StarlitDuck
I never really cared for fan theories unless they were convincing enough to me. I like to think of possibilities of my own. Just because Rosalina's mother somewhat looks like Peach, doesn't mean it's her. That's why I made Rosalina's family ancestors to Princess Peach, because that would justify the resemblance.
Aster does still have some story left to uncover. But that will be saved for a bit later down the line. Aster is starting to gain some sort of trust and friendship in Mario that he hasn't felt in a long time. So I think it's only natural that they'd want to learn more about each other. And yes, he and Rosalina are an official couple in this continuity, and they have been for way longer than Mario and Peach or Luigi and Daisy.
After you gave me some good ideas for Alex's character arc, well… I'll let the viewers see for themselves.
nintendoscript15
Wow, you're a really hard person to jerk a tear out of. The two are good parents, but the period of time that the two have been separated made the Lumas forget who Aster was. Having your own children forget who you are is pretty heartbreaking.
I could imagine having a pizza party with Mario. In fact, I also tend to eat most of the pizza! So maybe the two of us could have some sort of eating competition!
LiamTheYoshi
Okay, I see you're sad. No offense, but you kinda overdid it with the reaction. When you're trying to express sadness, try not to make it funny. But other than that, Aster's story is sad and it only gets worse when you consider the fact that none of the Lumas call him "Papa" despite the fact that that's how he was originally referred to when he and Rosalina first adopted their ancestors a thousand years ago. The years spent apart really did a toll on him.
Nataly Guardado
Don't worry. Mario and Aster will save him from those monsters. By then, Luigi will get to meet the latter! That should be interesting.
breath20k
Indeed.
Guest
I'm so sorry. This virus has been stressing me out recently, with the cases getting worse, that I couldn't help but reference it just to relieve myself. I was originally going to reference it in Corona Mountain back in my previous story but refrained from doing that. I'm sorry. Just ignore that part.
Edit: Deleted that part. I don't know what I was thinking. Now he just says it came outta nowhere.
FairyTalePrincess16
Yes. This time we're going to the Fountain!
Amethyst Goldenwind
You're thinking of the wrong boss. But nice try.
I can see why that Galaxy was hard for you. The electric barriers and the cut holes can be challenging for newcomers. Maybe it was placed a bit too early in the game.
We'll get to more of Aster's story at a later date.
Mario bros fan4ever
Don't worry. He's actually kinda lucky when compared to what you're about to see.
Chapter 15: Pull Star Path
[BGM: A Tense Moment - Super Mario Galaxy]
?
Back in the unknown galaxy where Alex was previously shown to be captured, the floating disk leading the robotic race, the Topman Tribe, was speaking to Bowser through a hologram that he himself projected.
"Topmaniac, what are your reports? I'm busy at the moment," Bowser requested.
"LORD BOWSER, MY TRIBE HAS CAPTURED A HUMAN BEING WHO APPEARED OUT OF NOWHERE IN OUR BATTLEROCK BASE," the robot named Topmaniac reported. "WE'VE BEEN STUDYING THIS LIFEFORM'S ORIGINS. HE COMES FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE WHERE ON HIS HOME PLANET, HUMANS ARE THE DOMINANT SPECIES. THE CHILD'S NAME IS ALEXANDER MATTHEW PETERSON."
The part where Topmaniac said the kid's name was when Bowser's eyes shrunk smaller than Star Bits.
"You mean Kamek sent one of Mario's buddies to you?" Bowser expressed with mild surprise. "And he comes from another universe? Interesting… Maybe once I've conquered this universe, I'll look into his. But for now, maybe we could work this to our advantage. So here's the plan."
Bowser had a koopa scientist disclose information to Topmaniac using binary as a way to avoid letting others hear it.
"UNDERSTOOD," Topmaniac confirmed. "IS THAT ALL?"
"One more thing." Bowser leaned over to the Koopa's nonexistent ear and whispered. "Don't tell Alex that Mario is still alive."
The koopa translated that into binary and transferred it to Topmaniac.
"ORDERS RECEIVED."
"Very well. Good luck!" Bowser closed the screen. Topmaniac took off through the green, star filled sky. A fairly large yellow planet took over most of the sky. In just a minute, Topmaniac arrived on the flying saucer where Alex was imprisoned.
