breath20k

I'm actually debating on whether or not I should get 3D All-Stars or not. I have the three games already. Is it really worth $60?

nintendoscript15

There are only two snow themed galaxies in the game. I thought it was obvious.

Yes, the Rainbow Star did make a small appearance in "A Sprite of Light" and Mario remembers it well.

We'll see how Mario and Aster's relationship unfolds.

LiamTheYoshi

That's disgusting…

I'm glad you're liking my new character already! Be prepared to learn more about him as the story progresses.

Yeah, Mario's friends are in quite the pickle. At least the Toad Brigade have it off more easily, as it's just a misunderstanding. Can you guess what galaxies each of Mario's friends are in?

Amethyst Goldenwind

I'm glad you guys are already taking a liking to Aster, even though I've barely revealed anything about him yet. Unlike my previous OC, Aqua, who had the majority of her backstory revealed at the beginning, Aster's backstory will be told in snippets over the course of the adventure.

The Toad Brigade will be okay, as it's just a misunderstanding. As for the other three, they're gonna need Mario's help.

They're called Topmen. And Bowser made alliances all over the universe. He's gotta have a big army in order to bring out a plan this big.

StarlitDuck

Great! Hope you enjoy him! And yes, Aster's last name is meant to be a hidden reference to your Super Koopalings series. Not just a coincidence.

King Kaliente

Yeah, you'll be back. But it won't be for a LONG time!

Nataly Guardado

Sure, I'm interested. Where are you from?

FairyTalePrincess16

Good. Glad we're on the same page when it comes to that comic. It's got good ideas, but other aspects of it fall flat.

Honeyhive Galaxy is indeed our next stop. But we still have a long way to go.

Chapter 10: Bees Take Flight

Mario, Luma, and their new companion, Aster flew back to the Comet Observatory.

"Rosie! We're back!" shouted Mario.

[BGM: Comet Observatory 1 - Super Mario Galaxy]

Aster looked emotionally shocked at this place when looking around, and started to cry.

"I-I-I don't… believe it…" he said between tears.

"Aster, are you okay?" concerned Mario.

"I'm… I'm home…"

Rosalina walked up to the heroes.

"Oh Mario, you're back! So far, you've collected four Power Stars, and now a new galaxy can be accessed from the Terrace."

Rosalina noticed Aster shaking at his knees with tears jerking.

"Is something wrong with your frie- Wait…"

Rosalina noticed something familiar about Mario's newly found ally, and came to a shocking realization that made her start to tear up as well.

"A-Aster…? Is that… you?"

"Rosie…"

Both of them embraced each other into an emotional hug that lasted them a minute. All the while, Mario and Luma stared at them, dumbfounded.

"I'm-a sorry. Did I miss something here?"

"You know him, mama?"

Rosalina and Aster ended their hug and explained.

"Of course we know each other. We used to explore the universe together." said Aster, drying up his tears.

"But then we lost him one day in an event that… I really don't want to speak of…" Rosalina trailed off before breaking into tears again. "I thought I'd… never see him again…"

Aster continued for her. "When we were separated, I never gave up hope that I'd find her again. I wasn't gonna let a universe as vast as this one keep us apart. So, I've traveled all over the many galaxies. It took me a long time, but when I finally got back to the Observatory, someone was stealing all of their Power Stars. I tried to stop them, but their newfound power was too much for me."

Mario frowned hearing this. He did feel bad for these two, but he was also reminded of why he was here.

"That was Bowser. He kidnapped my friends…"

Aster turned to Mario, surprised that he knew this person.

"So, you happen to have beef with this 'Bowser' too?"

"Bowser's my archnemesis! He constantly invaded my home kingdom in hopes of taking over it, and later my home planet. But I never thought he'd go as far as creating his own galactic empire."

Rosalina and Aster comforted Mario as he cried out his tears as well.

"In that case, Rosie, I'm going with him!"

Rosalina was shocked by his decision.

"But… But Aster… I don't want to risk losing you again."

"If you trust this guy with the task of getting the Power Stars back, then I'm going to help him! I've explored lots of the universe in the time we were separated. I can help guide him through even the toughest galaxies out there."

Rosalina was hesitant about this.

"Please Rosie, I won't get lost again. I'll be with Mario. When we get the Stars, they'll take us back here. Please…"

The cosmic guardian of the Lumas nodded. "Okay. Just… be careful. You mean so much… to me…"

Aster gave her a reassuring smile and turned to Mario.

"Let's a go!" Mario gestured as they entered the Terrace once again.

[BGM: Observation Dome - Super Mario Galaxy]

Inside the Terrace, Polari applauded them.

