Super Mario RPG

The Second Coming

Chapter Three

Where It All Began….

AN: Alrighty, here's the responses to the reviews.

Uniswift87: Eh, sorry I didn't update soon. I'll try to be better about that.

Sephy: Booster won't be appearing much in the fic, I think, except for perhaps a cameo here and there. Croco…well, read this chapter, you'll see plenty of him. I'm also planning to put a few others into the party as well. The identities of these individuals are revealed in this chapter, lol.

And now, on with the show.


"The world seems full of good men—even if there are monsters in it!" Bram Stoker, Dracula

Toad had collapsed from a combination of panic and exhaustion over three hours ago. It was nearing sunrise now, and while Peach was nodding in a chair near Mario's bed, where Toad was sleeping, Mario and Bowser were talking amongst themselves, planning strategy. Or so they said, though in reality, they were just trying to occupy their minds. The longer they kept the memories of the shattered Mushroom Kingdom from becoming central in their minds, the better. So they discussed everything they possibly could, from strategy, to reminiscing about past battles, to what the other had for lunch three days previous. Anything and everything that could keep the memories of corpses lining the streets from their minds was up for discussion and analyzing.

Another hour passed, and Mario and Bowser finally lapsed into silence, having run out of things to talk about. Neither of them even considered closing their eyes, knowing exactly what they would see when they did so. Peach and Toad were now both sound asleep, though neither looked to be dreaming of anything too peaceful. "You think we can really take that guy," Bowser asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on the little table where he sat, shell to the door, across from Mario.

"I doubt it," Mario sighed, shaking his head. "He's got an army, and he himself probably has more power than his entire army combined." Mario sighed, slouching in his seat. "I don't think anyone could take him."

"So what are we going to do," Bowser questioned. "If that's the case, why waste our time? We might as well spend our last days enjoying ourselves, right? If we're going to die going up against this guy, why should we go up against him?"

"Because someone has to," Mario stated, grim determination in his voice. "Someone has to stand up to that monster, or no one ever will. This world is connected to the world I came from, and you and I both know he'll go there eventually. You may not care much about it, but I do, and if I don't stand, no one will. If there are no stories to tell children about heroes that stood bravely against the odds, heroes that forged ahead despite knowing the inevitability of their deaths, then when someone who could stop Astazar comes along, how will that person know that standing up to him is even possible?"

"Good point," Bowser sighed, propping his head up on one hand. "I still wish I could do what I wanted for my last couple days of life."

"Me too." Mario grinned ruefully. "Me too."

"Where's your brother, anyway," Bowser asked. "We could use his help."

"Yo'ster Isle," Mario returned. "He wanted to go watch the races."

"There's no way we can wait for him," Bowser returned.

"No, we won't," Mario, replied. "Once Geno and Mallow get here, we'll head out. I'm not sure where, but we will, and we'll pick him up along the way." Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Mario and Bowser both tensed. Neither Geno or Mallow would knock, so this was someone else entirely. "Who is it," Mario called out cautiously.

"It's Croco," called the voice from the other side. "I was just at the Mushroom Kingdom and something's happened! Something bad! Er, I mean, something bad even by my standards!" Mario practically leapt to the door, swinging it open. Bowser grabbed Croco and hauled him inside, and Mario slammed the door again. "Whoa! What's going on?"

"We were there," Mario stated. "We saw what happened as it was happening."

"And you couldn't do anything about it," Croco yelped.

"Keep your voice down," Bowser growled, letting Croco go. "And no, we couldn't do anything about it."

"This guy struck too hard, and too fast," Mario explained, taking up his seat again. "His name is Astazar."

"Were there guards," Bowser asked suddenly, leaning back against the wall near the door.

"Yeah, there were," Croco nodded. "They were these ugly things. I mean, we have monsters here, but those things were…."

"Were you spotted," Bowser questioned. "And now isn't the time to brag, Croco. Tell us the truth."

"I…yeah, I was," Croco sighed, taking up the seat that Bowser had abandoned earlier. "They didn't follow me, though. I checked."