He observed the child with his sensors. The kid was clearly in an emotionally vulnerable state. Alex was laid down on the metallic floor of the ship, crying to no end. The only thing he had for comfort in the cramped space he was trapped in, was a mysterious green star with eyes that he had found. He was holding it to his chest, likely to symbolize holding onto hope.
Topmaniac looked at Alex. He was hugging his knees to his chest and sobbing like there was no tomorrow. The tears were pouring like rain, his nose was running like a faucet. Topmaniac felt a pang, but immediately pushed it to the side so he could scan the boy. The emotions emanating off of him were very strong.
Topmaniac got to think. This boy was one of Mario's friends. He was obviously there during the attack. So, he wondered...did this boy not know what happened to him? After all, Bowser did order him not to tell Alex that Mario is still alive.
"HEY," Topmaniac said. He made sure to put on a gentle tone of voice. "ARE YOU OKAY?"
"What do you want?" Alex scowled.
"ALEX PETERSON, WE OF THE TOPMAN TRIBE HAVE BEEN STUDYING YOU AND YOUR ORIGINS, AND WE FIGURED YOU MAY BE OF GOOD USE TO US. SO I HAVE A PROPOSITION FOR YOU."
Alex scoffed. "Whatever it is you want from me, you can forget it! Besides, I know that my brothers will come and save me and my sister!"
"I CANNOT COMPREHEND THE REASON THAT YOU CALL THOSE PLUMBERS YOUR 'BROTHERS'. THERE IS AN IMPRESSIVE AGE GAP, PLUS THEY ARE NOT BIOLOGICALLY RELA-"
"I DON'T CARE!" Alex suddenly snapped. "I've always loved them like brothers ever since we met! Mario saved me from dying of cancer, and I will never forget him for that!" With his anger broken down, he sat on the floor alump. "They're my family… Whether others say so or not."
"I SEE… WELL, I'M AFRAID I MUST INFORM YOU, ALEX, THAT YOUR 'BROTHERS' AND SISTER ARE DEAD," Topmaniac lied. Thus, receiving a look of horror from his captive.
Alex's heart sank like the Titanic. No… No, that couldn't be possible! Toad told him that you can breathe in space in this universe. How could his 'siblings' have died out there, yet he didn't? Not only did that not seem to make sense, but he didn't even wanna believe it.
"No… No… No!" Alex teared up. "That… Th-That can't be true! Y-You're lying!"
"SADLY, IT IS TRUE." The robot continued to lie. "A SHAME FOR THEM. I CAN TELL YOU MUST REALLY CARE FOR THEM IF YOU GO AS FAR AS TO CONSIDER THOSE PLUMBERS FAMILY."
Alex crossed his arms while sniffing up his tears. "Yeah, r-right… You couldn't p-possibly understand…"
Topmaniac's angry yellow eyes suddenly changed into sad blue eyes. "I DO, ACTUALLY… OR AT LEAST I DID…"
"Huh?"
"IT STARTED MANY CENTURIES AGO, WHEN I WAS BUILT. MY CREATOR LOVED ME LIKE I WAS HIS OWN SON, AND I WAS ABLE TO FEEL LOVE FOR HIM AS WELL. I HELPED HIM FINISH BUILDING HIM AND HIS WIFE'S HOME, AND THEIR CHILDREN BUILT MY TRIBE. ME AND THE TRIBE WOULD PROTECT MY CREATOR- NO, MY FATHER FROM HARM'S WAY. THAT WAS… UNTIL HE… BETRAYED ME…"
"Betrayed? Why?" Alex asked.
"ME AND MY CLAN WISHED TO TAKE CONTROL OF THE GALAXIES AND RECOLONIZE THEM TO OUR OWN LIKING. BUT MY CREATOR DISAGREED WITH OUR GOALS. AND SO, WE FOUGHT FIERCELY. IT WASN'T EASY, BUT ME AND THE TRIBE MANAGED TO WIN AND CAPTURED THE CREATOR. WE MANAGED TO HOLD ONTO HIM AS WE COLONIZED THIS GALAXY. BUT ONE DAY, HE ESCAPED."
"Woah…" Alex was speechless.
