Flipped (Super Paper Mario SWAP AU)

Flashback #7

Timpani continued walking through the forest, on her own. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and what remained of those two villages as possible. Her heart and mind both screamed and cried, begging her to just give up and let the world swallow her whole, but she couldn't. There were only two people left in all the worlds who carried Blumiere's memory, and she sure as heck wasn't going to let the executioner be the one to pass that story on. She hated him. She hated his closed-minded backward way of thinking. She hated everyone in his tribe. She hated everyone in her tribe. She hated everyone.

He had once told her he was too filled with grief to hate, she felt the opposite. She felt so filled with grief that there was nothing left to do but hate. Hate the world for taking her life away from her. Hate him for everything he did to keep her and Blumiere apart.

All she wanted was to see Blumiere's smile, hear his laughter. If she had known that it was the last night they'd spend together under the stars, she would have never let him go. If she had known it was the last time she'd get to hug him, she would have squeezed extra tight. But she couldn't, now. He was gone, and there was nothing she could do to get him back. She had already searched each and every page of the Light Prognosticus. It was hopeless. The life she had loved so much was gone.

She continued marching when she heard a soft crying, causing her to freeze in her tracks. Immediately defensive after everything that had just happened, she pressed her back to the nearest tree and hugged the book to her chest, ready to guard it with her life.

That book was the last thing she had left of her old life, her golden childhood filled with love and joy.

She listened for where the crying was coming from, then slowly peeked around the tree she chose to press her back to. To her surprise, a young woman was sitting on the other side of it. She had bat-like fangs, yet there were no wings. Her skin was a sky-blue color and she had messy pink hair which fell past her shoulders.

"Hello?" Timpani asked, her voice kind and gentle despite the raging storm within her. She quickly scrambled around the tree and kneeled down by the young woman. "What's the matter?"

"He's gone," the girl whispered. "I... I can feel it, he's gone..."

"Who?" Timpani asked.

The girl shook her head, hugging herself and looking away.

"I don't even know," the blue girl whispered. Her eyes kept shifting as if they were having a hard time focusing. "I... everything's so loud... I-I can't see very well... but... I could sense him, and he's gone now..."

"Hey, it'll be okay," Timpani breathed. "I'll help you. Who is this man you're talking about?"

"He was young," the girl trailed off, still trembling. She hugged herself and bowed her head, allowing her pink hair to fall over her face. "He saved me from hunters... I was trapped, and he saved me. He could have walked by. That's what everyone else did. But... he saved me. And... I owe my life to him. I should have saved him too, but now he's gone. I saw the fires, he no longer resides in this world."

The girl burst into sobs as Timpani drew back slightly, feeling her pain. There were only two people she knew of who were that kind, and only one of them was young enough to match the description the girl had given her.

"Did... did he have blue skin and hair?" Timpani quietly asked. "And was he tall?"

The girl nodded, still crying.

Timpani inhaled sharply, then nodded. Sure, that description still could have matched a number of people, but she was certain this girl was talking about Blumiere. Fate must have brought them together.