Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You couldn’t get more of a dead end life than myself. I once made a difference in the world, and had made so many lives better. But now here I was, driving silently down my long, empty forest consumed driveway to my isolated cabin. I had just been turned down a job at Apple, despite what my credibility gave me. See, I was an artist and inventor. After I made countless devices and gadgets that help make the world a better place, a little guy like myself was suddenly an overnight celebrity. Endorsements, social gatherings, even meeting the goddamn queen of England. I finally succeeded at my dream, to change the world. But not everyone was happy with how such a small nobody could become so popular so quickly, and those people were the selfish deranged millionaires that controlled the world. I could tell when I was declined a job, an invention was rejected, and an art piece I made was tossed out because of them. I knew.

I groaned as I stared at the gravel road ahead, my hands tightly gripping my car’s steering wheel as the events from earlier replayed in my head over and over again. The cold stare of the manager, the quiet snickering from other employees around me, his bullsh*t reason for declining me, security escorting me out as employees either laughed or shot my looks of pity. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Not wanting to rush out of the car and punch the nearest tree till my hands bled, I turned up the volume on my radio, letting the music flow through the speakers. I had been smart to bring my CD with over 100 of my favourite songs, but considering I’d been on the road for weeks, it made sense. I sighed as When Can I See You Again by Owl City played, and I shot a glance at my rearview mirror to look at my back seats. Stuff I normally brought with me, from a few blankets and pillows, my favourite movies, a portable DVD player, toothbrush, deodorant and shower stuff all a large bag resting on the seat right in the mirror’s view. Resting next to it was a large purple suitcase I customized myself with stickers and decals that housed two weeks worth of clothing (it was a pain to fit it all in), and on top of both rested a little box that carried my newest invention that Apple manager rejected. It was just a modified phone with a stronger signal and other buffs, like a far stronger and longer lasting battery.

 Looking at the small box, I grumbled and shook my head, taking a tight right as my driveway went further. I regret getting such an isolated house with such an egregiously long road. Despite the wealth I accumulated, I chose to buy a small one story house with all the basic essentials and a basement. My basement had been transformed into a workshop combined with an artist studio, just so I had privacy, away from the noise of the massive city of Vancouver. The setting sun was giving the sky a bright orange glow, and thanks to the lack of any sort of light along the sides of my gravel path, the forest darkened. I pressed down a bit more on the gas pedal to get home as soon as possible, my fear of the dark tickling the hairs on my neck. I made a left, and i suddenly felt... off. Something was going on. I looked up through the windshield and noticed the sky was suddenly becoming clingy, the faint sound of thunder reaching my ears. I pushed my foot down further on gas pedal more as I accelerated to 50 km/h, my car shaking because of the gravel I drove on. I saw that the clouds continued to group up, the sky growing darker. But something irked me. It felt like the clouds were form over only me, and were following me. I pressed the gas pedal down even more. The thunder from earlier boomed louder than before. The wind began to pick up, causing leaves to fly around at breakneck speeds and the tree tops to bend dangerously low. I tried my best to shake my growing feeling of dread, choking it up to stress, exhaustion from being on the road for hours, and my rage at the Apple incident. As I sped up, the clouds began to swirl above me, the sound of thunder becoming deafening. My car’s speakers cut out suddenly as I swerved out of a rogue branch that flew at my car. It felt like a tornado was forming right over my head. I felt the dread running through my whole body as I saw parts of the clouds flash. Lightning. I grit my teeth, dodging debris that flew at me from all angles.

Suddenly, lightning struck a tree to my left.

I yelped in fear as I jolted the car away, only for lightning to strike a tree to my right. Everytime I jolted away from a tree, lightning would strike. I had no idea what was happening, my nerves frayed. Then before I could react, lightning struck the ground in front of me...

And a bright white light formed above the smoldering ground where the lightning struck. I yelled in fright as I slammed on the brakes, but I couldn't stop. The white light was dragging me towards it as my car’s tires screamed in protest. I attempted to jump out of my car, but it was too late.

I was pulled into the light.

~X~

I now knew how my laundry felt in my washer and dryer. I flailed helplessly in my car, still buckled in my seat, as my vehicle was sent tumbling down... something. It was a tunnel of some kind, but it had no ground, and the walls, if that’s what they were, made it look like I was falling down a spinning cylinder made of cracked stained glass. The miss matched shapes flashed multiple different colours as white cracks flashed behind like the lightning from earlier. Sometimes I’d see what looked like people and places flashing in the different parts, but my car was tumbling so much and was falling so fast that I couldn’t really focus. Well, I couldn’t focus because of that and the millions of voices that bombarded my ears. The voices hit me from all sides, echoing across the tunnel at an ear-bleeding volume.

I tightly squeezed my eyes shut, covering my ears with my hands. But that did nothing to quell the voices. It all sounded like it was right in my head. I cringed as hard as I could, trying to somehow wonder what was happening. But before I could think about anything else other than the tunnel, my car suddenly stopped tumbling and landed on a road. Or, I think it was a road at least. I was too busy trying to desperately fight against the tunnel, which was now pulling me down it more and harder than before,  and straightening my car so I would stop skidding like a drag race car. My head pounded in pain as the voices grew louder and louder, and I had to squint as a light of rapidly changing colours formed at the end of the tunnel and began to approach fast. I felt faint and weak as the voices transformed into a loud ringing, and the flashing light consumed my vision. Just as it felt like I’d pass out, everything snapped back to reality. I did my best to control my runaway car, but I was only able to turn it so it collided with the whole left side with the pure white wall. With a thunderous crash, I smashed into the wall, and fell unconscious just as I saw people rushing to my aid.

~X~

I began to feel conscious again as the sound of two voices hit my ears, tones of both a mix of confusion, frustration and worry.

“...sure this is actually happening?” the first voice asked, a slight english accent noticeable.

“Well, it has, and did”, the second voice asked, deeper than the first with anger dripping out, “We better fix this, and fast, before she shows up.”

“It was your idea of turning the machine on, brother”, the first voice snarked.

“Hey! Don’t go pinning this on me!” The second snapped back, “You wasnted to have the stupid thing built in the first place!”

“Only because you forced me!”

“Stop being a crybaby, you lost that game of Jenga fair and square!”

As the two voices devolved into unintelligible bickering, I was finally able to open my eyes to see who was talking. As I did, I felt that I had been put on a couch of some kind, and I could faintly hear curious, suspicious muttering coming from behind the two arguing voices. I did my best to focus on the two who were arguing, and as the blurs in my vision lifted, my eyes bulged. In front of me were two blobs, one pure white and the other the darkest black I’ve seen. The white blob, the owner of the slight English accent, had void-like eyes and mouth, his eyes shooting daggers at the black blob as he yelled at him. Speaking of the other blob, his eyes were a burning red and a zigzag mouth of the same colour twisted in a furious scowl as he lobbed insults right in the white blob’s face. Behind them, forming a little crowd, were people of multiple ethnicities wearing heavy knight’s armour, left side black (their left, not mine), and right side white. I just stared, while still lying down at the scene in front of me, trying to make sense of it all.

That’s it, I died and went to heaven , I thought to myself, I’m dead, and these are angels .

Suddenly, I shot up in a seating position, startling the whole crowd. The two blobs stopped fighting and looked over at me in shock, before looking back at each other and straightening themselves out, the black blob clearing his throat. They both smiled at me with clearly phony smiles, eyes showing their worry and fear. I looked between the two of them quickly, finally noticing how tall they were. I was 5’1”, but these two were clearly double, if not triple my height! Both were obviously clear to the pure confusion on my face, so the white blob stepped -er, more slid- forward and spoke.

“Hello! I’m happy to see you’re awake!” he said to me, “I was worried that the crash got you!” He put his phony smile back up. After a moment of awkward silence, the white blob looked slightly behind him and gestured to the black blob. The black blob rolled his eyes (or, I think he did) and stepped forward.

“You’re going to be confused, but trust me...” The black blob trailed off slightly as he shot the white blob a side glance before returning his glance to me, “We’ll help you get... settled.” That pause didn’t help with my fears, but I looked up at the two of them and nodded with a sigh.

“Good!” the white blob exclaimed. He shooed the armoured crowd, and after they dispersed, turned back to me. “So, we should introduce each other then. I’m Lightness, and this stain”, he gestured towards the black blob, who snarled at him in return, “is my brother Darkness.”

I stood rooted on the spot, letting this all process. Lightness and Darkness seemed to be aware of this, as they shared a look, then turned back to me. I nodded.

“Okay”, I said with a sigh, “My name is Caleb. Now can either of you explain what the heck is happening!?” I ended with a shout. Lightness and Darkness both suddenly began to mumble and stammer, as if they didn’t want to tell me what was wrong. Before I could speak up again, a shriek echoed throughout the whole room. All heads turned to the door on the far left, where a woman with tan skin stood, small dot eyes filled with rage and mouth slightly agape.

Looking upon her, she looked so strange. Her hair had her bangs dyed white and cut like a cloud while the hair that went down her back was a full rainbow of colours. She wore a cape that was basically the opposite of her hair, the bottom edge that just barely touched the floor housing the cloud. Her shirt was light blue with rolled up sleeves housing a cloud decal, and she wore rolled denim shorts with sneakers coloured like a rainbow.

Her fury filled face looked at my crashed car, which I just noticed was still crashed against the wall, then to me just angry at all, rather sympathetic, then looked to the two brothers. Her eyes, I swear, bugged out and flashed red. She charged full steam right at the two brothers, both of them inching away slowly in fear. As the woman barreled at them, I noticed another being came from the doorway, its face contorted in concern when it looked upon me. The thing was similar to Lightness and Darkness, only it was slightly shorter, body a bright purple that occasionally flickering like a hologram. The purple being rushed to my side and began to look at me with its glowing magenta eyes. Its zigzag line mouth, just like Darkness’ only magenta, was twisted in a worried frown.

“Well, good to know you aren’t hurt”, the being said. From the voice, I could tell the ‘it’ infront of me was actually a ‘he’, despite the fact his voice sounded like it was coming out of a walkie-talkie. I Looked him over in suspicion, only to be snapped out of my thoughts by a yelp of pain. My and the purple guy’s heads snapped to the woman, who was losing it on the two brothers, both of them whining and yelping in pain as she furiously bombarded them with clenched fists.

“Sis, please, we didn’t expect-“ Lightness began only to be stopped by a fist slamming into his face.

“Come on, Rainbow, this isn’t that-” Darkness said only to get kneed in the gut.

“You two-“ The woman, Rainbow, screamed “- can’t be trusted to be alone for more than two seconds!!! Look at what happens!!!’ She unleashed a flurry of rapid fire punches and kicks on the two brothers before finishing them off with a powerful left hook. I cringed as the two blobs recoiled hard and fell together on the ground, groaning in pain. Rainbow gave them one last vicious look before spinning on her heel to face me. Her features went from ‘murder everything in sight’ to ‘you poor sweet thing’ in a heartbeat. She rushed up to me, looking me over while standing beside the purple guy.

“I’m so sorry about what happened”, Rainbow said sweetly. Somehow, all my tension from before magically vanished. “And I’m sorry my idiot BROTHERS- ”, She raised her voice at that last part, quickly shooting a glare over her shoulder before turning back to me, “-had to drag you here against your will.”

“What!?” Darkness shouted, arms emerging from his body to help him stand back up, “It’s not like we wanted to drag him here on purpose! We were testing the generator when a portal suddenly opened out of nowhere! Next thing we know-“ He gestured to himself and Lightness, who was still sprawled on the ground in pain, “-Caleb here shot through with his car and destroyed the generator! We were about to explain things to him, but you came in-'' He pointed angrily at Rainbow, “-and flattened us before we could do anything!” Darkness’ arms disappeared into his inky abyss body, still looking at Rainbow in a mixture of hurt and anger. Rainbow’s face fell to horror.

“What!? OMG, I’m so sorry you two!” She rushed over and helped Lightness up back to a standing position. “Guys, I’m so sorry. I just heard the portal open, felt the energy, and ‘big sis’ took over.” Darkness grunted and shrugged, while Lightness waved her off.

“It’s okay, sis”, Lightness said, “Everyone makes mistakes.”

“Yeah”, the purple being spoke up, “But what about that mistake.” An arm that emerged from his body jabbed a thumb at me. The other three looked at me like deer caught in headlights. They looked between each other, then looked back at me after the purple being joined them. I suddenly felt very self conscious as they all stared at me down. Didn’t help that they all towered over me, with even the shortest Rainbow still being a whole two heads taller than me. I shifted nervously, keeping my eyes on anything but them. But a sigh snapped my attention back to the four, Rainbow’s face housing a hard to read expression.

“This is going to be a hard day for all of this'', she said as she walked to the door behind me, the one she burst through, “Things aren’t going to get any easier if you just stand there gawking, c’mon.” She gestured to me to follow her, the purple being, Lightness and Darkness following right behind. I looked at her, to my car, then back to her. I sighed and followed, heading into the unknown with four strangers.

~X~

I followed far behind the four mysterious people as we walked down a long hallway. The red velvet carpet we marched on made me feel weird, this massive building I was in spralling and endless. To my right was a wall of windows that overlooked a large city bathed in the bright midday sunshine. To my left was a long line of paintings, occasionally breaking to fit in a door, each one housing a person on it, name signed on the bottom of the frame. Some, I recognized. William Shakespeare, Walt Disney, Stan Lee, Jim Davis, Rebecca Sugar. All of these creators were legends (for better or worse), making so much media that changed the world. I was so entranced by all these paintings that I was completely off guard when the others turned down another hallway. I shook my head and ran off of them, choosing to head to the front of the group next to Rainbow. I looked up at her, and she looked down at me and smiled, something I kindly returned. We kept walking in silence for a bit longer, before I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Okay, can someone here explain what is going on?”, I asked, “And where I am?”

Rainbow looked down at me again. “Don’t worry, Caleb, we’ll explain things soon-“ She looked at the doors we passed “-just need to find... the right room.” She headed into a room to her right, and the rest of us followed. The room we entered was a large room with a large bed and other furniture you’d find in a bedroom and living room. I was confused.

“Welcome to your new room!” Rainbow announced. I snapped out of my confusion and looked at her in shock. Lightness and Darkness shared the same sentiment.

“WHAT!?”, The three of us shouted at once. Rainbow shot a look at her brothers, and they shut up, but I didn’t.

“What do you mean ‘new room’?”, I demanded, “ What about me getting home? What about-“, I fell silent as it clicked for me, “...I’m going to be stuck here for a while, aren’t I?”

Rainbow nodded at me sadly. “Yeah... I’m sorry if this messed up plans for you”, She gestured to me to follow her again, “Bros, you two are free to go. I’ll explain everything to our new guest here.” The two of them nodded, waved goodbye, and went back down the hallway the way we came. Meanwhile, me, Rainbow and the purple being went down the other way to a door at the end of the hall. Rainbow opened it and we walked onto the balcony over a massive courtyard, and I stared at the sight before me in stunned silence. It was an extravagant garden, beautiful, vibrant flowers scattered about. Elsewhere were a small bush of a variety of trees, and elsewhere were more flowers and odd flora. I leaned over the balcony railing, my hands tightly grabbing the engraved golden bar. It didn’t feel real. I was nudged on my shoulder, so I spun around and I was met with a kind smile from the purple guy. He nodded his head over towards an outdoor patio set, with Rainbow happily waving the two of us over. I made my way over and sat in the chair across from the colourful girl, while the purple guy sat in the chair across the empty one. Rainbow beamed at me.

“So what do you think of all of this, Caleb?” She asked me, gesturing her arms up.

“Well, it sure is... something”, I said. While everything was beautiful and awe-inspiring, I was so mysterious too. “Now, can you two explain what’s happening?”

Rainbow nodded. “I was getting to that, but introductions should be dealt with. I am Rainbow Of Colours, or Rainbow for short. This handsome guy-“, she gestured to the purple guy, “-is Virus.” I looked at Virus and he waved at me, so I returned it. Rainbow’s smile grew, then she cleared her throat, turning all attention back to her. “I’m positive you met my brothers already.” I nodded. “Yeah, i love them, but they can be a handful more times than not.”

I looked at her thoughtfully. “Why is that?”, I asked.

“Well, they are the physical manifestation of good and evil, so they tend to butt heads with each other a lot.”

That made me straighten. Physical manifestation of good and evil? “Wait, so they are good and evil? Like, the whole idea itself?”

Virus nodded. “Yep, that’s right”, he said in his crunchy speaker voice, “Meanwhile, Rainbow here is the goddess of colours and I am a being made out of the code of the multiverse.”

I snapped my gaze to him, my eyes as wide as they can get. “Multiverse!?” I shouted dumbfounded, shooting out of my chair. Rainbow and Virus recoiled at my tone, but relaxed as I sunk back into my chair as I let things click into place. Kinda. “Have so many questions”, I said breathlessly, but I looked at the two of them with a steely gaze, “But what is the multiverse, first?”

Rainbow and Virus shared a look, then the goddess of colour looked at me. “It’s a bit complicated, are you sure you want to know?”

I nodded. “Lay it on me.”

Rainbow took a deep breath. “Okay. Basically, you come from the place we call the ‘Origin World’, where we all come from. Well, not us-“, she gestured to herself and Virus, “-but you get what I mean. All the shows, books, movies and video games that were made in your world? It created a full world here. An entire universe. ME, Virus and my brothers are the highest power there is. We make sure everything stays in line, and to keep from everything collapsing into a singularity or whatever. Every world is its own place, and no one knows about the others.” She paused. “Well, except for a select group. But what matters is you are in The Capital, the heart of the whole multiverse. You should be glad it was here, and not something like the Resident Evil or Walking Dead universes. That would be bad.” Virus nodded, but then looked at me when I hadn't said anything. Rather than feeling fear or concern, I suddenly felt so curious and excited. Everything in all the media I watched was alive here? All the shows and movies I watched and adored? All the characters that were my heros? I felt myself smiling as much as my face could allow, my smile making the other two smile. I snapped out of my thoughts.

“Crap, sorry, I guess I should introduce myself properly”, I said in embarrassment. Rainbow smiled and waved it off, while Virus chuckled kindly. I felt my heart swell, my fear being replaced with content. Looking at Rainbow and Virus, I felt as though I had friends in this strange, new land. As the warm, midday breeze brushed past my mess of brown hair, I explained to Rainbow and Virus my life before that portal accidentally sent me into the multiverse, from my inventions, my rise to fame, and how I felt the millionaires of the world tried to snub out my creative flame. In return, Rainbow and Virus explained how things worked in the castle, from guard rotations, who to talk to if I was stuck or in trouble, what life was like in The Capital, and all the things to do. Rainbow also reassured me that the guard will take all my belongings from my car and into my new room. As the conversation wrapped up, almost after 2 hours of talking, Rainbow was practically pulling me out of my chair.

“C’mon! If you are stuck living here for a while, I want you to get a tour of the whole castle before the day is over!” She said  happily. I was beaming as I bounded out of my chair and followed her towards the door back inside, Virus following close behind. Just as we reached the door, however, a guard came through, forcing us to stop dead in our tracks. The guard looked relieved to be seeing Rainbow.

“Thank goodness I found you!”, the guard said.

Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

“Lightness and Darkness just found out that an emergency meeting with the council has been called.”

Rainbow yelp while Virus came up next to her, obviously distraught. “Why? What happened?” He asked.

The guard pointed to me. “Apparently the portal that sent him through sent an energy surge throughout the multiverse, and every member of the council felt it. They’re all on their way here.”

I looked between Rainbow and Virus, faces etched in worry and concern. Virus nodded at the guard and told him to let the brothers know they were coming.

“What’s this council?” I asked. Rainbow looked at me.

“Remember how I told you about that select few who knew about the multiverse?” I nodded, so she continued, “That’s the council. The most powerful and important characters across the multiverse, from big time company mascots like Mickey Mouse and Spongebob Squarepants, characters aware of the fourth wall like Deadpool, and gods, goddesses and other characters that can bend reality and time.” I blanched. All these characters, all of them so important and powerful, all of them were going to have a meeting. Because of me.

“What do I do?”, I asked, “Do I just hide in my room until this meeting is over?”

Virus shook his head. “Not going to work. You can’t feel it, but we can.”

“Feel what?”

“You came from the world that made all of this”, Rainbow explained, “You give off a lot of energy because of that alone, so many of the council members, while they can’t pinpoint you directly, will feel your energy and ask questions. You’ll need to come, but don’t do or say anything-“, she grabbed my shoulders and looked right into my eyes, “-got it?”

I nodded, and the three of us went back inside. I ran behind Rainbow and Virus as they darted through the halls. As I started to fall behind, Virus picked me up and carried me, Rainbow speeding ahead slightly. After a couple more sharp turns, we came to a large, extremely decorated door. Lightness was pacing in front of it whole Darkness stood off to the side. Hovering next to him at his eye level was a small glowing orb, white on one side, black on the other. Both brothers looked up as Rainbow and Virus arrived, the living hunk of code setting me down.

“This is bad, guys. Everyone is here already, and it’s a warzone”, Lightness explained, “That energy surge freaked them out, and now they want answers.”

“Did you guys tell them anything yet?” Rainbow asked.

Darkness shook his head. “We didn’t know what to say. With him here-“, he pointed at me, “-guys like Bill and Strange are going to keep asking questions. We bailed when the Diamond Authority, specifically Yellow, started getting violent.”

Virus groaned. “Can we have one meeting where it doesn’t devolve into a freaking battle between gods?” That made me cringe. “We’ve got to do something.”

Rainbow turned to me. “Caleb, you’ll be off to the side with our staff. You don’t say or do anything, understand?” I nodded in agreement. “And if things get too heavy for you, leave with a good chunk of guards and go straight to your room. Okay?” I nodded again. She knelt down and hugged me tightly before turning back to Virus and her brothers. Meanwhile the guard from before came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. I looked at him, feeling happy he was around my height.

“Name’s Jeffery, kid. Stick close to me, I’ll keep ya’ safe”, he said. I smiled at him, and soon I heard an explosion. I snapped my head to the large door that Lightness opened the tiniest bit. Rainbow scowled darkly as the sounds of too many angry, screaming voices. I tensed up, But Jeffery reassuringly put an armoured hand on my back. I took a deep breath, and entered the room of an angry, confused group of way too powerful people with Jeffery, the two of us right behind my new roommates.  This wasn’t going to be pretty.

~X~

It was just as bad as Darkness said it was. I was off to the side, hiding partially behind Jeffery, just enough so I could see the chaos before me. The room reminded me of the UN’s main conference room, with the same desks, only for the ones further back to get gradually bigger. So many gods, goddesses and overpowered characters lobbed insults and attacks at each other. I looked at the center of the room, where Lightness, Darkness, Rainbow and Virus sat at a large table. The brothers looked uncomfortable, Virus flickered nervously, Rainbow was scowling with her arms crossed, and the orb was flying around twinkling furiously, trying to quell the battle. I gulped, making the female french guard next to us, who Jeffery introduced as Carmilla, look at me sadly. I shot her a glance, and she shot me a reassuring smile in return. I returned with a shaky smile of my own, but a loud explosion snapped my attention back to the council. I felt so weak and feeble seeing so many characters that were far too powerful for their own good. Bill Cipher, the one eye triangle demon from Gravity Falls, was butting heads with Cthulhu; Several incarnations of Zeus were in an insult match with one another; Aku and Black Hat glared venomously at Superman and Dr.Strange; and just like Darkness said, Yellow Diamond was firing off her devastating yellow lightning at Mario, Mickey and Spongebob, the three of them dodging with ease. I felt like this was getting nowhere, when suddenly a bang, louder than anything before, made me jump and my heart skipped a beat. The whole room fell silent as all eyes locked onto Rainbow, who was now standing up with a furious look in her eyes. The three others at the table didn’t even flinch. Rainbow kept her dark look as she scanned the crowd.

“Can you all get back to your seats-“, She said, her voice gradually rising, “-and can we have a meeting like NORMAL PEOPLE!?!? ” Everyone slowly and reluctantly made their way back to their seats, and calmed down enough to make Jeffery sigh in relief.

“Any longer with that chaos, and this room would’ve been a smoking crater like last time”, he said, looking over his shoulder at me. Camilla said “Oui.” in response, and I suddenly felt unsafe. All of these guys and gals together were nothing more than a ticking time bomb on an atomic level, and I felt sick. I nudged Jeffery, and he looked at me, Rainbow finally explaining things as best as she could.

“Jeffery, this is too much for me”, I whispered, “Can you help me to my room?” The guard looked me over, shared a look with Camilla, and then he nodded at me. He and Camilla began to leave, shielding me from the prying eyes of the council. I snuck a peak at the table with Rainbow and the others, and very briefly their eyes flashed with kindness at me. I smiled and mouthed ‘Thank you’ to them before walking in front of the two guards so I could leave undetected.

“Who’s he?” I heard the mad titan Thanos ask.

I froze in my tracks, same with Jeffrey and Camilla. I spun around, still hidden behind the guards, and felt my heart sink into my stomach as I saw every member of the council staring past the four at the table right to where I was. My four new friends whirled around and stared at me in shock, fear and worry, before they snapped back to the council.

“They’ve always been here”, Darkness said flatly. I ducked lower behind Jeffery, the guard carefully putting his hand on his belt, which I was told had smoke bombs if things got ugly.

“Don’t play dumb, Darkness”, the weilder of the Infinity Gauntlet spat, “You know I’m not talking about your servants.”

Virus flickered violently, Rainbow shivered, Lightness gulped, and Darkness growled. “There is no one else here but everyone you’re used to, Thanos ”, Darkness said venomously. Thanos simply scoffed and lifted his gauntlet hand, making a sweeping motion. Jeffery and Camilla suddenly were forced aside, exposing me to the prying eyes I tried desperately to avoid. I locked completely up as they all looked at me. Meanwhile, Rainbow rushed out of her chair and stood in front of me, shielding me from everyone. Carefully, she put something in my hand without anyone noticing.

“When I give up the signal, throw this at your feet as hard as you can”, she whispered to me. I looked at the small ball in my hand, purple smoke visible inside. I looked back up at her.

“What’s the signal?” I asked.

“You’ll know.” She turned back to the crowd. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I could tell she was mad. “THANOS! What did we tell you about using your powers!?”

The titan simply scoffed. “Don’t play this game with me, Rainbow”, he said. Thanos stood up and jumped high and far, landing directly in front of Rainbow with a thud. “I can tell something is up with the kid. Who is he?” Rainbow glared at him. Thanos stood at equal height to her, so both glares were right between each other. I felt tense as I could hear other members of the council mutter and quietly discuss between their neighbours. Rainbow and Thanos began to argue, Virus was obviously losing his patience, and the brothers were trying to calm things down. It was becoming too much for me. But before I could react, Thanos grabbed me by the arm roughly and lifted me right into Rainbow’s face.

“What is up with this runt, goddess?”, He said, shoving me into Rainbow’s face. I was terrified, and her face mirrored it.

“He’s just a new recruit”, she dismissed, pulling me out of Thanos’ grasp and setting me behind herself, “He’s new here, and I just felt like it was a good idea to watch one of our meetings.”

“But you know this isn’t the kind of meeting we should have an audience for, is it? There’s another reason for him being here, isn’t there?”

Rainbow faltered slightly, before quickly recovering. “Thanos, now’s not the time for this. We are here to discuss that energy surge-“

“That this brat is the cause of '', Thanos interrupted. That shut everyone up, and forced all eyes on me once again. I sank behind Rainbow, who put a defensive hand around me.

“That’s not true Thanos”, Rainbow said simply, “Lightness and Darkness were testing out their generator, and it blew up in their face.” Thanos looked at the two brothers, who both cringed and nodded. Thanos clearly wasn’t convinced, so he shot me a suspicious glare.

“How old are you, boy?” he asked me.

I shifted uncomfortably, and looked at Rainbow. She nodded. I sighed and said my age.

“16”

Rainbow whirled around and stared at me in shock, Lightness and Darkness nearly fell out of their chairs, and Virus snapped his speechless, agape mouth in my direction. This made Thanos chuckle darkly.

“It seems my question has been answered, judging by your reactions”, He said smugly. He looked at me with a look that made me feel like he was staring right into my soul. “Who are you?”

Before I could say anything, Virus came out of nowhere and stood in front of me and Rainbow, protruding his arms out defensively. The orb came over and let out a blast of energy that threw Thanos a good few feet back. He groaned as he stood back up, carefully and slowly.

“LISTEN UP EVERYONE!”, Virus shouted, “THIS KID IS UNDER OUR WATCH, AND IF YOU HAVE AND PROBLEMS WITH THAT, THEN YOU HAVE TO ANSWER TO ME , GOT IT!?” His voice devolved into a mess of several voices of varying speaker qualities and accents right at the end, which seemed to sacred everyone into silence. Even Thanos flinched at Virus’ tone. The living computer malware then turned around and began leading me out of the room. “I was getting bored anyway. Plus, it’s best to stay out of their way.” He jabbed a thumb over his non-existent shoulder, and I followed it to a very angry looking Lightness, Darkness and Rainbow overlooking the intimidated and silent council, especially the mad titan, who was now staring up wide-eyed at them. Jeffery and Camilla held the door open for us, and as they closed the door behind us, I could hear the screams of rage and fury coming from my three new protectors. With a click, the door closed, and silence fell onto us.

~X~

After a while, of Virus taking corners and going down one hallway after another, to the point my legs felt like they’d shatter like glass, we entered a room. It was a typical rec room, with a pool table, large couch, vending machines, and a large TV with all manner of video game consoles hooked up. I didn’t care, and just flopped onto the couch face first, all the weight of today just too much for me. Virus sat down next to me, petting the back of my head gently.

“Sorry this is how your first day turned out, kid”, Virus said. I grunted and sat up cross legged and looked up at him, sadness painted on my face.

“Am I going to make your guy’s lives harder because of all of this?”, I asked. Virus shook his head smiling.

“Far from it. I’d like to think you being here gave the others the drive to reign in the council. It’s not often the three of them can be that scary that fast.”

I nodded and looked out the window above the TV, seeing that sun setting. I sighed, my fears from earlier still very much alive in my head. I was shaken out of my trance When Virus leaned over and looked my right in the eyes.

“You’re with us now kid”, he said, “Whether we can get you home, or you're stuck here, we’ve got your back. I promise I’ll be here to help you when need be.” I smiled up at him, my eyes becoming slightly foggy. The door to the room opened, and I turned to see Rainbow walked in, clearly exhausted. She slumped down on the couch between me and Virus, and quickly pulled me onto her lap. I looked up at her.

“That meeting...”, she began, pausing to take a deep breath, “...was the worst. I’m going AWOL next time there is one.” She looked at Virus, who nodded, clearly thinking the same thing.

“Where’re Lightness and Darkness?” I asked. Rainbow looked back down at me.

“Sending everyone on their way. Tradition.” She said with a shrug. I shrugged in return, earning a snort of laughter from the taller woman,

“What?”

“Nothing, just thought about Thanos’ face when I blew up at him. Priceless”, she snorted again, then quickly began giggling. I just smiled, and looked between them.

“So, since this meeting went up in flames, how about you give me that tour of the castle you promised?” I said. Rainbow and Virus looked down at me and both nodded, so we quickly stood up and made our way out of the rec room heading down the hall. The two of them led me through the castle, showing me main rooms of interest, from the barracks, swimming pool, bowling alley, cafeteria (where we took a break so I could get some food in my system), a better look at the wall of paintings from earlier, a better look at the courtyard garden, the main throne room, and where all of the map were so I didn’t get lost. We even ran into Jeffery again, which came with its big news drop.

“Jeffery is now my bodyguard?” I asked, excitement lighting up my eyes.

Rainbow nodded. “Yep. After today, I feel like Jeffery is the best when it comes to keeping you safe if we’re busy.”

I looked at the guard with a smile. “Are you okay with this? I don’t want to mess up your schedule or anything.”

“oh, it’s fine Caleb”, Jeffery dismissed, waving his hand while smiling, “After today, I feel like it’s just the right thing to do.”

I smiled at him, only for my features to fall as I lay out a large yawn. Rainbow quietly cooed, while Virus rolled his eyes at her reaction. He then picked me up and the three left for my room, not before waving goodbye to Jeffery. The windows that out looked the city showed all the bright lights, vibrant neon signs and traffic filling the streets. We turned a corner and entered my new room. Just like Rainbow said, all my stuff from my car was brought in, even my 100 song CD was resting in its plastic case. I yawned again and flopped onto my bed, totally exhausted.  I curled up and clicked the bedside lamp on. I looked at Rainbow and Virus, all three of us smiling at eachother.

“Thanks you guys”, I said, sleeping slowly taking me over, “It means a lot to me that you let me move in.”

“Oh, don’t mention it Caleb”, Rainbow said, “It’s the least we could do after you technically were accidentally kidnapped.” That made the three of us laugh.

“Yeah. All’s good, kid”, Virus added, “now you get your rest. We’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

I nodded and clicked the lamp off. “Goodnight guys”, I said in a half asleep state. Both of them said goodnight back, and then closed my door. Soon enough, I was overcome by sleep, the calm humming of my bedroom fan being the only sound left.

~X~

One thing I want to say: The reason I haven’t updated my other stories is because I lost the drive for them and I felt like things were being too rushed. I want to apologize for that, I am an artist first, but this story is genuinely something I want to finish. This means the world, and getting my characters out there will really help. Hope this makes up for my long absence in the writer world.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I slowly came to by the sound of an alarm clock beeping to my right. I groaned and rolled over to the sound of the noise, glaring the best I could at it in my tired state. I saw the number that flashed on the LED screen - 10:00 AM - and cursed to myself for sleeping in again . I slowly made my way out of bed, only to look around. I was in the same room I went to sleep in, so I relaxed knowing it wasn’t a dream. Snapping out of my thoughts, I made my way over to the dresser and began rummaging through its drawers. All my clothes I packed for my cross country trip were all here, and it seemed all of them had been washed and folded. I told myself to thank Rainbow when I see her today. I picked out my outfit for the day and made my way into my bedroom’s connected bathroom. I had a quick shower, dried off, put on my clothes and brushed my teeth. After all of that, I looked myself over in the bathroom mirror. I was wearing a black long sleeve shirt that simply had a loading icon on it with the word ‘LOADING...’ under it. With it I wore a pair of light grey sweatpants and typical grey socks. I noticed my hair was flatter than usual, so I roughly shook my head while clawing at my hair with my hands, and when I was done, it was back to the messy mop I was used to. I smiled at my reflection and began to head to my bedroom. Just as I was about to twist the knob, however, I looked to the coffee table just behind me. Resting on it was the box with my upgraded phone that I showed to Apple. I walked over, took the phone out of the box, and put the phone into my pocket. I nodded, and opened my bedroom door.

“Hi Caleb!”, Rainbow’s voice suddenly shouted.

I let out a scream of pure shock as I stumbled back, tripped over the coffee table and fell onto the couch. I blinked at the ceiling for a moment before snapping my attention to Rainbow, who was standing still in complete shock. Then, in a split second, she started laughing hard. She nearly fell over as I glared at her making my way towards her. I stopped in front of her, arms crossed and scowling as she began to calm down.

“I’m *pant* sorry”, she said between laughing and panting, “That was *pant* just too funny.” She finally calmed down enough to look at me, her laughter ending as she looked at me over. “You look cute.”

I blushed slightly. “Shut it”, I snapped back, “I’m still mad you laughed at me. I could’ve been hurt!”

“Oh you’re fine, don’t be such a baby about it”, she said, waving off my remark. I pouted, but just shrugged it off.

“So what’s with you nearly making me jump through the roof?” I asked.

“Well, Virus was getting impatient for you to wake up, I came to get you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Well, if we’re going shopping in The Capital, we can’t not bring you!”

My eyes shot open. “What!? You’re bringing me shopping with you!?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow cheered with a skip, “You need more than two weeks of clothing, and if you’re living here for a while, you might as well get as much as you need so you’re comfortable.”

I beamed. “Well why didn’t you start with that?” I said happily, “Let’s go!” I grabbed hold of Rainbow’s hand, making her giggle, and the two of us rushed off to the front of the castle. In my head as we passed all of the paintings of legendary creators, one thought echoed in my head.

This was going to be a great day.

~X~

The front of the castle was pretty typical of a fancy place like this. There was a large driveway that circled around an extravagant fountain that had Lightness, Darkness, Rainbow and Virus standing triumphantly on top of an elaborately decorated podium that sprayed water out in an elegant way. The outer edge of the driveway and around the fountain had several different types of massive flowers that lit up the garden with their vibrant colours. Down the steps from the front door was Virus, his usual flickering self. He was impatiently looking at his hand, but looked up when he heard us approaching. He let out a sigh.

“Finally you two show up”, he joked, “I was thinking about ditching you guys and having a ‘me’ day.”

“As if I’d let you do that”, Rainbow said with a laugh, “I would’ve run down the street and dragged your butt back here.” Virus chuckled and opened the door to the car, a long black and white limousine, letting Rainbow in. He then turned to me,

“Ready to get this show on the road, kid?” he asked me with a smile.

I beamed up at him. “You bet Virus!” I exclaimed, pumping my fist in the air. “I’m always up to explore new worlds!” I jumped into the limo, and Virus followed after, closing the door behind him. Rainbow leaned forward and knocked on the window that separated the driver’s seat from the spacious back. The window rolled down, and I was shocked to find Jeffery behind the wheel.

“Jeffery, you’re our driver?” I said.

