A Helping Hand.
Dedicated to ~Gallantmon8, sorry for making you wait this long for this, but life has taken me by the horns lately. To everyone else who may want to read, please note that there is a technical OC of said person himself, titled Ben. Other then that, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Super Mario Galaxy, aside from a copy of the game and some other tidbits.
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The empty, quiet vacuum of space exuded an aura of peacefulness, something Rosalina appreciated deeply. Scouring the cosmos, she had found little in the way of threats. For the time being, her group had landed upon a far away planetoid.
"It's such a nice galaxy here," an excited Luma squeaked, followed by another. "The flowers run as far as the eye can see."
Pausing for a moment, Rosalina turned to face the dozen or so Lumas currently near her, before smiling.
"It sure is…"
Catching a hint of uneasiness, a red Luma flew to her side. Staring for a few seconds, he looked worried.
"What's wrong, mama?"
"Nothing, at least I hope not yet."
"How do you mean?"
"I sense a great danger…it will strike soon, I fear."
Upon hearing the word 'danger', the group of Lumas suddenly began shivering. Noticing this, Rosalina stepped towards the fear-stricken group.
"Now, now, I won't let anything untoward happen to you. Any of you," she whispered, glancing to each Luma in sequence. She then turned, boarding the Comet Observatory for another flight.
Her fears were not misguided, as danger would most certainly strike. Flying to the Mushroom kingdoms' galaxy, the controls started to fail.
"…What's happening?" She asked herself, unsure. Looking above, she spotted the Power stars flying towards the planet below her. The energy readings fell as each one flew by, with her being unable to do anything.
"We won't be able to move soon…! We have to do something," she shouted, hesitantly pressing switches on the control board. Nothing happened.
Staring ahead, the stars all flew towards the planet, as a strange, UFO shaped craft left the atmosphere and flew straight by hers. Disappearing almost instantly, another vessel, akin to a Viking longboat, also left the atmosphere with at least half a dozen more. A trail of light, left behind only by the Power stars, trailed behind them
"Oh my…" she thought, seeing the boats lifting a large piece of earth with a castle somehow suspended upon it into the heavens. "There's only one way they could do anything like that…"
Her own ship left powerless, unable to move, the Lumas aboard cowered behind Rosalina, hoping for a solution. Nothing came to mind, however.
They were lucky enough to not be seen, as they could have met an unlikely fate. However, there was little they could do now.
"What are we going to do, mama?" A green Luma spoke, shaking.
"I…I don't know. Are we okay for accommodation? Are there things that are still working?"
"I've checked the domes as well as the engine room, and all I can say is that the prognosis is grim," a black Luma spoke, behind the others.
"So, this is it, then? How could this happen?" She kept asking herself. "Without any power, we'll…"
Suddenly, a gold Luma flew through the others, shouting.
"T-there's a ship coming in! I don't know if it's related to what's going on, but it seems friendly," the others' looked in amazement. Rosalina stepped forward.
"We'll see what he wants, but I hope he means no harm."
The ship manned a single pilot, no one more or less. His ship was quite old, but very reliable. Hosting a wide array of technology, he signalled to the Comet Observatory before coming any closer.
"Yes, come on over," Rosalina spoke, as the Lumas prepared the docking bay by the garage. Landing easily, the hull door opened. A man stood inside, wearing a large, unsightly space suit.
"I come in peace…hey, wait a minute. You're a human!" he shouted, before seeing the huge selection of multi-coloured Lumas surrounding her. "…but they're not…?"
Giggling, Rosalina walked forward.
"Welcome, to the Comet Observatory," she began, before the crowd of Lumas took a more defensive approach.
"What did you do with the Power stars!?" One exclaimed, while more followed.
"How could you do this to mama!?"
"Return them, now!"
Shocked and scared slightly, the man took a step backwards. Little did he know however, he fell off of the garage edge. Gasping, Rosalina waved her wand, picking him up and placing him back firmly on the ground. She then turned, and gave an aggravated look to the Lumas, who shied away.
"I'm so sorry, they're very protective. I'm Rosalina, what's your name?"
"I'm Ben, it's nice to meet you. By the way, how did you do that? That was brilliant, thank you so much! I thought I was a goner there, I can tell you drifting through space is not a good way to go," the character spoke, as Rosalina smiled to him.