"Doesn't matter," Bowser laughed. "Astazar knows you saw what he did. You're a loose end to tie up, now."

"What," Croco yelped, leaping up. "I gotta get out of here!"

"Sit down," Bowser sighed. "You won't last on your own. You can come with us. Like it or not, Astazar's going to be after you, too, and we're going to need all the help we can get going up against him anyway. That bag of goodies you always carry around could come in handy."

"Good point," Mario agreed. "So what's it going to be, Croco? Go out there alone and get killed, or fight Astazar and get famous?"

"Famously slaughtered, you mean," Croco muttered. "Why not," he chuckled, shrugging helplessly. "Sure, I'm in." He looked over to the sleeping forms of Peach and Toad. "They ok?"

"They're fine," Mario nodded. "Just tired." Croco nodded, sitting back in his chair. "We're waiting for Geno and Mallow, and then we're heading out. To where, we don't know, but it's better than staying so close to our enemy." As if on cue, the door swung open, and Croco, Mario, and Bowser tensed for a fight. They all sighed with relief to see Geno in the doorway, Mallow behind him. "Bowser, wake the princess and Toad up, will you?" Bowser nodded and did so, even as Geno and Mallow entered. Mallow blinked when he saw Croco, but didn't say anything. Obviously, the pair had stopped by the Mushroom Kingdom themselves before coming here. They all took up positions around Mario's small home, Toad and Peach on the bed, Mario and Croco at the table, Mallow and Bowser leaning against opposite walls. Geno paced back and forth in the center of the room, hands clutched behind his back.

"You've got something to say," Peach began, after a moment. "Tell us, Geno. What's going on?"

"Were any of you at the Mushroom Kingdom when…?"

"Mario, Bowser, Toad, and I were, yes," Peach nodded. "We met Astazar."

"Good, then I can skip over that part of the explanation. Astazar…he looked human, right?"

"Right," Bowser replied. "What's your point?"

"He's not. He's like me. He's merely taken over a body."

"Whose body," Toad questioned.

"What did he look like," Geno returned. Bowser, Mario, Peach, and Toad all took turns explaining and correcting each other. "I see. I know that body. His true name is Mitrius."

"How do you know him," Mario asked.

"Well, to be more precise, I knew his father," Geno sighed. "His father was like me, and his mother was human. It's why Astazar could take over so easily. The part of his heritage that's like me makes him stand out like a sore thumb."

"So what do we do," Mallow asked.

"To tell you that, I need to explain a few things about something that happened on the Star Road long before I was ever born into it." The room grew silent instantly, and Geno began his tale. "Long ago, even by our standards, there was a sorcerer by the name of Astazar. Everyone believed that he was a good and righteous man, even the king and queen. He was even able to work his way up to chief advisor to the royal family, a position which was arguably more powerful and influential than actually being royalty. All this was to gain access to certain ancient documents that my people have long been guardians of. These documents detail creation, and only the royalty and the most powerful advisors have access to them. Within those documents…Astazar found the secret of ascension."

"Ascension," Peach asked. "You mean…?"

"Yes," Geno continued gravely. "Using the information and magic he found in those documents, Astazar became a dark god, the likes of which had not been seen since the creation of the world we now stand on. With this new power, he killed everyone in the palace and took over, using his new magics to resurrect the people he'd just killed as his undead guards. The Star Road was plunged into a war it could not win, and as the years passed, hope waned. Finally, when all hope seemed lost, ten heroes arose and fought Astazar, freeing the Star Road before venturing into Astazar's stronghold. These ten heroes battled Astazar for days, but finally, they defeated him. They were unable to destroy the evil, but they banished him from the Star Road and from all other worlds. This took the last of their energy, and that night, the ten heroes died. It is said that the denizens of the Star Road buried these ten heroes in the earth from whence they came, in a temple dedicated to the element that they loved." Geno looked as if he was about to say something more, but then shook his head. "We must go. Eventually, Astazar will realize that we mean to stop him, and he will send enough forces here to overwhelm us."

