FairyTalePrincess16

The person who requested this powerup wanted ice to be it's weakness. And yes, that copy ability did inspire this powerup.

Mario bros fan4ever

Heh! Incredibles reference.

LiamTheYoshi

Oh no. Topmaniac became evil LONG before Bowser came into the picture. Just because Bowser is the ultimate evil that must be defeated doesn't mean he's the cause of EVERY bad thing that happens in the story.

nintendoscript15

Please tell me what your prediction was after this chapter.

Starlitduck

It may be a weird design, but it's an alien powerup, so it kinda makes sense.

They kinda already have a boxing ring around them, albeit round and with electric edges, LOL!

I didn't intend the reference, but I do see the connection. Cosmo is also the name of a character from Sonic X (who happens to be an alien).

RareDomains

I always pictured Mario to be the optimistic type as well. It just seems fitting for him. And clashing it with Aster's more cynical and somewhat pessimistic attitude results in the two being foils to one another. (Sorry Luigi. You're a good lancer to your brother, but we gotta take different directions sometimes.)

I thought of making fun of that moment in the game because there really is no in-universe reason for the timer. I did the same thing with Episode 6 of Sirena Beach in the previous fic.

The Super Rocket is actually NOT my first original powerup. I introduced a few in Sunshine, such as the Firework Flower, the Bubble Wand, and the Mershroom.

I thought of shouting out to Super Paper Mario since it was Mario's last major adventure before this one (the game having initially released several months prior to Galaxy).

The part where Toxic Mario went through the grates was inspired by Gooigi, but that's it in terms of similarities.

Those adaptations will come in the future.

Nataly Guardado

You're welcome! I'm glad to entertain you with my reimaginings.

breath20k

It's not so great in the perspective of the guys who installed it. (Plus, that's not even the focus of the chapter.)

KazamaFam2006

I have no idea who StormReaperVII is. And I'm not interested in Blazblue. Sorry.

Thanks for the cookies!

C.T. Genius

Nothing to say that I haven't already before.

Amethyst Goldenwind

Details will be revealed soon. Glad you liked the powerup.

Guest

I hope you're ready! Cause it's fight time!

Chapter 22: Alex…

[BGM: Bowser Appears - Super Mario Galaxy]

Mario and Aster stood there, eyes locked onto their deadly, yet familiar foe. Mario felt hesitative to curl his arms into a fist, but knew he had to do this.

"Remember what I advised," Aster whispered to his ally.

"Impressive," Alpha Pandora finally said after a long silence. "I'll be honest. I'm not surprised that you fought your way through all I laid out for you. You are 'Super' Mario after all. But your adventures end here."

AP watched, his face blank, as the hologram projection that came out of his eye played out. Mario felt the urge to run at him, but something about the image of Alex's husk-like body standing over the scene of them winning the tennis tournament bolted his feet to the floor. AP tapped his head, and the scene changed to when Alex was lying in the hospital bed as a three year old.

"Pathetic," AP said. He looked at Mario. "You must view yourself as a people pleaser Mario." His eye glowed, and a beam shot out of it, destroying the hologram projection. "I can see why the old me idolized you so much. Like attracts like, pitiful people attract pitiful people."

Mario swallowed. "Alex..."

AP chuckled and smirked, sending chills down Mario's spine. "You can't get me out of your head, can you?" He brandished his laser gun and shot at him. Mario dodged out of the way.

"Alex, please! I don't want to fight!"

"Then you will die, for I have no tolerance for cowards." AP sneered. "Makes me wonder; have you seen Luigi recently? Oh wait, that's right, you got seperated." AP cackled. "Just goes to show you can't protect everyone, now can you?"

Mario felt a surge of rage hit him from the mention of his brother. As he put his fear aside to fight, Aster stepped forward.

"Hold on! Listen kid, we may have just met, but is this really what you want? To cause suffering and pain to those you used to love?" Aster questioned. This armor-piercing question made the cyborg's rage pause for a moment with a look of uncertainty. "If anything, you're the one who's suffering yourself, and just want others to be as miserable as you are. If you were wise, you'd stop trying to take out your insecurities on others and try to fight them off yourself!"

AP glanced at his other opponent for a second or two. It didn't take long for his anger to rise up again and attempt a shot at the space explorer, who narrowly dodged it.

"I don't need therapy, traitor!" AP sneered. "I'll kill both of you!"

"Looks like fighting is our only option. Ready, Mario?"

Mario looked over to his partner and nodded without fear. "For Alex…"

[BGM: An Obstacle in Our Path - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition (requested by FairyTalePrincess16)]

AP flew towards the two at a high speed with his rocket boots. He started by punching Mario in the left cheek, followed by uppercutting Aster in the chin.

