Paper Mario Fanfic: Eternal Legacy

[zebtrestalala]

Alright, I don't know if it's okay for me to put this here, but I'm going to anyway. This is my idea for a new Paper Mario storyline, told in a more...story-like way. All original characters are my creations (with some inspirations), but of course all the Mario characters belong to Nintendo.

PAPER MARIO: ETERNAL LEGACY

Prologue
Dear Mario,
Guess what? I've been invited to be the guest of honor at the nearby Chronoz Kingdom's Festival of Time! The Mushroom Kingdom and the Chronoz Kingdom have been friends in the past, so I figure this is their way of trying to reinforce our friendship. They only hold this festival once every hundred years, so it's a very big deal. I would be honored to have you and your brother accompany me on this trip. I would really like someone besides Toadsworth for company. Thank you, Mario.

Love, Peach

"Another letter from Peach?" asked Luigi. "What does this make, 1001? Or two?"
Mario simply stared at his brother. It usually worked when he was being unnecessarily snarky.
"You're invited? And I am too? Oh, wow! I've heard really great things about this festival! I can't believe we get to go! And as guests of honor!" exclaimed Luigi, having picked up the letter from Mario's hands after he finished reading it. "Well, bro? What are we waiting for? The festival awaits us!"
---
Peach's castle was abuzz with energy when Mario and Luigi got there. Toads everywhere were rushing dresses, clothes, luggage, brochures, books, and even a few pies around. Toadsworth immediately ran up to the brothers when they got there.
"THERE YOU ARE! Masters Mario and Luigi, you finally made it! We've been waiting forever for you! The Princess is waiting for you in her chambers, and she's dying to talk to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some plane loading to supervise!"
He scurried off out into the foyer, and then ran through a nearby door.
What a strange Toad, thought Mario.
Luigi and Mario were able to somehow avoid the wave of Toads as they walked up the steps to Peach's Chambers. The halls were beautifully decorated, as always, and they positively glowed with the vibrant energy flowing from the main hall. Peach looked splendid, as always, when the brothers reached her chamber.
"Oh, Mario, Luigi, thank you for coming. I really hope I didn't interfere with your plans. It's just that it's not everyday this festival happens. It only goes on for a week, so you'll be able to return here soon enough."
"Oh, don't worry Peach! We'd be honored to go with you," said Mario.
"Oh, thank you, I knew I could count on you Mario. And you, too, Luigi. Well, the plane should be ready to leave soon, so let's go down and get ready!"
"Okey Dokey!" Mario and Luigi exclaimed.
---
"Goodbye Peach!"
"Good Luck!"
"Be Safe!"
"Come back soon!"
The chorus of Toads filled the air, wishing Peach good luck and safe voyage, and tearful goodbyes were in order. The toads could act so childish at times that is surprised Mario.
"YOU WON'T BE GOING ANYWHERE, PEACH! YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!" roared a loud voice. Bowser.
"Oh no it's Bowser! Oh god! Save the Princess!"
Oh, for pete's sake. Why does he always have to interrupt things? thought Mario.
Mario and Luigi instantly ran up, leaped up, and crashed down on Bowser's head, sending him reeling.

"OW! Jesus, Mario! And Green Guy! That hurt!" he yelled
To add insult to injury, Toadsworth ran up a smacked Bowser in the shins with his cane.
"And leave us alone Bowser! We have a very important date to meet, and you will not be interrupting it this time, you uncouth beast!" shouted Toadsworth.
"Owowowowow," Bowser whimpered, slinking off into the darkness. "Well, Kammy, that failed miserably."
"I told you, Lord Bowser, that today would be a very bad time to go kidnapping Peach! I even set up a calendar of all the times in the next month you could kidnap her, but did you look at it? Nooooooooo!" she screeched, as she flew alongside her lord as he sulked away.
---
The flight was uneventful, and not very long. There were no unnecessary, plot setting plane crashes, or strange people that would factor into the story somehow.

The Chronoz Kingdom's capitol, Chronoz City, was bustling with activity. Everywhere, there were blue skinned Chronans running around, their emerald hair whipping around. Many Toads crowded the landing spot, eagerly awaiting the Princess's arrival. While the King and Queen of the Chronoz Kingdom were kind and wonderful, Princess Peach held a special place in every Toad's heart, and when one couldn't see her every day like in the Mushroom Kingdom, it only increased their longing for her.
"Oh look, The Princess!" "Here she comes, that's her plane!" "She's stepping out now!" "Look at her, she's beautiful!" "I love your dress, Princess!" "Princess, can I help you in any way?"

Peach was flustered by the unusual amount of attention she was getting. Toads had simply flooded the landing pad. It was a miracle that the plane hadn't landed on any of them. And now they were crowding her, showering her with compliments and their regards, and every hand seemed to be reaching out to help her.

