In this chapter, Alena and Prince Peasley will go to the Stardust Fields.
That's the first place Mario and Luigi visited in the Beanbean Kingdom.
So it seems appropriate to start there.
To be fair, Bowser's Minions began in Hoohoo Mountain.
But I happen to like Stardust Fields personally. So I figured you wouldn't object to it being featured.
Chapter 4: Stardust of the Show
Prince Peasley and Alena arrived in Stardust Fields.
OST: Stardust Fields
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-"
"Actually, I already know what your name is. I appreciate you telling me it though." interrupted Alena.
"Oh, that's right. I'm famous. You do seem new to the Beanbean Kingdom though." noted Peasley. There were a lot of places to see.
"I am. My name is Alena." explained Alena. "I'm the princess of Zamoksva."
"You're a princess as well? What were the odds?" questioned Peasley.
Though in recent localizations, she was tsarevna instead.
"I know. It's ironic." admitted Alena.
Some Goombas showed up.
The Bowser Baddies were here alright.
"It looks like a wannabe hero came to stop us." noted one of the Goombas.
"Actually, there's two of them." answered another Goomba. It seemed that these two liked to work as a pair. Mario and Luigi had done that before.
"Let's get 'em!" exclaimed the first Goomba.
OST: Come On! (Mario and Luigi: SSS)
Luckily, the Goombas were weak.
Prince Peasley's sword made quick work of them.
And so did Alena's fists.
They attempted to tackle them, but Alena and Prince Peasley were too fast.
"We bit off more than we could chew." noted the Goombas. These fighters certainly knew what they were doing.
"I guess you're the type of monarch that fights on the front lines!" exclaimed Alena.
"I sure am!" nodded Prince Peasley.
He wanted to defend his kingdom. He was admired by his kingdom's citizens, and he wanted to return the favor.
"I guess I'm not the only one." noted the princess who fought with her fists.
Peasley nodded.
"I was surprised how easy that was." noted Alena.
"Well, we are the weakest of Bowser's minions." explained the Goomba.
"That explains it." acknowledged the fighter.
"Bowser the Koopa King? I must warn Beanbean Town!" exclaimed the prince.
The royal guard needed to know immediately.
Prince Peasley wrote a letter and a Parabeanie fetched it.
"You know this Koopa King?" asked Alena.
"He conquers kingdoms to satiate his ego." explained Prince Peasley.
"He sounds dangerous." noted the princess. She remembered fighting monsters like him.
"Indeed. That is why we must prevent him from conquering the Beanbean Kingdom." nodded the prince.
Luckily, it seemed the baddies here were among Bowser's weakest minions.
But that would likely change as they got closer to the king.
Meanwhile, Jessica and Mario fought against the Cruelcumbers.
OST: Battle (Partners in Time)
Yoshi decided to cheer the former on.
This boosted their tension.
"What's-a happening?" asked Mario.
"Oh that…when I went on an adventure, I had the power to psyche myself up." noted Jessica.
This was a good way to do more damage in the fight.
It did come with a weakness, however. There were enemies that could disrupt her and her companions and remove their tension. So it was best not to use it too much in these situations.
Jessica launched a fireball and it toppled the Cruelcumbers like dominoes.
Likewise, Mario's hammer produced an earthquake effect.
Next up were the Bunicorns.
They were weak, but they were fast.
And the horns meant that Mario couldn't jump on them.
There was also a slime, but he was friendly.
In fact, he had some friendly advice to give them.
"Up ahead is a ? Block with a Fire Flower! Goo luck with it! Personally I would chooze to use it against the Cruelcumbers!" exclaimed the slime.
Perhaps he used to be a Toad.
But judging from the puns he was making, he was probably the real deal.
"I guess instead of treasure chests you get items through ? blocks." noted Jessica.
Still, this aspect was similar to her world.
Though it was on the fence if some ? Blocks turned out to be monsters in disguise.
Jessica hit the ? Block.
She found a fire flower.
Using it caused her dress to turn red.
"Wait…can't I already control fire?" questioned the redhead.
It seemed kind of redundant.
"Maybe it enhances your fire power! Goo ahead and give it a try!" suggested the slime.