“Hey, I promised I’d watch over you, kid”, He said, “And I intend to keep that promise.” He turned back around to the road ahead of him. I saw him smirk as he pulled out a radio from the limo’s console. “Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times'', Jeffrey's voice said over the limo’s speaker system, “And thank you for picking Jeffery’s Uber Service.” I chuckled as the limo began driving forward out under the front gate of the castle’s wall. I was nearly bouncing out of my seat. Rainbow laughed and grabbed me by my shoulders.

“Easy there Caleb”, She said, trying to get me to sit still, “If you keep bouncing around like this, you’ll fly out a window!”

“Sorry Rainbow”, I apologized, “I just can’t help it! I finally get to feel like a kid again!”

“That is something I’ve been wondering about...” Virus wondered, “How can a 16 year old do all of this incredible stuff yet still gets all hyper when he’s taken shopping?”

“Autistic kid that just really applied himself”, I said, “It was hard for me at first, but I was able to steel myself and make a difference. That excitable side does tend to leak out sometimes though.” I finished with a smile. Virus gained a thoughtful look and nodded, turning his attention to a newspaper that was resting on a small table. He began to read it, mumbling something about “Stupid Disney acquisitions” and “Sony not living up to the typical standards”. I just turned my attention away from him and looked out the window at the passing scenery. Past the castle wall wasn’t the city immediately, rather open fields with large mansions dotted about. There was the occasional cluster of trees, but nothing too crazy. I walked over to the opposite side of the limo and looked out that side. There was the city, acting like a wall that hid all behind it. As I panned my head to the left, I noticed the city did eventually pass the castle slightly. I made a mental note to see if I could see the hall of paintings from the street. The limo swung slightly as Jeffery turned to the left heading into the bustling metropolis that lay before us.

“Where did you guys plan to go shopping?” I asked the other two, not taking my eyes off the scenery.

“Well, we were going to hit up a couple clothing stores so you could get some new stuff first”, Rainbow began, “Then we were going to go to a few store I know have more decorative stuff so you can make your new room feel more like home, and then finally we can spend the rest of the day doing whatever.” I looked at her and nodded, grinning ear to ear. The sound of a helicopter turned my attention back to the window, and I watched as the red and white vehicle darted low for a moment before it disappeared between the jungle of skyscrapers. I walked to the front of the limo and looked through the sealed divider window before it opened like a door. Jeffery nodded at me to take the passenger seat next to him. I happily took the seat and looked out the window, only for Jeffery to clear his throat. I looked at him.

“You know”, he said, “I was the one that talked the others into this.”

“You came up with this trip?” I asked in confusion, “Why?”

“Well”, he began, “Yesterday when you, Rainbow and Virus were chatting on the balcony and I was with some other staff putting your stuff away in your new room, I felt bad that you didn’t have everything you owned. So after you went to sleep, I talked to the two of them, and the three of us decided to have today be a city shopping day! All just for you, kid.” He shot me a kind smirk.

I smiled back. “Thanks Jeffery. Hearing that... makes me feel better. About all of this”, I gestured my arms out.

“You don’t need to explain your story again, kid”, Jeffery put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, “And I can tell this is hard for you, but we’ve got your back. This place will grow on you in no time.”

I stared at him for a bit, letting my emotions settle. I smiled at him. “Thanks Jeffery”, I said. I leaned back into my seat. “But tomorrow I get to explore the castle on my own.”

Jeffery laughed. “Yeah, I think you can do that.”

~X~

The Capital was just as crazy as I thought it was. It felt like New York, Tokyo, London, Brazil and Beijing were all smashed into one massive metropolis. We were currently stuck in traffic, so I went back with Rainbow and Virus so Jeffery could have better focus. To pass the time, I was halfway through the limo’s sunroof, taking in all the sights amongst the sounds of car horns and talking citizens. Every building either had several neon signs (all of them turned off because it was around 11 am at this point), large screens depicting many different advertisements, or a combination of the two. Sometimes, the large screens showed advertisements for new cartoon shows and movies. ‘3BELOW – The next exciting adventure from the Trollhunters saga’ one said. ‘Join Hilda and her friends Frida and David as they solve the mysteries of Trollberg’ said another. ‘Ready Player One – Have crossovers gone too far?’, ‘Mary Poppins Returns! Watch this new feature film in theatres’, ‘The Meg, a disappointing Jaws spiritual successor?’ others said. I was so invested at all of the stuff before my eyes that I nearly yelped in fright when Rainbow pulled me back into the limo and onto her lap.

 “So”, she said, making me look up at her, “The first place we’re stopping at is run by a close friend of mine. I’m her most popular customer, so she’ll be able to give us some ‘special treatment’.”

“And it’s not because you’re one of the four almighty gods that control the whole multiverse?” I asked with a smirk. Rainbow shyly looked away and mumbled something, while Virus burst out laughing. I chuckled along with him, the goddess of colour weakly trying to slap the purple blob, making me laugh more. He reached forward and wrapped us both into a tight hug, Rainbow and me laughing at the sudden embrace. I felt so safe being with them. We were brought back to reality, however, when the limo lurched to a stop. The back right door opened, and Jeffery stood there, holding it open.

“Lady and gentlemen, we have arrived at our destination”, He announced with an over-dramatic flair. The three of us straightened out our clothing and stepped out. I stood between Virus and Rainbow and took in the sights. We were in a massive parking lot for an absolutely gargantuan shopping mall. The colour changing letters on the sign read ‘Omniverse SuperStore’, and the mall itself was towering, feeling as if the Mall of America was tripled in size. The thing that caught my attention most, however, was a building that looked identical to the Empire State Building standing high above all the surrounding skyscrapers. This ‘ESB’ look-a-like was right in the middle of the mall, at least from what I could tell. As I let my eyes wander around the parking lot, which was absolutely packed, Virus scooped me up and set me on where his shoulders would be.

“Alright”, Rainbow began, clapping her hands together, “This place is massive, and I don’t want you getting lost, so you will be sticking close to us, got it?”

I jumped off of Virus, much to his concern, and stood up straight looking up at Rainbow. “Of course”, I said, “Don’t want to get lost in a place this... Daunting.”

“I agree”, Virus added, only to brighten a bit and chuckle, “Don’t want to have a repeat of what happened when we brought a squad of new recruits. Jeffery would know about that.” Virus jabbed a thumb at the guard, causing him to blush slightly. I cocked an eyebrow in confusion, only for Virus to lean down and whisper in my ear. “He was in charge of watching them.” I said a quiet ‘Oh’.

“Stop picking on Jeffy, we’ve got shopping to do!” Rainbow interjected. I nodded happily and followed after her and came up next to her, Virus and Jeffery taking up the rear of the pack. As we walked up to the mall, my eyes traveled up to the tower again.

“Hey Rainbow”, I asked my colourful friend. She looked down at me. “What’s up with the building that looks like the Empire State?” I pointed up at the tower.

“Oh, that?” She said sweetly, “That's the ‘Imagination Federal Treasury’. Basically the place where all the money stuff is handled, from purchases from the citizens of The Capital, to any other city in the multiverse, to other stuff like box office earnings and book sales.” I made a thoughtful noise and turned my attention back straight ahead of me as we approached the front of the mall. Jeffery jogged ahead and held a door open for us. I thanked him as we entered the little buffer before the actual mall, Jeffery holding the second door open for us. I thanked him again and was immediately taken aback by the volume of the place. So many people were walking about like any typical mall, and the interior was average, just a lot bigger. The four of us dodged and weaved past other customers, Rainbow holding on to my hand tightly. All of the other people were around my height, yet it still felt so imposing. The volume of all the voices was starting to get to me, but with one of my hands in Rainbow’s tight grasp, I couldn’t cover my ears. I just shook off the uncomfortable feeling welling inside of me, and kept my eyes forward.

~X~

After a while of trying to squeeze by other customers, we found the one store Rainbow knew best. I was busy checking through different shirts that somewhat fit my style while Virus and Jeffery checked out other parts of the store. It was a large clothing emporium; with all manner of shirts, sweaters, hats, jeans and the like everywhere you looked. As I shuffled more shirts aside, I looked to the cashier counter, where Rainbow was talking to the owner of the store. When we first entered, Rainbow introduced me to her and explained my plight. The woman, whose name was Mary Rain, was very understanding, and said I could pick out anything I liked. I grabbed a couple shirts, ran to the pants and snagged some sweatpants; I also picked up a sweater, a hat, and some fresh pairs of socks and underwear. I stuffed everything I had in the basket I carried with me and made my way back over to Rainbow just as Virus and Jeffery joined her. She looked over at me happily.

“Picked out everything you liked, Caleb?” She asked.

I nodded. “Yep! Wanted to make the most of this trip.” I set the basket of clothes on the counter. Mary, who was a whole head taller at me, smiled at me.

“Happy with your selection, kid?” She asked me happily. I nodded. She then looked at Rainbow. “I’m assuming you’re paying for this adorable little scamp?”

Rainbow nodded, pulling out a wallet. “You know it, sister.”

Mary giggled and began to check out the items. As that happened, Virus and Jeffery led me out of the emporium and to a store across from it.

“What are we doing here?” I asked them.

“Helping you find stuff to make your room more... relaxing”, Virus said. I looked around at what was in this store, and I was immediately entranced. It was a Hot Topic, but far bigger than anyone I’ve seen before. I instantly booked it towards the posters, snagging several before running back to Virus. I shoved the posters at him, the purple blob scrambling to not drop any of them while caught completely off guard. I then ran towards the figurines at the back, grabbed the three that I liked most, ran back and shoved them into Jeffery’s arms. I then grabbed one final item: a single plush of the video game character Kirby. I ran back up to my two friends and set the plush on the counter just as Rainbow showed up. She laughed at everything I picked out and began to pay for everything. The cashier happily put my stuff in some bags, and after he was done he handed the two bags to Rainbow, who was already holding four bags filled with my new clothes. Jeffery kindly took all the bags off of her, which she was grateful for. I thanked the cashier as we left.

“Feel like you got everything, Caleb?” Rainbow asked me. I looked up at her and smiled.

“You bet!” I exclaimed happily. “Today has been great!”

“Then you’ll love this one ice cream parlor at the end of the city”, Rainbow said. Hearing that made me perk up. “They’re on the top floor of an apartment building, so we can sit on the roof and look over the whole city.”

“Heck yeah! What are we waiting for, let’s get moving on!” Virus said, running ahead of the group. Rainbow ran after him, followed by Jeffery (who wasn’t slowed down by any of the extra weight he was crying), and finally myself. I was beginning to fall behind, however, and I was worried I’d get lost. I did my best to keep pace, but I was blindsided when a large group of men and women in varying colours of suits caught me in their stampede and forced me into the elevator they all went into. Terrified, I tried my hardest to push past the crowd, but they barely budged. Just as I was about to break through, the elevator doors closed, and I was carried up with a group of complete strangers.

~X~

The elevator ride was very nerve-racking for me. Not only was I too shy to say anything, but I barely had any room to breathe with how tightly packed everyone was. I looked at the electronic display that showed the floor we were on. 56, 57, 58. We just kept going up higher and higher, and I quickly put together where I was; The Imagination Federal Treasury. These must’ve been the employees. I looked back up to the display. 82, 83, 84. I was becoming more anxious and the number climbed higher and higher. I looked at the faces of the employees, but they were busy staring at their phones, in the middle of a phone call, or staring straight ahead with hard eyes. I was hoping to get someone’s attention, but the sound of a ding silenced me. I looked at the display, and my heart sank as I read 106. The crowd snapped to attention and marched out in sync with one another, forcing me out of the elevator and onto the blue carpeted floor. I squeezed out of the pack, letting them all go by.

Finally free of the vice like grip I was in, I began to look around. It was a typical office space, with plain white cubicle walls, speckled blue carpet, and the other usual office props. The voices of a dozen people filled the room, with many of them answering phone calls or discussing stock market stuff between each other. Papers flew through the air as many employees sorted receipts and invoices into folders. Movements from the employees were stiff and jerky, almost like they were robots on tracks. I decided I’ve seen enough, so I turned around to take the elevator back down. But when I went to hit the button to call the elevator, I saw a key card slot, which made me very nervous. I looked around frantically until I saw the sign for the emergency exit. I darted over and tried the door, but it wouldn’t budge. I looked the door over and saw another card swipe thing for this door too. I deflated, backing away from the door only to bump into someone. I turned around and looked up. The man behind me was very stocky, with broad shoulders and very powerful looking hands. He had a thick bushy mustache and a thick unibrow. He was as tall as Mary, so he looked down at me with a furious scowl.

“Where do you think you’re going, kid?” He asked me viciously.

I gulped in fear. “I was trying to leave b-because I was dragged here by your employees-“

“Like hell my hard working, honest employees would accidentally drag a kid like you here!” He shouted, shutting me up. “They probably brought you here because you did something! As punishment, you’ll vacuum all 102 floors!”

“What!?” I yelled, “I’m not vacuuming up your whole building for doing-“

“Don’t talk back to me!” He shouted again, “You’ll now be dusting all the shelves, too!” He shoved a feather duster into my hands. “Now clean!”

“But Rainbow and Virus are probably-“, I was once again interrupted.

“I don’t care if you’re a child prodigy, brat”, the man barked, “CLEAN!”

I sighed as I made my way over to the line of windows that looked out to the castle. As I dusted the windowsill, I looked down at the parking lot. I saw a ball of rapidly changing colours, and I could tell it was Rainbow, frantically looking for me. The ball of colours suddenly darted back towards the mall, two other specks following behind. I felt relief fill my features.

“CLEAN!” I heard the boss yell again. I flinched and went back to cleaning. I spent the next few hours dusting every surface I could, the boss yelling at me to ‘DO BETTER!’ and ‘CLEAN!’ every so often, till the sun started to set. I was in the middle of vacuuming in front of the elevator when I heard a ding . I looked at the door to see Rainbow barrel through and wrap me in such a tight hug.

“Oh my god, Caleb, I’m so sorry we didn’t find you sooner”, she said sweetly. I returned the hug, Virus and Jeffery coming up beside me and checking me over. Rainbow set me down after a bit.

“I’m just glad you guys got here when you did”, I explained, relieved, “This guy here was yelling at me to clean-“

“WHY AREN’T YOU CLEANING!!!” I was interrupted by the boss again, his rough footsteps coming up behind me. I yelped and hid behind Virus, both him and Rainbow glaring at the man.

“What do you mean cleaning, Andrew?” Rainbow asked venomously. The boss, Andrew, stopped dead in his tracks. He visibly paled, his angry expression changing to one of fear.

“W-W-Well”, He stammered, “This kid was obviously harassing my employees-“

“Oh don’t give me that stupid excuse again!” Rainbow shouted, making all of the employees' heads snap towards her. “You always say this whenever you force someone to be your janitor!” She marched forward into Andrew, continuously screaming at him while the once proud boss sending endless apologies at her. Virus picked me up and carried me into the elevator, Jeffery right by his side. Rainbow joined us shortly after, her face a light shade of red and breaths heavy. She looked at me, her features softening.

“I’m so sorry about this Caleb”, Rainbow apologized. Virus tapped the card slot, and purple electricity crackled out of his finger, forcing the elevator down.

“It’s okay Rainbow”, I reassured her, “Those suit wearing statues just caught me really off guard.” I paused. “What’s up with them anyway?”

“That’s something we’re not too sure about, honestly”, Virus admitted, “You need to ask Lightness and Darkness about that.”

That made a light bulb click on in my head. “Oh yeah, that’s something I completely forgot to ask about. What are they doing today?”

“Well”, Jeffery said, “They’re dealing with some stuff in regards to yesterday’s pretty messy council meeting, so when I asked them yesterday if they wanted to join us shopping, they had to sadly decline.”

I frowned, making a mental note to hang out with them tomorrow if they aren’t busy. The rest of the elevator ride down was quiet after that, only the gentle music coming from the speakers and the mechanisms of the lift to keep the silence at bay. After a bit, the usual soft ding was heard, and the four of us entered the main area of the mall, as loud as it was a few hours ago. Virus was still carrying me as he pushed through the crowd, Rainbow and Jeffery close behind. I looked behind our little group of four and saw another group of suits rush by into the elevator. I grunted, looking back around, the entrance getting closer to us. Jeffrey held both doors open for us, and we were back at the limo before I knew it. The sky was becoming a bright orange as the sun set lower past the wall of skyscrapers. Virus set me down as Jeffery opened the back door to the limo.

“So... What now?” I asked. Rainbow looked at me with a smile.

“I did say we would be going to this special parlor at the end of town”, she sweetly said. I smiled.

~X~

The ice cream parlor that Rainbow told me about was incredible as she said it was. It was an  80’s style diner on the roof of a 30 story apartment building, the rooftop decorated like an interstate, with the rust red dirt and rocks, cacti, and walkways paved like roads around those areas. Me, Rainbow, Virus and Jeffery all munched on loaded ice cream cones, sitting on a bench that was near the ledge of the roof. The view of the city was breathtaking.

“So, what do you think of your second day here, kid?” Virus asked, pausing from eating his double scoop cotton candy cone to face me.

I paused my licking my single scoop vanilla with chocolate. “I love it! This place is amazing!” I cheered.

Rainbow giggled, finishing her single scoop that was a combination of colours and flavours. “I’m really happy to hear that Caleb”, she said, “I’ll make sure I tell Lightness and Darkness about Andrew today. He tends to be...” She trailed off.

“Egotistical and Prideful?” Jeffery finished, briefly turning his attention away from his triple scoop chocolate chip and mint. Rainbow groaned and nodded. I just giggled and looked back over the city before us, all the people going about their evenings, cars slowly moving through like a river, and all the neon signs and lights slowly turning on.

I finished my ice cream and tossed the cone into a nearby garbage can. I leaned back more onto the bench. I sighed blissfully, taking in the chill evening breeze. I felt an arm wrap around me, and I was suddenly hugged by Rainbow.

“Honestly, I’m glad you popped into our lives”, She said as she roughly messed up my hair, “Just from the two days you’ve been here, I can tell you’re special.”

“Yeah”, Virus added, “You’ll make a fine little addition to our little rag tag group.” He ruffled my hair playfully.

“Definitely”, Jeffery said, “You’re stuck with us, kid. We’re a team.”

I looked between the three of them, smiling as big as I could, and tried my best to wrap them in a group hug. They all reciprocated the hug, my smile growing ever larger. I opened my eyes, and behind the others was a group of familiar people that made my heart stop. I was going to say something to warn them, but one member of the group beat me to the punch.

“He’s just a recruit, huh?” said Thanos. The others snapped to attention and bolted upright. They all turned and glared at the group, Virus nudging me behind him. The gang that followed Thanos included DC’s big bad Darkseid, Aku from Samurai Jack, and Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls. I gulped as the group of four stood a few meters away from us.

“What are you still doing here Thanos?” Rainbow growled.

The mad titan chuckled. “I simply wanted to spend some extra time with these gentlemen before we all went back home”, he explained. But from his dark eyes and scowl, I could tell he was lying. Rainbow’s cloud ending oh her hair started to darken, Virus began to flicker and snarl, and Jeffery pulled out a sword and shield.

“You should just go Thanos”, Virus said, “If this is about yesterday, just forget it. Enjoy your day without making a scene.”

Bill laughed. “Oh puh- lease ”, he said amongst his laughter, “After the council was called and you-“ he pointed at Rainbow “-and your brothers left, everyone knew there was something up with that kid.” He continued to cackle like a maniac.

“Agreed”, Darkseid added, “That child has piqued all of our interest. Why are you so set on protecting him?”

“Because he’s only 16, just get out of here!” Virus barked.

“Please, That’s not a good excuse”, Aku waved off, “So many heroes and villains are younger than that. Just tell us what’s up with the brat.”

Rainbow’s eyes flew open in rage. “You do not get to call him that!” She screamed. Thanos scoffed, and then he stared right at me. I locked eyes with him, as if he was reading his mind. After a few minutes, however, a portal opened under all their feet and they fell in, yelling in shock until the portal closed. Rainbow and Jeffery calmed down, and I looked up at Virus. He looked down at me and wink.

“Let’s go home”, he said. I nodded, along with Rainbow and Jeffery, the four of us heading into the diner to take the elevator back down. As we left, though, I could’ve sworn I saw the four from earlier falling through a portal down the street, but I just shrugged it off.

~X~

The moon was beginning to rise over the horizon as we approached the castle, and thus the lights in the front were shining bright. I was in the back with Virus and Rainbow, trying my best to stay awake, but it was hard. I ended up yawning and leaning onto Rainbow, the woman wrapping an arm around me and pulling me close. I snuggled up closer to her, too tired to really care. Jeffery pulled up to the front of the castle, and I snapped awake just enough to be aware of what’s going on. Jeffery opened the back door for us, with Virus heading out first, followed by Rainbow and then me. Jeffery wished me goodnight, which I returned sleepily. Lightness and Darkness stood atop the stairs in front of the opened front door, their faces wrought with worry. We walked up to them, Rainbow looking confused at them.

“What’s wrong?” She asked.

“The owner of the ice cream parlor called”, Lightness said, “He told us what happened up there. Nothing was destroyed, no one hurt?”

Virus shook his head. “Nope. I opened a portal as soon as things were about to get serious.”

Both brothers sighed in relief. “Good”, Darkness added, “We’ll send some troops down there to make sure they all get home safely.” The gods and goddess all continued to talk between each other about the day, so I quietly excused myself and went inside. The lights inside the hallway shone brightly, which helped me stay that bit more awake. I walked along through the hallways of my new home until I got to my room. I entered and saw my bags of newly bought stuff resting at the foot of my bed. I smiled, mentally thanking Jeffery, before changing into some pajamas. I pass a glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 7:30. I groaned, wondering how I could be so tired when it was so early still. I entered my bathroom and splashed cold tap water onto my face, which helped wake me up more. I decided I could explore the castle a bit, so I put on my slippers, grabbed the map Rainbow gave me yesterday, and walked back out into the hallway. Looking at the map briefly, I chose to head towards the main barracks, and began to make my way there. I passed by more of the paintings, some random pairs of staff, and open doors that led to closets and storage rooms. At one point, however, I heard something.

“Help! If anyone can hear me, help me!” a mysterious voice cried. I stopped dead in my tracks and darted my head around. The voice kept calling for help, and I kept looking around for it. Eventually, I traced the sound to a large closed door, signs reading ‘Hazardous Materials’, ‘Danger: Toxic’, and ‘Do Not Enter’ on it. I kept calling out, but after a bit of listening, I became too freaked out to investigate further, so I just kept going in the direction towards the barracks.

~X~

The castle barracks were designed to look exactly like a large military hanger. The green camo walls were made of sheet metal, and the large curved roof reached high above. Large LED lights lit up the whole room, and several doors and garages across on the other side. Other than that, the room was peaceful.

Well, aside from all the troops.

Everywhere you looked, there were men and women doing all manner of physical exercises, from push ups and sit ups, running laps around the indoor track, or using weight room equipment. I walked forward, watching all the activities happening around me, only for me to bump into someone. I turned around and felt my pulse quicken. I bumped into a girl. She had dark brown hair like me, only it was down to her shoulders and far messier, large eyes with blue irises, a green striped sweater that was much too big for her, blue jeans and brown slip on shoes. We both looked at each other over curiously, as if trying to understand why the other was there. After a bit, I decided to introduce myself.

“Hi”, I said, “My name is Caleb.” I smiled at her. She shyly brushed a few strands of hair out of her eyes.

“My name’s Katania...” she said blushing slightly. I just smiled at her.

“It’s nice to meet you Katania”, I said happily. She smiled shyly at me, but then suddenly ran off. I was left confused as I watched Katania disappear behind a door. I just shrugged and turned back around to march forward, only to bump into someone else (three times in one day, can’t I just catch a break!?). I looked up and saw I bumped into a woman. She was a bit taller, but not by much, and wore a green general’s uniform. She had the same dark hair and blue eyes as Katania. In fact, she looked like an adult version of the girl I ran into earlier. She looked at me with a look of suspicion.

“What’s up with you, kid?” she asked, “Who are you?”

“Uh...” I was flustered at first, then relaxed, “Caleb. My name’s Caleb.”

Her features formed into a neutral look. “Oh, so you’re the kid Jeffery was asked to watch.” I nodded. “Why are you here?”

“Oh, I was just exploring some more”, I explained, “And I decided to check this place out. But when I got here, I bumped into a girl with a green sweater-“

“My daughter”, the woman interrupted, “She’s my kid. You may refer to me as General Skye, understood?” I nodded. “Good. You should get going kid, I don’t usually allow-“

“Relax, General. I’m here.” I looked to my right and saw Jeffery approaching us, no longer wearing his armour and was in a white undershirt, dark grey military pants and thick, muddy military boots. With his lack of armour, I could make out how muscular he was. It was very impressive.

“How's it going, Caleb?” he asked me with a smile, planting a hand on my shoulder.

“Just exploring to pass the time”, I said, “Wasn’t late enough to head to bed, so I decided to check out the barracks, see how you train and everything.”

“Ah, it’s not that much different than back at your home”, he said nonchalantly. I nodded, only to stop when I ended up yawning the tiniest bit. Jeffery chuckled. “Looks like you should get to bed, kid. Here, I’ll escort you back, sound good?” I nodded slowly, Jeffery leading me out of the hangar. We both waved goodbye to the General, who nodded back in return, and soon the two of us left. We were walking down a hallway when I heard it again.

“Help! I swear if someone is just ignoring me, you’ll get it!” yelled the voice from before. I snapped my head towards the door from before. Jeffery looked at me in confusion.

“What’s wrong kid?” He asked.

“I can hear someone behind that door”, I said slowly. I looked up at my friend, his face stern.

“Let’s get you to bed, kid. I’ll talk to the others about this.” He put a hand on my back and we began to walk away, the voice growing quieter as we traveled further away.

Before I knew it, we were back at my room. I was just so exhausted that I didn’t care to turn my light off or even check my clock. I just flopped onto my bed and curled up in the blankets.

“Goodnight, kid”, Jeffery said. I just mumbled something at him in response, and my bodyguard clicked my light off and closed my door, sleeping immediately taking me over.

~X~

And so wraps up another chapter in this very strange story. One thing is for certain; who’s that mysterious voice belongs too? All will be revealed in due time. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

Once again, the sound of an alarm snapped me out of my sleep. I groaned and looked at the time. 7:30. I sighed, slowly untangling myself from the blanket and did my morning routine from yesterday. Before I walked out of my room, however, I looked back at my new purchased stuff, and I squinted in determination. I quickly went to work pinning the posters to the wall around my bed’s backboard, and setting the figurines on top of my dresser. Smiling at my finished redecorating, I walked out of my room to get some breakfast at the cafeteria.

 As I walked happily through the hallways of the castle, my eyes wandering to all that surround me, I started to hear talking. I slowed down to a shuffle as I came up to a door that was opened slightly. I took a careful peek in, only to end up seeing just some staff members chatting happily between each other. I sighed at my sudden paranoia, and continued on my way. What was up with that, I asked myself. Why am I so worried about what the staff were talking about? Was it because of that voice last night? I felt a shiver crawl up my spine just thinking about how distressed the voice seemed. And somehow no one heard him, which made me even more freaked out. I shook my head, though, when the thought of investigating started to creep up. I sighed again and continued on my way to get some food, but the memory of that voice never left my head, even when the smell of eggs, bacon and toast hit my nose. I entered the cafeteria and was snapped out of my thoughts by the volume of the whole room. I quickly made my way over to the counter that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room, grabbing a glass of orange juice along the way. I grabbed two pieces of toast, put ketchup on one slice, and put a fried egg on the other. I took an open seat at an empty table, and quietly ate my breakfast as I thought about what to do today, but nothing clicked. I tossed my stuff in with the other dirty dishes, and was about to leave when someone put a hand on my shoulder. I gulped, and looked behind me.

“What are you doing here, squirt?” said a gruff guard with a thick beard. He was flanked by another male guard with a big bushy mop of blonde hair, and a girl with her hair done up into a bun.

I looked between the three of them. “I was just getting breakfast, and now I’m leaving.” I shook myself out of the guard’s grasp and continued through to the door. The one guard put his hand on my shoulder again, chuckling. I tried to shake him off again, but he kept his grip, and I internally panicked.

“Listen, kid, I don’t think you get it”, the first guard said, “We rule this place, and we don’t take kindly to outsiders.” The other two guards silently nodded with vicious smirks. I looked between the three of them quickly, scared at what they were going to do to me. I tensed up as they approached.

“What exactly are you three doing?” said a familiar voice. I looked over to see General Skye with Katania off to the side. She was looking at the three guards expecting an answer.

“Well, this little brat was giving us trouble”, the guard explained, “So we were just showing him who’s boss.”

“Oh really?” The General said with a raised brow, “The same kid that Jeffery is watching?” The trio’s expressions fell a bit. “The same kid that I’ll be willing to keep safe by disbanding your butts?” The three guards flew into a panic and dropped me harshly before running off. I glared at them as they ran, Katania helping me to my feet. I dusted myself off and looked up at General Skye.

“Thanks for that, General”, I said with a smile, “If you hadn’t stepped in, I don’t know what they would have done to me.”

“Don’t worry about it, kid”, she said smiling, “Katania noticed you were in trouble, and those three are known for causing havoc when unsupervised. They think they rule the food court.” She looked in the direction they disappeared in. “I know who’s going to be cleaning up after training today”, she mumbled. She nodded at me and Katania and followed after the three that ran. I watched go, only to feel a tug on my sleeve. I turned and looked at Katania, who was shyly looking at the ground.

“I was kind of wondering”, she said quietly, “If you’d like to hang out today?”

I looked at her in shock. “Why?”

“It’s because you’re the only other kid here”, she said, “And I’ve been lonely. So, do you want to?” She looked up at me hopefully.

I smiled at her. “Of course I want to!”

Katania brightened. “Then let’s go!” She suddenly grabbed my hand and the both of us ran out of the cafeteria.

~X~

Katania led me through the endless maze of hallways, turning left and right so quickly I could barely understand what was happening.

“Where the heck are you taking me, Katania?” I asked as she swerved around another corner, still towing me behind.

“Just hush”, she said, “We’re almost there.” I shut up and let her continue to pull me across the red carpet until we came to a large room. Banners hung from the ceiling, each depicting one of the four gods doing various things. Abstract paintings rested on the walls, and the carpet was now a mix of different coloured splotches. We stood above all of it on a balcony, curved staircases to our left and right leading down. I just looked upon everything in stunned silence.

“What is this place?” I asked, still awestruck at the sight before me.

“The museum”, Katania explained, “Around the back of the castle. It’s open to the public, and it’s pretty popular. C’mon!” She ran towards the staircase to our left, and I followed happily behind, looking at everything I could see as we descended. Sculptures were spread out, most of them I could recognize; the most obvious of them was The Thinker, resting in the middle of the room facing a doorway that went down into the rest of the museum. As we got lower down the staircase, I noticed that there was a large window with four glass doors that showed the elaborate courtyard. All around, guests conversed with each other and inspected the paintings. At the bottom of the stairs, we were stopped by someone dressed in a red bellhop uniform. He held an arm out, the red rope he was next to acting like a gate.

“I need to see your identification, please”, he said. Katania quickly fished a card of some kind and flashed it to the man.

“He’s with me”, she pointed a thumb at me. The man nodded and unclipped one end of the rope, letting us through. I smiled at him, something he returned, and the two of us entered the lively art filled room. I spun around, taking in the whole feeling of the room. It wasn’t too loud, but it wasn’t dead silent. The art pieces gave me this feeling of content and peace. I sighed blissfully, turning towards Katania.

“This is amazing”, I said, sticking my arms out wide and beaming, “How didn’t I know about this place?”

“I kinda thought you didn’t”, Katania said with a smile, “It’s around the back of the castle, and the only public entrance is from the city, so i don’t blame you.”

“But, why bring me here?” I asked, calming down a bit.

“Well, aside from wandering around the castle for hours, I felt like this was the best thing we could do”, she said with a shrug, “Plus, this place is calm enough for us to be able to just hang.”

I nodded and followed her deeper into the museum. Paintings of all sorts hung from the wall, many recognizable, and others not so much. Guests stood around everywhere, all of them either quietly viewing the images before them or discussing the paintings' meanings to their partners. I walked up next to Katania.

“So I have some questions for you,'' I began.

“Go ahead”, she responded.

“Why’d you run away from me like that yesterday night?” I gave her a questioning side glance, and I could see her turn a light shade of red.

“I was just embarrassed”, she said, “Another kid bumps into me, and such a kind one at that, and my brain just shuts down. I didn’t know what to do or say, so I told you my name, and then ran. I kicked myself just for that.”

I chuckled. “I don’t blame you. I used to be pretty shy too.”

Katania smiled up at me. “Yeah. After that, I slept, and decided to talk to you again. But when I saw those three trying to hurt you...” She trailed off. In response, I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I told my mom, and she stepped in. As she scared them off, I decided I wanted to hang out. Because you’re the only kid I’ve met.”

I looked at her in confusion. “What do you mean? Don’t you go to school?”

“Can’t”, Katania said with a shrug, “Mom and dad are too busy to drop me off and pick me up, so they hired me tutors so I could be taught while they work.”

“So you live in the castle?” I asked.

“Not exactly”, she said, “There’s a town on the side of the castle that doesn’t face the city within the walls, and that’s where most of the army, including me and my parents.”

I hummed in understanding. “So, you live in a special town behind the castle walls with your mom and dad, you can’t go to school because they’re too busy with work, so that means you’ve never hung out with other kids?”

Katania nodded. “That’s it. And even if kids visit the museum, I’m too shy to talk to them.”

“It’s fine”, I dismissed with a smile, “Besides, it makes me feel more special that I was your first friend.” Katania giggled. “By the way, I know who your mom is, but who’s your dad?”

“Oh, my dad?” I looked at me, “My dad’s Jeffery, the guy who’s been tasked to watch you.”

That caught me by surprise. “Really?” I said in shock, “But last night, they didn’t seem to act like it.”

“That’s because at work, my mom is still dad’s general, so they keep their marriage life to a minimum so it doesn’t distract either of them. At least that’s what they told me.”

I looked at her weirdly, but brushed it off. As long as they still loved her and their relationship was healthy. We continued to walk in silence after that, my head trying to come up with something else to talk about.

“What was your life before you came here, Caleb?” Katania asked me.

I looked over at her, my mouth not curling down a bit. “Not the best. Wanted to change the world and no one gave me a chance to. I was at a dead end, and then I got sent here.”

Katania looked at me sadly. “I’m sorry”, she said, “It must have been hard.”

I waved her off. “Nah, don’t worry about it. Coming here gave me a second chance.”

“What about your family?” she asked, concerned. “What about your friends and home?”

I sighed. “It’s...complicated. That’s all I’ll say.” Katania frowned but nodded, and we continued through the museum. Sometimes we asked about interests, fears, and other basics. All the while we paused periodically to gaze at any paintings and sculptures that caught our eyes. Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night was such a marvel to finally see in person, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was beautiful as always, and even Michelangelo’s David was still a magnificent piece of history. As we wandered the museum, we eventually reached a different section. Dinosaur skeletons, both from real and fictional, towered over guests. I walked up to some, reading the names on the plaques that rested in front of them. Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor and Stegosaurus were some pretty typical ones. Indominus Rex, Aerodactyl and Manticore were some of the stranger ones.

“How come all of these fossils are here”, I asked Katania as we walked under the skeleton of a 12 headed Hydra, “Aren’t a lot of these creatures still alive?”

“They are, yes”, she said, “This is more sort of a scientific thing, and because there’s no zoo in the capital. This way, everyone can still see creatures like this without the dangers of seeing what happens if a dragon crosses paths with a sasquatch.” I looked at her funny. “Sasquatches can be fierce if you go to the right world!” She affirmed.

I chuckled and shook my head. “Whatever you say, sister.”

She stuck her tongue out at me, but she was smiling. Her smile fell, however, after she seemed to process what I said. “Wait, sister?”

“Yeah, you’re my sister in all of this”, I explained, “We’re around the same age, we like a lot of the same stuff, and you were kind enough to hang out with me. That’s enough for me to call you my sister.”

Katania beamed at me, but then suddenly wrapped me in a sudden hug. “Thank you.” She let go. “I can see this blooming into a beautiful friendship.” I beamed back and we continued along our way.

~X~

We were about an hour and a half into our museum exploration, currently navigating all the space related stuff. Thousands of different model planets hung above, the roof painted like a nebula. Everywhere else was all manner of high tech gadgets, spaceships and weapons (All of them locked behind durable glass cases), with decorative machines flashing multicoloured lights and playing techno music.

“How big is this place?” I asked.

“I don’t know...” She admitted, “This place grows the more universes get added. It’s kinda like a public archive, basically.”

“Makes sense”, I said with a shrug, “But doesn’t that mean this place is endless?”

Katania made an indifferent look. “Yes and no, it’s hard to explain. Stuff like this you usually ask Virus about because he’s usually got his nose buried in records and books.”

I nodded in confirmation, then another idea came into my head. “Have you ever gone to other universes?”

Katania shook her head. “No one has. This place is the only way for anyone to see what ticks everywhere. Aside from actually watching, reading and playing the stuff, or seeing the visiting council members, obviously.”

I nodded again and had my eyes wander around, until they fell on something familiar. A certain someone who was pitch black.

“Darkness!” I shouted and waved. He looked over at me and smiled, waving back. I briskly jogged over to him with Katania following closely behind.