"Where do we go," Toad questioned.

"We have to get the people of the world to safety," Peach insisted. "I may have failed my people…but I won't fail the world."

"Where can we evacuate them to," Mario pondered.

"My keep," Bowser offered. "I planted explosives along the bridge thanks to the last debacle, so all I have to do is blow the bridge, and then my keep will be the safest place in the world."

"How will anyone get to it," Geno asked.

"We could use the airbus at Mallow's place," Bowser observed. "You can use your telepathy to get in touch with your parents, right, Mallow?"

"I can try," Mallow offered, uneasily. "Geno told us all this before we left, so I won't need to explain it to them. We're pretty far away, so I don't know for certain…but I should be able to get a short message to them."

"Tell them to prepare for evacuation," Mario ordered. Mallow nodded and closed his eyes, concentrating on sending the message. After a few minutes of hard concentration, Mallow began to fall backwards, but Bowser bolted across the room and caught him. A few more moments passed, and Mallow opened his eyes.

"They said that it's a good plan," Mallow relayed. "They said they'll tell the airbus to take a route that will keep it hidden from anyone watching on the hill, and to use one of the holes in the back to unload the refugees."

"Good," Mario turned to Geno. "What about Mitrius? I don't want to hurt an innocent, but…."

"There is a way to get him out," Geno explained. "Or, rather, to get Astazar out of him. There is a spell that all of my people are taught at a young age. Young ones can't use it, due to the power it takes, but they are taught it all the same. I suppose you would call it an exorcism spell, but it does not truly banish anything. All it does is force a possessing entity out of whatever bodies it has taken. A banishing spell will be necessary immediately afterwards. I can perform both, but it will take my utmost concentration."

"So you're saying that the rest of us have to distract Astazar," Mallow questioned.

"You've gotta be kidding," Croco added. "It's just me, Mario, Bowser, Peach, and Mallow fighting that thing, while you're in the back casting your spells. That guy will be done with us by the time you're on the third word."

"He's right," Mallow agreed. "We need more fighters if we're going to do this."

"Mitrius must be freed," Geno insisted vehemently.

"He will be," Mario assured Geno, despite being a bit unsure as to why he was so insistent. "We just need some help, that's all."

"Who could help us take on a god made flesh," Peach wondered aloud.

"My brother will definitely help," Mario stated firmly. "We can pick him up while we're getting everybody evacuated."

"There was a swordsman in Rose Town," Geno mused. "He was sleeping at the inn, and wore a green cap."

"Link," Mario nodded. "He'll help, if he's still somewhere around here. And maybe we could go to Kong Country, and convince Donkey Kong to help out as well."

"How would we cross the ocean," Bowser questioned. "It's not like we could just swim."

"We could get Johnny to repair his boat," Mario offered.

"No, that would take too long," Toad, argued. "We don't have that kind of time to spare. The airbus will be too busy evacuating people, so that's out…."

"Guys," Mallow interrupted. "Do you remember the Axem Rangers? The Blade Ship?"

"Oh yeah," Bowser replied. "That was one of the hardest fights of our last quest."

"Well…when it crashed, it wasn't destroyed," Mallow confessed, sighing. "My people salvaged it, and have been making repairs. It's fixed and ready. I can't send another message to my parents, the last one took too much out of me, but we can go see them in person. I'm sure they'd let us use the Blade Ship."

"Alright, it's settled," Mario, stated firmly. "We're going to go from town to town, getting everyone evacuated, picking up Link and Luigi on the way. After that, we'll head straight to Mallow's place, get his parents to let us use the Blade Ship, and go to Kong Country to pick up Donkey Kong. From there…we take back the Mushroom Kingdom and Mitrius." He stuck his hand out, palm facing down. "As one team. Together, we may just be able to do this." Surprisingly, Bowser was the first to put his hand in. Croco followed, as did Geno, Toad, Peach, and Mallow. They stood there for a moment, sharing a calm, almost peaceful second, before they turned and headed for the door.