StarlitDuck

A little trivia! Alpha Pandora is named after Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to our sun (only 4 light years away. Still very far, tho.), and Pandora, one of Saturn's moons. And if anyone hasn't noticed already…

Alex Peterson. Alpha Pandora.

Notice something? And I made that reference to your canon as a bit of a shout-out. Same with Liam. And the mention of Rocco in Rolling Greens is Nintendoscript15's shoutout.

Liamtheyoshi

Shoutouts to you for your awesome stories!

nintendoscrpt15

I figured that Alex's past cancer would be a useful way to relate to other characters later down the line, even after it's long gone.

I'm surprised you didn't talk about Rocco's mention, since I figured a golf themed Galaxy would be the perfect opportunity for such a mention.

I personally never had issues with the ball rolling challenges in either version of the game (as well as Galaxy 2). I guess it's because I grew up with the Wii, and motion controls were the norm.

You really are nostalgic towards that Paper Mario adaptation, are ya? Can't say I blame you. It's one of your best stories!

Yup! Alex, or better yet, Alpha Pandora, created Rolling Green Galaxy out of memories of his father playing golf. You see, the chip the Topman Tribe inserted not only took control of Alex's mind, but also scanned it. So Alpha Pandora has access to all of Alex's memories.

KazamaFam2006

Nope. It's the original. Don't worry though. Once Alex is snapped out of this state, he'll join Mario. And this armor won't be permanent. I actually have something planned that will turn Alex back to normal at the end of this story.

Oooh! More cookies! Thanks! And congrats for getting an account!

Nataly Guardado

Well, Alex did ask to work for Bowser in exchange to free Peach. Well, he got his wish, but didn't get anything in his favor.

breath20k

Nothing to comment on.

Stat Booster

Thank you! Feel free to stick around!

Amethyst Goldenwind

He'll be a big threat. That's for sure.

And LOL! I personally never had a problem with the Star Balls, but hey, not everyone's as good as I am.

Chapter 17: Kamella's Airship Attack

[BGM: Rosalina in the Observatory 1 - Super Mario Galaxy]

Upon returning to the fountain, Mario immediately took notice that Aster was gone. Odd. He was expecting the space hero to still be in here waiting for him. After all, this was the place where Aster would calm himself as he said earlier.

"Aster? Aster? Hello?" Mario called out. "Where did he go?"

Mario walked out of the fountain looking for Aster. Surprisingly, he found him in the Garage, building a spaceship that looked like the Starshroom, but it was painted yellow rather than red.

"Aster? What is this?" Mario asked as he approached him.

"Oh, you're back already? That was quick," said Aster with mild surprise. "So, how was the galaxy?"

"I… don't wanna talk about it…" Mario hesitated with discomfort. "Whoever this 'Topman General A. P.' is, he's going down!" Mario cleared his thoughts away and brought his attention back to what his new friend was building. "Why are you building another Starshroom?"

"Well, I figured the Toad Brigade might need some help in finding the stars. So I decided to build them multiple Starshrooms for each member, equipped with communication devices to keep in contact," Aster explained. "Plus, the Fountain surprisingly wasn't helping me clear my thoughts like it usually would. So I figured just doing something I'm passionate about would get my mind off of it. Man, this really takes me back. I'm surprised I still remember how to do this after all this time."

Mario nodded. Rosalina approached the two, admiring Aster's work.

"Looks like you've still got it after all this time," Rosalina complimented in a flattering tone.

It was obvious to the other two that Aster blushed, but he tried to hide it anyways. "Well… I was willing to do anything for you, Rosie. So, I did. Maybe that's why I didn't forget how to build things even though I haven't done it in centuries, 'cause it always made me think of you."

Mario's heart was pumping so rapidly, and so loudly, that he swore it felt like a drum was inside it. This romantic moment was so intense, it hurt knowing that Peach wasn't here.

"Oh, please stop! This is too much! I know this sounds kinda selfish on my part, but I'd give anything for something to interrupt this romantic moment right now."

[BGM: Piracy is no Party! - Mario Party DS]

And just as he finished that thought, the alarms went off again. This urged Mario, Aster, Rosalina, and the Toad Brigade to rush over to the holographic monitor, where Polari was once again wide eyed with fear.

"Guys, we've got another problem!"

"We can't have discovered the enemy base already! We just started the Fountain!" argued Aster, who was coming to assumptions.