“He there, C”, he greeted when the two of us stopped in front of him, “What’s brings you here?”

“Katania wanted to hang out”, I put a hand on Katania, making her blush a bit. “What about you, how come you’re here?”

Darkness groaned. “Today has been so busy”, he said, rubbing a hand across his face. “After that council meeting when you first showed up, me and Lightness have been working overtime, dealing with endless calls filled with questions from all the council members. So we just said ‘screw it’ an hour ago and took a break.” He looked around. “I usually come here to clear my head, and I’m making the most of it before going back to hell.” His eyes twitched.

“If you’re here, where’s Lightness?” Katania asked.

“In the courtyard garden”, Darkness said, “Probably at his usual spot painting. It’s a private area only for castle staff.”

I smiled up at him. “Thanks Darkness. When we head there, we’ll say hello.”

Darkness nodded. “I’m sure he’ll really like that. All of these calls have been putting a lot of stress on him, so he needs the boost.”

I half smiled at him. “We will, Darkness, don’t worry”, Katania said.

“Thanks kids”, Darkness said, “Well, I should get going. I want to check out the new cars.” He darted away through the crowd, disappearing under an archway labeled ‘Automation’. After he vanished, Katania grabbed hold of my arm and began guiding me through the crowd.

“Where are we going now?” I asked in shock.

“To the courtyard!” She exclaimed happily, “Want to help Lightness out. Plus, I’ve never explored it myself. Only from the balcony.”

“Same here”, I admitted, “So let’s do it!”

Katania beamed at me, and the two of us began to make our way to where to access the courtyard, only to stop dead in our tracks.

“Uh, do you know how to get there from here?” I asked, eyes looking around for some sort of map.

Katania’s eyes darted about in embarrassment. “No”, she squeaked. I looked at her in shock and horror. “I never came this far into the museum before!” She defended herself, “I’ve only explored the art gallery. Anywhere else was unknown territory...”

I slapped my hand on my face harshly. “You could’ve told me this earlier!” I said irritatedly, “Now where do we go?” I looked around quickly, trying my best to see over the heads of all the other guests. But that was close to impossible, as I was just barely too short. Even standing on the tips of my toes wasn't enough, as I couldn’t see anything with the sea of people blocking us. “I can’t see anything that looks like a map”, I said facing Katania, “Maybe we could retrace our steps?”

She spun around, only to cringe at me over her shoulder. “I don’t know. This place is a maze.”

I let out an irritated breath. “Well, there should be someone who can help us.” I then remembered that we just ran into someone who could help, and wasn’t far. “C’mon, we need to find Darkness.” Katania brightened and followed me as the two of us headed into the Automation section. As we ran past cars, trucks and vans of all kinds, someone stepped in front of us, making me and Katania fall to the floor.

“Woah”, said our roadblock kind-heartedly, “What’s the rush?”

I looked up and beamed, Jeffery’s smiling face looking back down. He held both his hands out and helped us up. As soon as she was on her feet, Katania quickly wrapped him in a tight hug.

“Boy am I glad we ran into you, Jeffery”, I said relieved, “We were worried we’d be lost in here, so we went looking for Darkness.”

“Why were you looking for him?” He asked, smirking with one eyebrow raised.

“He told us about the hell the council was putting them through”, Katania explained to her dad, “So we wanted to head to the courtyard to find Lightness. But we couldn’t find a map...” Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Jeffery chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“Well, luckily I ran into you”, he said. He looked at his daughter. “Your mom told me you two were hanging out, and I knew you’d bring him here, so I went looking for you two.” He walked up to my side and draped an arm over my shoulders. “Besides, it’s my job to keep you out of trouble. So if you need an escort to the courtyard, follow your closest tour guide.” He gestured for us to follow, making Katania giggle and me beam. We ran after him before he was lost to the crowd.

~X~

Jeffrey had led us back to where we had started our little museum adventure, the art gallery. We followed him to the glass doors that showed the extravagant flora of the courtyard, and he opened the duo glass doors for us. I took a deep breath as the relaxing, fresh air took over my senses, Katania doing the same to my right. I let my eyes wander, taking in the rainbow of colours before my eyes. Actually being down amongst the plant life as opposed to looking down from the balcony made all the difference. Flowers of all shapes and sizes were scattered about, from carnivorous Venus Flytraps to bright pink tulips.

“This is amazing!” I exclaimed, making some heads turn towards me. “I’m dumbfounded that something this beautiful could exist!”

“I didn’t expect you to like a bunch of flowers”, Katania said smirking.

“I’m an artist”, I said, placing a hand on my chest dramatically. “So seeing stuff like this helps my creative process.”

“Sure”, Katania said back, smirking while rolling her eyes. “You keep telling yourself that, florist.”

I stuck out my tongue at her jokingly, earning a giggle in return. Jeffery laughed and slapped us both on the back.

“Well, I played my part”, he said, “Just follow the path and you’ll find the private area soon enough. I’m gonna go check up on the General; make sure she didn’t wring the neck of those chumps. Remember to call if anything happens, kid. You too, sweetie.” He ruffled both of our hair styles. “Catch you both later.” He turned and left, waving goodbye as he went. We returned it, and the moment he was gone, we began down the path.

“You’re dad’s really nice”, I said happily, “I’m lucky he was the one that was asked to watch me.”

“I am too”, Katania agreed, “Because that was another reason I wanted to be friends. I didn’t want to be too shy to hang out with my dad’s new friend.” I beamed back at her, feeling so happy to be surrounded by such nice people. I took another deep breath of pink cherry blossom petals gently gliding by as they drifted along with the breeze. The flowers around us danced delicately, calming music playing from pole mounted speakers high above the garden. I listened happily as my feet instinctively carried me forward. Katania smiled up at me.

“So, what exactly did you want to be when you became older?” She asked.

I looked at her, genuinely unsure how to answer. “Well’, I began, “I was hoping to either be a full time artist, or a designer for a tech company. I am an inventor and artist at heart.”

“Have you made anything before?” Her eyes were filled with curiosity.

I rubbed the back of my head in uncertainty. “Not much. Just mainly upgrades to home appliances that made them better at their jobs and so they last longer.” I pulled the phone out of my pocket. “Like this thing.”

Katania looked the phone over. “Well, I think you can do your stuff here. There’s a laboratory, workshop, and art room in the castle. Plus, you’re living here, and you’re my friend, so I feel like I can give you some special perks.”

I perked up at that. “Really, you’d do that for me?”

“Of course!” She exclaimed, “I want you to feel at home here, anyway.”

I suddenly hugged Katania tight, catching her completely off guard. She quickly processed what happened and reciprocated it, wrapping her arms around me. After a bit, we both let go of each other.

“Thank you, Katania”, I quietly said, “That means a lot to me.”

“Don’t mention it bro”, she said sweetly, “Now let’s find Lightness. I want to see how he’s doing.” I nodded at her and the two of us went running down the path. At the end of it was a small plaza with a fountain at the center. Benches lines around the stone structure, and guests quietly read books or watched passersby with slight smiles and tired eyes. As I looked around, I noticed a gardener off to the side, who was trimming a shrub from behind a waist high fence. I pointed her out, and she nodded in understanding, so the two of us walked over to her. I tapped the gardener on the shoulder, and she faced the two of us.

“What can I help you with, sweet peas”, she asked in a southern accent.

“We were looking for the private area”, I explained, “So can you tell us where to find it?”

She looked at me suspiciously. “That place is for staff and the bosses only. You can’t go there, sorry kids.”

“Actually, we fit that bill”, Katania interjected, “I’m the daughter of the General, and he’s with me.”

The gardener’s eyes shot open. “Oh, you’re Skye’s kid? Sorry about that lassie.”

“Nah, it’s cool”, Katania waved off the apology with a smile, “I get that a lot.”

“Well, on that note, private area’s that way”, she pointed at a path behind us, “Just follow that path and you’ll get there in no time.”

I looked at her and flashed a grin. “Thanks for the directions...” I trailed off.

“Name’s Jassy”, the gardener said pointing a thumb at herself, “And don’t mention it, you rascals. Go and run along.” We both thanked her again and ran off down the path, waving goodbye as we did.

When we were far enough, we looked in front of us and booked it down the path. Plenty of pretty flowers and shrubs passed by, but we were set on getting to this private area. After a bit, the two of us came to a fenced off area, a small gate resting in front of us. It was a large grassy field, a small hill with a tree with a variety of leaves resting in the center. Staff sat at the scattered picnic tables, enjoying time off by eating, playing games or talking. And right in the center under the tree was Lightness himself, standing straight as he painted. I opened the gate, closing it when Katania passed through, and ran up to the shining white blob.

“Lightness!” I shouted as we approached. He paused his painting and turned toward us smiling in what seemed relief.

“Well, what brings you two here?” He said, putting his paint palette and brush down on a table next to him.

“We ran into Darkness when we were exploring the museum”, Katania explained, “And he told us what’s been going on with you guys.” Lightness’ smile faltered.

“Yeah, so we swung by to just check up on you”, I said, “Especially since you’re like this because of me.”

Lightness looked at me sadly. “It’s not because of you. It was that stupid generator. The council just doesn’t understand. They never do.” Lightness sat down, leaning against the tree and letting out a long sigh. Me and Katania looked at each other, and sat down on either side of him.

“Still, they need to learn to back off”, Katania reaffirmed, “This is crazy.”

Lightness did a weak chuckle. “Wish it was that easy, Katania”, he said sadly, “The council just has so many people with vastly different alignments and backgrounds, so they all have their different concerns on the surge.”

I looked up at his solemn expression, then turned to look upon the activities happening in front of me. I was sitting next to someone so powerful, yet he didn’t have the heart and mind to be overwhelmed. It was bizarre. “How are you feeling right now?” I asked Lightness.

He made an indifferent look. “I’m fine. I’m just dreading when I go back, and the next call I take is Merlin yelling in my ear about this.”

I leaned up against him, Lightness instinctively wrapping an arm around me. “Well, I’m here to help you and your brother if you need it”, I said, “Since I’m living with you guys, I’m going to try and pull my weight.” Lightness’ arm tightened around me, comfort filling me. I looked up at his face, and he was smiling down at me.

“Same here Lightness”, Katania spoke up, “You’ve and Darkness helped my family through so much, so I want to help you back in return, as my thanks to you.” Lightness beamed down at her.

“Thanks, you two”, he thanked, “I’ll be sure to tell Darkness when we go back into hell.” He looked at his wrist, a watch materializing onto it. He groaned. “I need to get going. I’ve been gone long enough.” He stood up and began to shuffle away, but stopped and turned to the two of us. “Thanks kids”, he said, “I really needed that motivation boost. And Caleb?” I perked up. “You’ll be eating with us from now on. Jeffery will come get you, and you’ll eat dinner with us.” I smiled and nodded in thanks, but I could see a faint look of concern in his eyes. I just brushed it off, waving him goodbye with Katania. He waved back and left, leaving the field and heading down the path the direction we came from.

“I feel bad for him”, Katania said, breaking the silence that formed between us. “I hope everything goes well.”

I nodded. “I just wish the council would relax, but I feel like Virus lashing out when Thanos grabbed me is what instigated this concern. They’re suspicious about me, and want answers.”

“You sure?” Katania asked, looking at me.

“I’m sure”, I nodded, “It happens all the time.” I looked to the sky, its bright blue vibrant as always. “Wanna go grab some lunch?”

Katania nodded rapidly. “Definitely. Let’s go.” The two of us ran out of the fenced in field, heading back towards the museum.

~X~

We decided to head back to the cafeteria for lunch, so we left the museum, only Katania knew a short cut.

“I’m really hungry”, she said, “And this staff only way can get us to the cafeteria quicker.”

I looked at her in skepticism, then looked at the door. “You sure?” I questioned, “Last time I followed you, you admitted you didn’t explore the museum any further than the art gallery.”

“This is different”, she said sharply, “I’ve taken this way, and it’s quicker.”

“If it was quicker, why didn’t we take this way to get here?” I crossed my arms, clearly not buying her reasoning.

She sighed, slumping her arms in defeat. “Fine, the reason I want to take this way is because it takes us to the barracks”, she admitted, “I want to see if mom’s doing okay, check in with her, and see if she and dad want to join us.”

I snorted. “Why didn’t you just say so?” I said happily.

Katania shrugged. “I don’t know, still a bit anxious hanging out with you?” I just smirked and rolled my eyes kind heartedly, and followed her as we entered the door. We quickly dashed through the break room, making some staff jump, before leaving through another door and made our way down a hallway. I felt a weird feeling inside me, when I realized what hallway we were in. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at a door that remained shut, signs plastered all over it.

It was the door I passed last night. The one with the mysterious voice.

Katania stopped and turned to me. “Caleb, is everything okay?”

“It’s just...” I began, “Last night, when I was going to check out the barracks, I heard a voice behind it, calling for help.”

Katania walked up to me in concern. “Are you sure? I’ve walked past this door hundreds of times, and I’ve never heard anything.”

“But I swear-“ I was interrupted.

“I hear you two! Please, help me!” The voice cried. I snapped my head at the door. Katania, extremely worried, grabbed hold of my arm, making me snap out of my trance and look at her.

“Let’s just go and get lunch”, she began to pull me away from the door, but even when we were so far down the hall, I could still hear the calls for help. As we approached the door to the barracks, I shook the thoughts out of my head. We entered the barracks and were quickly greeted with loud marching and shouting, giving me whiplash from the quiet and peaceful museum and courtyard. Just like last night, it was bustling with activity, filled with strong men and women marching about. Katania didn’t seem to acknowledge any of it and just pushed forward, leading me through the indoor training grounds to a large tent in the back. We entered, and were greeted with General Skye and Jeffery talking amongst each other.

“Hi guys!” Katania greeted. Her parents turned to us, smiling.

“Hey you two!” Jeffery yelled excitedly, “What brings you kids here?”

“I wanted to see how things are going”, Katania responded while I remained by her side, “ And we were hoping if you’d like to join us for lunch.”

“I’ll do you one better”, Jeffery said happily, “We’ll head out for lunch! I’m going to start the car!” Jeffery ran off as Katania and I cheered. Skye smiled at us, but it fell the more she looked at me, leaving me confused.

“Katania, sweety, could you go help your father”, she ordered kindly, “I’d like to talk to your friend for a moment.” Katania looked at her mom for a moment before running after Jeffery, leaving me and Skye alone in the tent.

“So, how are you doing, General?” I asked. She looked at me, like she was analyzing me.

“I’m doing fine, Caleb”, she answered bluntly, “And before you ask, those three that harassed you this morning are busy cleaning the bathrooms.”

I nodded. “That’s good. So, why did you want to talk to me?”

Skye looked at me for a bit. “Jeffery told me you heard a voice behind that one door.”

I locked up, but nodded regardless. “Yeah, and it feels like I’m the only one that can hear it, it’s weird. Is this some dumb ‘Chosen One’ thing?”

Skye shook her head. “No. What you’re hearing is the voice of something I’ve been told stories of, but I never had the heart to investigate.”

“What stories?” I asked, leaning in.

“Stories that there is another living being in the castle”, she explained, “And that they were locked behind that door. But since no one could hear them, no one thought it was true.”

I opened my mouth in shock. “So I am hearing him!?” I shouted. Skye quickly shushed me.

“Quiet down, but yes”, she reaffirmed, “From what it seems like, yes.” She noticed my shocked and horrified expression, so she walked over to me, kneeling slightly and resting a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it Caleb. I’ll tell Rainbow and Virus, and they’ll figure out what’s happening, okay?”

I looked her in the eyes and nodded, smiling slightly. “Yeah, that’ll work. Thanks Skye.”

“Don’t mention it”, she smiled back at me and stood up, “Now let’s get going. Don’t want the others to get impatient, now.” I nodded and the two of us left the tent, but even after Skye’s reassuring words, I felt weird. There was something up with that voice, and I’d get up to the bottom of it.

Because I didn’t want to think there was someone trapped in there.

~X~

Lunch was fairly uneventful, just eating at a fancy restaurant with an all you can eat buffet. The thoughts bouncing around in my head made everything fly by in a blur. When we finally got back to the castle, I snapped out of my trance just to say goodbye to Katania, as Jeffery needed her help with something back at her house. When we separated, I just wandered around the hallways of the palace aimlessly, no destination in mind. One thing I did remember was Skye ran off somewhere, probably to talk to Rainbow about that voice. As I turned a corner, hoping I’d somehow get to my room, the sound of multiple voices hit my ears. I perked up slightly, carefully following the noise. It was coming from the large meeting room, but I could only make out five. As I grew nearer, I heard my name, then froze mid step. The door opened, and I was greeted with the concerned looks of Rainbow, Virus, Lightness and Darkness. Skye stood off to the side, her expression unreadable.

“Hey Caleb”, Rainbow greeted, giving a weak smile. “So... how are you?”

I felt my mouth dry up slightly. “Good. I’m good.”

“Listen, Skye told us about that voice”, Darkness said gruffly, “And I want to say we’ll look into it.”

“So none of you know?” I asked, looking between everyone. I became suspicious when the four gods exchanged uneasy glances at each other.

“No idea, kid”, Virus said, Lightness nodding in agreement.

I sighed. “Okay. You guys do that. I’m going to have a nap.” I waved goodbye, shuffling back down the hallway, slowly. After I turned the corner, however, I switched myself into overdrive and booked it to the room. I bolted around corners and past staff, the fire inside me burning brighter as I got closer to my destination. Eventually, I made it, and I stood before the door. It was dead silent, but that didn’t stop me. I walked forward and grabbed hold of the knob, turning it carefully. Somehow, it was unlocked, and I was able to slowly pull it open. A rush of cold air blasted in my face, but I brushed it off and took a step forward.

“Hey, I can hear you!” The voice finally cried, “Are you here to help me?”

“Yes, I am”, I said quietly, “Stay put, I’m coming to get you out of here.” I closed the door behind me, beginning my search for this mysterious individual.

~X~

And so we finally learn who, or what, is calling for help. Whatever it is, Rainbow and the others sure seemed weird when Caleb asked about them. Regardless, we’ll find out next chapter. That’s when things really pick up. Hope you guys are enjoying this all so far!

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

The room was barely lit, with dim bulbs hanging from thin wires a few feet above my head. All around me were wooden crates of varying sizes, nailed shut. To combat the poor lighting, I pulled out my phone and turned the flashlight on. The beam was already more helpful than I ever needed. I walked carefully on the smudged purple carpet.

“Can you give me directions?” I called out, “Hard to save you if I don’t know where you are.”

“Yes, uh...” The voice stumbled, “Oh dear. I don’t how too”

“What do you mean ‘don’t know how too’?” I accused angrily.

“I apologize, sir ”, the voice spat back, “But being stuck in the same place for a long time with no ability to move tends to make it difficult to give directions!!!”

I groaned. “I’m sorry. It’s just, I don’t want the others coming in and hiding you because I’m the only one that can hear you.”

“Wait, only you can hear me?” The voice asked in disbelief, “That explains why no one ever came to help me.”

I quietly mumbled a ‘Yeah’, and then continued along my way. Occasionally I’d come across a crate that was opened, so I’d take a peek inside. Usually, however, the contents inside were just dining table stuff or cleaning supplies. I shook my head and pressed on, the voice occasionally giving off what seemed to be witty banter. Only thing was, he was obviously wasn’t very sure what he was saying,

“Honestly, I’ve been here for so long, I don’t know any recent slang”,  he admitted, “So if I say anything dumb, it’s just because I’m out of touch.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it”, I reassured, “I don’t get a lot of it either.”

“I’m grateful for that”, the voice said. After that little chat, we had more tiny conversations as I looked around for him. But after a while, I was becoming frustrated.

“Okay, can you help me a tiny bit?” I asked angrily, “Because I’d like to find you today , please.”

“Right, right”, he scrambled to think of something, “Here, listen carefully. I’m going to try and make a sound.”

I stopped moving, listening as carefully as I could. Only the sound of the ventilation could be heard, until I heard it; a subtle thump. I snapped in the direction of the noise and began to run towards it, cutting corners and hopping over smaller boxes. The winding maze of crates made things a bit confusing because everything looked the same. But I steeled myself and pushed onward.

“I can hear you getting closer!” The voice called, no longer echoing around me. I stayed determined and picked up the pace, cutting another corner. The noise was so loud, so I turned another corner, and stopped dead in my tracks. In front of me was within a dead end was a large grey rock. Stabbed through the top of the rock was a sword, blade down. It was black on one side and white on the other, just like the guards’ armour. The grip on the handle was striped black and white like a candy cane, while capping off with two small cylinders. The hilt was designed like a bird wing on the white side and a bat wing on the black side. Most intriguing of all was a half white, half black jewel in the middle of the hilt. I cocked an eyebrow in confusion, only to jump when the rock shifted slightly.

“What the heck”, I said out loud, looking down at the base of the stone, “Are you trapped under the rock?”

“Of course not!” The voice spat back, “I’m in the rock.”

I snapped my head up, staring at the sword. The wings flapped slightly and it moved. “You’re the sword!?” I shouted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the sword asked, “Never seen a talking weapon before?”

“Well... yeah”, I said in uncertainty, “I’m new here.”

“Oh, my apologies”, he said, “I’ve just been stuck here for so long, I lack many communication skills. Bear with me.”

“Okay, whatever you say”, I said half heartedly, pacing around the rock. “Why are you here? And for how long?”

“Oh, I don’t know why I’m here”, the sword admitted, “I was living my best life in this castle when Lightness and Darkness suddenly locked me up in here 50 years ago.”

“50 years!?” I shouted in disbelief. “That’s insane! And they just left you here?”

“Yes”, the sword said in defeat, “Even when I asked for help or answers, anyone that stuck stuff in here just ignored me. Eventually, I was left abandoned here, alone in the silence.”

I looked at the sword sadly, my heart aching. “Well, you’re lucky I came to save you”, I said, investigating from some way to get the sword out, “General Skye told the four powerhouses about me hearing your voice, so they said they’d sent people to check it out. After their glances however, I knew something was up.”

“They were probably going to hide me away deeper!” The sword accused, “Quick, get me out of here!”

“That’s what I’m trying to do”, I said. I stepped onto the rock, grabbed onto the handle with both hands and pulled as hard as I could. He barely budged.

“Look”, I said, catching my breath for a bit, “How about you tell me about yourself and I tell you about myself while I try to get you out of here.”

“Good call”, he agreed, “Well, my name is Gladius. I was born in this alongside the other three, so I never really had the ability to move on my own. Rather, Rainbow, such a sweet girl, gave me a personal chaperone, and I was wheeled around on a hand cart. Life was good, until I got locked up in here. What about you?”

“Name’s Caleb”, I said grunting, “I’m sixteen, and my life wasn’t the best before coming here. I wanted to make a difference in the world, but no one gave me a chance. Then, when I was driving home, a portal opened and sent me here. I’ve been here for three days-“

“Wait, stop”, Gladius interrupted, “You came here through a portal...” He trailed off. “Oh, those two morons activated that stupid generator, didn’t they?”

“How did you know?” I asked.

“They were planning to build that thing centuries ago”, he explained, “I told them it was a bad idea, but I guess they didn’t listen and must’ve built it after they locked me up. Nice to know they care...”

“Yeah”, I said with a sigh, “But how did you know what would happen?”

“Everyone did”, He said flatly, “Something powered by the fabric of space-time? That’s a recipe for disaster.”

I nodded in agreement, and then pulled again, but to no avail. “This isn’t going anywhere”, I said, catching my breath. “I’m not strong enough to pull you out.” Then I thought of something. “Flap your wings and jiggle around as I pull. That might help get you out.”

“Good idea, Caleb”, he said. I took a deep breath, grabbed Gladius by the handle, and pulled with all my might. He flapped his wings as much as he could, wiggling around like a loose tooth. As I pulled, I could feel him loosening, his movements becoming greater, so I pulled even harder. Then with no time to react, I felt all weight and resistance vanish, making me fall backwards onto the carpet floor. Just above, I heard something clatter against the floor, and when I looked I saw Gladius resting flat on the ground. He suddenly shot into the air, wings flapping in triumphant joy.

“Finally!” He cheered, “I’m finally free!” He flew down to my level, his gem lining up with my eyes. “Caleb, I am eternally grateful. From this moment on, I will be your friend and companion.” He did a bow, somehow staying airborne while only flapping one wing.

I did a friendly laugh at the kind gesture. “Well, I’d love to have a talking sword as a friend. So, I’ll accept your request, Gladius.” He bobbed happily, and I smiled at him. “Let’s go to my room. I’ll get a bed set up for you.”

“I’d love that”, he cheered, “Being stuck standing up like that isn’t as comfortable as you’d think, even for a sword.” I laughed, already enjoying Gladius’ company. I turned to head back into the maze of boxes, when they all suddenly flew to the side, creating a long single path to the door. I froze as I stared at the four gods standing, the four of them staring back in dumbfounded shock. Gladius, out of the corner of my eye, seemed to puff up angrily before bolting right at them. I ran after him, but he was much faster than me, so I watched as he stopped dead in front of them. I slowed down as I reached his side, looking up at my friends.

“Hey guys”, I greeted with a forced smile. They said nothing, choosing to remain silent and stare at the flying sword.

“So, after all this time, you finally came to see me”, Gladius said venomously, “But it was only to lock me away deeper in the castle, huh?” I noticed they didn’t react to him saying anything.

“Guys, Gladius is talking to you”, I said. The four gods shook their heads.

“Wait, he is?” Lightness asked in confusion and shock. Immediately, me and Gladius shared a look, and turned back to them.

“He just said you were coming here to lock him away deeper in the castle”, I told them, “Did you not hear him?”

“Kid, Gladius didn’t say anything”, Virus said. Gladius fumed.

“Oh, this is what I warned you about”, the sword angrily spat, “You locked me away, and now I don’t trust you. You broke our link.” I repeated that to the others, and the three siblings paled.

“Oh crap, this is what he meant!?” Darkness shouted, “Well, uh... nuts.” Gladius crossed his wings and ‘hmft’ed, still somehow flying, and turned away from the others. From what he said, I put the pieces together.

“Look, we didn't come here to lock you away”, Rainbow said, “We were coming here to get you out of that rock. Seems like Caleb beat us to the punch.” I looked down in embarrassment. “How did you get in here anyway?”

“The door was unlocked”, I said quietly.

“Look, since he’s out of his rock”, Darkness spoke up, “Let’s go to our room and explain some things.” The others nodded, as did I, and we began to walk out of the room. I noticed Galdius wasn’t following, so I grabbed hold of his handle and carried him, much to his irritation.

~X~

Lightness and Darkness’ room was everything I expected. It was split right in the middle, the exact motif they’re known for. They both had their beds against the back wall, both very elaborate and big. We were all in the middle of the room, sitting at a table. Gladius floated next to me.

“So, Gladius”, Darkness began, “I’d like you to know it was mine and Lightness’ idea to lock you away. Rainbow had nothing to do with it.” Lightness nodded sadly.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t drag your sister into this”, he said bitterly. Rainbow perked up, indicating she did hear him that time. “But I’ll be mad at the two of you for a long time.” Gladius pointed a wing at Virus. “Who’s he? He wasn’t around when I wasn’t locked into the room.”

“This is Virus, Gladdy”, Rainbow said, “And, I’m happy you trust me.”

“Yes, because I can’t stay mad at you”, Galdius said kindly, before it warped back to anger. “Those two on the other hand...” Rainbow looked at her brothers, who were both looking away in shame.

“I’d like to know why you two locked Gladius away”, I asked. Lightness looked me in the eye.

“I was because of the council”, Lightness said, “Because of how uncontrollable most of the members are, we didn’t want them to take Gladius and use him to ruin their own worlds, so we locked him away to keep everyone safe.”

“Well you could have told him!” I yelled, shooting out of my chair and slamming my hands on the table, making everyone lean back in shock. “If you told him, gave him stuff to do, he wouldn’t have been miserable!” Lightness and Darkness looked at each other, and then looked down in shame again.

“You’re right kid”, Darkness admitted sadly, “We should have told him.”

Gladius leaned towards my ear. “Thanks, Caleb. That was nice to see.” I nodded at him, a slight smile forming on my lips. Virus grunted and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair to make it tip a bit.

“So, what’s the plan, now that the oversized paper cutter is out?” He asked. In the blink of an eye, a loud ‘shing’ echoed through the room, and Gladius had the tip of his blade right on Virus’ chest. We all stared in horror.

“Call me that again and you’ll be begging me for mercy!” the sword shouted. Virus stumbled to keep his balance and fell backwards, hitting the floor with a loud thud. Gladius went back to flying blade down and came back to my side. “To answer your question, Virus ”, he said angrily, “I’ll stick with Caleb.”

“Good idea”, Rainbow suddenly said standing up, “How about you two run along while I talk to these three fine gentlemen .” She ended in an ominous tone, making the three blobs share terrified looks. Me and Gladius instantly booked it out of the room, and the moment I closed the door behind us, Rainbow began screaming at the top of her lungs. I just kept running, Gladius glued to my side. We bolted down staircases, dashed through hallways, and blasted through doors until we reached the hallway of famous creator paintings. I kneeled down, hands on my knees, breathing heavily.

“Rainbow is just as feisty as I remember”, Gladius said fearfully, “I knew better than to cross her.”

“She went ballistic when I first showed up”, I said, “So trust me, I know.” I took a deep breath and stretched, bending my back forward. I looked at Gladius, who was flapping his wings to get a closer look at the Walt Disney picture we were next to. “So, what do you want to see first?”

“I’d rather just relax and rest today”, he said, “So how about we get set up in your room?”

I did a half smile. “Sure. Let’s go.” I nodded towards the direction my room was in, and we both slowly made our way past the paintings. As we went down the hallway, Gladius looked out the window that overlooked the city.

“Things sure have changed”, he said quietly, “I remember when this was all just fields and scattered cottages.” He continued to follow me, his jewel angled to see out the window as we moved. “Makes me think what else I missed out on.”

“Hey, don’t feel bad, Gladius”, I reassured, “I’ll help you through this. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?”

“Thank you, Caleb”, he said gratefully, “That means a lot to me.”

“What’s up with the flying sword, Caleb”, said a new voice. Me and Gladius jumped in fright and looked behind us, Katania looking at my new friend in confusion.

“Oh, Katania”, I said, calming down. “This is Gladius, a sword that was locked in a storage room. Gladius, this is Katania. She’s the daughter of the general and guard that was tasked to watch me. She’s cool, so say hi.”

Gladius faced me, then turned to the girl. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Katania. If Caleb trusts you, then so do I.” He bowed, making Katania giggle.

“Well, aren’t you a gentleman”, Katania greeted, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

I smiled at both of my friends. “Well, I was taking Gladdy here to my room so I could get a space set up for him”, I explained, “Want to join us?”

“I’d love to”, Katania said cheerfully, “Let’s go!” Gladius bobbed happily and followed us, the three of us chatting as we walked.

~X~

I was currently in the middle of getting a spot on the couch set up on the couch to be Gladius’ bed, with him and Katania sitting on my bed sparking a conversation.

“And they locked you in there for 50 years?” She asked.

“Yes”, he confirmed, “And they didn’t even bother to give me anything to entertain myself! They just treated me like an object. A museum piece that was being put in storage.”

“Man, that’s terrible”, Katania frowned, “I know those two just sometimes do things that can be careless, but this was just stupid.”

“Tell me about it”, Gladius fumed, “But now I can just make them not hear me when I talk just to spite them. Only you, Caleb and Rainbow will know what I’m saying.”

“Huh, that’s a weird power”, Katania said in a curious tone, “But, I don’t blame you. I love them, but they can suck sometimes.”

I looked over at the two of them, pausing my search for extra blankets. “You two knew these four longer than me”, I said, “What are these ‘careless things’ they’ve done?”

“Too much”, they both said simultaneously. I made a face.

“Okay then”, Was all I said before going back to my search. The two of them went back to chatting, making me smile at how lucky I was to have met them. I finally found the blanket I was looking for, and finished setting up Gladius’ bed.

“What do you think?” I referred to the sword. He flew over and checked out the spot I set up for him on the couch.

“Well, it’s not much”, he said, “But I’ll take anything over that stupid rock.” He slipped under the blankets and sighed blissfully. “Just as amazing as I hoped. Thank you Caleb.”

“No problem, Gladdy”, I said with a smile. I turned to Katania. “Any more plans for today, Kat?”

She blushed lightly at the nickname. “Not really. I just came to find you. I overheard mom and dad talking about you hearing a voice, so I just wanted to see if you were okay.” She looked at the cozy Gladius. “And I got my answer.”

Gladius grumbled something that sounded like “Not all mysterious voices are evil”, but I couldn’t tell. I just shook my head with a smile.

“Well, I’m glad I even heard him”, I said, “Otherwise who knows what would’ve happened.”

“But didn’t you say Lightness and Darkness were going to free him?” Katania asked, face twisting in confusion.

“As if”, Gladius spat, “They love to say they’ll do one thing and then do the opposite. They did it with that generator.”

Katania sighed. “Yeah, sounds like them...” She hopped off the bed. “Well, I should get going. Catch you two at dinner!” She waved as she ran out of my room. I returned with my own wave, Gladius flying beside me. After Katania left, I turned to him.

“So, we have a few hours till then”, I said, “What do you want to do?”

“Hmmm...” Gladius rubbed a wing under his gem, “I’m not too sure. What have I missed in fifty years?”

“Too much to explain”, I cringed, “How about we just explore the castle.” I pulled the map the Rainbow gave me.

“Then lead the way, my saviour!” Gladius cheered. I nodded and took the lead, heading into the hallway. Gladius closed the door behind me as I looked the map over. The sword looked over my shoulder.

“Let’s head to the balcony”, I pointed at it on the map, “That’ll be a good place to start.”

“Alright, that sounds good.” The two of us started to make our way down the hall. We remained silent for a bit, not really sure what to talk about, when I thought of something.

“If you’re a magic talking sword that was created alongside Lightness, Darkness and Rainbow”, I began, “Maybe you’re just as powerful as them. Like, you could bend reality and time travel for all we know.”

“You have a point”, Gladius said, “Because I’ve thought the same thing. But I was born in that rock, so I never got a chance to confirm the theory.” He sighed. “Even if I could, I’ve never had any practice, so I don’t know how I could even do it.”

I quickly turned to him and gave a determined look. “Then we’ll train together.”

“W-What!?” He said in shock, “But, why!? We just met, and I don’t want to throw you into danger!”

“Well, here’s my reasoning”, I put my hands on my hips, “You need a wielder, someone who can handle you carefully yet with force. You need to practice your abilities. So I’ll train with you, learn to use a sword, then that way we can be an unstoppable team!” I cheered, pumping my hands in enthusiasm.

Gladius looked away, humming in thought. I watched as he flew around me in a circle, pacing with his brain working overtime. After a minute, he turned to me.

“Let’s do it”, he said, “I want to unlock my true potential.”

I beamed. “Yes! When do you want to start?”

“Right now”, he said confidently, “I want to at least see if I have stuff telekinesis to make life easier.”

I nodded and ran in the opposite direction we were going. “Let’s go to the barracks!” I called to him. Gladius quickly dashed after me. “General Skye might give us an area to do our stuff.” He nodded, and the two of us ran to the barracks. We dodged staff and guards as we bolted past them, leaving them utterly confused. Eventually we made it to the army barracks and burst in. None of the afternoon activities halted, but the soldiers right next to the door all jumped in fright. I scanned the large room until I saw General Skye. I finally spotted her on a podium in the middle of the field, screaming at a group of soldiers. Despite my better judgement, I pushed onward, Gladius by my side, and walked up to her. I tapped her in the lower back, and she whirled around to face me, fuming. When she looked at me, her expression softened.

“All of you are dismissed!” She snarled at the group. They all walked off with uncomfortable looks on their faces before Skye turned back to me. “What do you need, Caleb?”

“Well”, I began, “I was wondering if me and Gladius could have a little training area for ourselves.” I gestured to the sword, who posed proudly. Skye cocked an eyebrow.

“Yes, the talking sword”, she said flatly, “Katania told me.” She crossed her arms. “Why do you want to train together?”

“I can explain that, Miss”, Gladius spoke up, “I want to see what I can do. I’ve been stuck in a rock since my birth, and I want to unlock my full potential. Caleb here wishes to train with me, as he can help.”

Skye silently looked between us, her stare hard and piercing. I shrunk back a bit under it, Gladius timidly hiding behind me. After a few horrid silent minutes, Skye gave me a neutral stare.

“Fine, you two can go ahead”, she sighed, “I’ll give you an access card, and you can use it whenever you want. Follow me.” I shared a look with Gladius, then followed the General to her tent. She began to look through the drawers in her desk, grumbling “Where is it?” constantly. I watched with intrigue as she pulled out some sort of odd looking camera. She quickly pointed it at me and took a picture, blinding me with its flash. As I rubbed my eyes she pressed some buttons on the camera, and out the front it printed a plastic card. Skye grabbed it, looked it over, and gave it to me. I looked at the card in my hands, and it was a basic identity card. I smiled up at Skye.

“Thanks for this, General”, I said.

“Don’t mention it kid”, she said flatly, “But I’m only doing this because Katania and Rainbow like you. I’m not going to keep spoiling you.” I shrunk back and nodded timidly, Gladius still hiding behind me. I ran off, Gladius glued to my side, and we made our way to the training ground. A guard made a move to stop us, but a quick look at my card had her step aside, letting us through.