Sure enough, it did enhance her firepower.
Her flames turned blue to reflect that.
The Cruelcumbers ran away in fear.
"Run away! Run away!" exclaimed the vegetable monsters.
Up next were the capsichums.
It seemed there were more vegetable monsters in the area.
Yoshi licked his lips.
"Why are there so many vegetables?" questioned Jessica.
She wasn't sure.
Anyways, these enemies could sap the hero's defenses.
But other than that, they had no special abilities.
Still, it was risky for Mario to try to whack them with his hammer.
They were connected together with a shish kebab.
If he wasn't careful, he might get poked.
Jumping was fine though.
"You win this round, fatso!" exclaimed a Capsichum that had been leapt upon.
The guardian was a Hammerhood.
Not as threatening as a troll, but his hammer wasn't a bad weapon.
"If you want to reach the flagpole, prove your worth!" exclaimed the hammerhood.
"Ok, sure." nodded Jessica. They needed to train so they could defeat the Antiquitree, anyway.
"I guess-a some monsters have hammers-a too." noted Mario. Perhaps they had decided to follow his example.
He was reminded of a Hammer Bro. Though Hammer Bros were known to have hammers in abundance. Where did they get so many?
The Hammerhood had difficulty aiming the hammer.
It was a bit big for him, it seemed.
"Come on…" murmured the Hammerhood.
"Maybe-a you need a smaller hammer." suggested Mario. He had made sure to choose one that he could carry well.
"Maybe I do." nodded the Hammerhood. Perhaps he should have reconsidered using a heavy weapon like this one.
He tried, but he just couldn't aim well.
"You know what? I think you can pass. The Antiquitree is looking for a fight, anyway." noted the hammer wielder.
"Maybe we can have a rematch when you have a smaller hammer." noted Jessica.
"I like the sound of that." nodded the hammerhood.
Mario pulled the flag.
"Oh yeah! Mario time!" exclaimed the plumber.
"Are you going to say that every time you pull the flag?" asked Jessica.
"Sometimes I will." nodded Mario.
"Ok then." answered the sorceress.
Back at Stardust Fields…
Alena and Prince Peasley encountered some Koopa Troopas.
"Wazzup!" exclaimed a Koopa Troopa.
"These seem more dangerous than the Goombas." noted Alena.
They had shells for protection.
"I still think we can take them." assured Prince Peasley.
"True. I don't have to fight them alone." noted Alena. That was something she was happy about.
The Koopa Troopas had a habit of withdrawing in their shells when hit.
Alena decided to kick them away.
"I'm getting dizzy!" exclaimed a Koopa Troopa that had been kicked.
"Sorry, but you did attack us." reminded Alena.
He came out of his shell shortly afterwards.
His eyes were swirling around.
"You're one tough princess." noted the Koopa Troopa.
"You flatter me." spoke Alena.
Perhaps Bowser should be warned about them.
The two heroes encountered Tolstar.
"What is this? Outsiders?" asked Tolstar.
"Are you with Bowser too?" questioned Peasley. He had a shell on his back.
"No, I am not in league with him." explained the Spike. Though the fact that he had gone all the way to the Beanbean Kingdom was a surprise. Wasn't he still trying to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom?
"Can we pass then?" asked Alena.
"If you want to pass, show me your skill! I want 100 Beanbean coins!" exclaimed Tolstar.
"100 Beanbean Coins?" questioned Peasley.
"I got to make a living somehow! Nyeck nyeck nyeck!" laughed the obese Spike.
"Seems fair." nodded the princess.
It looked like they would need to search for them.
It was likely that Bowser Baddies would have them.
"I guess we better start looking." noted the prince.
Surely there had to be that amount of coins around the field somewhere.
They would just need to watch out for more Bowser Baddies.
Elsewhere…
OST: Do It Now! (Paper Jam)
MUSHROOM HEIGHTS
"Huh. I wonder how we got so high up." noted Jessica.
"Some-a levels are-a like that." explained Mario.
"Should I bring Yoshi here? I'm worried that he might fall off." noted the sorceress.
That would be really bad.
"That's-a problem." admitted Mario.