"Thank you all, I would love some help if you don't mind! But first, I need to be able to get out of this plane!" she said, letting out a giggle.
The sea of Toads parted, allowing Mario, Luigi, Toadsworth, and Peach to safely exit the plane without being stampeded. The Toads followed them as the walked into the town square, holding various pieces of luggage and items of Peach's. However, they halted as Peach, Mario, and Luigi stepped into the Town Square.

Never had they seen a scene so festive, and so bright, as this town square. Every single house, shop, bench, sign post, and edge of space that someone wouldn't walk on was covered in decorations. Whether it was a streamer, shiny ornaments, decals of clocks, posters of royalty, or various crests and other designs, the Town was simply flooded with color. Booths were positioned in every direction, each selling some sort of trinket that was better than the guy next to them, or some sort of deep-fried whatever, or just wanting to tell all about their family, and how it was very important. People were decked out in ridiculously elaborate costumes, each as vibrant as the town around them.

"Oh, wow," all four said in unison.

"Welcome to the Chronoz Kingdom!" said a Chronan, dressed in a costume that vaguely resemble a fish. "You must be Peach, Mario, and Luigi! We've been waiting your arrival! When you're ready, the King and Queen would like to greet you in the castle!"

"Oh, thank you," said Peach. "But, could we possibly look around the town first? It looks very fun and vibrant!"
"Of course!" the fishman said. "Just take all the time you need! We're not in a rush."
He skipped off to the beat of some song that only he could hear.
"Well, let's get going! We have a town to visit!"

Every little booth that they visited was another story to be told. It turned out that that's what the festival was all about--history. The Festival of Time celebrated the rich history, and rich history of preserving history,of the Chronoz Kingdom. People eagerly told the Princess all about how their ancestor fought in a Great War, of how they were related to the royal family, or how they invented this certain device or this certain food. Everyone had a story to tell, and each of them was unique and interesting in its own light. Those who supposedly invented a food even gave out free samples!

The one thing in the town that stood out the most was the clock tower in the center of town. Ribbons, hanging lights, ornaments, decals, various patterns and designs covered all the faces, save for the actual clock on the top.
"Wow. This sure is a big tower." commented Luigi. "Why do you think it's so decorated?"
"Well, a lot of this town is decorated, Luigi," remarked Peach. "But why don't we ask someone?"
Mario saw someone out of the corner of his eye, nearby. There were two Goombas standing nearby, and each looked very scholarly. He ran over to them, and explained that they were wondering if they knew what the importance of the Clock Tower was, seeing as they were scholarly Goombas.
"Actually, we're Paragoombas. Notice the wings? Well, anyways, if you must know, the Clock Tower is opened once every 100 years, on the last day of the festival. It's been around since the city was founded, so it is the epitome of the history hear. It's said to contain the entire history of the kingdom inside, and every 100 years it's opened so a new chapter can be added."
"Thank you, um..." Mario mumbled.
"Tara. And this is Professor Earnest."
"Hmm? Wazzat? Tara, who's this?" mumbled the Professor, who had dozed off.
"Mario, Professor. You know, the hero from the Mushroom Kingdom? Oh, please tell me you do," explained Tara.
"Mary? I don't know any Marys, Tara. Why do you always bother me with such silly things? Now let me enjoy my nap," mumbled the Professor, dozing off again.
"Mario, we should be going. I don't want to keep the King and Queen waiting," said Peach, tugging on his arm.
"Alright, well then, we'll probably meet again, Mario. Have fun," Tara said, as she watched him walk off.
---
"AND NOW, YOURS ROYAL HIGHNESS, THE KING AND QUEEN OF THE CHRONOZ KINGDOM!"
The elegantly dressed King and Queen, clad in a golden garb, stepped out into their grand hall, where a slew of Chronans eagerly awaited the words of their King and Queen. Their faces were splotched with red, as the sheer warmth that these two had in their souls radiated out with the blushes and jovial smiles. They were an impressive sight, but were not intimidating. Their large figures welcomed everyone into their embrace.

"Hello all!" boomed the King's voice. "Welcome one and all, and especially to our guest of honor, Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom! Our Kingdoms have been great friends in the past, so here's to one hundred more years of friendship!"
Cheers echoed throughout the hall, as no one in this atmosphere would even think about not spreading the joy of the Kingdom.
"And now, here we are, one hundred years having passed again!" said the Queen, her voice flowing like a beautiful song. "Let's hope we can make this Festival just as excellent as those our ancestors have had!"
"Indeed!" shouted the King, though it probably wasn't intentional. "Now, we've all gathered here to hear--"

"No one wants to hear your rabble, king. No one at all. Especially not me" echoed a voice from seemingly nowhere.
Out of the center of the room, a dark splotch formed. A horrible, twisted, vaguely human form appeared out of the hole. His arms were like scythes, each with claws on the end that could probably cut through stone. His face was dominated by two red slits that made his eyes, and a row of sharp, jagged teeth that made a poor excuse of a mouth
"And now, no one will have to again," he hissed, and brandished a staff from seemingly nowhere.
"But I'll give you one last chance to live. Tell me where the source of time is."