The training grounds were filled with a variety of parkour equipment, punching bags were lining the far back wall, and a large open doorway went to the changing rooms to the right. I ran to the punching bags and pushed it out a bit.

“Okay Gladius”, I grunted as I pushed the bag into position, “We’ll start with the basics.” I stopped pushing the bag and sat down on a nearby block. “Just swing yourself around first. Like a stretching exercise.” Gladius nodded, took a deep breath, and began slashing at the punching bag. His movements were a bit rigid, and he missed a couple of hits. But after a minute, he was already dancing gracefully, every hit landing with force. I watched in silent joy, my smile growing bit by bit, as he nailed his base movements. After a bit, he stopped and took a deep breath.

“That was a rush!” He cheered breathing out, “I never thought I’d be able to do that!”

“Well, for one, you’re a sword, so that’s easy”, I said with a laugh, “But that’s just the beginning. The reason I wanted to start training today was because I want to help you unlock your telekinesis, if you have any.”

Gladius looked at me. “But... How do I do that? Neither of us knows how either.”

I put my hand on my chin, face twisting in a puzzled expression. “Good point.” I shrugged. “I guess just think really hard and focus?”

Gladius nodded apprehensively and faced the bag again. I watched in silence as neither moved for minutes on end. I was beginning to wonder what was happening when I felt myself begin to float. I looked around in shock and confusion as I moved towards Gladius, who turned to me and laughed.

“I’m assuming you figured it out?” I said flatly, crossing my arms.

“Yep”, he said amongst his laughter, “Just had to imagine I had two big hands, and presto, I have telekinesis.” He set me down, and I smiled at him.

“Well, I’m glad you got that figured out.” I looked towards the exit. “Let’s go to the balcony. I need to show you around.”

“Of course, Caleb.” Gladius followed behind me as we left the barracks behind.

~X~

Me and Gladius spent the next few hours together, wandering around the castle while chatting happily. I shared with him most of the things he missed, but sadly couldn’t explain it all. He likewise shared most of his life before being locked in the storage room. Apparently, according to him, old mythological gods and characters from Shakespeare’s plays used to visit The Capital frequently. But after characters like Thanos and Darkseid were created, The Capital was closed off to everyone in the multiverse. For safety reasons, Gladius told me.

“And you were okay with that?” I asked him.

“I actually spearheaded the idea, initially”, he explained, “As I felt beings like them were too dangerous to let come here. I had issues when they thought about the idea to create the council.” 

“I don’t blame you”, I groaned, “Thanos really likes to push the buttons of the others.”

Gladius sighed, but after that we went back to happier conversations, life interests and stuff. As we walked through the halls of the palace, we found our way to the wall of paintings. As we passed the paintings, Gladius turned and looked out the wall length window, sighing.

“Too much has changed since I’ve been away”, the sword said sadly, “And now I’m so out of the loop.”

I patted him reassuringly on the hilt. “It’s okay, Gladius. I’m new to this whole place, so we can help each other.” Gladius nodded somberly, but we both snapped out of our funk when we heard the sound of approaching footsteps. We both turned to see a castle staff member walking up to us, stopping formally when he reached us.

“Master Caleb and Master Gladius”, he said with bow, “Dinner is nearly ready, so Mistress Rainbow has asked me to escort you.”

Me and Gladius shared a look, but we both nodded anyway and followed the staff member to the dining room. He held open the door for us, and immediately I was wrapped up in Rainbow’s arms.

“Hey, Rainbow”, I choked out, “How are you doing?”

The goddess put me down. “Fine. I talk to the others, and everything is good.” She looked over her shoulder at the table, and I followed her gaze. Lightness and Darkness looked like they were trampled by a stampede, and Virus was glued to a laptop. The beings of light and dark looked over, and when they looked upon me and Gladius, looked away quickly. Gladius flew over to them and patted both of them on the shoulder, their moods lifting slightly. I walked over to the empty seat next to Virus, and sat down. I glanced at his laptop screen.

“Whatcha’ doing, Virus?” I asked him.

“Nothing much”, he said, “Just sending emails to our ‘Technology Advancement Division’. Firmware updates, tips on inventing, stuff like that.”

“I see”, I looked up at him in confusion, “But, what would they invent?”

“Who knows”, he shrugged, “Mainly because nothing makes it past the prototype phase.”

“They don’t seem that good at their job”, I said with a frown.

Virus looked around in thought for a moment before saying bluntly “Yeah, they aren’t.”

I nodded and quietly began to wait for the food to arrive, so I let my eyes wander. The table wasn’t that large, yet it was big enough to house the two giant blobs with ease. The carpet was red, an extravagant chandelier hung above, and a large window behind me showed the courtyard. Looking around more, I saw Lightness and Darkness having a silent conversation between each other; Rainbow was sitting on the other side of Virus, mumbling something as she scrolled through her phone; A couple of waiters talked with one of the chefs at the door to the kitchen; And Gladius flew up around the ceiling before heading down and resting on the floor, resting against my chair. As I smiled down at him, I heard the doors to the kitchen swing open, and out came a dozen waiters with plates of food, followed by two chefs pushing a kart filled with food. Everyone’s attention turned to them, and eventually all the food was set up. There was way too much to list, but after the staff bowed and left, the others dug in. I looked at what there was, and I grabbed a barbecued chicken, carrots and caesar salad. It wasn’t a lot, but I wasn’t a 20 foot tall god, so I was happy. I ate dinner quietly, as did everyone else, until Rainbow spoke up.

“So, Caleb”, she said, “I heard you hung out with Katania today. How was that?”

“It was good”, I said nodding lightly, “Nearly got lost in the museum, but it was nice.”

“Also seems like you got yourself an access card”, Darkness said with a smile.

“Who told you?” I blushed a bit.

“Got a call from Skye earlier”, Lightness said, “Are you and Gladius training together?”

I blushed more and nodded. “I just want to help Gladius unlock his true potential. He was created alongside you, so I just thought I’d help with that.”

“And you’re very thoughtful for it Caleb”, Rainbow said sweetly, “I’m glad you found something to do.”

I smiled. “Thanks.” I pushed my chair away from the table, startling Gladius, and stood up. I grabbed my plate, but Rainbow stopped me.

“Leave your plate, honey. Staff can clean it up.” She smiled.

“Okay”, I said with a shrug. I put my table back on the table, thanking everyone, and briskly left with Gladius close to my side. We dashed out of the dining room, and made it to my room in no time. I jabbed a thumb at my door. “Want to spend the rest of the night here?”

“That would be nice, yes”, Gladius said, “I would like to rest in my makeshift bed.”

I nodded and opened my door, Gladius bolting under the blankets. I just shook my head and chuckled, grabbing some pajamas from my dresser, and heading into my bathroom to change and brush my teeth. After that, I sat down next to Gladius on the couch.

“Do you want to do anything, buddy?” I asked the sword. He wiggled out from under the blankets and looked at the TV.

“I would like to watch a movie”, he said facing me, “I need to catch up, after all.”

I smiled and nodded, and began to look through the movies I had with me. After a bit, I pulled out The Lego Movie, and showed it to Gladius. “How’s this?” I asked.

“I’m willing to watch anything, so put it in!” he cheered. I walked over to the DVD player and put the Blu-ray disc in, grabbed the remotes and sat down next to the sword. After fumbling with the remotes for a bit, we happily watched the movie together. Every now and then, I’d pass a glance to Gladius. He was totally engrossed in the movie, having such exaggerated reactions. Come the emotional climax, he was crying his heart out, hugging my side as he sobbed. I watched this movie plenty of times, but I still tear up during this ending. I patted him reassuringly, and as the credits began to roll, he calmed down. He bobbed lightly to Everything Is Awesome , and as it finished, he looked at me.

“That was such a wonderful movie, Caleb”, he said, “I’m very thankful you showed it to me.” He let out a yawn. “I’m going to get some rest. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Gladius”, I said. He quickly curled up in the blankets, and was out like a light in seconds. I stared at him for a bit before heading out of my room, walking down the hall, and heading onto the balcony. The light of the moon bathed me in a calming white, and the chilling air whipped my hair around. I took in a deep breath, my mind clear. I then heard someone walking up to me, and Rainbow joined me leaning against the railing. She was wearing multi colored pajamas with slippers that looked like clouds.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asked. I shook my head.

“Nah. I just wanted to clear my head. A lot happened today.” I said.

Rainbow smiled, and ruffled my hair. “I’ll always feel bad you got brought here against your will, but I’m also grateful you’re here. Made my life better.”

I looked up at her curiously. “Does it have anything to do with why you seem so protective of me?”

She sighed. “I’m just worried for you“, She paused, “And I’ve wanted to be a mom.”

I looked at her in shock. “Really?”

She nodded sadly. “Yeah. When Virus showed up, we hung out together a lot, and eventually we started dating. Since then, I’ve wanted to be a mom, but being in the position I was in, I couldn’t make that a reality. So for centuries, Virus and I were together, but didn’t have any chance to be with kids. But then when you were sleeping your first night here, I came up with the idea to take you out shopping so... I could be like a mom.”

I looked up at her in silent shock, my mind going crazy. “So, that’s why you’ve been so nice to me...” I said quietly. Rainbow looked away in embarrassment, but I lunged and wrapped my arms around her waist. She looked down at me in shock.

“Thank you”, I said, “You’ve been so kind to me over these past few days, so if I am stuck here, I’m glad it’s with all of you.”

Rainbow teared up a bit, and hugged back. “You’re too kind, Caleb.” She let go. “I’m glad you’re here.”

I nodded, and then yawned. “Before I hit the hay, I want to tell you one thing.”

Rainbow looked at me. “Yeah?”

“I think you make a great mom.” I walked off, leaving Rainbow to completely shut down, blushing like mad. I walked down the hall and carefully entered my room so as not to wake Gladius. I tiptoed to my bed and curled up under my blankets, and sleep soon overtook me.

~X~

And so closes another chapter in this exciting saga. Gladius has finally been introduced, and he’ll play a big role for the rest of the story. Plus, Rainbow has gotten a tiny bit more development, because she’ll play a bit part later. But for now, Caleb and Gladius sleep, and tomorrow will bring more adventures...

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I shifted slightly as I felt someone gently nudge my shoulder. I grumbled slightly and brushed it off, only for it to become poking. I groaned and rolled over, opening my eyes a bit to see who was disturbing my slumber. Who I saw was Gladius, floating next to my bed, angled ever so slightly so he could look down at me.

“I was wondering if you’d even wake up”, he said flatly, “You were asleep for so long, I thought you became Rip van Winkle.”

I tiredly glared at him, then at my clock. It read 10:30, so I let out a long, frustrated sigh.

“I usually sleep this long, you oversized envelope opener”, I grumbled. Gladius crossed his wings and scoffed.

“Please”, he said, “You don’t need to be this sassy this early in the morning.”

“It’s almost noon!” I whined, quickly curling up tightly into my blanket.

“Then you have a reason to get up”, he snarked. I was picked up telepathically and then set down on my feet. “C’mon, the others won’t like the fact you slept the whole day away.”

I grumbled under my breath, but did as I was told anyway. I did my usual routine, only having to keep myself from falling asleep in the shower, and walked out of the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes on. I straightened out my sweater, then looked at the sword with a bored expression.

“So, why did you kick me out of bed, exactly?” I asked, my bored look turning to a glare.

“Well, it’s for something super special”, he began, “See, when I woke up, I wandered around the castle to wait till you woke up, and ran into Rainbow. As we talked, she told me about your little chat with her on the balcony last night…” My eyes widened, and I looked away blushing, “...And that gave me the idea to throw you a proper welcome party. Just because your first day here, as Rainbow told me, wasn’t the best.”

I nodded at that, but then I looked at him in confusion. “Wait, why did you tell me that?”

“Because it isn’t a surprise party, so she gave me the go ahead to tell you”, he said, waving off my confusion, “It’s just a simple get together, nothing too crazy.”

“Okay, cool”, I said, a slight smile forming on my face. “So, are we going to head to the party right now or…?”

“Not yet. Rainbow needs more time to get it all set up, so we’ll be hanging out until then.” Gladius hovered to the bedroom door. “So let’s get going!” He opened the door, only to be greeted by a smiling Katania.

“Hi guys!” She said happily

“Sweet mother of all things holy!” Galdius shouted if terror. He bolted back and clashed onto the floor. I looked down at him with an unimpressed look, then looked at Katania with a smile.

“Hey Katania”, I greeted, “How’s it going?”

“Fine”, she pointed at Gladius, who was still on the ground, “What’s his deal?”

“Rainbow was going to throw me a welcome party, and he was supposed to help keep me distracted till it was ready.” I paused, then my eyes lit up. “How about you join us? The more the merrier, after all.”

Katania beamed at the idea. “Yeah, I’d love to! I was actually going to ask if you wanted to hang out, anyway.”

“Cool”, I looked at Gladius, who was finally getting up off the floor, “Gladius, is it cool if Katania joins us?”

Gladius hovered to my side. “It would be nice, but dear?” He faced Katania. “Learn to knock next time, please.”

“I was going to…” Katania said, squinting at the sword. Gladius didn’t seem to care, and just floated past her, leaving her to slightly fume at the blade. I made an unsure face, worried my two friends wouldn’t like each other. But I shook off the feeling, hoping it was simply early morning grogginess. I shared a look with Katania and shrugged, and the two of us followed after the sword.

~X~

Gladius was leading us through the endless stretch of hallways, taking turn after turn. I was actually getting tired with how far we were going.

“Where the heck are you taking us, Gladius!” I whined, “My legs aren’t made for this much walking!”

“I’m with Caleb, Gladdy”, Katania said, “Plus, this is really deep into the palace. I don’t even know where we are…”

“Trust me, I know where we are”, Gladius said confidently. But when we hit a T-Junction, he stopped. “Ummmm…” He started frantically looking down both ways. “Uh, yeah, scratch that, I got us lost.”

“WHAT!?” both of us shouted.

“Lightness and Darkness obviously renovated the palace while they had me locked away, because I don’t remember this!” He said in a panic. “I just wanted to take us to my old room!”

I looked around in worry, hoping to find someone who can help, only for something else to catch my eye. I looked down the hall to the left. “Uh, guys? You might want to see this.” Gladius and Katania came up to my side, and we looked down the hallway. Not far from us were those three guards that were harassing me a bit yesterday morning, obviously doing something with a group of staff members. And none of the staff looked happy.

“Not them again…” Katania growled. I put a hand on her shoulder, while Gladius hummed.

“Are these the three you told me about last night?” He asked. When I nodded, he sighed. “Of course they’re here.”

“I’ll be sure to tell mom about this”, Katania said darkly. I looked at her and gave her a sad smile, then looked back at the three brutes. One of them was looking right at us with a devious smirk, and my blood ran cold.

“Guys, we should go.” Katania looked up at me and nodded, but Gladius said nothing. As me and Katania left, the sword followed after.

“We might want to pick up the pace”, Gladius whispered to us, “They’re following us.” My blood ran colder as we began to walk faster, the sounds of the three guards gaining on us. We slowly began to run, then the three of us broke into a sprint. We bolted around corner after corner, trying to escape our pursuers, but it felt like we were going in circles. I was beginning to feel more and more horrified as the footsteps behind us got closer and closer. Just as it seemed like they were right on top of us, we ran into Virus.

“Well hey guys”, he said happily, “What are you-” He stopped when he saw who was behind us. Me and Katania ran behind him while Gladius hovered beside Virus, the glitchy purple blob scowling. “Oh, you three .” He said venomously. “What were you doing with them?” He gestured to us.

“Well, we just ran into them”, the head of the trio said, the other two trying to resist smirking. “And they seemed lost, so we wanted to help.”

“Sure, help us after you just harassed some staff”, Katania spat. The dyed hair guard glared at her. Virus, however, instantly filled with rage.

“You what!?” He shouted, “Skye warned you three, and you just hit your third strike.” Some nearby guards walked over to them. “Take these three to Skye’s office. After the party, she’ll figure out what to do with them.” The trio were taken away, complaining all the way. Virus sighed, then turned to us. “Glad you guys ran into me, huh?”

I nodded. “Definitely.But what are you doing, Virus?’ I cocked my head in curiosity.

“Well, I was looking for you three”, he said, “I was going to get you guys and keep you company. Rainbow said so.” He finished with a slight shrug.

“Good enough for me”, Gladius said, “The renovations have messed with my internal map. So, lead the way, Virus!” He smiled and nodded, taking the head of the group. As we walked, Katania pulled me back a bit.

“What do you think Gladius was going to do when we got to his room?” she whispered to me.

I shrugged. “Probably just show us where he fits in with this crazy world.”

Katania seemed satisfied with my answer, so we picked up the pace to catch up with Gladius and Virus.

~X~

We followed Virus up an endless staircase, occasionally passing windows that looked out over the whole landscape. I was mesmerised how far the rolling hills went on for, the clear sky bright blue as always. On the horizon, however, I could see rain clouds forming.

“Looks like my party won’t be a sunny one”, I mentioned. The others looked out the windows, and Virus hummed.

“I’ll have to call Rainbow and tell her…” He mumbled. We continued up the steps, and soon we made it to the top of the tower. I was exhausted, so I leaned against the wall to catch my breath. As I did, I took in my surroundings. We were at the foyer type room that was just before Lightness and Darkness’ bedroom. While the room looked like the rest of the castle, with its velvet red walls and carpet, the door to the bedroom was split two ways, one side white, one side black. Virus gestured us to follow to the side of the room, where an odd pedestal laid with a large circular couch atop it. Virus took a seat, as did the rest of us.

“What’s this about, Virus?” Gladius asked. Virus didn’t respond, instead choosing to silently smirk and tap away at a tablet. Katania, however, suddenly widening her eyes, like she just won the lottery.

“Are we going up to your’s and Rainbow’s place!?” She asked in pure excitement. Virus faced her and nodded. I, meanwhile, was absolutely confused.

“But, don’t you two live in the castle?” I asked.

“Not really”, Virus admitted, “Me and RayRay live in a mansion that’s flying above the castle. You should’ve seen it when we went out shopping, Caleb.”

I gave a vacant expression, only to snap to realisation. “Wait, that rainbow was you guy’s place!?” I asked in disbelief, “I thought it was just a decorative rainbow. I didn’t make any note of it because I thought that was all it was.”

Virus chuckled. “Nope, that’s our place. Rainbow is setting the party up there, but we’ll be hanging out in my room till she’s ready.”

Virus finished typing away on the tablet, and a glass dome covered us. We then took flight, the wall opening in a perfect circular hole, and soared into the skies. I was taking everything in breathlessly as we circled around the castle, and I got an amazing look at the surroundings. I then looked up and saw where we were heading, and it made so much more sense. Above the castle was a typical children’s depiction of a rainbow, a small arch of all the colours connecting two clouds, only said clouds were purple and glitching, like Virus was.

The pod entered one of the clouds, and settled into an identical pedestal as the one in the castle. The four of us walked onto the plush, multicoloured floor, and were in awe. The walls were painted a mess of every colour imaginable, light fixtures above flickered and glitched, and occasional magenta pixels hovered upwards and dissipated into thin air.

“Welcome to The Glitching Rainbow!” Virus announced proudly, stretching his arms out wide. “My home is your home.”

Me and Katania looked around in silent amazement. Gadius clapped his wings together.

“I must say, Virus”, Gladius said looking around, “This is a fine home. I can’t blame Rainbow for wanting to live here.”

“Oh no, I moved in with Rainbow '', Virus explained, “I believe she made this place not long after you were locked away, I think. Not long later, I was born, and moved in.”

“I see…” Gladius trailed off with an uncomfortable tone. He didn’t linger when Virus started walking down the hall, with the three of us following quickly after him. He led through hall apon hall until we reached a door with a digital sign with the words ‘Virus’ Room’ on it. He opened the door, and inside was a hacker’s dream come true. Monitors covered every inch of the walls to the left, right and centre, endless computer code scrolling by at lightning speed. A large console rested in the exact middle of the room.

I let out a whistle. “This sure is something, Virus.”

“Thank you”, he smiled, “This is my job after all.” He led us to the right wall, and a part of it lifted up to reveal a second room. In it was a messy, slightly trashed couch, large TV, a few arcade cabinets in the corner, and a massive, unmade bed to the side. “And this is my room. Not much of a looker, I know.”

Katania was looking around, cringing slightly. “I’d thought you’d be better at keeping things clean, Virus…” She trailed off when she looked at said purple blob giving her a sharp glare. Katania looked at him disapprovingly. “What? I’m not wrong.”

Virus sighed, grumbled a silent “Like I need a kid telling me that”, then made his way to the TV. He turned it on, and tossed me the remote.

“Watch any movie you guys want”, he said, turning to leave, “I’m going to help Rainbow finish preparations for the party.” He swiftly left, leaving us by ourselves. I smirked at my friends, and jumped onto the couch.

“I know just what to put on”, I said with determination. Katania smiled, she and Gladius nodded, and joined me on the couch as I put on The Book of Life for us. For the next hour and a half, we happily watched the movie till the credits finished rolling. Katania was misty eyed, Gladius was moved, and I was ecstatic.

“That was…amazing” Katania said, “I…I loved it.”

“Such a touching film”, Gladius praised, “If all the movies I missed are of that quality, I’m excited to play catch up.”

“Eh, not all of them are perfect”, I said with a shrug, “But there are still a lot of good ones out there.”

“Well, I’m glad you three enjoyed yourselves”, a new voice said. We all turned to see General Skye smiling at us. Katania beamed and ran up and hugged her. “Just in time too. The party is all ready for you, Caleb.”

I smiled. “Then let’s get going!” Gladius chuckled at my enthusiasm, and the four of us left for the party.”

~X~

The party was everything I could ask for. It was a pretty quiet, yet still fun get together with everyone I’ve met during my few days here. Skye and Jeffery were off to the side, the general obviously frustrated she’ll have to chew out the three troublesome guards later. Lightness was conversing with Virus about politics. Darkness was keeping Katania happy by casting some of his magic. As for me, Gladius and Rainbow, the three of us were leaning over a balcony railing that faced the bustling city.

“Rainbow, I can’t thank you enough”, I said happily, “This is perfect.”

Rainbow wrapped an arm around me and hugged me close. “I’m glad you do, Caleb. I want your time here to be special.”

“Well, I’m just happy to be free so I can enjoy this with everyone”, Gladius said cheerfully. I looked at him and smiled.

“Yeah…” I said blissfully, “I’m going to go get some more snacks.” Rainbow nodded and let me go, so I quickly dashed to the buffet table with Gladius by my side. With too many delicious appetisers to name and choose from, I just grabbed whatever caught my fancy. As I did, however, I felt Gladius rapidly tapping my shoulder.

:”What is it?” I asked. Gladius pointed a wing, and I followed it, and I could feel myself pale. The three guards from earlier had just walked in, and they all instantly locked their stares onto me, faces twisted in rage. They began to march over to me, but luckily Rainbow swooped in and stood firmly right in front of them.

“What the hell are you three doing here?” She asked angrily. This caught the attention of everyone else, and I looked to see Skye march over in rage.

“We just wanted to give the kid a proper welcome”, the leader snarled through clenched teeth. Rainbow scoffed and rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything, I was suddenly grabbed from one of the guards jumping out from under the table. I yelled in shock, Rainbow and Skye whirling around and locking onto the guard. My captor ran, Lightness, Darkness and Virus giving chase.

“You put him down now!” Lightness barked. He blasted an energy beam, but the guard dodged, and in turn whipped me around. Rainbow erupted into anger and slammed the other two guards into the floor hard, before bolting at my captor at lightning speeds. Just when I thought she’d save my hind, Gladius came out of nowhere, out sped Rainbow, blasted in front of the guard, and slashed. The guard was thrown back, and I was dropped onto the ground.

“Caleb, are you alright?” He asked. I got up, and forcefully grabbed Gladius by the hilt. I then spun around and slashed, sending the guard flying back onto his friends.

“That’s for messing with me!!!” I screeched. Skye walked up to the three defeated guards with two soldiers by her side.

“Take them away.” She snarled. They did as they were told, and all five were gone. Rainbow, still peeved, turned to face me.

“OMG, Caleb, I’m so sorry that happened”, She ran up to me and hugged me, ”We’ll deal with them, I promise.”

I nodded. “Thanks Rainbow. But don’t apologise, it isn’t your fault.”

Gladius sighed in relief, as did Lightness and Darkness. “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt”, the sword said thankfully, “Otherwise, I don’t-” But he stopped when He saw something behind me. Rainbow set me down in shock, and I turned around. Behind me was a tiny version of the portal that sent me here. “Caleb, you just opened your first portal by complete accident!”

I was awestruck, so much so I walked closer to get a better look. Just as I did, however, the portal suddenly increased in size and began sucking me in. Everyone gasped as I lost my footing and slipped. Gladius was able to catch me, but he could barely combat the pull. Rainbow screamed my name, but just as I looked up to see everyone rushing to my aid, one big surge sent me and Gladius screaming into the vortex.

“NO!” Rainbow screamed. Then the portal closed, and me and Gladius were sent through, spinning into the unknown.

~X~

And so ends the beginning of the opening ark. After seeing all the characters that’ll play a major role bringing Caleb and Gladius home, it’s now time to really see what this ‘multiverse’ is all about. Buckle up, this’ll be a wild ride.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I was surrounded by the endless colours and deafening volume once again, and it was horrible. I frantically tried to reorient myself, but nothing worked. I just kept endlessly spinning down the tunnel.

“Gladius!!!” I screamed. I was so dizzy from the constant spinning I couldn’t see the only friend I had right now. Just when I was going to pass out, I felt something press against my back, stopping the spinning. I looked up and saw Gladius, who went under the back of my shirt and kept steady as he flapped his wings with all his might.

“Just hang on Caleb!” He yelled over all the voices, “I’ll try to get us home!” He began trying his best to fly against the pull of the vortex, but it wasn’t enough. We just kept barreling down at impossible speeds, my head feeling light as my brain imploded. I could barely hear Gladius as I was getting closer to passing out. Just before I did, however, I saw a blinding light consume us, and we were suddenly in a dark tunnel. We both screamed as the walls of the circular tunnel sparked with electricity, Gladius constantly dodging blots that shot out at us. Soon the two of us were separated, and so I wished for this crazy ride to end. Seconds later, I slammed full force into a wall of faded green bricks. I fell down and landed on my back, Gladius landing next to me with a clash. We both groaned in pain.

“That was so much worse than last time”, I muttered. My vision was blurred, as my surroundings were foggy and duplicated.

Gladius made some noise as he moved. “You can say that again, dear friend,” he weakly said. I slightly turned my head to him, and watched as he flipped himself over and got back up using his wings. He began to hover again, but lower than before, and gave me one of his wings. I threw a hand at it, but missed completely. Gladius just sighed and used his telepathy to pick me up and set me on my feet. I stumbled a bit, so I leaned on the wall for support. After we both stood in silence for a bit, I finally broke it with the most important question that needed to be asked.

“What do we do, Gladius?” I looked at my friend with misty eyes. He stayed silent for a moment.

“Okay, first, we should see what world we wound up in”, he started, “The multiverse is constantly shifting, so we could be who knows how far away from the capital we are.”

That made me look down in sadness. “So, what? How do we get home?”

Gladius hummed. “Well, we can’t keep opening portals willy-nilly, otherwise there could be lasting damage to the multiverse, so we need to wait to open another one. And to get to the capital, I have an internal compass.” I opened my mouth. “I knew since I was created, yes.” I closed my mouth. “So, first we get a lay of the land, let some time pass, then we open another portal and get closer to home.”

I nodded and began to take in my surroundings. The walls were a faded green brick, painted with graffiti. The floor was a spotless light beige, and there was a small staircase that went up to a small train. I squinted at the train, and it was designed after the arcade classic Pac-Man. That made my heart skip a beat.

“Wait…” I was starting to look around with wide eyes. I went and read the graffiti, and my heart started racing. “No…”

“What, is this place bad?” Gladius asked in worry.

“Far from it…” I said as tears of joy formed in my eyes, “We’re in Wreck-It Ralph, my favourite movie.” I wiped my eyes. “But, how could that happen? Why here?”

“I don’t fully know, honestly”, Gladius admitted with a shrug, “But, this is the best case scenario, so let’s not dwell on it.”

I nodded and pulled out my phone. The date read November 14, 2012, the time being 6:50 PM. That made me realise something. We somehow also travelled back in time from 2018. I just shrugged it off and looked at Gladius.

“I’ll lead the way I said”, I said. He nodded, and the two of us left the terminal. I squinted my eyes when the bright lights of Game Central came into view, and I was doing my best not to explode as I looked around at this place I loved so dearly.

“So, what, is this a train station of sorts?” Gladius asked.

“Yes. When the arcade closes, the characters leave their games and hang out. Do whatever they want.” I explained.

“Fascinating”, Gladius said in wonder, “That is incredible.”

“It is”, I beamed, “But now, we should get to a game that is good for us to gather our bearings and plan out what to do.” Gladius nodded and followed close to me as we walked past arcade citizens of all kinds, from modern soldiers, karate champions, and even a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  Eventually, we made it to the terminal entrance I had in mind. Above the entranceway was a sign with red LEDs forming the letters Tapper’s .

“What is this place?” Gladius asked. I smiled at him.

“Root beer bar.”

~X~

As me and Gladius hopped off the train that took us from Game Central to Tapper’s, we were met with the warmth and feeling of being at home, the light sound of happy chatter hitting my ears. We walked down the small hallway, passing a bunch of signed artwork along the way. It was just like in the movie. We came up to a doorway, and both of us peaked in. Iconic video game characters were sitting amongst generic cowboys, as a squat man with large blue eyes and a moustache much like Luigi’s wearing something akin to a barber’s uniform darted about.

“I’m assuming that man is Tapper”, Gladius assumed, looking down at me.

I nodded. “Yep. He's pretty cool. Let’s go.”

The two of us walked into the bar and took some seats at the counter. Instantly, Tapper bolted over to us.

“Welcome, gentlemen”, he said in the same tone as the movie, “What brings ya’ both here this fine evening?”

I held in my excitement. “Just snagging some root beers. We’re… new here, so we decided to stop by.”

Tapper’s moustache twitched a bit. “Hmmm, I don’t remember any new games getting plugged in…” I felt my heart race in fear a bit. Luckily however, Tapper just shrugged. “But I think I just misunderstood ya’. These ones are on the house, enjoy gentlemen.” He dashed off to elsewhere in the bar, leaving me and Gladius by ourselves.

“So…” Gladius said off-handedly, “What’s this ‘plan’ you wanted to go over?”

I sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. I guess we need to find some place we can crash when the arcade’s open, away from anyone who would ask questions. Then, we wait till we can open another portal.”

Gladius seemed conflicted, but didn’t object. “I suppose you’re right, but if we don’t do something soon, we might cause a panic.” As he spoke, out of the corner of my eye, I could see some of the other patrons giving us weird looks, and that made my anxiety spike. I swallowed the feeling and finished drinking the root beer.

“Finish your root beer, Gladius, we need to go”, I whisper to him. The sword did a quick glance at everyone else, then nodded. His drink disappeared, and the two of us ran out. We rode the train back into Game Central, and I stopped to catch my breath right when we left the terminal, before stepping aside and sitting on a nearby bench. Gladius flew high in an attempt to spot some place that could help us, but a rider from Joust rushed past him, making spin at rapid speeds.

“Hey, watch where you’re flying!” Gladius shouted. “Bloody bastard.” I heard him grumble before he flew back down to my side. “Some people just don’t understand to look .” I gave the ranting sword a sympathetic look, then began looking around, eyeing the signs atop each entranceway. Nothing was clicking foe me, so I just sighed and shook my head.

“Nothing good”, I said, snapping Gladius out of his rant. “I can’t really think of anywhere that could work.” Gladius hummed, and looked round again, flying lower than last time. As he looked, he let out a gasp. “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“We might have a problem”, he came down and pointed towards the entranceway of Tapper’s, and I looked at what was he was pointing at. Ryu, the lead of Street Fighter, was talking to a glowing blue man in a security guard’s uniform. I immediately the blue man at Surge Protector, the head of security. My eyes widened as Ryu pointed in our direction, and Surge made a face of distaste.

“We need to go”, I said sharply, Gladius nodding rapidly. We both made a mad dash away from the bench, disappearing into the crowd. We ducked into the terminal for Frogger. I peeked around the corner, and saw Surge blink into existence, look around, then blink away. I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Too close…” I said fearfully. Gladius grumbled.

“We can’t stay here”, He said, “Otherwise that security officer will keep chasing us. Is there anywhere safe for us to go?”

I was silent as I thought of an answer. Then, my eyes lit up. “We can go to Sugar Rush! It’s massive, so there’s probably a place we could stay in there!”

Gladius nodded once. “Sugar Rush it is then. I’ll look and find it, come back, and lead you to it.” I nodded and watched Gladius fly away quickly. I kept my eyes locked on the entranceway, every so often looking down at my phone to check the time. It was 7;20 right now, so we still had a good chunk of time before the arcade opened. I looked back up and saw as Gladius frantically bolted back to my side.

“What happened?” I asked in worry.

“The officer found me, and it looked like he got some others to help him apprehend us.

My eyes bulged, and my heart raced. “Did you at least find Sugar Rush?”

“Yes, but then they spotted me. They’ll be here soon, so we need to go.” He put himself blade up in the air. “Grab on, and don’t let go.”

I gulped and nodded, grabbing hold of Gladius’ handle with all my strength. Just then, Surge blinked in front of the entranceway.

“Take it easy, kid, I just want to talk.” I heard him say. I felt my grip loosen, but then i tightened it when I thought about all those eyes on me. “Trust me, I know it must be scary, but I seriously just want to talk.”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” Gladius shouted. Suddenly, he shot into the air, and I was taken with. We blasted over a flabbergasted Surge and soared into the bustling Game Central. I did my best not to scream as Gladius, silent and focused, flew over all the confused heads of the arcade’s citizens. I could hear Surge faintly shout “Stop!”, but I could barely care as Gladius made a sharp swerve to avoid another Joust night.

“KEEP YOUR BLOODY EYES OPEN, YOU HEATHEN!” Gladius screamed. He sharply turned and entered the terminal to Sugar Rush, skipping the train entirely, and I got a horrid sense of deja vu. I held my eyes closed as the sound of electricity crackled all around me, the feeling of bolts of energy just barely grazing my skin. Then, the bright sunlight of Sugar Rush washed over me and that familiar tune hit my ears, making me open my eyes. Gladius let out a sigh of relief, and coasted down to the Candy Cane Forest. He set me down on a gumdrop stool, and hovered down in front of me.

“How are you feeling, Caleb?” Gladius asked me. I let out a long sigh.

“Fine. I’m fine”, I said breathlessly, “That was just… a rush. You’d think I’d be used to  with it eing my third time and all.”

Gladius nodded, then looked around at his surroundings. “So this is Sugar Rush, huh?” He sounded a bit upset. “A candy world. I’m not sure how to feel about this…”

“Then you definitely won’t like the fact the place is lived in by nothing but kids.” I said with a smirk. Gladius snapped at me, clearing shocked. “Hey, it’s a candy based racing game. It makes sense.’ I shrugged.

Gladius groaned and shook his hilt. “Is this what game designers are up to now adays?”

I half shrugged and made a face. “Kind of…” I said, not really sure. Gladius just simply sighed, but the sound of loud, blaring trumpets made us both jump.

“What in God’s name was that?!” Gladius shouted. I looked towards the sound, and beamed. Gladius noticed this. “I’m assuming it’s good?”

“Yeah! It’s the Random Roster Race! We need to go see it!” I said excitingly. Gladius seemed apprehensive, however.

“Are you sure?” He asked. I nodded rapidly, and he sighed. ”Fine, let’s go see it.”

I cheered, and began to run to the starting line, Gladius following close behind.

~X~

It was a tedious trek to the start line, with me nearly falling into taffy twice , but we eventually reached the line. I ran behind the bleachers and peeked up at the jumbotron. All the racers were listed, from Taffyta Muttonfudge, Candlehead, Francis Fluggerbutter. And at the top of the list, was the pincess glitch herself.

Vanellope Von Schweetz

I felt my heart race seeing that name in person. I was here. I could actually meet her. That made me feel crazy. Gladius seemed to catch my rising excitment, so he poked me with the tip of his blade, snapping me back to reality.

“Heh, sorry about that, Gladdy”, I rubbed the spot he poked, “I’m just… I feel like I’m dreaming.”

Gladius chuckled. “Well, be sure you have that autograph book ready.” He joked. I smiled up at him, but them my smile fell when I realized that I shouldn’t reveal myself. As I looked up at the jumbotron in silence, my thoughts making my head heavy, the image changed. And who showed up made my brain crash.

There were four people visible. At the front was a girl, no older than nine, with a mint green sweater, brown candy wrapper skirt, black boots, and mismatched striped leggings. Her hair was done up in a high ponytail using a thing of pright magenta licorice, with random bits of candy all in it.

Behind her was a large man with bolder sized hands, a red plaid shirt with torn sleeves, a turquoise unshirt, and brown overalls that were missing the left strap. He lacked socks and shoes, and had a messy mop of brown hair.

Beside him was a woman of his height, but slim and clad neck down in black armour. She had short blond hair that had bangs partially covering her right eye.

In between the two of them was a short man who wore a blue handyman’s outfit, complete with light brown gloves, boots, and belt. Clipped onto the belt was a shimmering golden hammer.

