaster.
"Mario and Toadstool," Mario explained.
"We need to speak to Bowser," The princess added.
"You two need to see Bowser?"
"Could you just go get him please," The princess asked, plucking at her dress nervously.
"I don't think Bowser can see-"
"Tell him it's about Geno," Mario interrupted.
"…One moment." The slot closed, and the pair heard the sound of running feet as the sentry hastily retreated to find his master. Within a few moments, the door swung open again, and Bowser stood at the door, a look of both exasperation and hidden concern on his face.
"You said somethin' about Geno," Bowser asked.
"We received a message from him about an hour and a half ago," The princess explained hastily. She removed the rolled up piece of paper from her sleeve and handed it to Bowser, who scanned it quickly, his face clouding over the farther along he read. Finally, after a few moments of just staring at the message, he handed it back to Peach and looked to the both of them.
"…I'll come along," he replied. "Like it or not, even I know when somethin' big is goin' down." He turned around and began to head back into his castle. "Just let me give the repair crews some instructions for the night."
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Later that night, Mario, Peach, and Bowser sat around a conference table, trying to discuss what to do while waiting for Geno to arrive. All of them were too nervous to sleep, even Bowser, though he tried to deny it. Mario leaned back in his chair, his feet crossed at the ankles below the table, arms crossed and laying comfortably on his chest. Toadstool sat like a proper lady, her back straight and her legs crossed, but her posture belied a weariness that spoke fully in her eyes. Bowser sat leaning on his crossed arms, the table supporting him as he tapped one of his Drill Claws against his arm gently. Mario's Lazy Shell sat on the table to his right, while Toadstool had her frying pan in front of her. The silence continued to populate the bright room until, finally, Toadstool decided to break it. "Okay, so why do we all have our weapons with us?"
"Instinct," Bowser explained. "Anybody that's ever fought knows when to pull out his guns and when to keep 'em holstered." He gestured to her frying pan and added, "Seems like all of us have the same instinct."
"We've all fought," Mario added.
"Yeah," Bowser continued, "an' we can all tell when we're about to fight again."
"That's just paranoia," Toadstool explained, to which both males gestured to her frying pan. "I never said I was immune," Toadstool explained, straightening her dress when it didn't need to be straightened, obviously nervous.
"Coulda fooled me," Bowser grunted. "Look, do either of you know what Geno wants to talk about?"
"No, but it has to be something important, or he wouldn't even be back," Mario explained.
"Yeah," Bowser replied, nodding. "That's what I'm sayin'. It's why I brought my claws, and Mario brought his big honkin' shell, and you brought your frying pan, Princess. 'Cause no matter how much we wanna deny it, we all know that things are about to get real exciting, real soon."
Almost as if on cue, Toad burst through the door, out of breath. "Mario, Toadstool…Bowser! Come quick!" The poor mushroom was so panicked he didn't even bother to explain, instead just charging back the way he'd come. Mario, Toadstool, and Bowser looked at each other before Bowser pushed himself up from the table.
"Told ya so," were the koopas last words before heading through the door. Mario and Toadstool glanced at each other before following him, Mario hefting his Lazy Shell and the Princess slinging her frying pan over her shoulder.
