Flipped (Super Paper Mario SWAP AU)

A Space Story (20)

Never before did Prince Mario think he'd be able to fly through space alongside his closest friend and his worst enemy. He wanted to continue to complain about how uncomfortable it was wearing a makeshift space helmet, but he couldn't. Not while flying so far from his home, free.

Space wasn't what he thought it would be. It was filled with countless pieces of garbage and debris, no doubt because of humanity's selfishness. What should have been a clear, clean, beautiful endless void of darkness was practically a maze of dodging different floating pieces of plastic and scrap metal. Still, it was unlike anything any of them had ever imagined before. No, Prince Mario couldn't reach out and grab the stars like he wanted to, but he was still flying.

Luigi used to talk about wanting to explore the stars. He probably would have been pretty terrified, though. Prince Mario was glad he was somewhere safer, somewhere secure and warm. Luigi was always a fan of safety.

It almost felt like swimming, but this was different. The air, or space, around him didn't feel thick and dense like water, it was the opposite. It made normal air seem thick.

Both Prince Mario and Peach were wearing their space helmets (luckily, Bleck was able to find a spare one before they set off on their journey since only one would surely not do,) while King Boo floated along, not needing to breathe since he was already dead.

"Why don't you need one, Bleck?" Peach found herself asking. She was holding Prince Mario's arm so he wouldn't float away from her, since it was fairly hard to control where anyone was going in outer space.

"Because Bleck is a ghost, like me," King Boo chimed.

"Wait, really?" Mario asked, looking back at the pixl, who was following them all closely. "You're dead?"

"No, no, I'm not dead," Bleck chuckled. "Nor am I a ghost. I'm just a pixl. A creation. I'm alive, I think... but I don't need things like food or water or oxygen."

"Must be nice..." Prince Mario trailed off.

"You would think," King Boo answered, chuckling softly. "But... I think those are the things I miss most about being alive."

Peach felt her eyebrows furrow slightly. It wasn't often she thought about the great ghost king as someone who was once alive. Sometimes, she wondered what he must have been like. Was he always a villain? Daisy used to say that ghosts only became evil because of things that happened to them during their time in the living world, according to some books she read. So what happened to him...?

"You know," King Boo teased in an attempt to lift the mood. He was never a fan of awkward silences. "This reminds me of the tale of the young girl who was lost amongst the stars"

"Oh, Jaydes, please no," Mario huffed.

"Oh, yes," King Boo laughed. "Our story begins a very, very long time ago with a young girl. One day, this girl spotted a rusted spaceship holding a small star child. Eager to help, she asked the young star child what their name was and if they were lost. 'I'm Luma, and I'm waiting for Mama,' the star child replied. 'She's coming for me on a comet!' The young girl smiled softly at the child and sat down beside them. 'Don't worry. I'll wait with you,' she promised. The two waited hours, but Luma's mother had yet to come. At nightfall, the little girl borrowed her father's telescope and peered into the sky. She looked and looked, but she saw nothing. Hours turned into days and then years, but still the sky revealed nothing. Finally, the little girl sighed and said to Luma, 'If we stay here looking much longer, I'll be an old lady soon.' But then she had an idea. 'Why don't we go out there and find your mother ourselves?' she suggested—"

"Is this really necessary?" Mario asked, interrupting with an annoyed tone.

"Yes, now shut up," King Boo grinned. "Where was I...? Ah, right, the girl and Luma fixed up the rusty spaceship, and then the two set sail into the starry sky. And this is how the search for the celestial mother began. Days passed with no sight of the comet containing Luma's mother, or even a single planet. Instead, asteroids extended for as far as the eye could see. The little girl licked the last of her food off her fingertips, then let out a sigh. If she had known this search would take so long, she would have packed more. Before they left, she had packed all the essentials: telescope, butterfly net, her stuffed bunny, bread, milk, jam, and apricot-flavored tea, but...the young girl was so quick to leave home that she had forgotten to bring water! To this, the star child burst into gales of laughter and pointed out that as long as they had Star Bits, they'd be okay. Luma then offered the small, jelly-like treats to the girl, which she happily accepted. The little girl took her butterfly net and leaned far out of her ship, collecting as many star bits from the sky as she could. She almost fell out a few times, but they kept on collecting. The Star Bits tasted like honey."