"I KNOW THAT FOOL IS STILL OUT THERE, AND WE AIM TO MAKE HIM PAY! THAT IS WHERE YOU COME IN, ALEX PETERSON. JOIN THE TOPMAN TRIBE! WITH YOU BY OUR SIDE, WE CAN HAVE AN UPPER HAND AND GET REVENGE ON THE TRAITOR. YOU CAN FIGHT FOR THE GALAXIES IN THE HONOR OF YOUR DECEASED LOVED ONES. THEY WOULD CERTAINLY BE VERY PROUD."
Alex didn't know what to think. The idea of helping to save the galaxies in his siblings' honor did sound cool, but… Was this even right? These robots did capture them after all. And he did remember them mentioning the Koopa troop at some point.
"I… I… I'm sorry… but I can't…" he denied.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T?" Topmanic asked with confusion and a hint of anger.
"Fighting for the galaxies sounds cool and all. But Mario told me once during a visit: 'No matter how convincing they may be, you must never trust a stranger,'" Alex quoted. "Besides, I doubt what you say is true. I know Mario's still with us! I know he is! I can feel it! ...And I won't give up on him!" Alex stood up, feeling proud enough having a feeling that Mario is okay.
Topmaniac was admittedly impressed by this child's persistence. He was expecting ethos, pathos, and logos to do the trick. But it wasn't as easy as he'd imagined.
"I MUST COMMEND YOU FOR YOUR PERSISTENCE, CHILD." Topmaniac admitted.
Before Alex could respond however, the gravity field of the saucer he was standing on increased in pressure, forcing him to fall to the floor.
"What's g-going-?! C-Can't… move…!" Alex grunted as he struggled to get up.
"BUT I'M AFRAID THAT MEANS WE'LL HAVE TO DO THIS THE HARD WAY. TAKE THE GREEN STAR!"
One of the Topmen sprouted a claw and snatched Alex's green star.
"Hey! Give that back!"
"BRING IN THE POWER CHIP."
Another Topman handed over a small black chip and infused it with the Green Star.
"PERFECT. NOW ALEX, IT'S TIME YOU LEARN YOUR PLACE."
The claws began to insert the chip towards Alex's right ear. His heartbeats could be heard getting louder and faster as it approached.
"What are you doing?! STOP! No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Everything went black for Alex once the chip was inserted in.
[BGM end]
Comet Observatory
[BGM: Rosalina in the Observatory 1 - Super Mario Galaxy]
The next morning, Luma approached Mario, who was sleeping like a baby. The little star child tapped Mario's pudgy round nose, making the Mushroom superstar twist and turn his body. Annoyed, Mario got up, stretched his arms, and yawned like a howling wolf.
"Good morning, Luma…" Despite having slept for 8 hours, Mario felt like he barely slept at all. Probably because of that moment with Aster last night.
"Good morning, Mario!" Luma greeted as he went under the plumber's red cap. Mario got up slowly and slumped like a sloth over to Rosalina and Aster, who were wide awake despite the latter having been up as well.
"'Morning guys…" Mario groaned.
"Um… good morning," Rosalina greeted with a sign of uncertainty.
"You look tired. Maybe a nice breakfast should wake you up," Aster suggested, but Rosalina frowned.
"I wish I could make us breakfast, but the Kitchen isn't open. We'll need another Grand Star to open it up."
"WHAT?! But I haven eaten anything beside Star Bits since last night! I'M STARVING!" Mario complained.
"Well, I'm afraid that's too bad. It's our only option until the Kitchen opens up again," Aster retorted, not wishing to take Mario's drama.
"Please, Mario. Just for one day, have Star Bits for breakfast. I promise you, once you get another Grand Star from the fountain, we can have a good dinner," Rosalina promised.
"Fine…"
The three sat down and ate Star Bits. Admittedly, they did taste good and gave him energy, but Mario wished he were eating waffles for breakfast instead. They've always been his favorite. Watching the others eat, Rosalina was slowly chewing each one down, savoring every bite like it was the last one ever. Aster on the other hand was chowing them down at quick succession like a dog. Mario couldn't help but giggle a bit.
"Your obsession is almost like that of a Hungry Luma! Trying to transform?" Mario laughed aloud even more, ticking off Aster a bit.
"I'm sorry!" Aster yelled with sarcasm. "It's not my fault that these were all I was able to survive on when I've been traveling the universe, trying to get back here!"