"Well, not exactly. Look!"

Polari showed a display of a fleet of airships flying in space. Mario could recognize those ships from anywhere. Just from thinking about him, he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Those… Those are Bowser's airships! Where are they?!" Mario demanded.

"I'm not sure, exactly," answered Polari. "But do any of you recognize this place?"

Polari zoomed out the footage a little bit. The location wasn't too clear, but there were noticeable space debris floating, a rocket ship, a virus shaped planet, and more. Rosalina looked puzzled of this Galaxy, while Mario and Aster looked surprised, Aster especially.

"I believe we might've been to that galaxy, but my memory isn't quite clear," said Rosalina.

"That's Space Junk Galaxy!" Mario pointed out. "We were just in that galaxy a while ago! Right Aster?"

The space warrior did not respond. His eyes were fixated onto the screen like he was watching his favorite saturday morning cartoon on TV. Only difference was that he did not like what he was watching. In fact, the more Aster watched the screen, the more he felt a need to punch something. He slowly curled his fist.

"Aster? You okay, dude?" Captain Toad asked in concern.

"Mario... let's go," Aster slowly grunted under his clenched teeth.

"Honey…?" Rosalina was also concerned by her husband's hate buildup.

Without warning, Aster aggressively grabbed Mario by his left arm, and held it very tightly.

"Yah! Aster, what are you-?! OW!" Mario winced. "Yo-You're crushing my arm!"

"We've got some work to do, NOW!" Aster ordered as he pulled Mario into the Fountain. The Toad Brigade were speechless for a moment.

"Well, that just happened," Jeff T. commented, not having anything better to say.

"Let's go team!" Captain Toad ordered as the team boarded both of their Starshrooms and took off for Space Junk Galaxy.

[BGM: A Tense Moment - Super Mario Galaxy]

Meanwhile, Aster was still able to concentrate with the Pull Star despite being in an enraged state. (This is because he has better concentration than Mario.) With that, he selected Space Junk and took Mario with him, still having an intense grip on his arm.

Space Junk Galaxy

Meanwhile… Bowser, General AP, and Kamella stood upon a blue airship decorated with red carpets and purple masts. It was a ship fit for a witch. However, AP couldn't help but notice that Kamella was sweating harder than a kid who was nervous to take their final exam.

"What appears to be troubling you, Mistress Kamella?" AP asked, not out of concern, but rather suspicion.

Kamella shuddered. "S-Sorry. I'm j-just a little nervous. I am confident in my skills, but Kamek's always told me about M-Mario and how relentless he takes down all th-those troops in Bowser's army…" Kamella hyperventilated from thinking about how Mario could possibly destroy her and her magic wand.

Bowser groaned and then slapped her. "Get it together, woman! I've faced that plumber like a kajillion times, and you don't see me chickening out whenever he shows up!"

"This is different!" Kamella argued. "I've never faced him before. But from what I've been told, Mario sounds like… some sort of… MONSTER!"

Bowser knew he couldn't have a boss who cowers in fear, but it was too late to hire another replacement, so he thought up a way to reason with Kamella.

"Hey, since I've faced Mario more times than I can count the guards in my old castle, maybe I could offer you some advice to help you face him? Would that help?" Bowser offered with a sincere smile.

"I… I guess…" Kamella accepted. "Fire away."

Bowser scratched his chin as he thought about some of his past encounters with the pesky plumber. What could be some good advice to offer to a magikoopa to bring Mario down (or at least slow him down so the Star Reactor base can be ready by the time Mario reaches it)?

"Well, you could try throwing shells at him like I do in Mario Kart. That always annoys him," said Bowser. "And… I don't know what else." Bowser paused. "Geez. To think I've been enemies with Mario for years and I don't know too much about him. If only I knew someone who were…" As he thought, Bowser suddenly turned over to Alpha Pandora. It turns out the answer was right next to him the whole time. "...closer to him."

Bowser's realization formed a nasty grin as he tapped AP's shoulder.

"Yo, Alpha! Since you're technically Mario's interdimensional best friend, you must know Mario more than I do. So, you got any advice for Kamella?"

AP put his mind chip to work and searched Alex's memories for information that could be useful. Then one memory caught his interest.

[BGM pause]

*AUGUST 2005; FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE*

Rocco and Alex pull up in front of the latter's school. Alex himself looked a little nervous.