It was them.

Vanellope, Ralph, Calhoun and Felix.

My idols.

I felt my legs go weak, so much so would have fallen if Gladius hadn’t caught me with is telepathy.

“You good?” He asked, concerned. I looked up at him, shock filling my features.

“Just trying not to scream like a fanboy…” I said as my breathing became heavy, my heart going absolutely bonkers. Gladius seemed to be wanting to get me far away from here, but did nothing as Vanellope hopped up to the microphone.

“Hey hey people!” She shouted, her spunky self still there, “You know how this thing works, I know how this thing works, so let’s get this race started!” She pulled on a rope that hung next to her, and a ramp unfurled at her feet. She waved to the others, who all waved back with big smiles, biggest from Ralph, and slid on down, doing a flip as she coasted through the air and landed in her kart, earning cheers from the whole audience. As I watched her from the stands closest to the cupcake tower… thing (I never understood the point of it), Gladius looked over my shoulder and watched as the racers all hopped into their karts and did their last preparations.

“What do you see in them?” He asked me. I looked up at him for a moment, then back at the racers.

“I don’t know”, I admitted, “Something about this movie just…clicked with me. And ever since I saw it, it’s stuck with me ever since.” I looked down at the ground. “I guess I just connected with Ralph and Vanellope a lot, being an outsider myself at a time.”

I could tell Gladius was giving me a sad look, because his form drooped a bit. He floated close to me and gave me the biggest hug he possibly could, which helped perk me up. As he separated, I heard the rev of the kart engines, and looked at the racers. They were all ready to go, so a floating marshmallow crew member floated down with a race start signal. Me and Gladius leaned forward in anticipation, the signal blinked to green, and the racers sped off, forcing the crowd to cheer. I cheered from my hiding spot too, but as Vanellope sped by, for a moment, it felt like time stood still as we locked eyes. But the feeling wasn’t long, as she shot away, leaving me to stare in shock.

What just happened? I thought, That was…weird. I could only imagine what was going through her head as she took the lead.

~X~

Me and Gladius watched the whole race through, in awe as Taffyta recovered and claimed first after being stuck in last for a majority of the race. Vanellope snagged fourth, behind Swizzle and Adorabeezle. But despite this, she was happy and congratulated the others for their victory. I smiled as she shook hands with all the racers, and announced a closing to the Random Roster Race. Ralph, Felix and Calhoun even made their way down and talked with Vanellope, making me smile even more when Ralph put Vanellope on his shoulder. But my joy disappeared the moment I saw Surge walk into view with donut cops Wynnchel and Duncan.

“Surge, didn’t expect to see you here”, Ralph said flatly. He obviously still had some resentment towards the officer.

“Well, while I don’t do this often”, He adjusted his glasses, “This is important.”He cleared his throat. “Some unknown citizen walked into Tapper’s two hours ago. He was described as wearing a black sweater with the phrase ‘Loading’ on it, with blue jeans and black shoes. He also has glasses and messy brown hair. He also appears to be young.” I could see Vanellope look out of the corner of her eye, which made me pale slightly.

“Was he causing trouble, Surge?” Felix asked, hoping I wasn’t some hooligan.

Surge shook his head. “No, but as no one recognizes him, he can’t be sure.”

“Armed?” Calhoun was obviously trying to squeeze as much info out of Surge as she could.

“Kind of”, Surge said, “He’s with a talking sword that can fly.” The other’s faces twisted in confusion. “I understand, it’s odd, but nearly all of Game Central witnessed it. They were both last seen entering Sugar Rush, so has anyone seen either of them?” He looked at everyone, but Ralph, Felix, Calhoun and all the racers shook their heads. Vanellope didn’t say or do anything, however. This made Surge raise an eyebrow, and made me and Gladius fill with horror. “President Von Schweetz, have you seen either of them?”

Vanellope stayed silent, every passing second making me more horrified. Then, she spoke. “Sorry, Surge. I haven’t seen anyone else other than these chumps.” She smirked. Felix giggled at her jab, Calhoun smirked, and Ralph gave her a flat look, but still ruffled her hair playfully. I sighed with relief, but when she looked at me again, I saw a friendly twinkle in her eyes.

“Well, I apologise for intruding then”, Surge said, “But I would like it if you could keep an eye out for them, that’d be great.”

“You got it, Electro!” Vanellope said with a mock salute. All the adults gave her a flat look except Ralph, smiled a bit and snorted at Vanellope’s jab at the officer, much to his chagrin. Surge just sighed and left, taking the donut cops with him.

“Well, with that out of the way”, Felix said, “Does anyone want to hit up Tapper’s for a special treat.”

Vanellope’s eyes sparkled. “You bet, Handyman! C’mon, Stinkbrain, let’s go!” Ralph rolled his eyes at vanellope, but began to head to the exit of Sugar Rush, Felix and Calhoun holding hands as they followed. The rest of the audience and racers began to disperse, so me and Gladius took this as a chance to leave. We snuck away without anyone noticing, taking the path we took back to our spot. I let out a long, loud sigh, releasing the tension from my shoulders.

“That was so stressful ”, I said with wide eyes, “I really thought Vanellope was going to rat us out.”

“Honestly, I barely know her to add anything to that”, Gladius said. I was about to say something, but I suddenly yawned instead. Gladius looked at me. “We have been at this for a while…What time is it on your phone?”

I slowly took it out and looked at the time. “8:45”, I said with another. Gladius hummed and picked me up with his telepathy. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not having you sleep on the ground”, he said. He set me down on a tree branch, and I internally cringed expecting it to break, but nothing happened, so I calmed down. Gladius didn’t notice, and stabbed himself into the tree trunk. “Don’t worry about falling, I’ll hold you all night.”

I nodded and looked up at the sky, its pastel green not really easing me at all.

“Do you think we’ll ever get home soon, Gladius?” I asked my bladed friend.

“I’m not too sure Caleb. But until then, I will stick by your side and keep you safe.” I felt his telepathic grip on my tighten slightly, as a sort of hug.

“Thanks Gladdy…” I said, letting sleep take me over.

~X~

And so Caleb and Gladius find themselves in the world of Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph. They obviously didn’t make a good first impression, and now have to hide from Surge Protector. But their adventure within the arcade had only just begun, so hang on tight, because soon new friends will be made, and new worlds will be explored.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

Me and Gladius were sound asleep on the Candy Cane tree. Even though I wasn’t completely aware of my surroundings, the branch wasn’t the best bed, as I tossed and turned, only staying on thanks to Gladius’ telepathy. As I tried to get comfortable, however, I felt something poke my nose. I grunted and swatted it away, but it just kept happening. So, frustrated at whatever ruined my sleep, I opened my eyes. Right in front of me was Vanellope, who was dangling from the branch above me.

“Wow, and I thought Ralph slept like a ton of bricks”, she joked with a smirk. I just stared at her for what felt like minutes, eyes still almost closed, mouth slightly agape as I stared at the candy haired president. Suddenly, my brain caught up, my pulse skyrocketed, and my eyes bulged.

“WHAT THE-” I said in utter shock. But me shouting startled Gladius, making the sword release his grip on me, so I tumbled off the branch, slamming into every other one on the way down.

“CALEB!” Gladius called. I heard him try and wrench himself from the tree, but just as I heard him break free, I slammed on the pink frosting ground on my back with a loud THUD . Gladius was quick to soar above me and check me over. “Are you okay?!”

I groaned, but slowly sat up. “I’m fine…” I said weakly. I shook my head, putting a hand on my sore shoulder.

“Jeez, sorry about that dude.” I looked up to see Vanellope on the branch right above me once again. “Didn’t expect you to get that spooked.”

“Well, when you sneak up on people when they’re sleeping on a tree branch, that tends to happen '', I glared at the girl. She just gave me a flat look, so I shook my head and sighed. Gladius helped me up, and I dusted myself off. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Arcade’s closed, so I went looking for you, Mr.Mysterious”, She said smugly. She glitched in front of me onto a gumdrop. “Also, you’re welcome for not ratting you out yesterday.’

I dropped my glare and sighed. “Yeah, thanks for that.” I said, earning another of her smirks. “I’m just confused why you didn’t.”

“Because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to figure out what the big deal with you is”, she said, gesturing at me. I faltered a tiny bit. “So, that’s why.” She looked me dead in the eyes with a glare. “So, who are you?”

I gulped, but didn’t stay silent. “My name is Caleb, and this”, I gestured to Gladius, “is Gladius.”

Vanellope snorted at the sword’s name. “Well, I bet he was pretty glad I didn’t rat you out to Electro.” She let out a giggle.

Gladius, however, was appalled, letting out a gasp. “How dare you insult my name!” He angrily shot at the candy racer. Vanellope stopped giggling and looked Gladius over.

“So you can talk…” She said in awe. Gladius straightened up and moved away from her, using his wings to cover his jewel. Vanellope then looked back to be. “Alright, next question; Where are you from?”

That made me tense up. My brain worked at hyper speeds to try and come up with something that wasn’t the truth, and I could tell Gladius was doing the same.

“Um…W-Well you see…It’s-I’m…”, I rambled, “Y-You see, I’m from…Uhhh-”

“Okay, just stop Jackhammer”, Vanellope groaned, “You aren’t going to tell me, i get it.” I shut up and blushed in embarrassment. “But because of that, I’m keeping you here until you spill, got it?” She pointed at me with a scowl, and when I remembered I’m technically wanted, I nodded. Vanellope stuffed her hands into her sweater pockets, and smiled up at me. “Well, we aren’t getting anything done just standing here, Let’s go!” She started happily skipping over to her kart, which was parked off to the side.

“Wait, where are we going?” I asked. Vanellope rolled her eyes and looked back at me.

“To the castle of course, dummy”, She jumped into the seat of her kart, “So move your molasses!”

Me and Gladius shared a look, shrugged, and walked over to her kart. I contemplated how to get on, but then just decided to do it how Ralph did. I sat down on the spoiler and held on tight.

“You better buckle up, dude”, the candy racer said confidently, “I’m not going slow.”

I gulped and nodded, and was sent into a screaming fit as Vanellope shot off towards the castle, Gladius quickly flying after us.

~X~

As Vanellope slammed on the brakes, the kart skidding to a halt in the castle’s throne room, I was thrown off and tumbled on the floor. I stopped just short of the ramp that led up to the empty throne.

Vanellope couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow, that was such a wipeout!” She laughed. “You’ve got some stuff, kid!”

“Okay, hold the heck on!” I scrambled to my feet. “I’m, like, nine years older than you! Don’t go around calling me a kid!”

She scoffed. “Oh, relax. I was only kidding.” She jumped out of her kart and walked over to me, Gladius following closely behind. “Look, I don’t trust you. But I’m not going to treat you like a criminal, so if you just be a nice boy, you get to go free.” She finished off with an over exaggerated bow. I couldn’t help but feel my frustration at the glitch melt away, a smile spreading across my face.

“Alrighty then, so what’s your plan with us?” I said with a confident smirk. Vanellope’s smile faltered slightly.

“Well…”, She started, “I was hoping to find more out about you, but since you’re more locked up than the Fungeon, I guess we could just hang out.”

I cocked an eyebrow, aware of what she was trying to do, but didn’t argue against it. She just gestured for me to follow her, so I begrudgingly followed Vanellope through the halls of the castle (I was seriously starting to grow tired of the endless hallways), and brought us to a fairly large room with a bed.

“Is this your room?” I asked.

Vanellope shook her head. “No, mine’s at the end of the hall. This will be your’s! Gonna be better than sleeping on a tree branch, am I right?” She elbowed me lightly. I looked at the bed, and I felt a sad weight on my shoulders.

“Yeah... It’ll be fine”, I said quietly. Vanellope looked up at me with a frown, but when I walked to the bed and laid down on it, she came up to me.

“You…must not be from around here, huh?” She asked with a hint of sadness.

I nodded. “Yeah. I did something I couldn’t control, and now me and Gladius are here. Away from what little family I was able to just find.” I grabbed a pillow and forced it onto my face, letting out a big groan.

“Well, I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened, or where you’re from”, Vanellope said in frustration, only to sigh. “But I get it. We just met, and you’re-”

“An outsider, like how you used to be”, I interrupted. I took the pillow off my face and looked at her, and she was giving me a sad smile with a hint of confusion. “I’ll tell you everything soon, I promise. It’s just, everything about me is just too much right now. Especially for you.”

Vanellope crossed her arms and stared at me for a moment. But this moment was just barely enough to break me. This was one of my heroes, dammit, just tell her! I looked to Gladius, and he nodded in confirmation. I sighed.

“I can’t keep it in, I’ll tell you”, I said. Vanellope brightened and sat next to me, her eyes filled with curiosity. I took a deep breath, and began to tell her most of what happened. I left out stuff related to the multiverse, but everything else was spot on. The moment I began to tell my story, Vanellope’s face became an unreadable expression. I could tell she was confused, shocked, scared and angry. As I finished, I looked at her sadly, but she said nothing. I feared she’d see me as crazy, that she’d turn me into Surge. But instead…

She hugged me. She hugged me as tightly as she could.

“Vanellope?” I asked in confusion.

“I’m sorry”, she said, “All of that was…It was…No.” She separated from the hug and jumped onto the floor. “I’ve been through a lot in my life, but this…No. You are welcome here for as long as you want. All of that is a lot to take in.” She turned to face us. “I’m definitely not turning you over to Mr.Uptight now.”

“Wait, really?” I was floored. “You’re just going to believe me just like that?”

Vanellope gave me an unimpressed look. “You’re talking to the girl who had her memory wiped and can do something no one else in this whole arcade can do. Trust me, this”, she gestured to me.

That made me and Gladius shared a look and nodded in agreement. “Good point”, I said.

Vanellope nodded. “Yeah. My life’s been pretty hectic.” She shrugged.

“Understatement, if you ask me”, Gladius mumbled. I elbowed him roughly, making him let out a groan, but the sound of the bedroom’s door opening snapped my attention away from Gladius. Sour Bill, Vanellope’s green sour drop advisor, entered. He didn’t bat an eye at me.

“Madame President”, he said in his bored, tired voice, “Your friend Wreck-It Ralph is here. Do you wish for me to let him in?”

Vanellope looked at me, then to Sour Bill. “Yeah, go and let him in. I’ll be there very soon.” The advisor nodded, sent me a bored look, then left. When the door closed, Vanellope snapped to me.

“I want you to meet-” She stopped herself. “No, I want Ralph to meet you, but let me just work my magic. I don’t want him making a big deal, so just wait here.” She ran off before I could say anything, leaving me and Gladius on our own.

“So, how do you think Ralph will react?” Gladius asked me. But as he turned to look at me, he did a double take as I flopped down on the bed harshly, instantly falling asleep. I didn’t get much, however, as I was quickly kicked out as something began poking me again. I groaned and rolled over, only to be picked up by a large hand. I snapped my eyes open and held a fearful expression when I was met with Ralph’s scowling face.

“So you’re the kid Surge said to keep an eye for”, He said bluntly. I gulped, but he set me down on my feet. “But Vanellope told me you were cool, so you’re lucky.”

I looked up at the 9 foot tall man. “Where is she?” I asked.

Ralph shrugged. “She met me at the front door, but apparently something came up, so she had to run off. President Fart-Feathers did tell me about being here.” I snorted at the jab at Vanellope, making Ralph raise an eyebrow. “Like the nickname, huh? I don’t blame you, I’m pretty good at stuff like that.” He leaned forward overdramatically, making me burst out laughing. Ralph couldn’t help but smile at me, but his smile fell a bit as Gladius approached.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir”, Gladius bowed, “My name is Gladius, and the boy currently laughing is Caleb.” Ralph snorted half heartedly, but still smiled nonetheless. I let out a wheeze as I stopped laughing, slowly rising to my feet with Gladius’ help, then looked up at Ralph with a big smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ralph”, I said happily, “Heard a lot about you.”

Ralph rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Yeah, kinda hard to have not heard about it”, he said with an awkward smile, “Not my finest moment, but do I regret it? Absolutely not.” He said, beaming at the bedroom door. I turned and saw Vanellope had entered, looking ecstatic.

“I see you two are already hitting it off”, She said. I smiled and Ralph nodded. “That’s good, because I want us to get as much done as we can before the arcade opens! So c’mon you three, let’s go!”

Vanellope bolted out the door, and me and Ralph shared a look. “Is she always this hyper?”

“Not usually”, Ralph said with a smile, “Only when she’s so set on something.” Gladius let out a chuckle, and the three of us followed after her.

~X~

I felt the wind blast by my face as Vanellope drove her kart down the ramp that led to her castle. Ralph was seated where I was, I rested on his left shoulder, and Gladius was sheathed down the back of my shirt. I closed my eyes and beamed and I smelt the sweet candy air.

“Quite the land you watch over, Miss President”, Gladius said.

Vanellope scoffed and rolled her eyes. “It’s honestly nothing too crazy. I just really live in the castle, because the game runs itself. It’s more of a title to make me seem special.”

“Well don’t sell yourself that short, kid”, Ralph interjected, “You still have presidential duties to attend too.”

Vanellope snickered. “Duties…” She did a right turn, staying on the road fairly well, so I took the time to take in the sights. I looked to my right, and I could see the Ice Cream Mountains that Vanellope and King Candy had their head to head. I felt my smile fall a bit realising that while for me that fight was purely fictional, for Ralph and Vanellope, it was life or death. I cringed at the thought of everything that happened between cuts, like the evacuation of Sugar Rush, and who might’ve not made it. I shook my head to eliminate the idea, and focus on what was happening ahead of us.

“Where the heck are we going anyway, Vanellope?” I asked. She just looked over her shoulder, gave me a quick smirk and said nothing, leaving me utterly confused. “Do you know, Ralph?”

Ralph looked ahead with a thoughtful expression for a moment, then looked up at me with a smile. “Why not take a look for yourself?”

I cocked an eyebrow, but did what I was told. I saw a set of mint green smoke stacks emitting multicoloured steam, and I instantly clicked everything together.

“Wait, you’re going to let me build my own kart?” I asked in surprise. Gladius shifted so his jewel could peer over my shoulder, clearly interested in the conversation.

“Yep! I just felt like it would be for the best, so you don’t have to bum rides off of me”, Vanellope said. I gave her a flat look, but rolled my eyes with a smile shortly after. As we approached the front gate, Beard Papa, who was sleeping like a log in the booth, jumped awake as Vanellope came to a halt.

“Yo, mind opening the gate for us Papa? Got someone here in need of a kart”, She jabbed a thumb at me, and I waved awkwardly at the barkery’s watchman. He squinted at me suspiciously, lifted the arm anyway. Ralph thanked him and Vanellope continued on her way, but when i looked back, I could have sworn Beard Papa said something into his walkie-talkie. I just shook it off, choking it up to paranoia, and smiled as we entered the bakery. Vanellope parked her kart, and when Ralph stood up, I hopped down to let him stretch. Gladius unsheathed himself and began to look around.

“What is this place?” He asked. I looked at Vanellope, but rather than answer the sword, she ran behind a red curtain I recognized all too well. We followed her behind them, and we were engulfed into darkness. Vanellope jumped onto a large button in the middle, and glowing buttons depicting each of the different kart body types showed up. “Seriously, what is this place?” Gladius asked with impatience.

“It’s the kart bakery, Gladdy”, I explained, “It’s where custom karts are made. Vanellope and Ralph made her kart here.” Gladius hummed in understanding, seemingly pleased with the answer.

“Well kid, which one do you want?” Ralph said, gesturing to the buttons. I looked through all my options, trying to think of what suited me best. All of them looked amazing, and that only made the choice harder. I groaned quietly, trying to pick one, until eventually deciding on the same type of kart that Candlehead drove, with its larger back wheels, six massive exhaust pipes, and (in my opinion) the best design overall. I ran up and pressed the button, and the curtain lifted, revealing the kart building minigame in its full glory.

“Welcome to the bakery, let’s bake a kart!” the automated voice said.

“C’mon Caleb!” Vanellope cheered, “You only got 60 seconds!” I beamed and ran up to the first chunk of the minigame, where you had to put ingredients in the bowl, and toss out the trash. Unlike Vanellope when she tried it, I did a lot better without Ralph needing to set in. My only slip up was accidentally getting a fire hydrant in the bowl. We ran along as the batter was stirred, stopping at the air pump that powered the oven. Try as I might, without the controller, I wasn’t fairing much better than Vanellope did last time.

“Let me handle this, kid”, Ralph said. I stepped out of the way, but cringed, expecting the wrecker to break the pump again. Surprisingly, however, he didn’t, and was even able to keep the temperature at “Just Right”. When we heard the ding, Wwe continued to the part I was looking for most…

The decorating.

I sat in the seat and took aim at each part I wanted. With precision aim, I nailed everything I wanted with no mess ups. As the kart disappeared inside a machine that would add the finishing touches, I ran in front of the ramp, filled with excitement.

“And here’s your kart!”   The automated voice proudly announced. I watched as the door opened, and my new kart rolled down in front of me. I was absolutely speechless.

Its exhaust pipes were black and white striped, and the wheels were black and white swirled candies with purple licorice treads. The body was pure black, and the very front had a red gumdrop on it. Ralph and Vanellope shared a smile.

“So I take it, you like it?” Vanellope asked, coming up next to me. I nodded wordlessly, walking up to the kart to look it over. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ralph walk over a nearby shelf, and grabbed icing tubes. He grabbed the same colours he and Vanellope used when they made her kart, while grabbing extra white and purple ones.

“Well, like this little Crumb-Snatcher said when we did it”, Vanellope playfully stuck her tongue out at her friend, “A work of art like this needs to be signed.” I happily grabbed the white tube, Gladius grabbed the purple tube, and the four of us signed on the left side. I felt myself tear up a bit seeing my name alongside people I looked up to so much. Gladius came up to me and wrapped me in a hug, and it helped calm me down.

“So…” Vanellope said as I wiped my eyes, “How do you feel about taking this out for a spin?”

All I did was beam.

~X~

I raced down the road at crazy speeds, Gladius sheathed once again down the back of my shirt. Behind me was Vanellope and Ralph, racing close behind me.

“Hope you can keep up, Vanellope! I’m not going to go easy on you!” I shouted confidently.

“As if a newbie like you could beat me!” She shouted back, “Keep dreaming, Caleb!”

I rolled my eyes playfully, and took a sharp right, jumped over some hills, and came to a halt at the bottom of the ramp that led up to the castle. Vanellope stopped right beside me, and we both shared massive smiles.

“Not bad”, she said, pulling her goggles off her eyes and onto her forehead. “I’m impressed.”

“Well, I have my license”, I said boastfully, ‘So I’m not  a complete idiot behind the wheel.” Gladius snorted and removed himself from my shirt. “What was that?”

Gladius just looked around innocently. ”Oh, nothing.”

I squinted at him suspiciously, but just shook my head and faced the two video game characters. “Thank you”, I said happily, “This makes my situation a lot better.” Vanellope smiled at me sadly, while Ralph looked at me in worry.

“Something happen to you kid?” He asked. I sighed and nodded sadly, Vanellope hopping up onto the wrecker’s shoulder and whispered to him what was up with me. Ralph’s eyes widened, and he looked at me sadly. “Kid, I’m sorry that happened…”

I shook my head. “It’s fine. I got Gladius with me”, I looked at the sword, who hovered up to me and nodded. “So I’ll get through it.”

“Well, don’t count us out, kid”, Ralph said with a smile, “Until we figure something out, you can count on us. Right Vanellope?” He looked at the tiny girl on his shoulder.

“You bet, Stinkbrain”, Vanellope said boastfully, “We’re going to do everything this arcade has to offer!” she jumped down and hopped into her kart. “So let’s go!” She revved her engine, and I nodded. Ralph hopped on the candy president’s kart, I climbed into my own, and I followed after Vanellope as she dove off. We passed by Diet Cola Mountain, a village filled with candy people, and the starting line for the Random Roster Race. That last one, however, made me realise where we were going. I looked ahead and saw Vanellope was driving up the rainbow bridge to the exit of the game. I gulped and followed after her regardless, my nerves getting more on edge the closer we got to the terminal. Vanellope came to a stop just before the ramp that led to the bullet train made of cake.

“So, first we should stop by Tapper’s and snag some root beers”, Vanellope began listing off as I stiffly got out of my kart. Gladius seemed to share my worry. “Then we can go and mess around in Street Fighter, because I’ve always wanted to smash some cars.” Ralph nodded at that. “Then we can-” Vanellope stopped when she saw mine and Gladius’ apprehension. “Dude, what’s wrong? You’re looking like a Cy-Bug just crawled by.”

“I’m worried about Surge”, I admitted, “How can I sneak past him? He’s probably got everyone looking out for me.”

“Relax kid”, Ralph reassured, “I’ve snuck so many Cherry’s past him, I can get you by easily.”

“But that’s just fruit”, Gladius said, “What about a boy who no one knows and a flying, talking sword?” That made Ralph’s confident smile fall. “Yeah, exactly.”

“We’ll figure something out”, Vanellope said. I made an uncomfortable face, but Ralph patted me on the back gently.

“It’ll be okay, kid”, He said with a smile. I returned with a smile of my own, and began laughing as the wrecker scooped me up and set me on his shoulder. Vanellope beamed, then glitched up onto his other shoulder. Gladius hovered in line with my head, and the four of us boarded the train to Game Central Station. Ralph and Vanellope happily chatted with me as the train travelled down the cord, my mind no longer fearing Surge. As we neared GCS, we began to formulate a plan for me to sneak by the security officer, but nothing really clicked. As the train came to a stop, I felt my tension returning.

“So what are we going to do about Surge?” I asked. Ralph seemed stumped, but Vanellope smirked.

“I have an idea”, She said mischievously. I gave her a worried look, but she didn’t care as she grabbed my hand and pulled me along out of the train. I felt my nerves reach their max as we neared the station’s main floor, but Vanellope suddenly glitched through the whole terminal to the entrance to Tapper’s. She darted around the corner, and I collapsed as my body felt completely numb.

“I…Hated…That…”, I said between labour breaths. Vanellope leaned over me and gave me an unimpressed look.

“Huh, after all that kart racing, this is what makes you have jelly legs?” She said, her tone bored.

I gave her a weak glare. “My body…Isn’t…Use…To that …” I spat back, completely winded. I Iazily looked up as I heard someone approaching, and I felt relieved as Ralph ran around the corner, gasping for breath.

“Next time, kid”, he wheezed, “A little warning would be nice.”

“Ah, I got by Surge, didn’t I?” She waved off Ralph, much to the wrecker’s chagrin. As she looked around, her face twisted in confusion. “Where’s Blade Boy?” I snorted at the nickname.

Just then, over our heads, Gladius swooped in, glued to the ceiling. “I was busy trying not to be spotted on a pure white ceiling, thank you very much!” He scoffed as he descended to our level. “I stick out, unless you expected me to disguise myself as one of the Pong paddles?” Vanellope broke out into a fit of laughter, but Gladius was having none of it. He quickly lunged at the candy child, but she just glitched out of the way, making the sword clash helplessly on the ground.

“You win this round…” Gladius growled. Vanellope just giggled at him, as did I. Ralph just rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just go”, Ralph said while helping me to my feet. I thanked him quietly, and we boarded the train to Tapper’s, Gladius grumbling all the way.

~X~

And so Caleb finally meets and befriends Ralph and Vanellope. It’s the best he can get as of right now, but at least Gladius is with him to keep him safe. Hopefully this good luck lasts…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

As we walked into the bar, I kept my head down, hoping I didn’t get any attention to myself. Gladius had calmed down and was down the back of my shirt, staying absolutely silent. We entered the main part of the bar, Tapper running around like always. Ralph and Vanellope took a seat at the bar closest to the door, and I sat down next to the wrecker. Tapper immediately noticed our presence, and ran over.

“Nice to see you two again”, he said happily to the others. When he glanced at me, I sank lower. “I heard Surge was looking for this kid.” he whispered to Ralph

“Yeah, but he’s fine”, Ralph whispered, “Kid’s been through a lot, so Surge isn’t the best help right now.” Tapper looked at me and twitched his moustache sadly, which made me look up at him and smile sadly in return.

“Well, if you guys trust them, good enough for me”, he passed us three root beers, and I happily caught mine, as did Ralph and Vanellope.

“Thank you Tapper”, I said quietly. The bartender nodded at me happily, then ran off to attend to the other patrons. I stared at my root beer for a bit before taking a sip, Gladius shifted slightly, but didn’t do much more after. I could tell Ralph and Vanellope were obviously concerned for my well being, if my silence wasn’t telling enough.

Ralph nudged me slightly. “Miss home, kid?” I dropped my face on the bar and groaned, Ralph sympathetically patting my back. “I’m sorry we can’t do much to help you get home, kid, but if you just told us which game you’re from, we can help.”

I heard Vanellope glitch to the opposite side of me. “Yeah, just tell us where you came from.”

I groaned. “I can’t tell you guys”, I said sadly, “It’ll be too much for you both to handle.”

I could feel Ralph and Vanellope share a sad look, but then a determined look. “Then we’ll help you the best we can regardless. We’ll make your life here at the arcade the best it can be.” I looked up at Ralph with misty eyes, and smiled as Vanellope hopped up onto his shoulder.

“Thanks guys”, I said quietly, “Every bit counts, I guess…” I was forced into a sitting position when Gladius pulled back. “Gladius!” I shouted quietly. “What the-”

“I’m sensing Surge '', He interrupted me. I looked over my shoulder in shock, while Ralph and Vanellope looked confused,

“How do you know that?” Vanellope said. Gladius wiggled nervously.

“It’s his electricity. It’s different for everyone else. Or something.” He kept trying to pull me out of my seat. “But I can confirm he is here. He must’ve seen me, or someone else did and told him.” That’s when I snapped my head in front of me, and saw one of the cowboys looking at me weirdly.

“It was one of the cowboys”, I told the others. Ralph and Vanellope looked at the cowboy in question and gained fearful expressions.

“We need to go, now”, Ralph said with authority. Both me and Vanellope nodded, so Ralph quickly paid and we ran out just as Surge came through the curtain. I caught a quick glance at who was with him, and I felt my heart stop for a moment when I saw two Hero’s Duty soldiers with him.

“He’s got some of Calhoun’s troops with him”, I said fearfully.

“What?!” Vanellope shrieked. “But why?! He told us you didn’t hurt anyone!”

“He’s just being himself”, Ralph growled. “Even when I didn’t have anything with me, he’d stop me every time I’d leave Game Central.”

I looked up at him fearfully, worried I’d be locked up in some prison for who knows how long. We quickly hopped onto the train again, the poor thing chugging along slowly. We heard shouting behind us and looked, only for me to climb behind Ralph as Surge Protector and the two soldiers just missed us. The security officer looked at me angrily, which just made me even more terrified.

“There’s going to be someone waiting for us”, Gladius said in a panicked tone, “I just know it.”

“What are we going to do?” I asked my friends.

“I’m just going to glitch us into Street Fighter”, Vanellope said, “I’m not ruining my whole plan because Electro was too paranoid.”

Ralph looked at Vanellope in uncertainty. “Are you sure you’ll be able to handle all of us?”

Gladius looked to the front of the train. “It’s the best chance we got '', he said. We looked ahead and saw the light of Game Central approaching. “Okay, Vanellope, Caleb, both of you get on Ralph’s shoulders. Vanellope, I want you to hang on to me as hard as you can. Everyone got that?” We all nodded and got into position, more Hero’s Duty troops standing at the entrance.

“Ready?” We nodded. The train came to a stop. “NOW VANELLOPE!” Vanellope let loose a glitch that made my whole body feel like it was being ripped apart. My vision was just a mess of blue pixels, and my hearing was filled with endless electrical buzz. As it kept going, I lost my grip on reality, and passed out.

~X~

“Caleb, c’mon! Wake up!” I heard Vanellope shout. I slowly opened my eyes, light from the bright sky leaking into my eyes. As my vision cleared, I was met with the relieved faces of Ralph and Vanellope.

“Dang, kid”, Ralph let out a sigh of relief, “You scared us for a moment.”

“Like I said”, I said in a dead tone, “I’m not use to that.”

“Avoid glitching, got it”, Vanellope said with a smirk. I smirked back and quickly wrapped my arm around her and gave her a noogie. “Hey, no fair!” She shouted while laughing. As I continued my roughhousing, Ralph picked me up and separated us.

“Alright, you two, that’s enough.” He said, looking between the two of us. Me and Vanellope crossed our arms and stuck our tongues out at each other, only to start giggling after. Gladius came over just then, clearly with frayed nerves.

“I’ve looked around, and everything seems fine”, he told Ralph, “No one followed us.” He nodded and gestured to me, so when Gladius looked, he was ecstatic. “Oh Caleb. Thank goodness you’re alright.” He gave me a hug. “I was worried you’d be out for hours.”

I snorted. “I’m just glad to be awake at all. That was the worst experience of my life.” I stretched my back, but was aware of the weird look Vanellope and Ralph gave each other. After my stretch, I began to take in the surrounding area. I saw a variety of structures, from Japanese Panagotas, to Buddhist Temples, and the Great Wall of China.

“So we finally made it to Street Fighter?” I asked my friends. Vanellope nodded.

“Yep!” She cheered. “We had to head off a bit, but we made it, and aren’t that far from the bonus stage.” She zipped onto a nearby rock. “So let’s go ladies! The night won’t last forever!” I just chuckled at Vanellope’s enthusiasm, surprised she could stay fairly positive in some situations. We all followed after her, passing plenty of iconic Street Fighter locations until we came to the area where the bonus level was. It was the ever classic Destroy the Car one, the exact car sitting idly all alone.

“You guys ready?” I asked. Vanellope nodded.

“I was born ready”, Ralph said confidently. The two of them rushed up to the car, steeled themselves, then started thrashing the car. Ralph hammered the roof in, while Vanellope repeatedly punched the passenger door. I cheered them on as the poor vehicle was reduced to rubble. Ralph jumped back from the car, opposite of the rest of us, to admire his handy work. Just as he did however, I saw someone with green skin and a large mane of orange hair jump up from over the edge, and locked right on to Ralph.

It was Blanka, and he had his hands charged with electricity.

"|Ralph, look out!” I yelled. Vanellope and Gladius looked in horror and the green man landed right next to Ralph and blasted him with his electricity. Ralph screamed in pain and was blasted back, smashing into a nearby wall.

‘Blank, what the heck was that for?!” Vanellope demanded while I rushed to Ralph’s aid.

“Blank just doing what Surge say”, the brazilian brawler said.

“What the heck do you mean?” Vanellope asked in concern.

“Surge put out warning of boy”, he pointed at me, “And put up bounty to turn him in.”

I visibly paled, while Ralph stood up and growled. “So Surge really wants the kid that badly, huh? Well, bring it-” But before Ralph could finish, Gladius rushed in and full on impaled Blanka. Everyone was left speechless as Gladius removed himself from the iconic fighter.

“NEVER HARM CALEB OR ANY OF HIS FRIENDS” , he said in a dark tone. Gladius then unleashed a psychic blast that threw Blanka far over the distant mountains. He let out a sigh and faced us. “I think it’ll be best to leave.”

We all nodded in agreement. “Yeah, let’s go”, I added. We all ran towards the exit of the game. As we did, however, Hero’s Duty troops jumped out in front of us.

“Hand over the kid, Ralph”, one of them said, “Surge just wants to talk to him.”

Ralph looked back at me, then back to the soldiers. “Listen, I get Surge just wants to talk to him, but he hasn’t done anything wrong. And besides, you both know how paranoid Surge can be sometimes.” The guards shared a look, and half nodded at each other. “So look, just let us go, we don’t need things to get rough.” Gladius sheathed himself, but I could tell he wanted to just fly me away from the danger.

Both guards sighed. “Look, Ralph, we get it”, the second one said, “You care about that kid, but Surge already gave everyone the warning to the whole arcade about him. He’s not going to have an easy time getting around.”

Gladius finally unsheathed himself. “Listen here, you two. We are just lost. We don’t mean any harm, but I will defend Caleb till I am shattered.” Suddenly, the soldier’s guns were ripped out of their hands and smashed to pieces, leaving them floored. Gladius hovered back to my side. Just then, however, I felt what must’ve been a million volts course through my body, the vengeful Blanka back.

“Caleb!” Vanellope screamed. She ran to my aid, but one of the soldiers grabbed her, the other pinning Ralph. Gladius  was about to lash out, but some cowboys from Tapper used their lassos to tie up the sword. I saw Surge run up to us, a fairly large crowd behind him. I recognized Calhoun and Felix at the front, but my mind was giving away as the volts became just too much to withstand. Just before I could pass out, I saw Gladius’ jewel glow, and before I knew it, all the pain was gone. I took a deep breath and looked around frantically, but I eventually fainted.

~X~

“Caleb”, I heard Ralph’s voice echoing in my head. I groaned, only to shoot up in an upright position. I flinched as pain shot through my sides, so I gripped them tightly. “Take it easy, kid. Blanka gave you one heck of a shock.”

I looked up and saw Ralph smiling down at me, and I realised we were in Gene’s apartment. “What happened?” I asked in a daze.

“I somehow set time back a few hours”, I heard Gladius say. I looked to my left and saw the sword hover over to me.

“What?” I aid in confusion. “No, we couldn’t have.”

“Better believe it, Caleb”, Vanellope said. I saw she was fiddling with my phone, and flashed me the clock. It read 8:00 PM, making me do a double take. I shot Gladius a look of utter confusion and shock.