Mario recovered from the punch quickly and spun into AP. It sent him back a bit, but didn't damage the cyborg. He then took off one of his rocket boots and flung it across the arena like a boomerang-or rather a "boot"arang. Aster got up and grabbed the boot, throwing it back to the sender with brutal force, making him take damage from the electric wires.

"How's that for 'therapy'?" Aster retorted.

AP could only chuckle. "Your insults don't put even a dent on me. The only reason Mario was able to make it this far is because of you."

AP got up and fired an electric laser around the arena, which the two already had experience dodging before.

"That's not true!" Mario denied.

"Then how about you man up and go collect a star by yourself? Oh wait! He won't let you! Why do you even trust him?" AP took out his arm cannon and shot out a metal ball, which shook the saucer they were on and paralyzed the duo.

"I'm… I'm just trying to… help… him…" Aster said as his body was temporarily bolted to the cold floor. "It's what friends do! Something an AI like you would never understand!"

AP bolted toward the both of them and electrified both of them with the electric wires.

"Idiots! You're only desperate because you want to save that princess so badly! Friendship makes you weak and pitiful!" He glared at both of them with a fearful eye, but focused much of that gaze on Mario. "I learned that the hard way because of YOU!"

Mario couldn't stand the insults and grabbed a hold of AP's shoulder. With a forceful maneuver, he forced himself and Aster out of the barriers and pushed AP into the electric wires again.

"Stop blaming me for all this, Alex! This was not my fault! You think I wanted your birthday to be ruined, Leah to be separated, Peach's Castle to be lifted, and for you to turn into THIS?! NO!" Mario ranted. "If there's anyone to blame, it's Bowser! He's the reason this all happened! It's HIS DAMN FAULT! And you know it! If you won't fight yourself free from these lies, then I will!"

While Mario was ranting, Aster fired Star Bits at some yellow spots on the ground and used coins to heal the two of them.

AP got up again and shot a ball of water out of his arm cannon, which splashed all over the two. Then he fired a ball of lightning which increased the effectiveness of electrocuting the both of them. Then the cyborg detached his metal hand and grabbed both of their weakened states to fling them around.

"What makes you think you're any better than him?"

Mario grunted. "Far more than you would know!" With expert maneuvering, he released himself from his opponent's hold and did the same to free Aster. Rosalina's husband performed a finishing kick on AP's roboticized body and sent him into the electric wires, which not only shut him down, but shut down the wires as well.

[BGM end]

Mario's anger slipped away in tears as he ran over to his brother figure's unconscious body and lifted up his head. The plumber snuffed up his tears and lamented as he hugged Alex close to his chest.

"I'm… s-s-sorry… Alex… I had no choice… I… I didn't h-hurt you too bad… did I?" Mario found it hard to speak as he finally let his bottled up emotions out. Aster approached soon after to examine the cyborg.

"Don't let your guard down yet. Remember the chip I mentioned earlier? We have to destroy it before he wakes up again!" Aster said as he grabbed the star AP had stolen just before they fought. Then, he took out a tiny remote with a radar signal.

Mario took notice of the gadget. "Wh-What is that?"

"It's a device I use to locate the brainwashing chip used on victims such as your friend here," he explained. "It's kinda like how an exorcist locates the evil spirit in order to compel them. I just hope it still works."

"Please… hurry!" Mario begged.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" Aster's radar finally beeped after 10 seconds. But judging by the distraught look on his face, he didn't like the results. "Oh no… This doesn't look good."

"What? What?! What is it?!" Mario asked impatiently.

The space traveler showed Mario the results. "The chip is located inside his head, near the brain!"

"Well, don't you have a gadget that can get it out, or something?"

"It's not that simple!" Aster shouted. "If it were on the outside like on his back, his arm, or his neck, I could take it out easily. But if it's on the inside, I can't possibly get it out without internally damaging him!"

"But there HAS to be another way!" Mario argued. "Can't we destroy the chip from the inside or something?! Please, Aster! I don't wanna leave him like this!"

Aster was at a loss of what to do, which was unusual for him in these sort of circumstances, but thanks to his prayers, Grambi sent him an idea from the Overthere.

"There is one thing we can do…" Aster began. "It'll be risky, but it's worth a shot."

"Do what you must! Just save my brother!" begged Mario.

Mario's heart stopped when he heard Alex groaning in his normal voice rather than the modulated robot voice. Was he okay?

"A… Alex…? Mario hesitantly reached his hand over to Alex's face, hoping he'd feel and see the sweet young boy he knew and loved.

[BGM: Awakening the Chaos - BlazBlue (requested by KazamaFam2006)]

However, Mario was greeted with an ominous dark glow from both eyes upon opening up. Alpha Pandora let out an ear-shattering scream that set both protagonists flying back to opposite walls, and distorted the air-er… space-around them. As Mario covered his ears as hard as he could, Alpha's back modified itself and pulsated a tremendously large third arm, bearing resemblance to a scorpion's tail. AP was about to swing the arm right into the portly plumber.

