All the passengers did as they were told, buckling a harness over their shoulders and chest. Falco revved the engine and pressed a few buttons, while Fox called someone on a transceiver.

"This is Fox speaking. Come in, Tails.

"Tails here, sir!" The Orange Fox replied.

We are preparing for liftoff out of Bowser's castle. Weather conditions are clear, and every passenger is locked and ready to go."

"Okie dokie! You are all clear for liftoff!" Tails said confidently. Giving Fox and Falco the signal, he pulled a few levers and hung up.

The ship backed up, smashing the rest of Bowser's castle. Bowser could only watch in horror as the rest of the castle crumbled down to bits.

"You BETTER be able to fix it.." Bowser groaned as he attempted to adjust his harness.

"Oh, don't worry about anything. We can definitely handle it!" Falco exclaimed confidently as he pressed a few more buttons and the ship started to move.

A pre-recorded message sounded on the speakers. The voice was unfamiliar.

"Attention. At this point you are required to keep your harness on at all times because of turbulence. Keep your arms, legs, and any other appendages inside your seat at all times. Thank you."

The ship lifted off, quickly moving upward. Everyone on the ship could feel his or her body being glued to the seat due to inertia.

--

After a very uncomfortable half-hour, they reached the stratosphere. It was very surreal to see your home planet getting smaller and smaller in the distance.. especially for Luigi. He was having a rough time adjusting to the idea of being in space for however long this was going to take..

Meanwhile, Mario and Sonic seemed to be getting along really well, as if they were childhood friends. Both of them had personality traits that benefited each other.

The same could be said for Peach and Amy, who were giggling and talking about Mario and Sonic respectively. This annoyed Shadow to no end, who gave the two of them a death glare.

Bowser however was all alone in deep thought, thinking about Bowser Jr, his son. If only he could have come along.. He was one of the only people that Bowser truly cared about. Hopefully he could get back before Jr's vacation with Kamek ended..

They flew through space at a steady speed for a couple hours, and in that time they were allowed to freely explore the spaceship. There were many rooms that were cool or intriguing, but the room most people decided to check out was the cafeteria. It was pretty normal looking, hosting a number of chairs and tables, as well as a serving area in front of a kitchen that smelled like strong cleaning solution. Unfortunately, the kitchen appeared to be abandoned as it was completely empty.

Thankfully, Falco and Fox had given everyone snacks to tide them over for the trip, but that didn't stop Sonic from whining for his favorite food- Chili dogs. Shadow tried to discipline him, starting a brief argument.

"Please?? They're so good!"

"Ugh.. for the last time Sonic.. We don't have any Chili dogs! You can eat as soon as we get back, so I don't know why you're so upset.. " Shadow groaned in annoyance.

"Aww.. I want Chili dogs NOW!!" Sonic whined, stomping the ground with his foot. Shadow pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation as he desperately tried to explain to the blue hedgehog that there were no chili dogs on the ship, but Sonic continued to pester him for the proceeding 5 minutes before Shadow had enough and walked away angrily.

Mario, being curious, asked Shadow about the argument, which just made the edgy hedgehog ignore the plumber completely.

"This guy must not like company.." Mario thought as he watched Shadow proceed to ignore everyone else, including Amy and her demands for him to apologize to Sonic.

"I told you. I'm not moving from this spot until you apologize to Sonic! What you did was very rude and I think you owe him an apology, so let's hear it!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"YES!"

"I- Okay, Fine! But ONLY if you leave me alone!" Shadow groaned in annoyance before muttering a half-hearted apology to Sonic and skulking away. Amy, not having ANY of it, chased after him demanding a 'real' apology. Mario and Luigi watched the spectacle, extremely confused about what they had just witnessed and trying HARD not to laugh.

Suddenly Falco's voice sounded on the speakers, sounding excited.

"Attention, everyone! We are about to arrive at the home base. Please make your way to the entrance as we land. Remember to pick up all of your personal belongings and trash!"

This was going to be fun.