"Good news, Mario! You've gotten all the detected Stars in Good Egg Galaxy! Now our field of vision has expanded! We should be able to find more galaxies within this dome very soon. Hopefully to include the enemy base."

"Enemy base?" asked Aster.

"The ones who took our Power Stars set up evil bases all over the universe. They are where the Grand Stars are being kept."

"That's not good. We better get those stars soon!" deterred Mario.

Both Mario and Aster held hands to have the Pull Star pull them both up at once. Once again in the space realm, Mario revealed the blurry glowing galaxy with a 3 on it. The newly revealed galaxy appeared to be a forest taking place in the spring, with tall, green leaves trees. It also had honeycombs among it.

"That's the Honeyhive Galaxy," Aster explained. "It's the home of a bee colony ruled by their fair Honey Queen. The bees there are always busy."

"Reminds me of a place I went when I was saving my planet from getting crushed by its moon," Mario remembered. "Alright, let's a go!"

A Launch Star appeared and took them to their next galaxy, Honeyhive Galaxy.

Honeyhive Galaxy

[BGM: Course Select - Super Mario Galaxy]

Hence its name, Honeyhive Galaxy was a honey themed galaxy inhabited by bees. The main planet consisted of forests, waterfalls, and a tunnel with a view of the queen's castle. There weren't as many planets here as there were in Good Egg Galaxy, but the heroes still had many places to search.

[BGM: Honeyhive Galaxy - Super Mario Galaxy]

Once they landed on the main planet, a bee with a spear in hand approached the two.

"Welcome to the Honeyhive Kingdom! Our queen rules this land," the bee greeted. "Just stay out of trouble. We had intruders who crashed into our highest tree earlier, and we're distrusting of them."

Mario and Aster were confused.

"Um… thanks?" they both said before walking down the path. Upon a fork in the road between uphill and downhill, they decided to check uphill first. Up there was a fountain with another ? coin and a giant bug-like enemy with orange wings, black antennas, and swirly eyes. Upon spotting Mario and Co., it got frightened and flew away.

"That bug is huge!" exclaimed Mario.

"That's a Flipbug," explained Luma. "They're small winged creatures who are aggressive towards bees and will try to attack them."

"However, they're quite cowardly towards other species like us. So they'll just run away," Aster added.

"Okay. No big deal." Mario shrugged. "Let's-a get the coin."

They collected the coin, but it didn't seem to do anything.

"Huh?"

"Hold on." Aster checked the bottom of the waterfall. Right beside it was a mushroom with yellow and brown stripes, much like a bee. Mario followed his friend down.

"Huh. Never seen a powerup like this one before," Mario commented.

"Well, we should try it out."

Both took a bite out of the new mushroom and they both transformed. Mario's cap turned completely brown and had two yellow antennas sticking out of it. White fur surrounded his neck, his red sleeves and white gloves remained intact, but his overalls were now yellow and black with a stinger on his buttocks. Bee wings were also present on his back.

Aster had a similar transformation, except his outfit was more metallic, and antennas were sticking out of his actual head due to the lack of a cap.

"Interesting…" Aster was amazed. "You know, I never actually got the chance to try out powerups, though I have heard of them."

"I've been using powerups since my very first adventure, but I never imagined turning into a bee!" commented Mario.

Luma came out of his cap. "You know guys, according to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. BUT WE FLY ANYWAY, CAUSE WE GOTTA GET THOSE STARS!" Luma joked.

"Yeah…" Bee Aster replied meekly as he started flying. Bee Mario began to fly as well, and found it to be fun.

"Woohoo! Imma Bee Mario! Haha!"

"Just don't touch water. I heard that bees HATE water," Bee Aster warned.

Bee Mario gave him a thumbs up as they reached the tunnel. Inside were several flipbugs that chased Mario and Co. because they thought they were bees. Luckily, they couldn't fly high, so they weren't much of a problem. Next, the two jumped into a hollow stump which lead them to a slide with a bee at the end.

"The castle is past this wall. It's true! Bees never lie."

They flew up the wall.

"Aaaaaaaand… no castle. He lied," Mario said, annoyed.

"I think he meant the path to the castle. Let's follow it." replied Aster.

Upon this path was sticky honey which would get their shoes stuck, similar to the mud in Good Egg Galaxy. There were also hard working bees carrying the honey in buckets.

"You know guys, honey smells a lot like Star Bits," Luma commented.

"I think they might be made from it. Who knows?" wondered Aster.

The Launch Star at the end of the path took them to a water planet inhabited by flowers, Octoombas, and a new enemy that looked similar to Octoombas but were red.

"Those are Octoguys. They try to get the perfect distance from you to shoot rocks at you," Luma explained.