The entire hall was in panic. Who was this thing? What did he mean by Source of Time? What did he want? What was he going to do to the King and Queen? Several Chronans launched themselves at the figure, only to be thrown back by unseen energy he radiated.

"Stop! I have no idea what you speak of. I've never heard of a source of time in my life, and I've been ruling here for 20 years!"
"Pity. You have no use to me then, you windbag."

Energy arced out of his staff, and exploded onto the King and Queen. They looked to be in the middle of jumping out of their chairs, but they quickly slowed to a halt, and sepia tones flowed over their bodies, and onto the floor. The entire hall was quickly turning this color.

"STOP! What do you think you're doing! What have you done to my parents? Oh, when they wake up they'll hurt you so bad, you horrible monster!" yelled a voice. An elegantly dressed young woman ran up to the black creature, from seemingly nowhere.
"Ah, yes, the Chronan Princess. I've been waiting for you. You'll be very important to me, my dear. Very important"
"What are you-" were the only words she could mutter before dissapearing in a black flash.
"Well, until next time, folks," he laughed, before dissappearing into darkness again.
"Come on Peach! We gottat get out of here!" yelled Luigi, and he, Peach, and Mario ran out of the castle as it froze in time behind them.

As they looked behind them, the Castle fade into a monochrome sepia, and not a sound came from it. It was eerily quiet.
"Well," whispered Peach. "I've never gotten that sort of reception before."

END PROLOGUE PART 1.

So what do you think? I know it was a bit long. I could probably space it out a bit more, but it already took up a lot of space as is...
Please, Comments and Criticisms if you will

[Chaukai]

Excellently made, and very simple to follow. I was afraid that because I never played paper mario, that I would not get this. But that does raise the question of how this relates to paper mario? o.O Is Chonoz from Paper Mario?

[MICrophone]

Well…I'll be perfectly honest…my comments are identical to azn's. So yeah, just read his. Nice work, though!

[zebtrestalala]

No. Basically, this is a completely original Paper Mario story. It's not based off of any sort of existing world, but Mario will get various partners that are normally enemies, will get various powerups for hammer and jumping, and will do various paper-like things. I recently played through Paper Mario 64, and I just had so many ideas for a world of Paper Mario that I felt I had to express it in some form, like a fanfic. So does this make it a Paper Mario OC?

I'm confused on this whole web-fiction category thing.

[zebtrestalala]

Prologue, Part 2

"Oh, Mario, what are we going to do?" cried Peach, as the entire city erupted into chaos around them. People were dashing as far away from the castle they could, trampling others, and people all around had frantically abandoned their stands, in fear that they would be frozen in time as well, and would never move again. "Why does this sort of thing always seem to follow us?"
"Well, Peach, you're still royalty, though not of this kingdom. You need to go and get everyone to calm down," he assured her.

Where the heck had Luigi gone? wondered Mario suddenly, realizing it was only him and Peach now. Leave it to his cowardly brother to run at the drop of a hat.

"Alright, I'll do that. You should try to find someone who knows a little bit more about that thing that appeared in the castle, so that we can address this problem!" Peach said.
"Okey Dokey! Good luck, Princess!" he shouted, as he ran off into the throng of people.

Nearly thirty minutes later, Mario had not found one person who knew anything. Everyone was panicking, screaming about how the city was doomed to be trapped in time forever. Even the few that he had managed to calm down still knew nothing of the shadowy figure who had appeared, and even mentioning him drove a few into panic again. It seemed hopeless. There was no one who he thought he could count on. But wait... what about...