"This place is surrounded by a powerful aura, you could even take your helmet off and you'd be able to breathe, you know."
"No way, really? I've gotta try this," Ben spoke, quickly undoing the many clips and fastenings on his helmet. Holding his breathe as he did so, he gasped for air and found sanctity in her facts. He was breathing in space.
"…Wow, now this is awesome. Tell me, are you God? I ask because this is really strange stuff," Ben asked, seeing Rosalina giggle once more.
"Of course not, I'm just a wanderer. These creatures are the ones who allow you to do these things, the Lumas," she spoke, as the small group flew up into view. In unison, they all spoke.
"We're sorry, space man…"
"Now ain't that the cutest thing you've ever seen!" Ben spoke, before hearing a spark in the distance. It grew louder, until a small explosion jarred the observatory slightly. "Are you okay here? You seem to be in a spot of bother."
"To tell the truth, we're stuck. Our power source flew away, as if they were attracted somewhere," a Luma began to explain, as Ben tried to understand how it could fly away. "Without the Power stars, we can't even move. We won't last much longer then a week with the small reserve power we have now…"
"Wait a minute; I've got a good lot of spare energy you can use for now. It's not rechargeable, but I always bring a lot more then what's actually needed for emergencies."
"…you have Power stars too?" Rosalina spoke, a little confused. She had never seen any other kind of power other then from the respective stars before.
"No, no, no, the next best thing. I bring fuel," Ben joked, walking back into his ship. He emerged moments later carrying a large cylinder under each arm. "Don't let the size fool you, it's compressed. It'll last a good week for one cylinder, at least."
Seeing him walk by with the cylinders, she smiled. Being on her journey had taught her many new, interesting things, but also more conventional facts, like these.
"So, where do you put the energy? I'll bring it there for you," Ben spoke, looking over to her.
"Oh, in the engine room please. It's on the top floor, over there," she pointed, before another Luma whispered to her.
"Um, the power's empty. How's he gonna get up there?"
"Now how am I going to get up there?" Ben thought, eyeing the surroundings. He spotted a few smaller buildings that looked partially climbable. "You don't mind if I climb up there, do you?"
"Of course not," she replied, as she watched him begin his mountainous trek up the many plateaus. Upon finally reaching the engine room door, the Lumas applauded him.
"That was awesome!"
"You're the coolest!"
They all exclaimed shouts of enthusiasm, flying up to him in the process to do so. Seeing them nimbly fly to his side caused his mouth to jar open in disbelief.
"Wait, so you can do that? Where was the help earlier?" He jested, before walking into the Engine room. He installed the cylinders in a makeshift manner, easily supplying power to the ship for the next week on estimate. Walking out, he took a deep breath before making the descent to Rosalina.
She stood in amazement, seeing the whole Comet Observatory glowing as It once did. She smiled to Ben as he walked over.
"Now that…is a workout. It won't last forever, though it should last for a week," Ben spoke, stretching.
"Thank you. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't come along…" she whispered, staring at the floor. "The Lumas may not have survived…"
"Hey, it's no problem. I'm glad I could help actually. Is there anything else you need assistance with?" He continued, seeing her raise her glance to him. Taking a step closer, she reached for his hand.
As his eyes opened even wider, she leant forward to kiss him. A tender moment, yet one that would be sorely missed once over. Ending much too early, a loud, engine like sound rumbled the area. In the distance, a small man, garbed in red and blue, flew alongside a large, ornate star, returning to the Comet Observatory.
"…Who's that!?" Ben shouted in surprise, as Rosalina was shocked also.
"I-I have no idea, but he's bought a Grand star with him…this can't be," she exclaimed, seeing the Grand star shoot into the beacon of the observatory, providing a hint more power now. She rushed over to meet him, and presumably thank him.
"So much for a thank you then," Ben spoke, a little downtrodden. "But at least I have a memento to remember her by."
Staring vacantly to her as she conversed with the stout man, he walked over to his own ship.
"I'll be back for you one day." And with that, he started his ascent into the cosmos once again. Staring out of the port window, he flew away.
After seeing the red and blue man into the Terrace dome, she looked around for any trace of Ben. There was no sign of him. She noticed his ship too, was gone. Looking down onto the floor, she whispered to herself.
"Please…I hope you come back one day…"
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There you go, I hope you've enjoyed reading this.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Super Mario Galaxy, aside from a copy of the game and some other tidbits.