The three made their way to the other side of the flat planet and used flower stems to reach the floating flowers at the top. But there were also water fountains up there.

"Careful! If we hit water and lose our powerup, we won't be able to stand on these!" Aster warned.

They avoided the water and flew up to the next Launch Star.

This one took them to the planet which they presumed was the queen's castle. Now they just had to get up to her.

"One of the perks of being a bee is that they can stick to honey walls like these."

Aster stuck to a honeycomb as he explained and climbed up. Mario was fascinated by this and followed.

They used a sproutle vine at the top to reach where the queen resided.

Aster gestured Mario to bow down, and they did so. The Honey Queen was a fairly huge bee with brown hair, a crown with blue sapphires, pink lipstick, a purple neckerchief with a pink jewel, and purple high heels.

"Aster! It's quite a pleasure seeing our savior bee once again! How've you been?" the Queen Bee greeted.

"I've been alright, your highness. My friend and I have been looking for Power Stars. Have you seen any around here by any chance?"

As Aster talked to the queen, Mario looked down and saw some bees guarding a group of five Toads who looked scared.

"Toad? What's he doing here?" wondered Mario.

"I suppose I could provide assistance. But first, we are in the most vexing predicament and require assistance ourselves."

"What's the problem, then?" Aster asked.

"The most furious itchiness plagues our entire being! It must be stopped! Please find the source at once!" the Queen ordered.

"What?" Mario was confused.

"She's saying that she itches and wants us to scratch her back," Aster translated.

"Well, this isn't the weirdest thing I've ever done…" thought Mario, sarcastically.

Both heroes flew right over to the ginormous bee and climbed all over her in a similar fashion to the honeycombs. Turns out, star chips were causing her to itch and they collected them off of her. She giggled as they did so. With all five stars chips collected, a Launch Star appeared.

"My thanks! You two have shown much bravery. We trust that we may rely on you in the future!" the Honey Queen applauded.

"It was no problem, your highness." Bee Aster bowed again.

"Now then, how may I assist you?"

Mario looked over to the captured Toads.

"Can you release those Toads? They're my friends," Mario requested.

Aster was confused. "You know them?"

"Why, of course. If they are associated with you, then that confirms we can trust them."

The bees let the Toad Brigade go, and Mario walks up to them.

"AAAAUGH! STAY BACK!" Toad screamed in fright.

"Toad! Toad! Calm down! It's a me, Mario!"

Toad took a close look at the "bee" and could recognize that mustache from anywhere. Tears of joy grew on his face as the five Toads hugged him.

"YOU'RE ALIVE!" they all exclaimed in unison with tears of joy.

"What? You guys thought I was dead? How did you get here?"

"We tried to escape from Peach's Castle!" Captain Toad explained, still in tears. "But then Bowser and Kamek caught us, and then we got lost with Alex, Leah, and Luigi…"

"Oh no… Wait… LUIGI was with you guys, too?!" Mario asked in shock.

"Yeah. He was playing cards with us."

"Oh no… Now I have to find all three of them as well as the Power Stars, and they could be ANYWHERE!" Mario worried. "I just… hope they're okay…"

"Um… I hate to interrupt the reunion, but who are you guys?" Aster peeked out of interest.

Captain Toad introduced himself and the Toad Brigade to Aster in the exact same way he did back at Peach's Castle earlier.

"Oh, well… pleasure to meet you and your… interesting friends…" Aster trailed off.

"And… who are you?" Toad asked.

"This is my new friend, Aster." Mario introduced. "He's joining me for this adventure, and just so happens to know a lot about the universe."

Luma came out.

"And I'm Luma!"

"Wow, you must've been through a lot, Mario." commented Toad.

"Sorry that my bees accused you of working for the Mandibugs. We've been rather alert lately." apologized the queen.

"The… Mandibugs?" Mario asked. Aster looked nervous.

"Um… Mario? These bees don't like to… talk about them."

"No, don't worry Aster. He's a new bee, so he should know." The Queen began. "The Mandibugs are our neighbors and were once our allies. We gave them some of our honey, in exchange for them protecting us…"

"However, they started to get more… demanding, one day. They started to take more of our food, and it came to the point where we had to cut ties with them immediately. Now, we're at constant war with the Mandibugs."

The heroes and Toads were saddened by this story.

"Wow… I'm sorry that happened to you, your majesty." said Mario. "I'm betting those Mandibugs might have the Power Stars. We'll have to stop them!"

"Good luck, new bees!"

The queen waved goodbye as the group took a Launch Star to the top of a tree on the starting planet. A Power Star was waiting right there.

[BGM: Power Star Get - Super Mario Galaxy]

YOU GOT A STAR!

"WAHOO!"

"YES!"

"YAHOO!"