Thank goodness she was still there. Her brown hair drooped behind her, showing her ease despite the chaos around her, and her glasses had an odd glint on them in the shadow of the clock tower. Lastly, her black dress suit looked a bit rumpled, so maybe she had done a bit of panicking, but still, she was better than nothing
"Tara! I need some help," cried Mario to the Paragoomba, who had seemed to have lost her professor.
"Oh, really. I would have never guessed. Only kidding, I'd be happy to help," she laughed.
He went on to explain everything, from the time stopping to the King's ignorance. It seemed so strange coming from his mouth, but Tara didn't take it that way.
"I think my professor might be able to help. He's at the university right now, so follow me!"
---
Chronoz University may have been huge, but Tara knew her way around like the back of her hand. Eventually they reached the office of Frank Earnest, P.H.D. His office was crowded with globes, maps, and various tomes of a historical nature.
"Eh? Tara, who's this? A new janitor?" asked the bespectacled Paragoomba.
"No, Professor, this is Mario, and he needs some serious help! Go on, tell him what happened!"
And so Mario explained AGAIN what had happened, in every minute detail. The professor seemed to pay attention, but he could easily be daydreaming.
"Oh my. I believe I read a book once about this sort of thing. I believe it mentioned an Eternal Darkness. Is this what you're talking about, son? It sounds serious," muttered Professor Earnest.
"Well, where is the book Professor? Could we look at it?" asked Tara eagerly.
"It's deep within the University Library, in 'The Catacombs'" he sighed
"Aw, do we really have to go down there? I nearly lost my right wing last time, those librarians are so rough!"
"Yes, Tara, we must be brave! We must fight forward for the greater good of the world!" he stated with gusto.
"Seriously, do you even believe the stuff you say sometimes, Professor?" sighed Tara, as they marched out the door.
---
The Library was a BIG place. However, according to Tara, it was even bigger down below. The Catacombs stretched deep within the bowels of the earth, and apparently she had even had a few run ins with demons in her stay at the university.

While it looked fine up above, the basements had a much darker feel to them. It seemed that indeed one would find a demon or two in here. After his last encounter with the Shadow Queen, Mario didn't want to think too much on the subject. Bookcases still lined the shelves, but cobwebs had gathered on quite a few of them.
"Some people just don't know when to give up. And included in those people are the librarians here. Seriously, look at the dust gathering on this book shelf! I just want to reach out and-"
"Don't touch that, you stupid girl! Get away from that shelf!" yelled a shrill voice. One of the Goomba librarians ran at them, head first, and was followed by several friends. Mario and Tara had no choice but to retaliate.
"Alright, I'll just hit em with an Aerial Bonk, Mario! You can give 'em a jump if you want, too!" Tara shouted, as she flew up and slammed down on the head of one of them. Mario stomped on one of their heads, sending them reeling and crashing into one of their precious bookcases. Oh, irony.
---
Long story short, they got their asses served to them on a silver platter. They were left a dizzy mess as Mario, Tara, and Earnest dived deeper into The Catacombs. Eventually, the happened upon a strange sight. Sitting in one of the back rooms was a strange black chest.
Oh, great, not these guys again. Seriously, how many curses to I have to undergo? Mario thought.
"Oh, yes, this thing! I've been meaning to examine it more closely for what seems like forever! I know they left a key around here somewhere..." exclaimed the professor.
"Found it, Professor!" cried Tara, emerging very dusty from a corner, holding a black key. She let out a few coughs, then handed it to Professor Earnest.
"Ah, let's see..." he mumbled, then let out a gasp as a black light flashed from the chest,

SOOOO, MARIO. I SEE YOU HAVE FREED MY BRETHREN. I WILL REINFORCE YOUR CURSE THEN, WRETCH! YOU CAN NOW TURN PAPER THIN AGAIN! AHAHAHA!
And then it was gone.
"Well, that was strange," whispered Tara. "But we must find that book!"
---
"Oh, finally. Here we go," said Professor Earnest. "The Book of Time"
"Well, what does it say, Professor?" asked Tara, eager for information.
"Ummm, let's see how we can condense this...The Eternal Darkness will strike at the land...complete turmoil...time stopped...a Princess is kidnapped...the Festival of Time, when the source of time is at its strongest, ooh, that's interesting...oh! here we go...the Jeweled Keys seal the way to the source of time, only by obtaining them before the final day of the festival will one be able to travel to the source of time and claim its power for their own...oh, and here's another thing, it mentions the town of Rosewood..."
"So we need to get the Jeweled Keys and keep them from the Eternal Darkness before he gets them all and goes to the source of time and takes its power for himself? Righto!" exclaimed Tara.
"Wait, Tara, what do you mean we? You can't go, you have your senior thesis to write! You'll never get your history major without it!" stated the Professor.
"Professor, there's only so much I can learn in the walls of this university! If I'm travelling all over with Mario, I can see and learn about the kingdom for myself, instead of from a lot of dusty old books. It just makes sense! And I promise, I'll write all about it when the journey's done," she pleaded.
"Well, I suppose--" he started.
"Oh, thank you Professor Earnest! I knew we could come to agreement!" she exclaimed, and before either he or Mario could say anything, she ran out the room, Mario following after.

"Come on Mario, let's get those Jeweled Keys! To Rosewood!" she yelled, running through the university.

"Kids these days" muttered the professor, as he settled into a long awaited nap.

So, now that the Prologue is done, what do you think? Any guesses for what sort of other partners Mario will join up with? Places they'll visit? Powers they'll get?