"Dad, what if there are bullies that'll make fun of me?" Alex asked his father.

"Do your best to not pay attention to them," Rocco advised. "If you choose to fight the bullies yourself, you're fighting fire with fire. The fire will grow bigger the more you and those kids fight each other, and no one wants to see that."

"I know. I don't want to be sent to the office." Alex shuddered a bit.

Rocco smiled, having faith in his son. "Good. I know you'll be fine, son. I promise."

*FLASHBACK ENDS*

['A Tense Moment' resumed]

Once finished playing back the memory, AP whispers into Kamella's ear.

"Fire, huh? Okay, thanks!" Kamella thanked him as Bowser and AP left on a smaller airship.

"I don't understand why I can't fight Mario myself, sir," AP complained.

Bowser shook his head back and forth. "Not yet. I don't want him to know what happened to you until he sees what you've done. It'll make for a bigger impact on him once he does find out. In the meantime, let's continue construction on the Star Reactor."

"Yes sir," AP obeyed as they went through a wormhole.

[BGM: Airship Armada - Super Mario Galaxy]

Back with our main heroes, they were once again flying towards the galaxy like comets. However, the atmosphere of this junk-filled void was completely turned on its tables the moment an entire fleet of Bowser's airships showed up. Aster's anger at the sight of them filled up his determination to destroy each of those ships.

Once they landed on the Yellow Starshroom, Aster noticed Mario straining under his still intense grip and finally let go, leaving behind a noticeable mark.

"Ow…" Mario winced.

"Was I a bit too hard on the arm? Sorry," Aster apologized. "My manners seem to have diminished over my time alone in the universe."

"Yeah… I can see that," commented Mario.

"Hey!" Captain Toad called out from the Red Starshroom. "Glad you guys made it. My brigade have boarded the enemy fleet, and none have returned!"

"Well, you're their captain. Go look for them!" Aster ordered.

Toad shivered. "Well, I would but…"

"You're scared, aren't ya?" Mario assumed, in which he received a nod. "How about you come with us? We'll keep you safe."

"Okay!" Toad approved, and all three of them took the nearby Launch Star to the first airship. First thing they did was take out a few Goombas. Then Mario hit a lever, sending a bridge down over to a Sling Star.

On the next airship, the duo stomped some more Goombas, took out a Magikoopa, and freed Dylan.

"You okay, Dylan?" Toad asked.

"Yeah, thanks Captain!" Dylan thanked, while Mario and Aster rolled their eyes for not getting credit. "Hey! Try throwing that shell at the treasure chest!"

A green shell was sitting in the center of the ship waiting to be thrown.

"Hey! I've seen these before! These are the shells I'd throw in Mario Kart!" Mario referenced.

"'Mario Kart'?" wondered Aster.

"Oh, it's fun! I'll tell you about it some other time." Mario grabbed the shell and threw it at a treasure chest to reveal a Launch Star.

They flew over to the mast of the next ship. Up there, Aster saw a Pull Star hanging over a smokestack. Intrigued by it, he used his energy to get to it as Mario and Toad jumped down.

"Aster? Hello?! Aster?!" Mario called out, losing sight of him. Luckily, the man in question emerged from a manhole. "Where were you?!"

"Sorry. I found a hidden room that was filled with Star Bits. I figured we'd need as many as possible." answered the space hero.

Mario shrugged it off and freed Seth and Bob from crystals.

"Thanks guys! Try throwing shells at those octopuses!" suggested Seth.

Mario stared at the octopuses that were shooting flaming coconuts. Unlike the ones back in Good Egg Galaxy, these guys didn't fire regular coconuts. So the shells had to do.

Once both octopuses were hit with the shells, the bridge lowered, leading up to Kamella's airship.

"Good luck guys! We're heading back now," Captain Toad saluted.

[BGM end]

As the duo head towards the last airship, Aster took two Life Mushrooms out of his emergency bag.

"For safety." They both take the Shrooms and step onto the ship. Everything went quiet for a moment, but things got tense when the two heard an evil cackling.

"YEEEEEEAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Two dimensional magic shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles appeared and merged together into a light. In its place appeared a large female magikoopa, who wore a purple robe and hat with red outlines, and wore makeup consisting of green lipstick and blue nail polish. Her glasses were the same as Kamek's.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the famous Mario. Now, aren't you just adorable!" the magikoopa teased. "You even brought yourself a cute lil' bodyguard!"