"Look out!"

Aster ran over and pushed Mario to the side just in time, sending him out into space instead.

"ASTER!" Mario yelled.

"That's one worthless subject out of the picture," AP bellowed in an even deeper voice. "No more games!"

Meanwhile, Aster fell towards the battlerock and crashed through a window to a lab. He was lucky to have eaten a life mushroom as he was flying, because if he didn't, the impact would've certainly shattered his bones along with the glass. Once he cleared his head, the man got up and looked around. The area looked similar to the lab he and Mario were in during their first mission in this galaxy; the one where they discovered what Alex had become. Only difference was that there were multicolored tubes which appeared to lead somewhere.

"This must lead to the main control unit. Just where I need to be!" said Aster. He looked out the window he had demolished to see Mario and AP still fighting in the distance. "I'd better hurry! Who knows how long he can hold him?"

Aster ran down in the path of the wires.

Meanwhile, the mushroom superstar wasn't doing so hot. He couldn't tell if it was because he didn't have the heart to hurt his best friend, said best friend was too powerful, or both. But he was being beaten and pummeled up to the core, all while AP cackled with sadistic glee. If he weren't just a brainwashed and crazy persona, Mario could easily identify Alpha Pandora as a sociopath.

AP outstretched his scorpion-like arm. The claw disconnected from the rest of the arm and shot toward Mario. It grabbed him by the neck and flung him around carelessly like a ragdoll. As he prepared to strangle the plumber and put an end to his miserable game, he decided to have a little fun first.

The cyborg sneered. "You are nothing, Mario. You never had any significance."

Mario tapped into Luma's power and spun himself free from his opponent's grasp. "That's not true!"

"You tell him, Mario!" cheered Luma.

AP disconnected a fist from his left hand and grabbed the star creature.

"Hey! L-Let me g-go!"

AP snickered. "Your lips speak lies. Relying on this little pest only proves it."

With Aster he was running as fast as he could in hopes to get to the control unit before AP killed Mario.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

Several cannon blasters popped out of the walls and aimed at Aster.

"Oh shoot…" He took out his bag of Star Bits. "Please don't fail me now."

AP fired an electric ball at Mario in order to weaken him, then picked him up again. "You always viewed yourself as a magnificent hero. You always saved the Princess. You always wanted everyone to be happy." He threw him up into the air, Mario screaming helplessly as he was hoisted. Luma was saddened and wanted to help him, but couldn't break free of AP's grip. The cyborg catched him by the overalls as he landed, and stared directly into his face. He grinned, his lifeless eyes dark and cold. "You're living a lie, mi amico. You keep showing the world your good side. Yet, you are just as flawed as they are."

Aster ran through the horde of cannons, using his ESP Star Bits to hold the fire back. At the end of the section, his next obstacle was a hallway of lasers.

"Oh, brilliant. Taking on the cliché obstacles," said Aster facetiously.

AP slammed Mario onto the floor, not letting him move a muscle. He grunted. "Alex..."

"You bury your selfish ambitions deep within you. You cover them up with your naive tendencies and impulsive nature. Oh, you pride yourself on those qualities," AP ranted.

Aster used some acrobatic action moves to narrowly dodge the lasers. In one instance, one of his mustache hairs was about to make contact with a laser when it curled downwards to avoid it.

"Whenever you let someone down, you never take it seriously. You promise to correct your past mistakes, only to repeat them again!" AP continued.

Upon passing the last laser, Aster encountered more Topman soldiers. Luckily, he didn't need the Toxic Mushroom to take these on.

Mario felt a lump in his throat and teared up. Hearing all these degrading thoughts from who he's always seen as a brother figure was slowly weakening him. But much to his dismay, he wasn't done yet. "And oh lord, your temper! Whether you get just a little too impatient, or something doesn't go your way, even if it's just minor, you throw a huge fit, usually hurting one's feelings in the process. Then you'd run away like a crybaby, and would have Luigi calm you down. Seriously, how are you the older brother? I wonder if anyone's ever looked at you and thought: 'Who is this immature manchild? Is this how he lives his life?'"

After sending those Topmen into electric fences and destroying them, Aster finally had access to the main control unit. He stepped in and hid behind a printer. The unit was being operated by a green goblin-like alien who was holding a Wii Remote connected to a Nunchuck cackling as he watched Mario's physical and psychological torture on the screen, which was shown in Alpha Pandora's point of view.

"Don't worry Mario. I'm coming. Just hang in there," Aster whispered.

"You think if you kept smiling, you could change the world. You want to know a secret, Mario?" AP leaned close in and whispered in his ear. "You can't change the world. You can't even change yourself."