Rosalina stopped eating when she heard this.
"You survived on JUST Star Bits?!"
Aster sighed. "Yes… It was the only food I could find. The bees in Honeyhive also offered me their honey, but it tasted the same as Star Bits. At this point, I've practically forgotten what anything else tastes like."
The space woman embraces her husband in a warmth that the space hero has not felt in what feels like forever.
"Don't worry, my dear. Once we open up the kitchen again, I'll make you the bestest dinner you'll ever had. Guaranteed," Rosalina reassured with a soft voice.
"Thank you, honey…" Aster softly replied. Meanwhile with Mario, seeing this kind of interaction last night made his heart go as warm as the Beacon. But this time, it made "Star Bits" drip from his eyes."
"Seeing this now only makes me miss my princess even more," thought Mario. "I wonder how she's doing."
Aster and Rosalina let go and got up.
"Welp. Those Stars aren't going to retrieve themselves. You ready, Mario?" Aster reached out his hand and Mario grabbed it.
"Let's a go…"
Rosalina waved goodbye as the duo walked on the stone pathway leading them to a Warp Pad. This Warp Pad warped them up to the Fountain Dome. Mario admired the architecture of this dome and figured it might be the reason why Aster said it was favorite. The two walked inside.
[BGM end]
Fountain
[BGM: Unused World Map 1 - Super Mario Galaxy 2]
Inside the fountain, Aster took a deep breath. He inhaled, held the breath in for three seconds, then slowly exhaled. Mario's friend then layed down in the center of the dome, relaxed.
"Oh, how I missed this place. You know, out of all the domes in this Observatory, this was the one that I'd go to whenever I felt stressed out, upset, or was worried about even the trivial things." Aster reminisced. "I don't know what it is, but something about this dome makes those worries of mine get flushed down the drain."
"Maybe it's the sweet sound of water flowing, or perhaps the nice mix of the walls with the tiles in different shades of blue, and the white pillars with sun-shaped symbols. Blue represents the feelings of trust, peace, loyalty, and competence, while White represents cleanliness, simplicity, innocence, and honesty. Though, I'd like to think it's both of these factors that make me feel safe and sound."
Mario was fascinated by Aster's feelings toward just this dome. He never truly thought of appreciating the little things in life. Then again, he wasn't separated from his home for years like Aster was.
"That's… very poetic of you, Aster," Mario complimented.
Aster gave Mario a nice smile. "When you've seen as much as I have, you learn to appreciate even the littlest of details. When I was separated from Rosie, I'd often try describing the nearest galaxies in my head to learn to appreciate them in the best of detail. It was my way of keeping my sanity. It's like writing imagery except the pencil is just in your head." Aster got up and stretched. "But enough about me. There are more stars out there for us to find. So let's get to it!"
The duo concentrated and let the Pull Star pull them up to a new galaxy system. Just as before, five galaxies orbited around them, with the farthest one having an odd orbit. Mario and Aster first approached the blurry one with a 9 on it, revealing a galaxy with all sorts of debris in the air, a clear cylindrical planet, a red and white rocket ship, and a clear spherical planet. The biggest planet in the center was a virus-shaped purple planet with green spots.
"Ah, the Space Junk Galaxy," Aster said with nostalgia. "This is the most peaceful galaxy I've been to. It gave me a feeling similar to the Fountain itself. What a coincidence that it just so happens to be in this dome."
Mario was confused. "A galaxy with the word 'junk' in its name is peaceful?"
"I know it sounds unappealing, but I think you'll understand once you see it for yourself."
With that out of the way, a Launch Star appeared and both flew towards the new galaxy.
[BGM end]
Space Junk Galaxy
[BGM: Course Intro - Super Mario Galaxy]
This galaxy… It had a strange feeling to it that no galaxy before had. The sky was filled to the brim with billions upon billions of stars. There were plenty of stars back in the galaxies where it was nighttime, but not this much. Could likely be due to a lack of light from the planets themselves. It was like going from a city with billions of lights, to a remote island with little to no light at all.
Besides the sky, the galaxy itself was filled with tons of loose debris, whether it be from asteroids, comets, or even spaceships, which justifies the "junk" in the galaxy's name. Most of the planets in it were either made of glass, rock, or metal. And despite most of the planets seemingly being artificially made, it didn't have many inhabitants besides some Goombas and Spiders, suggesting it could possibly have been abandoned.
