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."

"Usually, your stories are done by now," Prince Mario complained.

"Yes, but this is a longer one, so shh," King Boo shrugged. "Soon after, Luma and the young girl came across a deep blue comet. With the hope that Luma's mother would be there, they steered their ship in that direction, only to find that the comet was empty. They looked high and low, but Luma's mother was nowhere to be found. Exhausted from the search, the pair decided to stay on the comet for a while. Later that night... the girl dreamed of her own mother. 'Where are you going?' she asked her mother. Without turning, her mother replied, 'Don't fret, dearest. I'm not going anywhere. I'm always watching over you, like the sun in the day and the moon in the night.' A wave of sadness washed over the girl. 'What about when it rains, and I can't see the sun or the moon?' she asked. Her mother thought for a moment before responding. 'I will turn into a star in the clouds and wait for your tears to dry.' The girl nodded, and when she awoke, her face was damp with tears. 'You have Star Bits in your eyes,' said Luma to the girl. Wiping her face, the girl replied, 'These are tears, not Star Bits. I'm crying because I'll never see my mother ever again!' To this, Luma began to cry too."

Bleck stilled for a moment, floating just slightly closer to the ghost king.

"Did... did they ever find Luma's mama?" he asked. "What about Luma's father?"

"Shh," King Boo breathed before continuing the story. "The pair traveled through the starry skies, and though they encountered many other comets, not one of them held Luma's mother. And though Luma was devastated, the girl made a promise that night. A promise to take care of Luma. Together, they built a kitchen, a library, a bedroom, and much more on the comet. It was a lot of work, but worth it to make a happy home. Luckily, buried in the comet's icy ground were enough materials to make their dreams come true until their home was complete. Looking at it, the girl remarked about how big it felt. Too big for just the two of them... 'If only my father, brother, and mother were here,' the girl said wistfully. Then one day, while the girl sat sipping tea, a tiny apricot-colored planet appeared on the horizon. From the planet, another Luma of the same color emerged. The two Lumas neither drew closer nor backed away from each other. Instead, they just stared. Then one Luma broke the silence. 'My mama!' The two Lumas began to dance around the girl frantically, and neither showed any sign of stopping. The girl was so charmed by this adorable scene that she couldn't help but laugh. And that's when something very strange happened. Suddenly, more Lumas began to pop out from the apricot planet. They were different colors, but they all shouted the same thing."

Peach and Mario had floated further ahead, having lost interest in the story, but Bleck had given King Boo his full attention. He remained silent, longing to hear what was next.

"Well?" the pixl asked. "What happened?"

"Hmm?" King Boo asked. "Oh, you're still listening?"

"Yes!" Bleck cried. "What happened?!"

"You want to know?"

"YES!"

King Boo looked at the pixl, then shrugged. He never got this far in the story before. He had tried telling the same story to Prince Mario once when he was kidnapped, but everyone knew how well-received King Boo's ghost stories were by the prince.

"Well... the Lumas all moved in with the girl. And after seeing their 100th comet, a sudden thought popped into the girl's head. 'I wonder if my home planet is still as blue as it was,' she breathed. That's when she remembered her father's telescope. Peeking into the telescope, a tiny blue dot floated into sight. It was smaller than a Star Bit. It was so far away, yet somehow felt so close. She twisted the knob of the telescope, and the blue dot grew until she could make out a grassy hill dotted with flowers. It seemed very familiar to her. Zooming even closer, a terrace on the hill came into view. She could remember stargazing there with her father, back when that was her home. She remembered how she and her brother would sled down that hill... She remembered having picnics with her mother on that hill on bright and windy days... And... 'I want to go home! I want to go home right now,' she cried, bursting into tears. 'I want to go home! I want to go back to my house by the hill! I want to see my mother! But I know she's not there! I knew all along that she wasn't out there in the sky! Because...because...'"

"Because what?!" Bleck asked.

King Boo looked at the pixl, then nodded forward.

"'Because she's sleeping under the tree on the hill,'"

Bleck gasped. King Boo couldn't help but smile slightly, not because of the story.

"The girl's cries echoed through the stars. Luma drew close and tried to comfort her. 'Mama, you still have me! And don't be sad about your mama, because she's a part of you! That means she's always close by!' The first Luma she met drew closer, wiping her tears. She pulled the Lumas close and hugged them, and from that day on, Star Bits no longer fell from the girl's eyes. As time passed and she watched the Lumas scurry about, the girl smiled. This was her family now, and she would stay with them until they were ready to leave the nest. And when they do leave, she'd see them off with a smile. Because that's what makes a mother happiest. That night, when the girl lay down to sleep, a soft light enveloped her and reminded her of the blue planet she once called home. She thought to herself that it would be nice to return home once every one hundred years to nap in her favorite sleeping nook. The comet carrying the Lumas and the girl continues on its journey to this very day. With more family members in tow than can be counted, it's said that the comet visits the girl's home planet once every hundred years, its proud white tail glittering in the sky..."

King Boo bowed his head slightly, signaling that the story had finished.

Bleck seemed to let out a long sigh, still quiet.

He wondered if he ever had a mama. He couldn't have, right? Because he was just a pixl. He didn't get to have parents.

Was it nice? Having a mother? It must have been, from the way it was described in the story. The little girl seemed to make a great mother, taking care of all the star children. He wondered if anyone ever cared about him the way she cared about them.

"King Boo... do you know what love is?" Bleck asked.

The ghost king frowned for a moment, then let out a long sigh, seeming to contemplate his answer.

"You're asking the wrong person," the ghost admitted. "I haven't felt it in years. But... I think it's admiring someone so much that you don't want to be with anyone but them. It's... wanting to make sure they're yours and yours alone. Most times, people who are in love will hold hands and kiss and all that mushy stuff."

Bleck nodded.

That didn't make sense, though, because Pierre once said he loved the moon. How could he hold hands and be close with something so far away? Was he just confused? Maybe Pierre didn't really know what love meant either.

"Alright, thank you," Bleck breathed. "And thank you for the story. Let's catch up to Peach and Prince Mario."

King Boo nodded, though he paused before rushing forward to catch up with the others. For a moment, he remained silent, as if trying to string enough words together to form a sentence. Or maybe he was just having a hard time finding the bravery to say what he wanted to.

"Thank you," the ghost finally said. "For... listening, I suppose."

The pixl nodded.

"Anytime," Bleck chimed. "You know, I don't think you're quite as bad as they think. Or as you think."