“But, how?!” I asked him. Gladius just shrugged.

“I’m not entirely sure”, he admitted, “I guess that’s one of my abilities, but I don’t get why it happened.”

I nodded absentmindedly at that, but my mind was still reeling. “How long was I out for?” I asked.

“At least an hour”, Ralph said, “After we got thrown back in time, I was able to come up with a reason to let us come up here.”

“Well, still, you guys are taking this surprisingly well”, I said, “I’d be losing my mind, but-”

“They know, Caleb”, Gladius said, “While you were unconscious, I explained everything to them…” My eyes widened in horror as my gaze slowly fell on the others. They both nodded, and I felt sick to my stomach. I shot up, ignoring the pain that was shooting through my sides, and bolted out of the penthouse. I ran up the stairs and onto the roof, the cabinet’s screen hanging high in the sky. I let out a shaky sigh as I sat down over the ledge, my emotions going crazy. I heard the others talking in the penthouse below, but I was so done with things I wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying. As I wallowed in my own pity, I heard the door open behind me.

“Hey…” Ralph said sadly. I didn’t look over at him, so he walked up and sat down next to me. “Listen…I get you must be upset-”

“How did you take the news?” I interrupted. He looked at me in shock, but looked away.

“Well, it was a shock at first”, he admitted, “But, considering how my life is, I’m not that surprised. From what Blade Boy told us, it seems like it’s just a bigger version of the arcade.” He smiled at me to boost my spirits, but I didn’t budge. Ralph frowned, but then seemed to realise something. “Wait here.” He ran off back downstairs, then came back up with two large Pac-Man cherries. He sat back down next to me.

“I stuck these in Gene’s cooler a while back”, he said. He offered me one. I looked the fruit over, and carefully took it and had a bit.

“It’s pretty good”, I mumbled. Ralph gave a small smile, leaning back and looking out the screen. I did the same, and let my eyes wander to all the arcade that was visible. The colourful lights of the other machines, the neon lights along the walls, and the retro 80’s carpet gave me a weird feeling inside of me.

“You don’t have to be worried, kid”, Ralph said to break the silence, “The sword made a lot of good points, and honestly, hearing what’s out there made me kinda interested.”

I looked up at Ralph with sad eyes. “But you shouldn’t know this. I should still be at home.” I was trying my best to hold back tears. Ralph caught this and wrapped an arm around me.

“You know, I sorta thought my hero work wasn’t done”, he said. I looked up at him in confusion. “While you were out, me and Baroness Booger Face promised Gladius we’d help you two get home, even if that meant somehow leaving the arcade.” My eyes widened in shock. “And, well, I guess I’m in the mood for another adventure.”

“You better bet it, Stinkbrain.” The two of us turned around to see Vanellope skip up to us, with Gladius hovering close beside her. “After seeing what this guy can do”, she jabbed a thumb at Gladius, “I’m up for anything.”

I looked between the two of them in utter shock, before I felt some tears of joy leak from my eyes. Suddenly, I wrapped my arms around Ralph for a hug, something he happily reciprocated. “Thank you…” I said through it, “I promise you guys won’t be disappointed.” Vanellope quickly jumped in and joined us, beaming. After a bit, Ralph released me and set me on my feet. Vanellope hopped onto his shoulder, and I smiled up at the both of them.

“Are you two sure you want to join me?” I asked with hesitation, “We did just meet.”

Vanellope scoffed playfully. "It only took me and Ham Hands one night to become best friends.” Ralph crossed his arms and nodded. “So this is nothing.”

I beamed. “Good.” I turned to Gladius. “Is it a good time to get a move on, Gladdy?”

Gladius hummed in thought, spun around, then nodded. “Yes.” He came up to me. “Open a portal in the direction of the screen.” I nodded and grasped his handle with all my strength. I turned to look behind me to Ralph and Vanellope. “Are you both ready?” They smiled and nodded. I nodded back, faced the screen, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. Then, with all my might, I slashed Gladius at the thin air. Nothing happened for a moment, then a portal suddenly opened in front of us. I looked back at the others, beaming.

“I did it!” I cheered, “I didn’t think-” But I was cut off as the portal began to suck the four into it.

“Not again!” Gladius said fearfully. We all yelled in fright as the portal pulled us in and closed behind us, leaving an empty roof.

~X~

And so we say goodbye to Litwack’s Arcade, but welcome Ralph and Vanellope to the little multiverse jumping group. As they move from one world to another, they’ll meet many more friends and enemies. Let’s hope this next world isn’t as scary for Caleb and Gladius.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

The four of us spun through the portal, screaming our heads off as we did.

“You know, I’d thought I’d be more used to this since this is my third time!!!” I cried, hugging Gladius tightly. Ralph was flailing around like a plastic bag caught in the breeze, while Vanellope desperately tried to hold on. I could find some joy in this, as I laughed at my two new friend’s peril. Just when it seemed Vanellope was about to puke, weakening her grip on the wrecker, the portal spit us out in a turquoise sky. We all yelled as we slammed into the ground.

Well, Ralph did. He shook off his pain and rushed to grab us. He caught Vanellope and me, but had to ignore Gladius as he was heading blade down. The sword was stabbed into the ground, but he quickly pulled himself out as Ralph set me and Vanellope down.

“We really need to get better with those things…” Gladius said as he dusted me down. Vanellope, meanwhile, rushed to a nearby bush and hurled into it, making the rest of us cringe.

“You okay, kid?” Ralph asked the racer. She dizzily stumbled away from the bush, but then shook her head and beamed.

“Okay? I feel great!” She cheered, “That was awesome!” She glitched over to Gladius. “Let’s do it again!”

Gladius cleared his throat. “I understand you had fun, Vanellope. But if we open too many portals too soon, we could really mess with the multiverse.”

Vanellope crossed her arms and looked down, frowning. “Darn…” She noticed something up with the ground. “Wait, is it just me, or does this place seem…Weird.” We all began to look around at our surroundings, and they were definitely odd. Slightly faded colours dominated everything, from the aforementioned turquoise sky, dark blue hills off in the distance, and the green grass beneath us. The rest of the plant life was the most strange, as it all looked two-dimensional, thanks to the lack of shadows and their solid colours.

“Well, none of the games at Litwak’s looked like this”, Ralph said, “But still, how the heck does any of this work?” He walked up to a nearby tree and walked around it, utterly baffled when the thing somehow had depth.

“Well, I live surrounded by endless candy, and even I think this is weird”, Vanellope said as Ralph joined us again. “Where exactly are we, anyway?”

I started looking around, and noticed a road not far from us. “Well, where there’s a road,there usually is a town. Let’s go.” The others nodded, and we made our way over to the road. Vanellope had jumped onto Ralph’s shoulder, and when we reached the stretch of pavement, I looked both ways. Nothing was to the right, but to the left was a city, far off in the distance. Closer to us was a road sign on the opposite side of the street. I crossed the street, the others following closely behind, and we began to head down alongside the road. As we did, Ralph and Vanellope began to take guesses as to what the world could hold.

“What do you think, kid?”, Ralph asked the tiny girl, “Hoping to run into…Princesses?”

“What, ewww, no!” Vanellope gagged, “I bet we’ll run into a giant, smelly ape!”

Ralph rolled his eyes playfully. “Suuuure we will. And if we’re lucky, he might be stuck with a rotten, little cavity.” He tickled Vanellope under the chin, earning a giggle from the girl. I looked back at them and smiled, only to slam right into one of the posts that held up the sign. Ralph and vanellope snapped to me while Gladius bolted over me.

“Caleb! Are you okay?!” he asked in concern. I shook my head and opened my eyes.

“Yeah”, I groaned, “Not the first time I’ve eaten pole before.” I slowly stood up again, shaking my head to make sure I didn’t knock anything loose. I felt my glasses get taken off my face, and I looked up to see Gladius examining them.

“Well, these aren’t broken, luckily”, he said, “But they’re filthy! How do you even see out of these?” He went over to Ralph and began to use the wrecker’s shirt to clean them.

“It doesn’t bother me”, I said, putting my hands on my hips. I looked back up at the sign, but without my glasses, it was nothing but a blurry mess. “Can I have my glasses back, I can’t see anything!” Gladius scoffed and handed my glasses, so I put them back on, and began to read the sign. In big letters, it read a simple phrase…

Welcome to TREMORTON

I felt my heart skip a beat. "Oh boy, here we go again”, I said, gripping my racing heart.

“Is something wrong, Caleb?’ Vanellope asked. Gladius sighed.

“He’s trying to keep himself from going ‘fanboy’”, the sword explained. Ralph and Vanellope ‘Ah’ed’ in response, then looked at me. I had the biggest smile on my face, rambling incoherently. The others shared a look at my state, so Ralph grabbed a hold of me and shook me, snapping me out of my trance.

“Sorry about that guys”, I said sheepishly, “I just, I can’t believe where we are.”

“And that is…?” Vaneliope asked, letting the question hang.

I straightened myself out. “Well, gang. I’d like to welcome you to Tremorton, the main setting of one of my most favourite, if not my top favourite, cartoon, My Life as a Teenage Robot.” I finished with an over exaggerated bow, earning a chuckle from Ralph and Gladius, and a giggle from Vanellope. I stood back up, beaming. “Well, we won’t get anything done just standing here, let’s go!” I dashed ahead towards the city, the others following closely behind.

~X~

The four of us all walked into the bustling town, citizens walking along the sidewalks, cars driving down the road, and birds chirping happily in the trees. Ralph and Vanellope looked around taking in the sights, while I was just trying to not blow my top. My fanboy side was desperately trying to take over, trying to get me to scream and run around at everything around me. I felt Vanellope hop onto my shoulder.

“Must be hard to not blow your top”, Vanellope said smugly.

I nodded quickly. “I’m still trying not to do it with you and Ralph here…By my side…Being my friends…” I started to crash as the fanboy in me was coming out full force. Ralph put a reassuring hand on my back, and that helped me calm back down. I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. “Thanks, Ralph.”

“Don’t mention it, kid”, He said with a shrug, “So where exactly are we going?”

My smile fell as Ralph hit me with that.”Uhhh, I don’t know, actually”, I admitted, much to the other’s frustration. I smiled sheepishly at them. “I guess I just was that desperate to fanboy I… uhhh… Forgot to actually go somewhere. Oops.” I chuckled awkwardly as the others gave me flat looks. I turned away from them, blushing in embarrassment. But then I thought of something. I spun back around to Gladius, Vanellope nearly falling off my shoulder.

“Gladius, I need you to fly up high”, I said, “I need you to try and find this place called ‘Mesmers”. It’s a restaurant around here, so I think it’s a good place to gather our bearings.”

Gladius nodded and flew up high, the rest of us watching him. He remained up there for a moment, looking around at the city before coming back down.

“I saw it, follow me”, He dashed ahead suddenly, catching us off guard. I did a double take as everyone sped off, but I quickly recovered and followed after them. It took a bit, with us constantly having to use crosswalks, but we eventually made it to the restaurant. It was exactly as it was in the show, with the large cat styled front entrance.

“Gang, welcome to Mesmers”, I said happily,opening the door for them. Each of them gave a ‘Thank you’ in return, and I followed them in. I looked around the establishment for any empty seating, and luckily found some in off to the side. We made our way over and took a seat. Just as we all settled, Vanellope asked a question that’s been burning in my mind.

“Sooooo… What are we going to do now?” She asked. I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it. I opened it again, then closed it. I was stuck on this loop for a while, trying to come up with something. As I silently with others looked at me in confusion, the front door to Mesmers opened, turning my attention to it. As I watched who walked in, I went into a complete shutdown. Walking into the restaurant was a girl with completely white skin. She had light blue hair with a matching top and skirt, leaving her belly exposed. Her hair was styled as pointed pigtails, and her pupils resembled bolts. It took all my power not to scream, and Gladius quickly noticed.

“I take it you know her?” He asked.

“Yes”, I squeaked, “That’s Jenny, the robot superhero of this world.” I took a big breath, looking away. “She was the first superhero I ever watched on TV.”

Ralph hummed thoughtfully, passing a glance at the robot girl. “Well it looks like you’ll get to say hello”, he said with a smirk. I snapped my head back at Jenny, and my eyes bulged when she was standing right next to our table, looking us over in curiosity.

“Who are you guys?” She asked. I felt my heart pound on my chest like a jackhammer. I was going to go full fanboy, buy Gladius luckily caught me.

“We’re from out of town”, he said quickly, “My name is Gladius, and this is Ralph and Vanellope.” The wrecker and racer waved at her, Jenny returning it happily, but then turned to me.

‘What about you?” She squinted at me, making me lock up.

“This is Caleb”, Gladius said happily, putting a wing on my shoulder. “He has heard and seen many of your adventures over the news, and is a very big fan.” I nodded rapidly, trying to keep my nerves in check. Jenny looked down at me and gave me a small smile.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you guys”, she said, “I heard from someone that there were some weirdos walking around town, but I guess you guys are cool.” We all gave her a flat look at the mention of ‘weirdos’. “Welcome to Tremorton!”

Vanellope jumped off her seat and began to walk around Jenny, much to the robot’s confusion. “Huh”, Vanellope knocked on Jenny’s metal leg, then smiled up at her. “I like you already, Nuts & Bolts.”

Jenny shook her head and looked at Vanellope in shock. “Excuse me, what?”

“Don’t worry about her, Jenny”, said with a stretch, “She calls everyone she likes names. Ain’t that right, Kid of the Candy Corn?”

Vanellope huffed and stuck her tongue out playfully. “You bet, Stinkbrain.”

I chuckled at their jabs at each other, but Jenny just looked completely confused. She was then about to say something, but was swiftly interrupted when a TV on a mechanical arm revealed itself from her top.

“XJ9!” Barked a woman’s voice. “Where have you been? You’re late for your weekly training!”

Jenny groaned. “I was just checking up on things, jeez mom. I’ll be home soon.” The screen reentered her body, and Jenny’s face twisted in frustration.

“What was that about?” Ralph asked. Jenny just sighed and massaged her temples.

“My mom”, she fumed, “Even after saving the world countless times, I still need to ‘train’ apparently. I just want a break…” I stood from my seat and rubbed Jenny’s arm reasurredly, smiling up at her.

“It’s cool, Jenny”, I said, “I get that’s hard, but your mom just wants you to be prepared, that’s all.”

Jenny looked at me, then sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’ve been through enough not to take her for granted.” She then realised something. “Wait, do you guys have a place to stay?” The rest of us shared looks, then turned back to her and shook our heads. She looked us over for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

“Well, the hotel got trashed during the last…Battle I had…” She said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “So, I think my mom would be cool to let you guys stay with us for a few days.”

I beamed up at her, but Gladius luckily reigned me in. “That would be wonderful, Jenny. Thank you.”

Jenny smiled and nodded, nodding her head towards the exit. I smiled, and the four of us followed after her out the restaurant and down the street.

~X~

Jenny’s house was just as I remembered it, with it being the biggest house in the neighbourhood. Jenny led us up to the front door, only for it to fly open just as we reached it. Who did it was none other than Jenny’s mother, Nora Wakeman. She stood just shorter than me, but her tall messy white hair made her just taller. She wore her iconic yellow high heels, lab coat, black leggings and red lens glasses. She didn’t look too happy.

“XJ9, must I remind you what happens every Friday?” Nora said with authority. Just just scowled.

“Well I got a call, and went to check it out. I’m back.” She walked into the house, still scowling. Nora, however, did a double take when she saw us.

“XJ9, who are your friends?” The scientist asked her daughter. She stopped in her tracks and spun around. She walked back up to her mother and pointed each of us out.

“This is Ralph, Vanellope, Gladius and Caleb”, she said, “I ran into them in Mesmers, and they said they’re from out of town. I just thought they could spend a few days here with the hotel’s…State…” Nora looked all of us over, but it felt like she stared at me for longer. After a few moments of looking at us, she sighed.

“Fine, they can stay”, she said firmly, “But they sleep on the couches.” We all nodded, then entered the home after Jenny. She began to show us around the house, and much to my surprise, Jenny’s sisters XJ1 to XJ8 were running around helping with things. I smiled and waved at each of them, and soon Jenny brought us up to her room.

“Welcome to my humble abode!” Jenny announced. The four of us began to look around, and I immediately walked over to the window and looked out over the whole city. I heard Jenny walk up next to me, smiling at me. “Like the view?’

I nodded silently, smiling like mad. Just then, however, someone just popped upright on the other side of the window. It was Brad, Jenny’s best friend.

“Hey Jenny!” He shouted. I jumped a good few feet in the air and fell on my back, staring up at the ceiling in shock.

“Brad?!” Jenny yelled in shock. She quickly opened the window and pulled the boy inside. The teenager looked down at me and cringed.

“Sorry about that dude”, he said sheepishly. He held out a hand to me, and I gladly accepted it, and Brad helped me to my feet. “I didn’t expect Jenny to have anyone over. What’s your deal?”

“Brad”, Jenny hissed, “They’re from out of town, and with what happened at the hotel, I offered them my place for a few days.” She noticed something grabbing on to Brad’s back, and pulled off who turned out to be Tuck, Brad’s younger brother. “If you two were hoping to hang out today, you’ll have to ask my mom.”

Brad slapped his hand on his face. “I completely forgot about that!” He groaned. I only let out a quiet chuckle, then watched as Tuck ran up to Vanellope.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“Name’s Vanellope Von Schweetz, the best racer around!” She said proudly, making Ralph roll his eyes. “What about you, kid?”

“Name’s Tuck”, he happily said, “And I’m your best guy for alien invasions!” When Brad and Jenny snickered behind him, he sharply glared.

“XJ9!!!” Nora shouted. The three residents of Tremorton jumped.

“Well, I need to go”, she ran to her bedroom door, Brad and Tuck right behind her. She waved back at me. "I’ll see you guys later!”

I waved back to her as she left, my heart racing.

~X~

It took a couple of hours, but eventually Jenny came back up to her room. Me, Gladius, Ralph and Vanellope had chosen to pass the time by playing card games, but when the teenage robot walked back in, looking utterly exhausted, and flopped onto her bed, I walked up to her.

“Everything okay, Jenny?” I asked, kneeling down to give her a face of concern. She just sighed and rolled over, looking right up at the ceiling.

“Well, training was painful”, she started, “Then after that Brad and Tuck wanted to hangout, then Sheldon joined us, the Space Bikers attacked, and I was just done with the day.”

I frowned sadly and looked out the window. The sun had almost disappeared over the horizon, so the sky glew with a warm orange. I turned back to face Jenny.

“Well, you obviously had a rough day, Jenny”, I said, “If you want, we can go.”

Jenny sighed but nodded. “Thanks.” She let out a yawn. I nodded and gestured to the others to follow. We swiftly left Jenny’s room, Gladius turning off the light as we left.We made our way downstairs to the living room, extra blankets and pillows already laid out on the couches. Gladius quickly swooped ahead and made the couch comfortable for me. Ralph, meanwhile, just grabbed some extra pillows and set them on the floor, laying down comfortably. Vanellope hopped on top of him with a blanket in hand, and Gladius leaned up on the end of the couch I was on.

“So, what do you guys think?” I asked. Ralph hummed.

“Well, I definitely like it so far”, he said, “What about you, kid?”

“I like Jenny”, she said happily, “A robot and a superhero. Awesome!”

“I must say, it is nice so far”, Gladius said calmly, “But Jenny mentioning these ‘Space Bikers’ concerns me.”

“Meh, they aren’t the biggest threat out there”, I said nonchalantly, “With Jenny, no matter what happens, we’ll be safe.” The others mumbled in agreement, and slowly they all fell asleep one by one. I was the last one who finally let sleep take me.

~X~

And so we find ourselves in Tremorton, home of the Teenage Robot Jenny Wakeman. Already she’s met the gang, but more has yet to come. Hopefully things stay, as Gladius would put it, ‘Calm and Relaxing’.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I slowly awoke to the feeling of something heavy resting on my abdomen. I groggily opened my eyes, and looked to see XJ1, Jenny’s sister modelled after an infant, was looking down at me happily. I gave her a tired smile, but I heard a quick huff from someone else, who reached out four arms and picked up the infant.

“XJ1, what did I tell you about bothering our guests?” a posh ’diva-esque’ voice said. I looked over and saw a robot with four arms, a single wheel to balance on, a tall antenna, and lavender accents. She gave the infant a stern face, and XJ1 pouted. The lavender robot just sighed and placed the infant down, who happily hopped away.

Gladius, who was floating above me, chuckled. “Nothing to worry about, m’lady. Caleb here sleeps like a log, so the infant’s wake up call was necessary.” I swatted at the sword, who scoffed and then sheathed himself down my shirt. I rolled my eyes at him, but then smiled up at the four armed robot.

“Nice to finally meet some of Jenny’s sisters”, I said as I stretched, “Especially you, XJ4.”

The four armed robot looked at me suspiciously. “Sure…” She leaned forward right into my face. “I’m not sure who you are, but not a lot of people know about us.”

“Well…” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “When news gets out that one of the world’s protectors was hypnotised by an alien dictator and fused with her sisters, you left an impression.”

XJ4 cringed at the memory. “Yeah…Not my finest moment.” A smash was heard from the kitchen.

“Sorry!” I heard Ralph shout. XJ4 growled and booked it, leaving me by my lonesome in the living room. As I got up, the small XJ3, the toddler with a single eye and pincer hands, ran up to me alongside XJ2, the moving plasma cannon. They both looked up at me curiously, and I couldn’t help but smile at the adorable XJ’s.

“So, you’re the new kid Jenny brought, huh?” Said a somewhat snarky voice behind me. I turned around and was met with the dual-monitor head of XJ6, the older sister of Jenny who was filled with jealousy for her youngest sister, Jenny.

“Uhh… Yeah”, I didn’t know what to say as she crawled over the couch with her spider legs, looking me over with a glare.

“Of course everyone’s favourite has to bring a boy home”, XJ6 spat, “I bet you’re so happy the world’s greatest hero came and saved your butt.”

I looked her over, now seeing why she and Jenny tended to get into such heated arguments, but I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

“I’m gonna be straight with you, XJ6”, I said bluntly, “I feel bad for you.” Her glare slightly shifted to a confused frown. “It wasn’t right of Nora to lock you and your sisters in the basement. And between you and me”, I stood up and walked past her to the kitchen, whispering into her ear, "You have a cooler design than Jenny.” I smirked as she looked at me in shock, a light blush forming on her monitors. She then grumbled and walked off. I smiled, gave off a light chuckle, and then entered the kitchen, XJ2 and XJ3 still at my feet. It was absolute chaos, as XJ1 was rolling around the floor, whistling happily; XJ4 was frantically trying to not have the whole house collapse down, especially as Ralph was trying (and failing) to make breakfast. Vanellope sat at the table with XJ5, the flying radio chatting up a storm; Nora sat with them, but didn’t seem to care about the madness unfolding right in front of her. I looked at her curiously, then decided to sit next to her.

“Morning, Nora”, I said happily, yet with a hint of uneasiness. She looked up at me and smiled.

“Good morning, my lad!” She greeted me happily. I passed a glance into the kitchen, XJ4 absolutely livid at the wrecker.

“You seem awfully calm considering…” I gestured to the chaos before us. Nora just shrugged.

“Meh, you get used to it”, she took a sip of her coffee. As she did, a realisation popped into my head.

“Oh yeah, aren’t Jenny’s sisters usually powered off in your basement?” I asked. Nora made a flat look, and then explained.

“It was like that before, yes”, she started, “But after XJ9 accidentally went to Cluster Prime and Smytus’ forces attacked, it made me realise I can’t always rely on Jenny.” She looked to her right, and I followed her gaze. Hanging on the wall was a photo that showed Nora surrounded by all the XJ’s, all of them beaming (even XJ7, her usual frown flipped upside down).

“After Lotus was able to brainwash XJ1-8”, she continued, letting out a sad sigh, “I realised I needed to actually let the other girls get a chance, so after XJ9 saved them all, I promised them they could all actually be a…”

“Family?” I finished for her. She nodded.

“Yes. I felt like it was best to give XJ9 the back up she needed, so the others have been helping around the house, and with saving the world.” I felt a weight suddenly appear on my shoulder, and I looked to see XJ3 perched upon it, still looking at me with awestruck wonder. “It was new at first, but eventually I got used to it.” She laughed. “That’s what you get when you’re a mother of nine.”

I smiled at her warmly. “That’s very cool of you, Nora”, I praised, “I’m glad you decided to give them a chance.” I felt my smile fall. “Where do they sleep?”

“Oh, they still sleep in the basement”, she said, “But we all pitched in to make it more…comfortable.” She smiled. I felt XJ3 hug the side of my head, making me smile and Nora giggle. My attention was taken away from the cycloptic robot as I watched Jenny enter the kitchen, yawning heavily with bags under her eyes. She took a seat next to me and smiled.

“Hey guys…” She said, clearly exhausted.

“Hey, Jenny”, I said apprehensively, “Did you…Sleep well?”

She let out another yawn. “Oh yeah, I did.” She rubbed her eyes. “I was out like a light…”

Me and Nora shared a look, unconvinced. Even XJ3 looked at her with a bored look. “Okay, Jenny”, I said with an unimpressed tone, “What actually happened?”

She looked at me with her drained eyes, then sighed. “Hero work”, she mumbled, crossing her arms. “Vexus and her cronies were causing trouble on Cluster Prime, so Vega called for help. Then Gigawatt showed up again in Las Vegas. And then Himcules started smashing ruins in Greece.” I felt my jaw hang open in utter shock.

“All that happened in one night?! ” I yelled in confusion. Everyone else in the kitchen looked at us, and winced when they saw Jenny’s state. XJ4 quickly rolled up to her sister, face twisted in concern.

“Sis, you okay?” XJ4 asked her sister. Jenny let out a loud yawn, but smiled and nodded regardless.

“Yeah, just a rough night of hero stuff”, she stood up, “I’m just going to have a shower…” She left, stretching and yawning like mad, leaving everyone in the kitchen. XJ4, doing something I would never expect, gained a determined look.

“Sister meeting!” She shouted, quickly rushing over to the counter to pick up XJ1. The infant beeped happily as she did so, but XJ4 just pressed on and ran towards the basement. XJ3 hopped off my shoulder and followed after her, XJ2 close behind. Vanellope looked up at XJ5.

“What the heck is a ‘Sister meeting’?” The racer asked. XJ5 looked at her flatly.

“You’ll see…” She said with worry. Me, Ralph and Vanellope shared a confused look before looking at Nora. She just shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’m only their mother.”

~X~

I curiously followed after XJ4 as she made her way to the basement door, XJ8, the largest of the sisters, suddenly emerged from a door to my left. I was caught so off guard I stumbled back and fell on my butt. The steel giant looked down at me and offered a hand, something I gladly accepted.

“MY APOLOGIES FOR STARTLING YOU, GUEST”, XJ8 said her robotic, monotonous voice, “XJ4 HAS CALLED A SISTER MEETING, SO ALL XJ UNITS ARE TO GO TO THE BASEMENT.”

“Yeah, I was actually wondering that”, I said, “And…” I looked behind me to see Ralph, Vanellope and Nora looking at me suspiciously, “And I was wondering if I could join you guys and help?” I finished with an awkward smile. XJ8, being as emotionless as ever, stared down at me. I actually felt kind of uncomfortable. But I snapped out of it when she put a hand on my shoulder.

“WE APPRECIATE YOUR REQUEST, BUT…”, she stopped herself and looked over her shoulder, XJ4 just giving XJ8 a weird nod before 4 darted down the stairs. 8 turned back to me. “WE WILL NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET.” The massive robot gestured for the others to follow, and we all did. XJ8 walked down the wooden stairs, her weight making them creak, and we all found ourselves in the basement, which was completely different. There was a section for each XJ-Sister, each coloured after them with what they liked. In the centre was a table of sorts, the older XJ’s sitting in it. Meanwhile, XJ1, 2 and 3 played in what seemed to be XJ1’s area, filled with toys and the like. XJ4 looked at us and rolled over.

“I’m actually glad you all came”, she said, her voice filled with relief. Nora looked at her funny.

“XJ4, what is this all about?” The scientist asked her robotic daughter.

“No time to worry about that, I called the boys, just sit”, she suddenly grabbed me by the arm and set me in the chair between her and XJ6. I looked at the one armed robot, and she looked away from me with an embarrassed blush visible on her screen. I just smiled at her, then looked around the table. Each of the older siblings sat in a chair designed for them (except XJ5, who just flew around) and I watched as Brad, Tuck and Sheldon, the boy who had way too big of a crush on Jenny, ran down the stairs and took their seats.

Brad took a deep breath. “What the heck was this about, XJ4?” He asked in confusion.

XJ4 cleared her throat, then stood up from her seat. “It has come to my attention, and most of you should have noticed too, that something is wrong with Jenny.” The others all shared looks, then looked back at XJ4 in confusion. Gladius wiggled slightly to get a better look at everything. XJ4 sighed. “We’ve all seen it. How she goes to school like she hadn’t slept for days. She goes out almost every night fighting crime and being a hero, but she doesn’t have much time to herself anymore. She can barely even hang out with her friends. Is that right, you three?” She looked right at the three boys.

Brad cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, Jenny hasn’t been in the best condition.” Tuck and Sheldon nodded sadly.

Nora looked absolutely baffled. “And I wasn’t made aware of this because?” She looked at her daughters. They shifted uncomfortably, but as I looked around the table, I shook my head.

“Listen”, I started, beginning to stand up. “This obviously a problem for family and close friends, so we”, I gestured to me and my three friends, “Are going to get going.” I quickly took my leave, Ralph and Vanellope following quickly behind. We left the basement, and when I closed the door, I let out a sigh of relief. As I walked back to the living room, Gladius decided to speak up.

“That was a good call Caleb”, Gladius said happily, removing himself from the back of my shirt.”It’s best we let this stay in the family. We just met them,so it’s best we don’t involve ourselves.” I nodded at that, and watched as Ralph and vanellope returned to the kitchen. I just remained on the couch, my head processing all my thoughts. I decided to take out my phone and began scrolling through it, searching the empty device for something that wasn’t there. I sighed sadly, feeling my eyes misting slightly.

“Is everything okay, Caleb?”

I snapped behind me and saw Jenny standing there, looking at me in confusion. I sniffed then wiped my eyes.

“It’s nothing…” I said, my voice somewhat strained. “I’m just homesick. This trip here wasn’t really planned…”

Jenny carefully looked me over, her eyes searching for something. She then looked ahead, a slight frown on her face.

“You’re from another universe, aren’t you?” She asked. I felt my heart stop, and the sound of silverware dropping only added to the shock. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ralph, Vanellope and Gladius look around the corner in shock. Jenny looked at me expecting an answer.

“How do you know?” I asked in stunned shock. Jenny shrugged.

“Back when Calamitous was kidnapping other heroes during that whole toy bot thing”, she explained, “Spongebob went off on his own when we saved Fairy World. I followed him, and I basically overheard everything.” She looked at me. “You live with Lightness and Darkness, right?”

I nodded, then relaxed. “Well, I’m glad I don’t have to tell you anything then.” I looked at her with an awkward smile. “I’m guessing it was kinda obvious, huh?”

Jenny nodded. ”Yeah, considering your friends”, she jabbed a thumb at them, “Kinda stick out.” She then gained a sudden guilty face, and looked at them. “No offence.”

“None taken”, Ralph said with a smile, “It’s pretty hard for me to not stick out.”

Vanellope happily glitched over to the arm of the couch and sat on it, catching Jenny off guard slightly. “It’s so cool to meet an actual superhero!” The racer gushed.

Jenny smiled down at Vanellope and ruffled her hair playfully. “Where are you guys from?” She asked, looking at Ralph.

“We’re from an arcade”, he explained, “I’m the bad guy of my game, and she’s a racer in her’s.” He gestured to the spunky girl. Jenny smiled up at him, then looked at gladius.

“What about you?” She asked the blade.

“I’m with Caleb”, he said, “I was trapped in a rock inside of Lightness and Darkness’ castle, but this fine boy saved me. I swore to be his personal companion since then.”

Jenny shook her head in disbelief. “You live in a castle?! Lucky!” she punched my arm lightly, making me chuckle. She then looked around, her face twisting in confusion. “Where is everyone?”

“They’re all downstairs”, I explained, “XJ4 didn’t like the state you were in, so she seems to have everyone together to plan something out.”

Jenny let out a groan. “They always do this…” She facepalmed. “Ever since they’ve been allowed to run around like me, XJ4 has really been too keen on making sure I get a break.” Jenny then sighed sadly. “I’m grateful, but usually everything she does just makes a disaster I have to clean up.”

I looked at Jenny in semi shock, not sure what to say. Ralph looked at her sadly and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and Gladius looked away in thought. Vanellope, however, had an idea pop into her head, evident with her face lighting up. She suddenly glitched back towards the basement door, leaving the rest of us confused. After a moment, she ran back with XJ3 and XJ4 with her. I cocked an eyebrow.

“What is this about, Vanellope?” I asked.

“I just thought it would be a good idea to help”, she said with a smile. XJ4 rolled up to Jenny.

“Your new friend gave me such a wonderful idea”, the cleaner bot explained, “We should do a girl’s day!” She pulled Jenny onto her feet, startling the superhero. XJ4 dusted off Jenny, beaming brightly. “All of us will head out, go shopping, everything girls typically do!” Jenny looked down at the candy racer, who flashed her a goofy smile and double thumbs up. Jenny made an overdramatic frown as XJ4 dragged her away, me and Ralph sharing a look and a shrug. Gladius just looked around, utterly confused.

~X~

While all the XJ’s all left with a visibly reluctant Jenny, me and the others chose to explore Tremorton for the day. I smiled as the I saw the sisters drag Jenny, and I just chuckled as she mouthed “Help me” at me. I just shook my head at her, earning a frown in return. Ralph noticed and looked between me and Jenny.

“You sure she’ll be okay?” The wrecker asked me, scratching the back of his head. “She didn’t seem too…thrilled.”

I looked up at him with a frown. “It’s probably just how Jenny’s sisters are. The few episodes they played a big role in usually had them be the cause of some sort of mess Jenny had to clean up.” I sighed. “It didn’t help that the last episode of the series had Nora’s rival, Dr.Lotus, was actually able to turn all the XJ’s against their own mother and sister.” I looked over my shoulder at the large pack of robots. “So I guess Jenny’s just worried they might turn.”

Ralph, Vanellope (Who was on Ralph’s shoulder), and Gladius all shared an uneasy look.

“That’s… concerning”, Gladius said with worry, the two arcade citizens nodding in agreement. I nodded too, but with a more somber feeling. The others were very quick to notice 

“Something wrong, Caleb?” Vanellope asked.

“Just…memories…”, I mumbled, “Watching this show when I was younger and how it impacted me. I guess just actually being here…” I paused. “...makes me wish I could go back.”

The others shared looks between each other as I walked ahead a bit. I hugged myself tightly, memories of what happened that led me here…

~~~

I had just slammed the door to my room, tears running down my face and my face twisted into a furious scowl. I sniffed hard and wiped my eyes as I began to look through my closet for my backpack. When I pulled it out, I began to pack as much stuff into it, from clothes, art supplies, and stuffed animals. I then made my way to the bathroom and packed my toothbrush and toothpaste, the yelling from my parents room not getting any better.

You did this to yourselves, I thought to myself. I growled as I made my way down the stairs and walked out the front door, slamming it hard behind me. I got into my car, started it. I passed one last glance at my home, then scowled and drove away, the argument I had with my parents still ringing in my ears.

~~~

I snapped out of my thoughts when I felt a weight on my shoulder. Vanellope was looking into my eyes, the sadness and pain clearly upsetting her. She hugged me tight, and I felt my eyes beginning to water. I quickly brought her up to my chest and hugged her tightly, tears rolling down my cheeks. Ralph walked up to me, picked me up, then set me on his shoulder. I let out a long relaxed breath and leaned against my friend’s head, the tears stopping. Gladius floated up in front of me, and I looked at him directly into his jewel.

“We got your back, Caleb”, he said, bobbing closer. “You don’t have to tell us yet. But we will help you mend those bridges and fix those memories when you finally do.” He looked upon the two game characters. “Right, you too?”

Ralph nodded, while Vanellope looked up at me with her innocence filled eyes. “Yeah”, she said, smiling up at me. I smiled back and hugged her again, my body relaxing. As I took a deep breath, I looked back over my shoulder, and smiled.

~X~

The four of us explored the whole town, checking out everything it had to offer. We went back to Mesmers and actually ordered a meal, we checked out the prison (from a safe distance, obviously), and even visited the high school. Soon, we found ourselves at the mall, and I could tell from the slightly damaged front door that XJ* had some trouble getting in. We stepped past the wreckage and entered the mall, only to be stopped at the sight before us. The whole XJ gang were looking ashamed as Jenny furiously apologised to some cops. As I looked around, I noticed holes in the walls, some blown water pipes leaking, and many angry citizens. The four of us put the pieces together and cringed, walking up to the obviously stressed robot. I hopped off Ralph’s shoulder and walked up to Jenny just as the cops walked away.

“Hey Jenny…”, I said apprehensively, “What… Uhhh, what happened?”

She turned around and looked down at me, her face painted with misery and embarrassment. “Oh, hey guys”, she greeted, voice strained, “You know, just enjoying some sister quality time.” She passed an angry glance at her sisters, who all ducked their heads in shame. I frowned.