"I'll take him to the Toad House." said Jessica.
She came back a few seconds later.
"Something tells me we're not safe from monsters all the way up here." noted the princess.
"Caw! Nope!" exclaimed a Stark Raven.
"Is that raven-a carrying a skull?" questioned Mario.
"It seems she doesn't want us to feel welcome." noted Jessica.
The raven tossed it at the latter.
"Ow! Quit it!" exclaimed the sorceress.
She whipped her in retaliation.
"Ouch!" shouted the Stark Raven.
More ravens appeared, but Mario leapt on them.
Some Mecha Mynahs appeared.
"I remember you from the tower." recalled Jessica.
One of the mecha mynahs screeched.
They opened fire on Mario.
He dodged it.
Jessica hit them with fire.
"I wonder if I'll learn a new spell soon." noted the mage.
Fire was nice, but it wouldn't hurt to have some versatility.
She might encounter fireproof monsters in the future. The Dragonlord seemed to learn from his mistakes, seeing as the monsters were a bit stronger.
Some Small Fries appeared.
They were cute, but they spat out fire.
It would be best if they were careful not to get burned.
Mario hammered them.
Jessica then scared them off with her whip.
There were also a few Bantamweights.
"Bantamweights? You never seem to appear in main series titles." noted Jessica. They had appeared in The Dark Prince though.
"I know. It's a shame. But rest assured, it's not because we're too chicken!" assured one of the Bantamweights.
"I'm sure that's the case." spoke the sorceress.
Speaking of which, perhaps her magic could make some fried chicken.
She launched a fireball at them.
"Ouch! I'm going to be a roast chicken if I take another hit like that!" exclaimed the Bantamweight.
Mario then leapt on top of them.
The boss of the area was a Pteranodon.
And yes, those flying reptiles had a long name.
"Oh look! Another prehistoric reptile." noted Jessica.
"A prehistoric reptile that knows magic!" exclaimed the Pteranodon. It made him feel special.
Though to be fair, he heard that Jessica also knew magic.
This one seemed to be from her world though.
This reptile could cast Woosh spells.
Jessica and Mario were buffeted by wind.
"Oof!" exclaimed the plumber.
"That was cold." remarked Jessica.
Though maybe it had to do with how she dressed.
Since jumping wasn't an option, Mario leapt on top of him.
"Ouch!" exclaimed the Pternadon.
Jessica then followed with a fireball.
The pternadon attempted to bite them.
But Jessica dodged.
He attempted to dive bomb them.
"Ow!" exclaimed Mario.
However, he missed Jessica.
Mario noticed a ? Block.
Perhaps its contents would help him win the fight.
It was worth a shot.
As it turned out, it was a Super Leaf.
"Oh boy! Just what I needed!" exclaimed Mario.
He now had raccoon ears and a tail.
"You gave yourself a tail?" asked Jessica.
"It's a useful powerup!" exclaimed Mario.
"OK, what does it do?" questioned the princess.
"I can-a fly now!" shouted Mario.
"You can fly now? There goes my aerial advantage…" spoke the Pteranodon.
Using the Super Leaf, Mario took to the skies and defeated the Pteranodon by striking him with his tail.
"I thought this was based on New Super Mario Bros U! Where'd you get a Super Leaf?" asked the pterodactyl. That wasn't a powerup in that game.
"I guess all powerups are welcome in this fanfic." noted Jessica. Though the frog suit was kind of goofy.
Jessica learned the Sap spell.
"I remember it now." spoke the sorceress.
It would come in handy against enemies with high defense.
Like the mynahs.
"It looks like we're getting close to the Antiquitree." noted Jessica.
"I assure you, I'm not more bark than bite!" shouted the giant tree.
"He-a makes tree puns!" exclaimed Mario.
"He sure does." nodded Jessica.
Our heroes would be ready to fight him when the time came.
I might feature Cackletta and Fawful in this fanfic. But for the time being, Bowser is the one who's threatening the kingdom.
And yeah, Tolstar is playing the same role that he did in that game. He might not choose to fight the heroes though. I think it depends on whether the readers want a boss fight with him.
I decided to feature Alena a bit more this time.