[BGM: Space Junk Road]
Upon landing on a metallic rounded square planet, Mario was breathtaked by the tranquil atmosphere of this galaxy. Luma came out of his hat to see it for himself, and was also amazed.
"This galaxy… is…" Mario tried to speak, but something was keeping him from doing so.
"...beautiful," Luma finished.
"I told ya. It really feels good to be here again." Aster sighed thinking of the happy memories. "I hope you can keep yourself concentrated, because we'll have to follow the Pull Star path to get to our first Star."
Aster pointed towards the many Pull Stars up in space. They'd have to use them to find the Star. Mario wiped away his "Star Bits" and closed his eyes. Aster did the same. Both used the first Pull Star to reach a Star Dust Rolling Step, where they broke crystals containing Star Bits. They continued to use the Pull Stars ahead to proceed through the G Capture Zone. As they were using them, they flew past lots of floating asteroids.
Reaching a trio of lava transparent planets, the duo of heroes collected five Star Chips among them while avoiding the electric amps. A Launch Star appeared upon collecting them.
The Launch Star flew them over to the rocket ship they saw earlier. Mario looked peculiarly at it.
"Why does this ship look so familiar?"
"I don't know. What are you even talking about?" Aster raised an eyebrow.
"I just feel like I've seen this ship somewhere before. Like in another Nintendo game. I'm probably just imagining things."
He shrugged it off and concentrated towards three Blue Star Capsule Planets. These were glass planets with Pull Stars inside of them. Then they went through another path of Pull Stars, this time having to navigate around some asteroids.
At the end of the path, the two came to a metal T-shaped planet inhabited by brown-striped spider enemies.
"Those are Spoings. They're simply spiders who want to keep their territory. They'll jump up and down when one approaches them," Aster described.
Mario nodded and moved around the Spoings. Since they didn't move horizontally, they didn't serve much of a threat. Mario and Aster jumped up to the top of the planet where many crystals resided. Some of which had Toads trapped inside of them, much to the heroes' shock.
"What happened here? How'd the Toads get trapped in those crystals?!" Mario panicked.
"I'm guessing several comets must've struck this place," Aster assumed.
Luma peeped out of Mario's cap. "But you got the spin! You know what to do."
Luma winked and Mario winked back. He destroyed all of the crystals to free each of the Toads. With all of them freed. Mario hugged them.
"Are you guys ok?" Mario asked with concern.
"Thanks… Oh, my head…" grumbled Jeff.
"Where's that confounded Power Star?" wondered Bob, who was unusually wide awake.
"WHERE ARE MY GLASSES?! I'M BLIND AS A BAT WITHOUT 'EM!" screamed Dylan, who was missing his glasses.
Mario counted the Toads, but noticed one was missing.
"Hey, where's Toad?"
"Oh, he abandoned us like a coward when we were put in harm's way. Some Captain he is." Seth then muttered some rude words under his breath.
[BGM: The Toad Brigade - Super Mario Galaxy]
Speaking of the devil, Captain Toad shows up in the Starshroom, which both heroes jumped up to since it had its own gravity in space.
"Oh, look who decided to show up…" Seth sarcastically complained.
"Da-da-da-DAAAAAA!"
The Captain stepped out of his ship, only to notice both the crew, and the two heroes angry at him.
"Uh… hey guys! Did I miss something?"
"Toad, where were you when your brigade needed you?!" Mario interrogated.
"I was just… I was just… uh…" Toad struggled to come up with an excuse. "I was just helping you look for Power Stars."
Aster scoffed. "Yes. Because Power Stars are far more important than your OWN CREW!"
"Guys… I'm sorry! I was… too scared!" Toad shuddered.
"Toad, you gotta understand. You're the CAPTAIN! And being Captain is a big responsibility," Mario reminded. "You have to be there for your crew, and lead them like a true leader should. You have to be brave enough to risk your own life for your crew's safety!"
"If you can't do that, then your brigade members will challenge you for leadership, and you'll eventually be kicked out of the group entirely. Is that what you want?" added Aster.
"NO!" Toad screamed.