“Didn’t go too well?” I asked. Her eye twitched ever so slightly, but it felt like I was the only one who noticed. I sighed, then turned to the sisters. “Well, we came by to see how you were doing, but if it’s not so good…”, I shared a look with Jenny, “We all should be getting back to your place.”

Everyone nodded, the sisters sadly and Jenny rigidly, and we left the mall. It took a bit, but eventually we made it back to the Wakeman residence. All the sisters bid Jenny a quick goodnight and went down to the basement, leaving the five of us alone.

“How are you holding up?” Ralph asked. Jenny let out a long, loud sigh.

“Bad”, she said in irritation, “The day started fine, but then 5 and 6 got into a fight over a dress, 1 started crying, and 8 kept harassing other customers. I tried to get them to stop, but 4 insisted she handle it. One thing led to another, and soon the mall was trashed.” Her eye twitched again. “I’m just so done with today!” Her eyes began to flash blue, making her shake with fury. Suddenly, she stomped out of the house and blasted off into the sky, her distant screaming making us cringe.

“I feel bad for her”, Gladius said, “Such a sweet girl, brought down by so much.” The rest of us nodded and made our way back to the couch. All of the bedding was still there, so it didn’t take long for use to get back into our spots. Ralph fell asleep pretty quickly, Vanellope and Gladius shortly after. I, however, just stared at the ceiling, my head filled with static. I just quietly groaned and rolled over, letting my head clear up. I eventually fell asleep just as I watched Jenny walk back into the house, looking dead inside.

~X~

And thus another day in Tremorton wraps up in a… slightly depressing way. But this will pick up, don’t worry. Next time, a familiar face returns, one that invokes fear to all on earth.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I slowly opened my eyes as the noise from yesterday played again. I slowly sat up and looked to the kitchen, XJ4 angrily barking at Ralph again, making me roll my eyes. I slowly sat up with intent to go into the kitchen, but then something came to my mind. I instead changed course and headed upstairs, making my way to Jenny’s room. When I reached her door, I hesitated for a moment before knocking. There was silence for a moment, before I heard a groan and the sound of approaching footsteps. Jenny, her eyes slightly dimmer than usual and her posture crooked, opened her door and looked down at me.

“What do you want, Caleb?” Jenny asked in a hoarse voice.

“I came up to check on you, and was wondering if you’re up for a chat?” I asked, an innocent smile on my face. She looked at me for a few moments, then let out a quiet sigh.

“Sure”, she gestured her head, and I walked into her room. Jenny closed her door when I got in, and then went and laid back down on her bed, face buried in her pillow. I sat down next to her and looked her over, a frown forming on my face.

“Jenny, how have you been?” I asked her in worry, “I’ve seen a lot of heroes like you going through exactly this.” Jenny just groaned into her pillow, then turned her head to look at me with a defeated expression.

“Just want a break…” She whispered, “I’ve put up with so much, and whenever I think I’m able to get a break, something blows up in my face…” I carefully rubbed a hand on her back, and she gave me a very small, weak smile.”Even with Brad, Tuck and Sheldon, as much as I love them, things can get crazy with them too.”

I looked over the robot girl sadly, but then an idea came into my head. “Then why not join us?”

Jenny looked up at me in confusion. “What?”

I jumped off her bed with excitement in my eyes. “Join me and the others! I’m trying to get back home to the capital, so why not come with us?”

Jenny finally rolled over and sat up, but gave me a very uneasy look. “I…don’t know…”, she looked out her window, “What about everyone? What if something happens?” She brought her knees up to her face. “I couldn’t live with myself if everyone got hurt.”

“No, Jenny, that’s the best part”, I said, beaming. “You can just come back the exact time you left! You’ll be able to spend as much time with us as you want, and nothing bad can happen!”

Jenny looked at me with gradual shock as everything clicked for her. She leaned in closer, and I nodded, answering her wordless question. She then looked down at her hands, then beamed. I was then locked into a fierce hug from her, something I happily returned.

“Oh my gosh!” Jenny squealed when we released, “This’ll be amazing! It’s like when I went to Cluster Prime for the first time!” She jumped off the bed, bursting with energy. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m so ready!”

A knock at the door snapped her out of her excitement. She walked over to it and opened it, Gladius bowing as he entered the room. “I was wondering where you ran off too, Caleb”, he said.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “I just came up to check on Jenny, and now we have another member of our little band of misfits.”

Gladius turned around to the robot superhero. “You want to join us?”

Jenny nodded rapidly. “Yes. I want a break from my usual life, and when Caleb offered, I had to say yes.” She looked at me. “When do we leave?”

I shrugged. “Not sure. Gladius is the one with the built in compass.”

Gladius began mumbling nonsense and spinning around, before facing me. “We need to wait a moment. In the direction of the capital, there are no other universes in line yet.”

I nodded and looked to Jenny. “Looks like we got some time to kill. Want to spend the day hanging out until we can go?”

Jenny smiled and nodded. “Yeah. After yesterday, I just need a break from everyone. Just give me some time to get ready.” I nodded, but was caught off guard as Jenny pushed me and Gladius out of her room, and stood wide-eyed in the hallway as Jenny closed her door.

“What was that about?” Gladius asked me.

I just smirked and shrugged. “Teenage girls”, I simply said. The two of us left her to get ready, and headed back downstairs. The sound of chaos in the kitchen had ceased, and Ralph was sitting on the couch with a bored expression. As we walked up to him, he looked over his shoulder and smiled.

“How’s your morning going, Caleb?” The wrecker asked me. I smiled at him, and that was enough to make him chuckle. “Good to hear, kid. What were the two doing upstairs?”

“Just checking on Jenny”, I said, “Me and her were going to hang out later, do you and Vanellope want to join us?”

Ralph stretched. “Sure, nothing else is going on.” He slowly stood up, and I saw Vanellope hop and run over to me. I smiled down at her and ruffled her hair playfully, making her childishly stick her tongue out at me. Gladius hovered towards the window, and watched the day progress on with the rest of us chatting happily. After a bit, Jenny came down the stairs, all cleaned up and ready to go.

“You guys ready?” She asked us with a smile. I shared a look with the others, and we all nodded. “Sweet! Let’s get going!” Gladius opened the door for us, and left the house.

~X~

After having a nice breakfast at Mesmers, we were walking down the street towards the school. I took a quick glance at Jenny, and she seemed so relaxed, so happy. It was probably the happiest I’ve ever seen her.

“You seem to be pretty happy, Jenny”, I said with a smirk. Jenny sighed blissfully.

“Yeah~”, she did a little twirl, “I have never felt so free before! This is nice.” I smiled up at her, and then looked over my shoulder. Gladius was happily sharing stories with Vanellope and Ralph, and seeing that made me beam. I looked up at the bright blue sky, feeling the warm breeze on my skin, when I suddenly noticed something. I looked off to the hills in the distance, squinting carefully. I stopped walking and the others took notice, looking where I was. Over the hills, something was approaching, and it was big. Very big . I looked at Jenny, and her face contorted into shock. I looked at the approaching thing, and from the shiny faded blue plating, large A on its body, and permanent determined scowl, I knew who exactly it was.

Armagedroid, Nora’s first creation and Jenny’s long lost brother. He slowly made his way over the hills, flattening everything in his path.

“What is that?!” Vanellope shrieked. Jenny transformed her pigtails into jet boosters, scowling.

“Armagedroid”, she growled. She blasted off to the titanic titan, leaving us to watch.

“Caleb”, Gladius asked in fear, “Who is that?”

“Like Jenny said, Armagedroid”, I said in a panicked tone, “Nora’s first creation. He was meant to bring world peace by taking away any invading alien weapons, but eventually he turned on the earth, bent on destroying all weapons.” I felt my heart begin to race. “Even if that means destroying his own sister.” I began to run after Jenny, with Ralph, Vanellope and Gladius following close behind. I watched as Jenny rushed right towards Armagedroid in pure fury, her eyes filled with hungry bloodlust.

“ARMAGEDROID!!!” Jenny screamed, “HOW ARE YOU BACK?!?!”

“I must finish my mission”, the titan bellowed, “And I was given a second chance thanks to another inventor.”

My eyes widened in shock. Lotus , I thought. I watched as Jenny screamed in absolute fury and charged right at him, her large spiked fists deployed. She was able to intercept him before reaching Tremorton.

“There’s no way she’ll be able to take him on her own!” Ralph yelled. He clenched his fists, then sped ahead at Armagedroid.

“Ralph, no!” Vanellope cried, “This isn’t like Turbo!”

“Vanellope, hold on to Caleb’s back”, Gladius ordered, “Caleb, grab onto my handle. Jenny needs all the help she can get!” We both nodded, and once Vanellope was on my back, I grabbed Gladius’ handle. The sword suddenly lifted off, but I showed no fear as we flew towards the titan. Jenny was busy dodging black tendrils, launching a flurry of fruitless punches at the titan. Ralph had reached one of the tread feet, and began scaling the droid, leaving damage as he ascended. Vanellope had glitched off of my back and began to run around his head, distracting some of his tendrils. However, his gaze never left me. He just stared right at me, as Gladius flapped his wings to keep us steady.

“You”, Armagedroid said in his powerful voice, “Who are you? No one has been foolish enough to come and face me!”

“Yeah, well, I’m not like most people!” I snapped back, “I’ve seen you! You’re hurting everyone more than the weapons you’re set on destroying!”

“Yeah!” Gladius yelled, “You aren’t the earth’s saviour! You’d rather watch the place you swore to protect burn to ashes!”

Armagedroid just stared at us, not flinching. This just made me angrier. “You also would rather attack your own family!” I screamed, “Jenny is your own sister! She has done so much, but here you are set on destroying her!”

This got the titan to look at the furious Jenny, who was now constricted by the tendrils. Ralph and Vanellope, while they put up a good fight, were stuck in the same situation. I felt my heart scream with emotion.

“Child, why do you try to reason with me?” The titan asked, “I have no quarrel with you. Your blade, however…”

“LIKE HELL YOU’RE GOING TO TOUCH GLADIUS!!!” I screamed, “NO ONE HURTS MY FAMILY!!!” I stared Armagedroid dead in the eyes, fury blasting through my body. Armagedroid finally turned his head to his trapped sister, who was struggling to break free. For a moment, I could have swore I saw an actual hint of sadness in his eyes. Suddenly, against everything I could have predicted…

He let my friends go. And not right where they were, either. He set them down on the ground gently, but both of us kept our eyes locked on each other.

“I will admit, child”, Armagedroid said, “You are brave to take me on…” He paused, before his eyes darkened. “But that also makes you foolish.” Suddenly, all his tendrils launched at me.

My eyes bugged out. “Gladius!” I yelled. My sword made evasive maneuvers, trying to avoid everything that was being thrown at us. I glared at Armagedroid, who just stared us down as we looped around his head.

“CALEB!” Jenny shrieked. I watched as she blasted up and began unleashing a barrage of attacks on the titan. But thanks to his shield, Armagedroid was left without a scratch. Ralph and Vanellope just watched from the ground in a mix of fear and anger, before quickly going and scaling the titan. Gladius darted between the endless tendrils, my heart racing as I felt some brush up against me.

“You are admirable to survive this long, child”, Armagedroid bellowed, “Just surrender your weapon, and you will be spared.” I snarled at him, keeping my eyes locked on him. Jenny stopped her assault on her older brother, and began looking around for some other option. Me and Gladius suddenly sped by her, and I grabbed her hand as tendrils just near missed us.

“Any ideas on how to take him down?” I asked.

Jenny looked around, trying to think of something, when her eyes suddenly brightened. “Gladius, I’m going to need to borrow you for a moment!” I looked up at Gladius and nodded, and he quickly set me down. Jenny opened her wings and, with Gladius in hand, charged right at Armagedroid. The titan remained emotionless as he launched everything he had at the two approaching targets, but Jenny didn’t care as she sliced everything in her path.

“I’m done with this!” She screamed. She held Gladius skyward, began charging the blade with energy, then slashed. A large crescent shaped beam launched forward the titan. Armagedroid remained motionless as the beam cut straight through him and travelled into the sky. The titan suddenly split in two, both halves falling to the ground. The once glowing red eyes were off, lacking life.

“Jenny!” Vanellope cheered as she and Ralph ran up to me, “You did it! That was awesome!” Jenny looked down at us and smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of her head. Gladius left her grasp and came down to my side.

“That felt very strange”, Gladius said, stumbling a bit to keep airborne. “Remind me to not let that happen again.”

I laughed as Jenny landed beside us, a smile plastered across her face. “Thanks for helping, guys”, the teenage robot said, “Honestly, it’s nice to know people that can do the stuff you do. Kinda makes me miss Misty…”

“Well, if you come with us, you’ll get all of that plus more”, I said happily.

Ralph nodded. “Yep. Honestly, getting outside of the arcade like this is the best thing that could’ve ever happened to me, aside from her”, he smiled down at Vanellope, “I wanted a break anyway.”

“Yeah, Just think of everything that we could do!” Vanellope cheered as she glitched around, “We could meet other superheroes, travel to new worlds, try new foods, the sky’s the limit with these two around.” She smugly elbowed me in the leg, making me laugh loudly. Ralph scooped the racer up and set her on his shoulder, and then looked at Jenny.

“So, what do you say?” I asked her, “You in?”

Jenny looked all of us over, smiling brightly. She looked over Tremorton, the town she grew up in. Her home. She then looked up to the sky, bright blue and cheery. Finally, she looked at us.

“Yeah”, she nodded, “Let’s do it.”

I beamed. “Great!” I grabbed onto Gladius. “Ready, Gladdy?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, Caleb”, he confirmed. He turned me to my right. “Open a portal this way.”

I nodded, then slashed. A portal was created shortly after, and like most of my portals, it sucked us in like a vacuum. Jenny cried in shock, Ralph and Vanellope just looked shocked, and I beamed as I hugged Gladius close. I was just too happy.

This adventure was just beginning.

~X~

And so the My Life As A Teenage Robot arc has concluded. While this chapter was on the shorter side, I am still happy how it turned out. And like what was said, This adventure was just beginning .

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

Me and the others spiralled down the stained-glass esque portal, the millions of voices echoing through my ears. I looked to my friends, hoping I hadn’t lost any of them. Ralph was holding Vanellope close to his chest, though the little racer obviously wanted to be freed. Jenny, meanwhile, was doing better than the rest of us, as she had her wings deployed, giving her the balance she needed. She looked at me and glided over.

“Need a hand?” She asked, offering a hand. I gladly accepted it as Gladius sheathed himself down the back of my shirt while Jenny helped me onto her back. I looked around in wonder, now that everything wasn’t a dizzying blur of colours.

“I’m impressed you’re able to keep stable, Jenny”, Gladius said. Jenny coasted down and grabbed hold of Ralph, who looked up at Jenny gratefully.

“Meh, it happens when you’re flying everywhere”, She said with a shrug, “This is nothing.” Vanellope took this as her chance to glitch out of Ralph’s grasp and next to me.

“This is awesome!” Vanellope cheered, before exploding into a fit of giggles. “After being stuck in Sugar Rush for so long, I needed this!”

“Honestly, after thirty years, I needed a change of scenery”, Ralph admitted, although he was clearly embarrassed with how Jenny was carrying him. “How did this even happen, Caleb? Gladius told us about the multiverse and who you are, but how did you end up in Game Central?”

Jenny looked over her shoulder at me, and Vanellope looked up at me with her ever curious eyes. I frowned. “Basically Rainbow and Gladius planned a proper welcome party for me, and when everything was going good!” I paused, then sighed. “But then three guards that me, Gladius and my friend Katania ran into earlier crashed the party. They were infamous for being troublemakers.”

Jenny scoffed with an eye roll. “Of course.”

“They immediately booked it for me”,  I continued, “But just as they were about to harm me, Gladius attacked to keep me safe. Then, both because I was angry and adrenaline, I took Gladius and attacked again, which accidentally opened that portal that sent me to you two.” I looked at Vanellope, who had her eyes flash with the slightest anger. “You guys shouldn’t worry about them, though. Katania’s mom is their boss, so she’s probably fired them.”

Ralph hummed. “Still, when we get you home, I’d like to have a word with them.”

“They sound like Taffyta, Candlehead and Rancis…”, Vanellope said in a dangerously low tone.

“Just say the word, Caleb, and I’ll make sure they never cross you again”, Jenny said with determination. She looked over her shoulder and flashed me a smirk, and I returned a genuine smile. Just then, however, a deep boom echoed throughout the tunnel, and Jenny started to lose her balance.

“Jenny, what’s happening?!” I cried.

“I don’t know!” She cried back. All five of us let out screams of terror as we started barreling towards the exit. As we were spit out of the portal, I had to squint my eyes with the midday sun.

“Trees!!!” Gladius called out. Before I could tell what was going on, I felt Jenny wrap me in a tight hug. I dared to take a peek, and was met with us plummeting into a forest.

~X~

I groaned and held my head as I shook it, our landing very rough. I looked around, making sure everyone was good, and they all groaned simultaneously. I got off of Jenny carefully and rolled onto my back breathing heavily. Doing this helped me notice Gladius stabbed into the tree that cast its shadow over me. Acting quickly, I jumped to my feet and pulled him out. He shook himself off, then faced me.

“We definitely have had…better landings”, Gladius said sheepishly as I helped Ralph to his feet. He was able to keep Vanellope from harm, as she just jumped off the wrecker’s chest and dusted herself off, letting out a long sigh of relief.

“That was rough”, she said. She turned to Jenny. “You okay there, Jen?”

Jenny slowly removed herself from the ground, the oddly cubic trench leaving her covered in dirt and grass. She shook herself off, then looked at the racer. “I’ve been better”, she said. However, we all noticed something wrong. Jenny brought a hand to her left pigtail, and felt it. It was dented and bent, leaving her without flight. “Oh, well that’s great .” She spat in annoyance.

Ralph cringed. “If Felix was here, he could fix you up in an instant.” He walked over to her and looked at the damage she suffered. “Does it hurt?”

Jenny shook her head. “No, but it’s irritating. Now Gladius is the only one of us that can fly…”, she trailed off and looked around, “Where is he?”

We all began to look around, and it helped me notice how…blocky…everything was. “Gladius?” I called.

“Up here!” We all looked up and saw Gladius flying high above, surveying the land we were stuck in. After a while, he came back down to us. “So, I looked, but there doesn’t appear to be any civilization nearby.” That made us all deflate. "But we aren’t too far from a mountain, so we’ll be able to get a better look.” We all looked at where he was pointing, and sure enough we could just barely see a snowy mountain top. I made a flat look towards the sword. But then I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“Let’s get going, gang”, I said begrudgingly, “We should try to get there before the sun sets.” They all nodded and we began to make our way through the forest. As we walked, me and Vanellope took the lead, and the racer asked me a question.

“Do you have any idea what this place is, Caleb?” She looked around at the strange surroundings. “It reminds me of what Ralph’s game looks like through the screen…”

I looked down at her, then around at our surroundings. Everything was a perfect cube, from the trunks of the trees, the leaves, the clouds, and…the sun. I instantly put the pieces, and felt dread fill my body.

“Crap, I do…”, I told her.

“Well, what is it?” She looked up at me in worry, clearly sensing my panic.

“Minecraft”, I started, “An infinite sandbox game. You can build whatever you want, but when night comes monsters like Zombies, Spiders and Skeletons spawn…” This caught the attention of the others, who quickly caught up to us.

“You’re kidding, right?” Ralph said.

I shook my head. “Nope, I’m not. We need to get to that mountain ASAP.” At that, we all began to run to the mountain at a much faster pace, the sun slowly drifting down. Soon we all reached the base of the mountain, and we began to scale it. I held onto Gladius as he flew upwards, Jenny took large leaps to each ledge, and Ralph climbed up with his bare hands while Vanellope tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. I looked around and saw the sun was getting dangerously close to the horizon, and that made my skin crawl. I looked to the forest below and could just barely make out some of the hostile mobs spawning amongst the foliage.

“Guys, we need to pick up the pace”, I said firmly. Everyone else sped up their ascent, and soon we were at the top. I was set down gently on the snow, Ralph breathed heavily and he scrambled over the ledge, Vanellope hopping off him. Jenny, however, jumped up and landed on the ground with enough force to shake the earth, making me and Vanellope fall over into the snow. I gave the robot a light glare as Gladius helped me and Vanellope to our feet.

“A little warning next time would be nice, Jenny”, I said as I dusted the snow off of me. She looked at me sheepishly, Ralph chuckling slightly at the series of events that played out. As everyone got back onto their feet, I looked around in hopes to find something, but nothing was visible. Ralph, not too fond of the cold, looked over the cliff we just scaled.

“Uhhhh…guys?” He said. The rest of us turned our heads towards him, and joined him in looking over the ledge. Only for all of us to pale at the sight. A swarm of Spiders were crawling up the cliff face towards us.

“We got to go!” Vanellope screamed. I began to look around, then saw the end of a track with a chest next to it.

“Guys! This way!” I ran towards the chest, the others close behind. I opened the chest, and was relieved to find minecarts resting inside. I took out four and quickly set them down on the track, then hopped into the one in the front. “Ralph, Vanellope, get in! Jenny, give us a boost!” The arcade citizens quickly jumped into the other carts, Ralph taking the one in the rear, and Jenny quickly ejected wheels out of her feet. She began to push with all her strength, and the carts began to move forward. I looked at the tracks ahead, and saw a chunk that was partially glowing red.

“Jenny, get in!” She did exactly that, sitting between Ralph and Vanellope, and the carts began to move slowly along. We all looked back, and saw the swarm of Spiders make it over the ledge. What made me even more terrified was the sight of two Spider Jockeys, bow wielding Skeletons riding Spiders.

“Can these things go any faster?!” Gladius yelled, who was in the cart with Vanellope. I ducked as an arrow was launched at me, then looked ahead at the track. My cart was just about to hit the glowing track.

“They will!” I shouted back, “Everyone better hang on!” My kart connected with the glowing track and I blasted off, screaming my head off at the ridiculous speeds it reached.

“CALEB!” Everyone else screamed. But it wasn’t before long that their terrified screams hit my ears as we all blasted down the track that cut through the whole mountain. I braced myself in the cart as a series of sharp left and right turns approached. I could hear the others scream in terror as I came to a very steep drop. My face was fixed in pure terror as I blasted down, the wind whipping past my face. I decided to look behind me, and I could see my friends all with the same terrified expressions. I suddenly jolted as the track straightened out again, so much so I nearly fell out.

“Are you okay, Caleb?!” Vanellope shouted from her cart.

“Yeah!” I shouted back, “Just feeling lightheaded!” That was the truth. The breakneck speeds and constant movement were making me dizzy, and at risk of losing my lunch. This continued on for a few more minutes, my head spinning like a record on super speed. Gladius, Vanellope, Jenny and Ralph all seemingly shared this sentiment, as their screaming had fallen quiet. I felt like I was just about to faint, but suddenly a bright light flooded my vision. I leaned back in shock, my eyes bulging as the light blinded me.

“Good lord, my eyes!” I yelled in mock horror. But my mock horror became real when the track made a sudden dip out into a small hole. My cart then slammed into a wall, and I was thrown out, tumbling across the floor a good few feet. I heard as the other carts came to a stop, and the sound of a group of footsteps approaching.

“Holy cow, kid”, Ralph exclaimed, “Are you okay?”

I sat up with a goofy smile on my face as the world spun. “I don’t know, Dad. Is the sky supposed to be green?” My words were slurred and mumbled, making difficult what I had just said. Jenny, in her infinite wisdom, ejects a fan from her arm and blasts me with a freezing gust of cold air. That snapped me out of my delirious state… perhaps too well.

“HOLY F**K”, I swore. I jumped to my feet and started shivering like crazy, then glared at Jenny. “A little warning would’ve been nice!”

But the others didn’t react. Rather, they all stared at me in pure shock at the cuss I dropped. None of them said a word, but the silence spoke volumes. I felt my face explode into an embarrassed blush, and I looked down.

“Sorry…”, I said guiltily, “I have a bit of a potty mouth…” Everyone shook their heads, then shared looks. Gladius hovered up to my side and put a wing on my shoulder in reassurance.

“It’s alright, Caleb”, the blade said, “We all have those…choice words…resting inside us.” He looked at the others. “Right?” They all reluctantly nodded, but that did help cheer me up a bit. As the mood relaxed, we all began to look around our surroundings. We were in a very large building constructed from a variety of blocks, with blue carpet floors, lanterns hanging on every wall, and paintings everywhere.

“Where the heck are we?” Jenny asked as she looked over a painting depicting a flaming skull.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Minecraft just lets you build whatever you want, so we could be anywhere.” I heard Gladius hum in acknowledgement as he looked out one of the windows. It was just an endless forest, with more hostile mobs wandering around under the moon. Thanks to the windows and walls, however, they paid no mind to us. I continued down deeper into the building, eventually coming up to a large area that resembled a foyer. The others joined me by my side, and we took in the massively impressive sight. There were several staircases that went up multiple floors.

“This place is massive!” Vanellope said, her eyes filled with stars. “We got to see what this place has to offer!”

“I can help with that!” A new voice shouted. We all looked to the source of it, and descending the stairs was a block man, who’s movements were stiff and almost robot-like. He wore a light blue shirt, dark blue pants, and grey shoes. His skin was fairly tanned, and his eyes were coloured blue. He came up to us, a gentleness in his eyes.

“Heard you coming from the tracks”, he said, “And I assume it’s because you had a nasty run in with the beasts outside.”

I nodded. “That’s exactly it.” I began to gesture to myself and the others. “My name is Caleb, and this is Ralph, Vanellope, Gladius and Jenny. We…got lost. But when we saw your tracks, we took them the first chance we got.”

The man chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t blame you. The night can get very hostile.” He stuck out a rectangular arm. “My name is Steve. I will be more than willing to give you a tour of this place.”

Ralph let out a loud laugh. We’d really appreciate that, Steve.” The block man nodded, his vacant face not showing emotion except for his eyes, which brightened. He took the lead as we followed happily along.

~X~

The tour went off without a hitch, as Steve showed us his massive chest room, multiple bedrooms, a large indoor pool, backyard garden, and observatory. He led us down a hallway that had its left wall entirely made of glass, letting us watch as rain began to pour from the sky.

“This is a pretty nice place you got here, Stevey”, Vanellope said cheekily, “Not as impressive as my castle, but who’s keeping track.” Steve looked down at her, then turned to Ralph.

“Your friend is pretty sassy, huh?” Steve asked. Vanellope glared up at him slightly, while Ralph just chuckled.

“Yeah, she can be '', the wrecker said nonchalantly, making Vanellope cutely pout. ”But she can really show her heart when it counts. “ He looked down at the racer and winked at her, making her blow him a raspberry, which only made Ralph chuckle again. Meanwhile, me, Jenny and Gladius hung back a bit and had our own conversation.

“Are you doing okay, Caleb?” The robot asked me. I looked up at her with a small smile.

“Yeah, just overwhelmed”, I admitted, “I just want to get back to the castle, back to Katania and Rainbow and the others. This is cool and all, but I just feel so small compared to everything.” Jenny looked down at me sadly. “And, you’re a superhero. Ralph and Vanellope are video game characters. Steve is a guy that can build anything. I feel like I just can’t compare to you guys…” Jenny wrapped an arm around me and hugged me close.

“Don’t say stuff like that, Caleb”, she said with a sad smile, “You’ve got everything you need to stand up with us.” I looked up at her. “Trust me. You got it, Caleb.”

Gladius hovered in front of us. “I agree with Jenny. You heard my voice and saved me from decades of isolation, so don’t sell yourself short.” I looked up at Gladius with a bright smile.

“Thanks guys…I just feel like I’m holding us all back. But that definitely helped”, I looked between my friends, Jenny smiling back at me, only for me to let out a yawn. That caught the attention of the three at the front.

“Sounds like you could use some rest, kid”, Ralph said while crossing his arms. I sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, blame that crazy minecart ride”, I said with a shrug. I turned back down the hallway and walked towards the bedrooms, Gladius bidding the others farewell and joining me. I walked to one of the vacant rooms, entered it, then closed the door behind me when Gladius joined me. I looked around the room, but it was very basic. It only had a single red bed, a block with a flower pot on it to its left, and a chest to the right. I groaned and laid on it. No blanket, but it was comfortable enough. I looked as Gladius leaned up against the block with the flower pot.

“Goodnight, Gladius”, I said with a yawn.

“Goodnight, Caleb. We’ll make it home, I promise.” I smiled at my friend’s reassurance, and felt sleep take over me.

~X~

And thus we finally make it to the world of Minecraft, and get our introduction to Steve. For a frame of reference, Steve moves like he does in the trailers for The Nether Update and Caves and Cliffs Part 1. Next chapter will be a very chill one, all about using your creativity at its peak…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I felt something poke my side, kicking me from my slumber. I grumbled and swatted at the perpetrator, earning a chuckle in response. The poking continues, and I reluctantly open my eyes, facing who else but Gladius.

“What?” I snapped. Gladius made a motion akin to rolling his eyes.

“Don’t be all snippy at me”, he scolded, “You slept for so long, two days in this world have passed. Steve came by earlier to see what was taking you so long, and he had a good laugh at how I told him you were still sleeping.”

“Well I’ve had a stressful few days, okay?” I snapped again. Gladius floated back a bit, but didn’t flinch. I let out a sigh. “Sorry, I just hate getting woken up by anything that isn’t myself.”

Gladius hummed. “Understandable.” He pulled out a cooked chicken and a bucket. “This is your breakfast, so eat up.” I grumbled in response, but took the food regardless. I brought the flat sprite food to my mouth and ate it reluctantly. It was fine, but not the best. I slowly rose to my feet, much to Gladius' joy, and followed the sword out the room. At the end of the hall, the two of us were greeted by Steve.

“Nice to finally see you up, Caleb”, The man said with a wave. I looked at him flatly. “I was actually coming to get you because I got something planned for today.”

I cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. “What do you have in mind?”

“You’ll just have to follow and find out”, he said smugly. I looked at Gladius in confusion, but the sword just shrugged back. I shook my head and followed Steve through his home till we walked outside to a large courtyard that was surrounded by a high wall. In the middle of the yard was Ralph, Vanellope and Jenny. The racer was running around with two dogs and a cat, while the wrecker and robot watched from a bench with a large smile on their faces. As Steve approached, they turned to us and waved.

“Finally decided to wake up, Caleb?” Jenny said with a smug smirk. I huffed in annoyance, but returned a smile regardless. Despite only being with everyone (minus Steve) for what could be a few days, it felt like we could make these playful jabs at each other. Ralph let out a hearty laugh.

“Seriously, kid”, Ralph said with a smile, “No matter where we are, you seem to saw logs like crazy.” I felt my face flight up in embarrassment, taking a seat between my two taller friends. Steve walked off to the side towards a bunch of chests, Gladius joined Vanellope, and I remained curled up in embarrassment. Jenny wrapped an arm over my shoulders and hugged me close, my embarrassment slowly leaving. I looked over at Steve and watched as he pulled out a bunch of random blocks, doors, fences, and other miscellaneous objects. I raised a brow at him, and that drew everyone else’s attention to the block man.

“Hey, Steve?” I said, “What are you doing?”

Steve turned back to me, his eyes reflecting his pride. “I was thinking of showing you guys how to build! ‘Cause I can tell you guys are fairly new here.” The five of us all shared awkward looks, then looked back at Steve with sheepish smiles, nodding in agreement. “Exactly. So I’m going to let you guys use whatever you want to build whatever you want.” He tossed some stacks of oak planks at me, and I caught them easily. “So, pick what you want. I’ll mark each of you an area.” He pulled out some sort of red block and began to divide the yard into quarters. Me and the others all shared looks, then shrugged.

“Well, this’ll be one heck of a day”, I said, sight giddiness in my voice. “Building whatever we want? Sounds fun.”

“I don’t know…”, Ralph began with a hand rubbing the back of his neck, “I’m not the best when it comes to building things. Vanellope’s kart barely survived our…last visit to the kart bakery.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Ham-Hands”, Vanellope interjected, “That kart was perfect.” She paused, her smirk falling. “Although the mess we left was… yeeeeeaaaah…” Vanellope cringed at the memory of all the ‘Decorating’ jars smashing against each other and spilling everywhere. Jenny cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, whatever happened with you guys”, she said, “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Besides, I’m looking forward to this!”

“I am curious to see what you all plan to build”, Gladius said, rubbing a wing under his jewel. “Seeing how Steve built this whole place on his own, I’d like to see what you come up with. I’ll be over there and watching.” Gladius hovered over to where the bench was and rested on it. I smiled back at him just as we came up to the chests, and I then turned and began to rummage through. The others did the same, and for the next few minutes we kept looking through chest after chest, gathering all the supplies each of us needed. I was the first to find everything I wanted, so I made my way to one of the marked areas. I waved at Steve, who was sitting on the bench with Gladius, and he waved back. I looked to my area, took a deep breath, and began to work.

~X~

The sun was high in the sky, and the four of us were hard at work. I was already accustomed to Minecraft’s building system, so I was placing blocks at a much faster speed than everyone else. I looked at the others, and giggled at their different building styles. Ralph, who was using mainly bricks, cobblestone and dark oak wood, was building very slowly and carefully, not wanting to accidentally trash most of his progress. Vanellope, who was using mainly blocks of varying shades of purple, turquoise and pink, was zipping around and placing blocks any chance she got, but because of her speed, she had to correct mistakes constantly. Jenny, who was using mainly metal blocks, was using her multiple appendages to place blocks without needing to move much, but she had a complete plan she was following, so she was taking things easy. I smiled at all of them.

“My, all of you are doing amazingly so far”, Gladius called from his spot on the bench. Steve, who was still sitting next to him, nodded in agreement.

“I must say, you all got your stuff down”, the block man said, “I guess I was wrong to assume you were completely new to this.”

“It’s fine, Steve”, I called from my spot, “I totally get why you’d think that.”

Ralph looked over and smiled, but slipped and nearly crushed his build. He was able to catch himself, luckily, but this didn’t go unnoticed from Vanellope.

“You okay over there, Fumbles?” She said jokingly. Ralph grumbled at her and returned to his work, making Vanellope let out a loud laugh. Jenny giggled at the sight, and I smiled. We all returned to building, our spirits high. We all kept at it for a few hours, working tirelessly to finish what we were doing, only taking minor breaks to eat lunch. Eventually, I finished my building first, hopping down to the ground just as Steve and Gladius approached.

“Very nice, Caleb!” Steve praised. I smiled at him as he looked over the stylized log cabin I built. It wasn’t too big, but it was just small and nice enough to live in. Gladius flew all around the structure, outside and inside, and came back to my side with an impressed nod.

“I’m amazed by the detail you got in”, The sword complimented, “You definitely know what you’re doing.”

Steve nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it’s pretty good! Congrats, Caleb.” Steve patted me on the back, and I gained an embarrassed blush.

“Guys, c’mon, it’s not that good”, I said sheepishly, “Besides, I don’t what I did to overshadow the others.”

“Yeah, I mean, look at this!” Vanellope called. We looked over at her build, and were left fairly impressed. She had gone out of her way to make a miniature version of her castle from Sugar Rush, complete with the ramp that led up to it. I looked at it with widened eyes and a bright smile.

“Vanellope, this is amazing!” I said. The racer just waved off my praise despite having the biggest smile on her face. Ralph scoffed in a kind-hearted way, and Jenny smirked and rolled her eyes. After I gave praise to Vanellope, I began to check out the other builds next. First was Ralph, who was able to make a surprisingly accurate mini replica of the Niceland.

“I just wanted to see how well I remember it”, the wrecker said while rubbing the back of his head, “Just wanted a bit of home here, that’s all.” I smiled and nodded, only to jump when Vanellope began glitching all over the build, completely awestruck at Ralph’s creation. After a bit, she shot the wrecker a smug smirk.

“And you said you suck at building things.” Ralph huffed in annoyance, but smiled at the child regardless. I chuckled at the two friends bonding, then turned to Jenny, who was standing beside what looked like a model of the monitor that her mom uses to call her.

“What’s this, Jenny?” I asked. Steve walked up next to me, sharing my curiosity.

“I was able to figure out this ‘redstone’ stuff”, she explained, making air quotes when she said Redstone. “And I made this!” She flicked a lever that was on the side, and the monitor lit up with redstone lamps. The lamps formed a simplified version of her head, and it looped an animation of winking. Me and Steve clapped at the impressive sight. Jenny beamed at the praise, then hit the switch again to shut off her creation.

“Well”, Steve said, clapping his non-existent hands together, getting us to group around him. “I’d say you all did amazingly! How about we head back inside and get a bite to eat.” We all nodded and followed Steve inside, through his home and into his kitchen. Steve pulled out some random food items from chests and placed them in the multitude of Furnaces that covered a whole wall. After he finished, he joined us at the table we sat at.

“So, after all of that, care to explain where you guys are from?” He said sternly, “I know you ain’t from here. I’m not going to press, I just want answers.” We all shared apprehensive looks, then turned back to Steve.

“It’s a bit…complicated”, I admitted. Steve’s eyes softened, then hummed.

“Well, we have all the time in the world. So go ahead.” There wasn’t any malice, just curiosity. I let out a sigh.

“Alright, here you go…” And so I explained the whole situation to Steve, with the others jumping in periodically to add their thoughts and stuff. The mood began to relax as Steve began to share his thoughts on our situation.