AP's torso sprouted blades similar to those of Topmaniac's.

"NO! Don't hurt him! Please!" Luma screamed. But AP ignored him.

"Once you're gone, people will realize how worthless you truly are. So, any last words?"

"I-I… I…" Mario weakly muttered.

"On second thought, don't even bother. You've said enough nonsense in your life as is." AP dismissed as he moved his victim closer to the blades.

Back by the control unit, Aster witnessed his friend bracing himself as he was about to lose his game.

"GAME. OVER. MARIO!"

"NOOOOOO!" bellowed Aster as he ran over and punched the alien to the side and grabbed ahold of the controllers.

Back with AP, the blades suddenly stopped and the claw carried Mario further away. The three of them were baffled, especially AP.

"What the-? What just…?"

Aster examined the controllers he was holding, having never seen such strange technology in his life. They consisted of a rectangular white remote with a cross shaped button at the top, a big button with an 'A' below it, three buttons in the middle with a minus symbol, blue house, and plus symbol from left to right, a group of tiny holes, a '1' button and '2' button below them, and four flashing blue lights at the bottom with the strange word "Wii". Connected to it wasa white nunchuk with a stick and a few buttons at the top. "Alright. How to work these… things…" He looked over to the console that the controllers were connected to.

"What is 'Wye ai'?" he mispronounced

Aster was about to press the self destruct button (the power off button) when the alien got up and tackled him. The two of them got into a chaotic fight with both pressing buttons while beating each other up.

AP was fidgeting because of the fight. His arms and legs were jerking off in abnormal directions, and his arm cannon was firing like crazy.

"What's… happening… to me?!"

Aster aimed the pointer at the disconnected hand holding Luma captive and pressed the B button.

AP's head jerked to face Luma and fired a laser at his own hand to free him.

"OW!"

"Yay!"

Aster and the alien were angrily gripping the joystick, fighting for full control.

AP was now swinging Mario high up in the air, which made him nauseated very quickly.

The Alien grabbed ahold of Aster's head and pressed the Wii Remote against his face. Then he slammed both of them on the ground several times.

At the same time, AP slammed Mario into the ground.

"Oof! Ow! Eeh! Gah! Mamma-! Ow! -Mia!" Mario grunted.

Aster got up and punched the alien hard enough to knock him out, then he defenestrated the body, shattering a window. Now getting more of a grip on the controls, Aster moved the nunchuck so that AP's arm cannon aimed at his chest, and pressed the Z button to electrocute him.

"PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPHAH!"

While Alpha Pandora was paralyzed, Luma got back under Mario's cap and with a tear, Mario thought to himself. "I'm sorry, Alex…"

Mario kicked AP high up into the air as the cyborg screamed in agony.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

[BGM end]

As Aster shut down the console, AP's screaming died down and the chip inside his mind exploded. Mario caught Alex's unconscious body as he fell back down, along with that, an oddly colored Power Star floated down right next to the two. But Mario didn't take notice of that. He was more focused on Alex. The poor boy was still a cyborg, but with the chip destroyed, Alpha Pandora was definitely gone for good.

[BGM: A Chance to Grab a Star! - Super Mario Galaxy]

"Alex… Alex!" Mario cried as his mustache drooped down from the excessive 'Star Bits'. "Please tell me your game's still going! Please!"

Aster flew out of the now destroyed control base and landed right to where his partner was. After he took back the Power Star Alpha stole, the first thing that he took notice of was the Power Star floating next to them. It was not yellow or golden like most Power Stars. It was GREEN!

"Is this star… green?" Aster examined this bizarre Star. "This can't be possible! I thought multicolored stars were just a thing in legend."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT SOME STUPID STAR!" Mario growled. "Can't you see that my friend here could be DEAD?!"

"Alright, alright. Stand aside." Mario moved out of the way as Aster kneeled down to Alex's body. He took off a cybernetic glove and placed two fingers beneath a Alex's palm. After a minute had passed, he released them.

"Okay. The good news is that Queen Jaydes granted Alex a continue, and his game is not over." Aster informed, garnering a puzzled expression on Mario's face.

"What?"

The cosmic protector facepalmed. "He's still alive…"

"OH, THANK THE PASTA LORDS!" Mario rejoiced.

"The bad news is that like I said earlier, Alex could be so traumatized by his time as Alpha that he may not be able to function properly. So we'll have to make him feel extra comfortable once we take him back to the Observatory. Fixing him is gonna take awhile. That is assuming he CAN be fixed…"

"We WILL fix him! I know it!" Mario interrupted.

Aster stood up and turned towards the Green Star.

"Well, then you get to that once we return. I need to start examining this…" he smirked. "...interesting discovery."

[BGM: Power Star get - Super Mario Galaxy]

YOU GOT A STAR!

"WAHOO!"

"YES!"

[BGM end]