"Then toughen up a little bit! If I can do it, anyone can! I know you've got it in you, Toad. Just try to step out of your comfort zone," Mario encouraged.
"I'll… I'll try." Toad nodded. "To make it up to you, I found a shortcut to the Power Star! Just use the Sling Star on top of the Starshroom!"
"Thanks!" Both heroes nodded and used said Sling Star to reach the final area.
[BGM end]
Both heroes were confused at first. All that accompanied them was a singular platform, along with several colorful blocks just floating around like space junk. There were also floating bubbles with Silver Stars inside them, but with no possible way of reaching them.
"I… don't get it. What are we supposed to do here?" Mario asked.
Aster however, felt something coursing through the veins of his brains like blood. It's like this place was trying to tell him something.
"Mario… I'm going to try something I haven't done in an extremely long time. So step back."
Mario did so. Aster closed his eyes tightly, bent his knees, and strained tightly as if he was lifting a 1000 lb dumbbell. Mario was confused about what he was trying to do, and grew nervous that he'd pull a muscle.
"Um… Aster…?"
Aster soon stopped straining and took a deep breath. Aster kept his eyes closed and held a formal posture. Mario was still confused, up until he was about to step off the platform.
"NO!" Mario exclaimed with eyes as wide as the nearby black hole.
Mario covered his eyes, not standing to watch. But when he opened them up, Aster didn't fall off. Instead, the blue blocks that were floating in space had suddenly assembled for Aster to step on. Upon opening his eyes, the space hero was ecstatic.
[BGM: Space Athletic - Super Mario Galaxy]
"WOOHOO! YES! AT LAST! AT LONG LAST! The block assembly power that laid dormant in me is BACK, BABY! YEAH! Follow me!"
Mario was speechless of what Aster just did and followed him. Aster was assembling the blocks floating in space together for him and his companion to walk on. Of course, he couldn't keep them assembled forever, since the platforms behind them began floating aimlessly again, so Mario decided to stay close in order to avoid falling.
First, they took a left and used long green blocks to reach the first Silver Star sitting on a golden platform.
"That's a Silver Star. Some Power Stars must've been broken up into five pieces. We'd better reassemble them," Aster explained.
Next, they took a right where the two climbed up some steps to get the second Silver Star.
Going forward a little more, the third and forth Silver Stars were to the left. One was sitting on a purple square block, while the other was on a purple block that Mario collected.
The last Star was to the right, where Aster assembled eight triangle-shaped red blocks to form a circle to reach the star. Mario licked his lips seeing this, for it reminded him of a pizza pie.
Upon collecting the fifth Silver Star, they all fused together to form a Power Star, which floated back to the starting platform. Aster took them back there as well.
"So… what'd you think? You didn't doubt the Master of the Galaxies, did you?"
Mario just stood there, speechless. This made Aster raise an eyebrow.
"Hello? I'm talking to you! Hey!"
Aster waved his hand over Mario's frozen face and sighed.
"Great. I'm adventuring with a silent protagonist. Just what I needed…"
"That…" Mario suddenly spoke. "was… AWESOME!"
Aster was taken aback by Mario's burst of excitement.
"How did you do that?! I thought you lost it! But then you did the thing with the blocks… and then you… and you… and then…"
"I get you have a lot of questions. Let me explain." Aster calmed him. "It's a dormant power that me and Rosalina would use to guide ourselves. It's called Block Assembly. It's sort of like telekinesis, except it only works on blocks, and I can't move the blocks wherever I want. They have to be assembled in a sort of fashion, whether it be a path, a tower, a wall, you name it."
He glares at the viewers "So audience, don't compare me to some psychokinetic silver hedgehog from the future who shouts 'IT'S NO USE!'. Rosalina uses her wand while I use my brain. She gave me these supernatural powers using that wand."
"Why did you stop using it, though? That was amazing!" Mario wondered.
"Well, there's not really that many places where I can use it besides here and at the Observatory," Aster frowned. "I didn't run into any usable places, so I stopped using it. It was great to use it again after so long!"
"Yeah! I hope we see it again at some point!" Mario exclaimed.
Both nodded and grabbed the Power Star.
[BGM: Power Star get - Super Mario Galaxy]
YOU GOT A STAR!
"WAHOO!"
"YES!"
[BGM end]