"BODYGUARD?!" Aster was offended by this woman underestimating him and his comrade like that. "Why you-?!"

"Who are you?!" Mario demanded.

"I am Kamella, your new adversary and soon to be Queen of the Magikoopas! Looking for… this?"

Upon saying the last word, Kamella showed the duo her magic wand, which had a poor little Power Star sealed inside it.

"The Star!" both shouted out simultaneously.

"Hahahaha! This Power Star is filled with such magical energy. Energy that will make me the most powerful magikoopa in the galaxy!" monologues Kamella. "I don't think I can bear to part with it. No, no, no, no! Too much sentimental value. So how about instead…"

[BGM: Kamella - Super Mario Galaxy]

"I give you a full demonstration of what I can do?!"

"You're on!" "You're gonna be sorry you asked!" Mario and Aster declared respectively.

Kamella floated back and shouted out an incantation. She fired a spell from her wand that summoned balls of fire. These were easy to dodge at first, but Kamella kept upping the intensity of the spells, usually increasing the number of fireballs, and even landing a few hits on the two.

"Hahaha! May the raging flames ensure your fiery doom!" Kamella cackled.

Though then she messed up a spell and fired a green shell instead. This gave Mario an idea. He grabbed the green shell, and smacked Kamella in the face with it.

"Ow! Hey! YOU LITTLE BRAT! BURN!" Kamella threatened.

"Try me!" Mario taunted.

"Don't taunt her, Mario!" Aster warned. "You're only adding fuel to the fire! That's what she wants!"

Kamella continued firing fire spells at them with more intensity.

"Try this one on for si-" she accidentally fired another shell. "Oh… that's a green shell. Sorry, one second."

The witch takes out her book of spells and skims through it.

"Where's that blasted bombshell spe-?" Aster hits her with the shell as she was searching, making her drop the book into a black hole. "MY SPELLS! Oh forget it! I'll just keep adding fuel to my fire 'till you pass out from all the smoke. Guys! I need some back up here!"

She summoned two illusions of Kamek to assist her in battle.

"Yes, mistress Kamella!" both illusions saluted. They along with Kamella fired more fiery blasts at the duo. Aster easily stomped on the two Kameks, defeating them. But Kamella just summoned two more.

Soon enough, Kamella accidentally summoned another green shell, and Mario did the finishing blow with it.

"GAH! No, no, no, no! My magic!" Kamella panicked.

"Ha! Foolish Kamella! Your magic is pathetic! You started out as a nobody, and ended just the same!" the Kamek illusions taunted.

"Even my illusions have turned against me… Oh, what a world!"

[BGM end]

Kamella vanished, leaving behind her wand which exploded. The Star was freed!

[BGM: A Change to Grab a Star!]

"Foolish witch! Who does she think she is, using such delicate power for her own vanity?" said Aster.

"That's something you can say for all of Bowser's minions, unfortunately," said Mario. Then they grabbed the Star.

[BGM: Power Star get - Super Mario Galaxy]

YOU GOT A STAR!

"WAHOO!"

"YES!"

[BGM end]

After that, the two left the airships as they self-destructed. AP witnessed this occurrence.

"Hmph! I knew Bowser shouldn't have entrusted that idiot!" he said to himself. "At least I have a backup plan."

Meanwhile Jeff was sitting in the Starshroom, being forced to keep watch while the others investigated the ship.

"Why must the rest of the brigade have all the fun while I'm stuck here doing nothing?! It's not fair." Jeff complained. "At least I can snack on some Star Bi-"

Unfortunately for Jeff, AP appeared and grabbed him out of the Starshroom. He screamed and kicked in agony to no avail, for this cyborg had too strong of a grip.

"L-L-ET… ME… G-GO!" Jeff strained.

"Sorry Fungus, but I'm afraid I can't do that!" said AP. "I've got a trap set in stone for the plumber and I need you as bait! Stay silent about this if you value your life."

Jeff nodded rapidly, not wanting to die, but suddenly noticed AP's face.

"Have we met before?" Jeff noted with suspicion.

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" AP barked. "Now, come with me!"

He flew away with Jeff in hand.

Edit: I toned down Aster going completely off the walls to simple tranquil fury.