“To be honest, I find it kind of cool there are other worlds out there”, Steve said wistfully, “But that’s probably the adventurer side of me talking.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that”, Gladius said, “You can learn so much from going on adventures, much like we are>’ He gestured to the rest of us , and we smiled back. My smile, however, was weaker than the other’s. No one seemed to notice.

“Well, I’m cool with this”, Steve continued, “If you guys are cool with it, how would you feel if I joined you?”

Vanellope instantly brightened and glitched to Steve’s side. “You bet, Blocky! The more, the merrier!” She turned to us and gave us large, innocent eyes. “Right guys?”

Ralph groaned, Jenny rolled her eyes with a smirk, and Gladius huffed and shook his body. But I paled at Vanellope’s action, a certain memory flashing in my head.

“Can we please go to the movies, Freddy?”

A sigh came from ‘Freddy’ “Sure, bro. Let’s go.”

“Kid?” Ralph’s voice echoed in my head. I snapped out of my trance and looked at the others. They all looked at me in concern, with Vanellope looking up at me terrified. I shook my head and gave a weak smile.

“Yeah, I’m good”, I said, trying to do my best to mask my discomfort. It sort of worked, as the others didn’t press, but Vanellope did glitch to my side and hugged me. I looked at Steve with a better smile which reassured him. “You can join us, Steve. You’ll probably help out in a lot of areas.”

The block man nodded. “Well, when you’re going to head out, let me know.” He paused for a moment. “Let me actually get a Chest set up with everything I need. I’ll be back.” Steve quickly ran off, leaving the rest of us in silence. I stood up and walked over to the furnaces and checked how the food was doing. I could tell the others were staring at me intensely, concerned about what my short mental shutdown was about.

“Before any of you ask”, I said, my nerves relaxing, “I’m fine. Just don’t worry about it.” I turned to them with a smile, holding one of the chickens. I saw the others give me small smiles, making me smile brighter. “Who’s hungry?”

~X~

Later that day, Steve had joined back up with us after we ate. He led us to a large storage room, chests lining the walls to the left and right. At the end of the room was just an empty wall, but around it was a large square of some black block.

“I want you guys to suit up! If I’m going to be joining you guys, I need to see how prepared you all are if we get caught in a pinch”, Steve explained. Jenny raised an eyebrow.

“Do you even know who you’re talking to?” She gestured to herself. Steve gave her a flat look.

“Yes, the robot girl that let one of her jet boosters get damaged, grounding her”, he pointed at the damaged pigtail, which made Jenny blush in embarrassment. The other four of us chuckled, but shut up when the robot shot us a sharp glare.

“Just get suited up guys”, Steve said, “We’re heading somewhere that’s fairly dangerous, do be prepared.” I shared looks with the others, then made my way over to a chest that was filled with Iron Armour. Gladius hovered close to my side.

“Where do you think we’re going?” He asked me.

“No clue”, I said with a shrug and shake of my head, ‘But Minecraft can be scary, so we should just do what Steve says.” I put on a helmet, and then turned to the others. Ralph had put on a single chest piece, pants and boots while Vanellope wore the helmet. Jenny was fully decked out, and steve was wearing a full set of Diamond armour with a sword in one hand and flint and steel in the other. He turned to us.

“Are you guys all ready and armoured up?” He asked. The rest of us shared apprehensive looks, then looked back to him and nodded. “Good.Let’s get going.” He walked over to the large black square.

‘Where exactly are we going?” Ralph asked, Vanellope sharing his confusion. Steve didn’t answer, rather striking his Flint and Steel against one of the black blocks. Instantly, the space was filled with a weird purple effect, and I stared bug eyed. It was a portal. To where?

“Ready to tackle the Nether?” Steve asked as he turned back to us. The rest of us gulped in fear.

“Oh boy…” Was all I could get out.

~X~

Oh boy, The Nether. Not the best place to be, with all the fire, lava, and fireball shooting ghost squids. But Steve seems adamant to head on in, and I mean, there is good loot in there, right?

…

Right?

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I knew everything about the Nether, but that didn’t quell any of my anxieties. Clearly, as the mere mention of that place made my legs lock up. Jenny was attempting to pull me along, but despite being ‘With the strength of a million and 70 men’ , she was failing to make me move an inch. I was rooted on the spot.

“C’mon, Caleb”, Jenny grunted as she pulled with all her strength, “We’ve got your back. Plus, we have Steve. He knows what he’s doing.” Ralph and Vanellope stood off to the side, faces plastered with amused smirks at Jenny’s predicament. She glared at them. “A little help here?!”

“Here, let me”, Gladius said. He was hovering above the two arcade citizens, but at his call, he hovered down behind me, then poked the tip of his blade into my but. I yelped in pain, but with Jenny still pulling me, the two of us launched forward and crash landed right at Steve’s feet. We both looked up and were greeted with eyes saying he was really struggling to not laugh. We both scowled at him.

“I’m sorry”, he said, trying not to burst. “I just didn’t expect Caleb to be that stubborn.”

I bolted to my feet and glared dangerously at the block man. “Maybe it’s because I know where we’re going, Steve!” Steve leaned back a  bit at my outburst, and the others were caught a bit off guard. I took a deep breath. “Sorry, it’s just when you want to bring us to a place filled with a sea of lava and endless fire, I get defensive!” That made the others freeze with looks of pure horror.

“Wait, what’s on the other side of that?!” Ralph bellowed, Vanellope defensively hiding behind her friend. Jenny glared at the block man, and Gladius forced himself in front of me. Steve sighed.

“Look, Caleb is right. The Nether is filled with fire, fire and more fire. But I’ve been there already, so I was able to get a base setup, bridges were built, and so much more. We aren’t going in blind, don’t worry.” I looked back at the others, and they all still seemed apprehensive. I turned back to Steve.

“Fine, well go”, I said, “But if things start to get too crazy, we’re going.”

Steve nodded. “Trust me, I was thinking the exact thing. Well, let’s go!” He hopped into the portal, and we watched as he awkwardly just stood there for a few seconds. Then he just blinked out of existence.

“Are you sure about this, Caleb?” Vanellope asked when she hopped onto my shoulder. I shrugged.

“Don’t know. But I guess we’ll just have to put on brave faces and follow the master.” The others looked between each other, then all sighed and nodded. We all walked into the portal and stood within it. The noises it made drowned out everything else, and then in the blink of an eye, we were sent to the Nether. We all tumbled out of the portal in a heap. We all heard quiet laughing, and we all looked up to see Steve standing over us. We all scowled up at him, then we all rose from our heap with his help. I dusted myself off (with Gladius’ help, of course) and looked around. The exit of the portal was at a simple Cobblestone building. Rather than windows, there was Iron Bars in place. An Iron Door kept us safe inside as the noise of some odd pig cries came from outside. Steve, after he and Jenny helped Ralph to his feet, walked to the door.

“So, because of how dangerous this place is, it’s best we stick close together. “ He looked between all of us. “Are you guys ready to go?”

We all nodded. Steve nodded back and pressed a button that was next to the door and it snapped open. We followed Steve out of the cobblestone hut and into the molten red landscape, and immediately we were greeted by what looked to be a bipedal, zombie pig with a golden sword. I recognized it as a Zombie Piglin. I smiled as it harmlessly gazed at us, but immediately felt my blood run cold when I saw Jenny, Ralph and Vanellope approach it in a threatening manner.

“Guys don’t!” Steve shouted. Just before they could strike they stopped and faced us with looks of confusion. The Piglin just aimlessly wandered away.

“What?” Vanellope asked, shooting me and Steve a distasteful look.

“Zombie Piglins are passive unless provoked”, Steve explained, “Attack one and all others will charge at you.” This made the others become fearful, and they turned to see at least 50 more Piglins all over. They raised their hands and slowly backed away till they were back next to us.

“Ooooookay…” Jenny said, clapping her hands together, “What’s the plan here, exactly?”

“Just follow me”, Steve said. We followed after him, leaving the crowd of Piglins alone, and proceeded into the Nether proper.

~X~

The trek through the blocky red underworld wasn’t as bad as I expected. Just like Steve said, he had marked the path we were taking, there were frequent safe places, and plenty of bridges to cross the gigantic gaps between the chunks of land. I looked around in awe despite my ever present fears of the endless fire. We were currently crossing a decently sized cobblestone bridge, single block high guard walls all that was keeping us from falling in. Vanellope casually walked across one of these guard walls like a balance beam, her arms outstretched to her sides. Ralph stayed close to her side, watching her carefully with a concerned look. Jenny was messing around with her damaged pigtail, hoping she could somehow keep it in flight mode. But after a while, she just gave up and began rubbing the dented part. I smiled up at her sadly and patted her shoulder, which made her smile back at me. When she returned to messing with her pigtail, I sped up my pace and joined Steve and Gladius at the front, who were talking happily.

“And you’ve explored every inch of your world?” Gladius asked Steve. The block man nodded.

“Yep. That’s why I’m pretty excited to join you guys. New worlds, new people, new everything!” Steve’s eyes shimmered with wonder. Me and Gladius chuckled at Steve’s curiosity.

“Well, I’m happy to have another member join our little group”, I added, “It makes me smile seeing how eager you are.” Steve looked at me and nodded. Just at that moment, however, the sound of a child’s giggle echoed around us. We all froze.

“What the heck was that?” Ralph said. Vanellope had glitched onto his shoulder and started looking for the source of the sound.

“Ghast”, Steve said fearfully, ”They shoot explosive fireballs at you from far away.”

“Umm, do they look like a grey squid?” Gladius said.

“Yes, they do-” I stopped when I realised what he meant. All of us turned around, and coming up behind us was a Ghast. Jenny instantly pulled out her arm gun and began to open fire on the creature, but one bullet instantly ended the Ghast before it could do anything. Several more shots rushed past where the Ghast once was, and we all stared in silence.

“That’s…one way to deal with a Ghast”, Steve said in a shocked tone. Jenny slowly lowered her gun and turned around to the rest of us with a very sheepish look.

“Uh…” she darts her eyes around, “You’re welcome?” She shrugged. I let out a breath mixed with a laugh.

“Never change, Jenny”, I said with a smile. The robot smiled back.

“Well, with that dealt with”, Steve said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s keep going. The fortress shouldn’t be too far!” At that, we all continued along the bridge, chatting between each other for the rest of the walk. Soon enough, we reached the large dark red brick fortress of Minecraft’s underworld.

“How”, I said, looking up at the imposing structure that rested before us, “This thing is a lot more imposing in person.”

“Yep”, Steve affirmed with a nod, “When I first found this place, I was terrified. The moment I got her, I saw one Blaze then ran back home. I did come back eventually, but only when I was prepared enough.”

Gladius scoffed and let out a quiet “Coward”, but that was returned with a harsh glare from Steve and quiet laughter from the others. I just gave a flat look at the scene, then looked to my right. Steve had built a cobblestone staircase that scaled up the outer wall and onto the battlements above. I walked over and began to climb, which went completely unnoticed to the others. I looked down at them with a smirk, Steve giving everyone a run down for how things would work.

“So, this place is very dangerous”, he began, “There’ll be Blazes that shoot fire, Wither Skeletons that’ll hit you with their wither poison, and Zombie Piglins tend to wander in this place. That’s why it was crucial too…” Steve trailed off and looked around, “Where’s Caleb?” This made the others start looking around in confusion.

“You guys really got to get this!” I shouted down at them with a smirk. They all looked up in shock.”I tend to wander, so always keep an eye out for me!” I stopped leaning over the ledge just as they all raced after me. Gladius was the first to reach my side.

“How did you get up here so quietly?” He said, looking me over. I shrugged in response just as the others made their way up the stairs and joined me.

“Kid, please don’t run off like that”, Ralph said as he let out a deep breath, “Especially in a place like this.” I shrugged silently a second time, much to the wrecker’s chagrin. Jenny walked up and looked me right in the eyes, then smirked.

“Not going to lie, you got me”, she said, “Definitely got it, kid.” I beamed proudly.

“Okay, can we get back to our original plan?” Steve huffed in annoyance, “I don’t like being here for such a long time, and we’ve had enough close calls already!”

I looked to the others and we all shared a nod, and we followed Steve deeper into the fortress.

“So, stick close together”, Steve said matter-of-factly, “Anything could jump out at you at any second.”

“Skeleton!” Gladius  suddenly shouted. A Wither Skeleton, on cue, was running up at us. Jenny quickly transformed her hands into blades and charged at the skeleton. She smacked the walking pile of bones around like crazy, but her scuffle got the attention of a few Blazes and more Wither Skeletons. The rest of us all watched as the mobs approached. Vanellope smirked darkly as a Blaze came up to her, its body igniting.

“Bring it on, hothead.” Vanellope suddenly glitched behind the fire monster and delivered a devastating blow with her iron sword. She kept herself airborn by constantly glitching, doing battle with a group of Blazes that hung over us. On the fortress’ battlements, Steve, me, Ralph and Gladius fought with an army of Wither Skeletons, Regular Skeletons, and even Magma Cubes. Jenny, when she beat her one skeleton, changed both her hands into laser guns and began unleashing everything she had on all the mobs in her vicinity.

“Steve, this is crazy!” I screamed, using a shield to bash a Wither Skeleton away over the ledge. “Why are there so many of these things?!”

“I don’t know!” He cried back as he fought back a trio of Magma Cubes. “The last time I was here it was not this bad!”

“How about instead of wondering why ”, Ralph called as he slammed any mob in front of him with his own fists, “We find some way to get out of here?!”

Gladius was flying through the crowd of mobs blade first. “I’ll clear a way out!” He shouted as he flew past, blowing more mobs off the battlements. Vanellope had glitched back down onto Ralph’s shoulder, and Jenny blasted her way up to us. Gladius looped back around and cleared a path for us, and we all booked it. We weren’t that far from the staircase, so we quickly made our way down off the fortress and began to run back across the bridge. Many of the mobs were running after us, their constant cries drowning out the Nether’s usual ambiance.

“We need to get to the portal!” Steve yelled. Ralph was holding Vanellope as she sat on his shoulder. From her perch, the racer was firing arrows behind her with ease, using a crossbow she brought with her. Jenny was doing the same. Firing both arm cannons with scary accuracy. As we ran, more Ghasts had spawned in and began to spit fireballs at us.

“I! HATE! THIS! PLACE!” I screamed. “WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS?!” Ralph, as a sort of response, grabbed hold of me with his free arm and held me close. Gladius was leading the charge, deflecting as many fireballs back as he physically could.

“Hurry up guys!” Vanellope called. “Running out of arrows here!” We picked up the pace, but that proved to be a massive mistake. Vanellope ended up fumbling with her aiming, and fired a stray arrow at, what else, but a Zombie Piglin. We all looked in shock as the one Piglin let out a cry of pain, and all others in the area began to advance on us. We all let out cries of terror and booked it down the bridge as mobs swarmed us on all sides except in front of us. After what felt like forever, we finally made it to the area where the portal was. We all scrambled into the building as soon as Steve hit the button to open the door, and all landed on the ground in a panting, exhausted pile.

“So…”, Steve began, “That was fun, huh?”

We all promptly gave him a glare.

~X~

“That was the worst thing to ever happen to me!” Ralph said as he put his armour away in its original chest. We had all stepped through the portal, and Steve had closed it as soon as we were all through. “And I was basically labelled a criminal for all my life!”

Jenny let out a huff as she stood by the door, her arms crossed. “Regardless of what happened, we’re lucky to make it out of there in one piece.”

“Says you”, I croaked, my hair a disaster and nerves frayed. Gladius was hugging my side as I stood bug-eyes off to the side, spacing out.

“Well, I don’t care if this is an unpopular opinion, but that was a blast!” Vanellope cheered as she stood on top. “Yeah, it was life threatening. But it helped us build character.” All of us, even me, all gave her an unimpressed scowl. She looked at us with wide eyes, then gave a sheepish smile.

Steve, however, remained silent as he stared at the now deactivated portal. Thanks to Vanellope’s hot take, I was snapped out of my funk enough to look at him in curiosity. “Something up, Steve?” I asked.

“Yeah…”, he said in a puzzled tone, ”I’m just super confused. I’ve never seen so many mobs in my life.” He turned to the rest of us. “Do you guys have any idea what might’ve happened?” We all shook our heads. Except Gladius. He hummed in thought.

“I believe I have an idea what happened…”, He said. We all looked at him with raised brows. “From my time being around Lightness and Darkness, they talked about how each universe is alive, with the functions of a human like you, Caleb.” Gladius pointed at me, and my eyes widened. “I believe what happened in the Nether was the world’s way to combat foreign objects, AKA us.” He gestured to me, Vanellope, Ralph, Jenny and himself. “It’s akin to how your body would fight of a disease.”

We all shared looks. “So, what you’re saying”, Jenny began, “Is that each universe is alive, and it just sends whatever it wants to deal with ‘invaders’?” She ended with air quotes.

Gladius nodded. “Yes. It would explain what happened at Litwack’s Arcade, and what happened with Armagedroid.” We all shared looks as Gladius put a wing under his jewel in thought.

“That…actually makes sense…sorta…”, I said with a dumbfounded look.

“Well, it explains why we were chased by a horde of Spiders when we first showed up”, Ralph said while crossing his arms. Vanellope and Jenny nodded, while I frowned.

“Well, that definitely makes me feel better about dragging you guys around with me”, I spat sarcastically. The others all looked at me sadly, Ralph coming up to me and resting a hand on my shoulder. I sighed. ”I know it’s not bad. I just feel guilty dragging you guys into this mess.”

“Don’t be”, Jenny said with determination, “We chose to come with you, so don’t feel guilty. We wanted to come.” I looked up at her with a smile.

“Speaking of”, Steve interjected, “When are we going? I’m getting kind of antsy to head out with you guys.” He was rummaging through several different chests, gathering his most important supplies for the trip. I looked over at Gladius.

“Let me see where we need to go”, He hovered a tiny bit higher and began to spin around while mumbling. Steve finished packing just as Gladius came up to my side. He pointed towards the door of the room. “Open a portal that way.” I nodded, grabbed hold of him, and swung. Not too long after, a portal opened. I let go of the sword and faced the others with a smile.

“You guys ready?” I asked them.

“As ready as I’ll ever be”, Ralph said with a smirk.

“Yeah! Let’s get this show on the road!” Vanellope cheered.

“It’s better than endlessly training”, Jenny sighed.

“I’m ready to see new worlds and meet new people!” Steve cried.

I beamed and nodded, and we all stepped into the portal.

~X~

And so we bid farewell to the world of Minecraft and look forward to the crazy new worlds Caleb, Gladius and all their friends will come upon. With so much out there, the sky’s the limit.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

We were all cruising through the portal with no hitches. Ralph was soaring like he was skydiving, Vanellope hanging on to his back. Jenny, despite having her damaged pigtail, had her wings revealed to keep her stabilised. Steve was wearing his Elytra and gliding gracefully. Finally, I was holding on to Gladius’ handle, the sword gliding through the stained glass portal.

“When do we reach the end of this?” Steve called.

“Don’t know”, I called back, “It kinda just happens whenever-” I was immediately silenced when all six of us all smacked into a sudden wall. We all groaned and slid off the wall, crashing into a dumpster below. Slowly, we all rose from the bin. “Whenever…it wants.” I finished.

“That hurt”, Ralph huffed, holding his head. He turned around and looked up, cringing at the indent he made. “Makes me wish I snagged Felix’s hammer…” He mumbled. Vanellope, meanwhile, hopped out of the dumpster and dusted herself off and looked around.

“Hey guys”, Vanellope spoke up with an apprehensive tone, “Is it just me, or is this place…a bit realistic?” The rest of us all looked around from the dumpster, and it seemed Vanellope was right. Everything looked just like it was from my world. It was actually kind of scary how accurate it was.

“Caleb”, Jenny said as she looked around in awe, “Did we somehow get you back home?”

I stepped out of the dumpster and dusted myself off. I looked at a group of posters that were stuck to a nearby wall and walked up to them. Upon getting a closer look, I quickly noticed everything on the posters were in Japanese. I looked at Jenny and shook my head.

“Well, wherever we are”, Steve said, having stepped out of the dumpster. “We should find somewhere to crash and plan something out.”

“Why can’t we just hide out here?” Vanellope asked, putting her hands on her hips and scowling. Ralph simply jabbed a thumb at the dumpster, and Vanellope’s scowl fell. “Right…let’s go, my loyal servants!” We all rolled our eyes and smiled at the president’s little jab, and followed her out of the alleyway. The street we reached was a sight to behold. There were hundreds of flashing neon signs, all with Japanese Kanji written on them. People in varying outfits, from business suits to casual, walked by, not paying any mind to us.

“We’re somewhere in Japan…” Jenny said as she squinted her eyes, looking down both ends of the street. “In that case, I’ll be a translator for you guys.”

“That would be greatly appreciated, Jenny”, Gladius said, bowing. He then turned to me. “Do you know what world we’re in, Caleb?”

I slowly shook my head. “I…don’t.” This made the others look at me in silence. “None of this looks familiar. For once, I can’t really guide us.” This didn’t reassure the others, but Jenny thought of something. She walked up to a pair of women who were chatting. They acknowledged her existence, but seemed to not notice she was a robot.

“ねえ、私と私の友達 (Hey, me and my friends)”, she gestured to the rest of us, “タクシーの運転手によってここに捨てられました。私たちがどこにいるのか教えていただけますか？(were dumped here by a taxi driver. Can you tell us where we are?)”

One of the women nodded. “あなたはカムロチョにいます、恋人 (You’re in Kamurocho, sweetheart)”

Jenny bowed in thanks and returned to us. “So, we’re in Kamurocho apparently. That…somewhat helps.”

I gave a flat look, not too sure how well that helps us. But it was something. “So what’s the plan?” I asked. The others all shrugged, and it felt like we were stuck. We had no idea where we were, what to do, and who to ask for help. I let out a sigh, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a group of three men approaching us. They were wearing brightly coloured suits, had styled hair, and walked with authority. Immediately, I put the pieces together. Yakuza.

“We should go”, I said sharply, nodding my head towards the oncoming trio. The others looked at them, and began to follow me away from them. Gladius had sheathed himself in the back of my shirt, and we walked away swiftly. But when I looked over my shoulder, I saw one of the men, a bigger one wearing a purple suit, glaring right at me. I sped up slightly, the others doing the same, but when we heard an angry shout, Jenny’s eyes widened in alarm.

“Run!” She cried. She took the lead as we bolted ahead, the trio of men after us. We ran around citizens, occasionally shoving some out of the way, but the trio of Yakuza still followed right after us. Eventually, we hit a dead end alley, the three men cornering us. They spat something angrily in Japanese.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble”, Steve said, “We just need some directions.” Again, all we got in response was angry japanese. Jenny and Ralph scowled and walked in front of the rest of us, ready to throw down. But before that could happen, someone came in with a baseball bat and utterly decimated the trio. The rest of us watched in pure shock as the trio were beaten into a groaning pile of injured men. The mysterious man turned to us and smiled, propping his bat over his shoulder. He was wearing a golden suit with a pattern, black dress pants and silver tipped boots. His hair was cut short, and his left eye was covered with an eyepatch. He smiled sadistically at us.

“Welcome to Kamurocho!” He called in broken english.

~X~

The mysterious man had brought us out of the alley and into a bar. Jenny said the place was called New Serena, and I felt an aura of safety emanating from it, relieving me of the stress from earlier. No one was in the bar when we walked in, but the mysterious man grunted and pointed at an empty booth. We all shared apprehensive looks, but did as we were told anyway. We all sat around the table at one end, while the man sat at the other end. We all sat in silence for a bit.

“So…” I said to break the unbearably awkward silence, “Who are you?” Jenny looked at me, then back at the eyepatched man, repeating what I said in japanese. The man looked at me with a slight smirk. He talked to Jenny in Japanese, and the robot’s eyes widened.

“He said he’s a construction worker who saw us smash into the wall from the roof”, she said with shock. I did a double take at the man, then squinted.

“What were you doing on the roof?” I asked. The man said something, and Jenny translated.

“He said he was dealing with some thugs. Apparently he made a promise to a friend to keep the city safe?” Jenny looked at him in suspicion. “Why?” The man spoke, and Jenny nodded. “So, another family is attacking the city, and your friend is out dealing with them.”

“Well, that is kind of you to do that”, I thought I saw the man’s smile falter a bit, “But who are you .”

The man smirked, crossed his arms, and leaned back. “Goro Majima-san.”

“In Japan, it’s more accustomed to call someone by their last name”, I whispered to the others, who nodded, then turned their attention to Majima. “So, I’m assuming you saved us because those three from earlier were part of this other family?”

Majima nodded, spoke, then Jenny translated. “Yes, that is why he helped us.”

I gave Majima a small smile. “Well, thanks. If you need help with keeping the city safe, we’ll be more than willing to help.” The others all looked at me with wide eyes, clearly not on board with the idea of fighting the Japanese mafia. But I just ignored them and kept my attention on Majima, who grinned sadistically. He talked to Jenny in Japanese, then stood up and left New Serena.

“What did he say?” I asked the robot.

“He said to meet us towards the north of the city. That’s where his construction site is”, she was looking at the door as she told me, but then she turned to face me. “He said he was going to give you a crash course in Japanese. Including you guys.” She nodded at the others, and they all shared looks. Jenny stood up from her spot and began to head to the construction site, the others following. I hung back to quickly use the bathroom, and as I washed my hands, I talked with Gladius.

“Did you understand anything Majima said?” I asked my friend. He nodded.

“Yes. Being around as long as I have”, he explained, “I got to talk with plenty of Gods and Goddesses of myth for a variety of cultures, so I learned how to speak all sorts of languages.”

That made me stop what I was doing and look at him from the mirror. “Wait, is it possible for you to allow me to understand those languages? Like, a sharing of knowledge?”

Gladius looked at me silently for a moment. “I’m not too sure if I can…”

“Okay, c’mon”, I said, turning to him with my still wet hands on my hips. “If you can open portals to other worlds and time travel, letting me understand other languages  seems like child’s play.” I went and dried off my hands, leaving Gladius to silently ponder for a moment.

“I suppose we can try it out when we get to the construction site”, Gladius said with a shrug. I nodded at that, he sheathed himself, and I left the bathroom and walked out to join the others. We joined up with them, and the six of us began to head towards Majima’s construction site. We took in the sights of Kamurocho, the noise of the passing people, and the smells of the delicious food.

“This is amazing!” Vanellope cheered from her spot on Ralph’s shoulder. Her attention was drawn to the Club SEGA we walked past. She hopped up onto her feet and started smacking the side of Ralph’s head. “Oh, can we check that place out?! C’mon!”

I looked over at Vanellope sadly. “Maybe some other time, Van. With what Majima is dealing with, it’s probably best to stick close to him for the time being.” Vanellope pouted, but nodded nonetheless. We walked past the arcade, the candy president letting out a whine as we did, and continued down the road. Vanellope sulked for the rest of the walk, not saying a word as we all took in the sights of Kamurocho, the rest of us occasionally engaging in quick conversation.

“Have you ever taken any other class for another language, Caleb?” Ralph asked me. I nodded, but with a weird face.

“Yeah, French”, I explained. “It was mandatory in elementary school. But no matter how hard I studied, I just could never get it to work. So I dropped it when I went to high school.” Jenny hummed, while Steve gave me a side glance. I brushed it off, stopping my walk when we came up to a wall with a large sign. Jenny stepped forward and read the sign.

“It says Kamurocho Hills…”, she said,looking the whole sign over, “This must be the place.” We turned to the right and followed the wall down the road, but there wasn’t any sign of an entrance. When I thought we were doing something wrong, I noticed a man walking ahead of us, whom was wearing a construction helmet. I nodded at him, and the others nodded back. We followed after him, the man taking a turn into a park, then into the men’s side of the bathroom. We watched as he entered the furthest stall.

“Do you guys want to see where that goes?” I asked. Jenny and Vanellope both looked slightly uncomfortable, but I stepped behind the robot and pushed her in. We made it to the stall, and as carefully as I could, I cracked open the door. I was shocked to see that it was a normal stall, toilet and all, only there was a door right across from us. I shared looks with the others, and we all walked through the second door. On the other side was the construction site, everything at full operation.

“Okay, that’s one way to hide an entrance”, Steve said as he looked around. I gazed around at the site until my eyes fell on Majima, who seemed to be angrily barking at a man (not the one we followed). I felt my face fall into an upset frown as the man bowed fearfully and quickly walked off. I carefully headed towards the eyepatched man, who quickly looked in my direction and grinned. He nodded towards a mobile trailer, and I entered. Majima was right behind me, and I took a seat on a chair that was resting at a table. Majima then sat across from me. I looked up at the man with apprehension, Gladius not moving in the slightest. Majima looked me over carefully, his one visible eye burning into my soul.

“So where are you from?” Majima asked in extremely broken english. I gulped, but thought back to when he said he saw me and the others smash into the wall. He must’ve seen the portal.

“Well, it seems crazy…” I said, “So just listen…” And I explained everything to Majima. He leaned back in interest as I relayed everything back. I could feel Gladius was uncomfortable, but Majima seemed unfazed. I even introduced the sword to Majima, and the eyepatched man looked at Gladius with a grin and a curt nod. After a bit, I finished explaining, Gladius floating by my side. Majima just stared me down. He mumbled something in Japanese, then pointed at Gladius.

“Oh, uhhhh…” The sword turned to me, “Majima says that he’s heard of weirder.” I felt most of my tension leave me.

“So, you’re good?” I asked. Majima nodded, then spoke to Gladius.

“Well, Majima said he wants your help”, Gladius said, “He sees the help he gave us as an ‘eye for an eye’ situation.” I looked at Majima with a weird look. “His words, not mine.”

I quickly glanced at Gladius, then turned fully to Majima. “So, what do you want us to do?”

Majima grinned.

~X~

And what did Majima want us to do? Help him with his construction project.We were lined up in the middle of the rest of his men, all of them giving us weird looks. But when Majima shouted, forcing us all to stand at attention. I shot a light glare over to the trailer, where Vanellope was watching everything with a massive smirk. Majima himself had said Vanellope was excused from any of the hard work, something she gladly accepted.

“降りて、みんな！新入社員が何人かいるので、みんなに公平に扱ってもらいたいです！(Alight, everyone! We’ve got some new recruits, so I want y'all to treat them fairly!)” Majima barked at his men. They all shouted something in confirmation, and Majima disbanded them. I grumbled as I adjusted the hard hat I was forced to wear, the inside of it not agreeing with my messy mop of hair. Steve was having the hardest time out of all of us, since all he could do was balance the hat on his head. Literal square peg in a round hole situation.

“I’m not the biggest fan of this…” Ralph complained, “Stuff like this I’m definitely not cut out for.”

“I’m getting flashbacks to when the Crust Cousins tricked me when we had that ‘ sleepover’ ...” Jenny grumbled.

“Nah, cheer up you too”, Vanellope said smugly as she walked up to us, pouncing onto her usual spot on Ralph’s shoulder. “This’ll be fun!’

“You’re only saying that because you don’t need to do anything, you little gutter-snipe…” Ralph growled, earning a scoff and eye roll from the racer. I looked at her with a pointed look, and she stuck her tongue out playfully at me. I returned the gesture, and I got a giggle out of the girl, making me smile. Ralph’s mood lifted a bit at this, as did the others, but Gladius nudged me slightly.

“What is it?” I whispered through grit teeth. He subtly pointed a wing in the direction toward the gate a lot of the heavier equipment came from. My eyes widened as I saw the three men Majima pummelled earlier marching up with a large group of men behind them.

“Hey, Majima?” I shouted. The others, along with many of the men in the immediate area and Majima, all turned to my voice. I slowly backed away, Jenny being quick to rush ahead of me and throw a protective arm in front of me. Majima growled and stomped up to the approaching men, pulling out a sort of knife. He began to threaten the men, all while Ralph, Steve and Jenny prepared for battle.

“You two”, Steve called. Pointing at me and Vanellope. “Get back and stay safe,we’ll handle this.” The three of them ran up to Majima’s side, leaving me, Vanellope and Gladius behind.

“C’mon, I’m not gonna sit around when Ham Hands is about to go in guns blazing!” Vanellope cheered. As if by fate, several of the invading men pulled out several guns. One even had a sawed-off shotgun. The sight of the surplus of weaponry made me and Vanellope pale.

“Yeah”, I squeaked out, “Nope!” I bolted in the other direction, grabbing Vanellope’s hand and ran behind the trailer. What ensued was a full out brawl. Majima, Jenny, Steve, Ralph and a lot of the other construction workers were defending the site with all their might, and I had the urge to cover Vanellope’s eyes. Gladius beat me to the punch.

“I’m sorry, Schweetz, but this is just too graphic for your innocent mind”, Gladius said as he used his wings to cover the racer’s eyes. She let out a whine as he did, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of the brawl happening before me. It was too crazy to turn away. I winced and cringed every time one of my friends got hit pretty hard, but they always got back up and continued fighting. The battle lasted for what felt like hours, bullets, fists and people flying all over, until eventually Majima and the others stood triumphantly over the groaning pile of intruders. I rushed over to the, followed close by Vanellope and Gladius,

“Guys!” I shouted, getting their attention. “That was amazing! And emotionally scarring…” I finished with an uncomfortable face. Majima chuckled and began to investigate the beaten men, while the others looked back at him with frowns.

“I’m…not a fan of this world…” Steve said, “It’s one thing to beat up supervillains, monsters and stuff, but this”, he gestured to the group of unconscious men who were being carried out by Majima’s men, “Feels…weird.” The rest of us nodded in agreement.

“まあ、このたわごとは私の人生です。(Well, this shit is my life)”, Majima said as he approached us, “私はそれに慣れています、そしてあなたが何であるかで、私はあなたが線を引くところにこれが驚いています。(I’m used to it, and with what you are, I’m surprised this is where you draw the line.)”

Jenny glared at him. “It’s because of the realism, Cyclops. Plus, we aren’t like you.”

Majima scoffed, but still had a grin painted on his face. “私はそのバックトークが好きです、ロボット。(I like that back talk, robot.)” He walked up and wrapped an arm around me and Steve. “私はあなた方全員が好きです、しかしあなたが私に返済したいなら、あなたはこれに慣れたほうがいいです！さあ、目を閉じてください。(But if you want to repay me, y’all better get used to this!)” He began to walk away. “午前中にやるべきことがたくさんあります! (Now go get some shut eye, we have a lot of work to do in the morning!)” Gladius had silently translated for me. The one-eyed man began to laugh maniacally as he walked off, leaving behind a fuming Jenny. She let out a low growl and stormed off, the others following suit. Except for me. I walked after Majima, Gladius quickly coming up to my side. He sheathed himself so no one saw him, and I confronted Majima.

“Majima”, I said firmly. The man looked down at me with a raised brow. “I do understand what you’re getting at, but you need to understand that we aren’t like you.” I darted my eyes around, and began to whisper. “Remember what I told you.”

Majima rolled his eye and let out a quiet groan, but nodded at me regardless. I could tell he wasn’t a massive fan of the idea, but considering what his options were, he didn’t have much of a choice. I nodded and walked off after the others, my body feeling heavy with sleep. I trudged into the trailer Majima gave to me and my friends, and when I entered, everyone was fast asleep. Jenny was sleeping on the couch, Ralph was on the floor with Vanellope on top of him,and Steve had placed a bed at the foot of my bed. I carefully tiptoed into the empty bed, set Gladius down against the night stand. I lied down and stared up at the ceiling, the sounds of the active and lively Kamurocho hitting my ears. I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, sleep taking me over shortly after.

~X~

And so we reach the world of SEGA’s Yakuza series. It’s a franchise I feel like really contrasts with the other previous worlds, so I chose it for that fact. But the main reason was because of Majima, who’s sadistic and somewhat trigger happy personality clashes nicely with the rest of the gang.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I was kicked awake when I felt someone pick me up and start shaking me violently. I snapped my eyes open and was greeted with the fierce scowl of Majima. The others all jumped awake and began to look around in confusion before looking at the eyepatched man. Steve, being the closest, rushed over and pulled me out of Majima’s grasp.

“What the heck, Majima?!” I shouted in rage. Jenny and Ralph shot him with vicious scowls, while Vanellope just shook her head in an attempt to wake up. The man said something in Japanese, which made Jenny’s frown fall.

“Wait, something happened when we were asleep?” She asked with concern. That made the mood turn, and we all looked at Majima with worry. He gestured for Jenny to follow him, and the two of them left the trailer, leaving the rest of us in silence.

“What do you think happened?” Gladius asked, hovering up to my side. I shrugged.

“Hopefully nothing too serious”, Ralph said as he rubbed a hand over his face. Vanellope hopped off him and onto the couch.

“Well, after last night”, Steve added, ”I wouldn’t be surprised if it was more of those guy’s friends.”

“Whatever”, Vanellope said hoarsely, her hair an absolute mess, “I just want to get something to eat.” I looked at Vanellope with a slightly sad frown, then walked over and picked her up. She quickly sat on my shoulder and leaned against my head,letting out a loud yawn. I looked at Ralph.

“I’ll take Vanellope out to get some food, they must have something around the site.” The wrecker nodded at me, and I left the trailer with Gladius sheathing himself. I looked off to the right, and I saw Majima and Jenny standing in front of another trailer, talking with some other workers. I waved over at her with a tired smile, and she looked over and smiled back. I continued on my way through the site, careful not to bump into anyone. But there was nothing in the construction site, and I dreaded having to leave. One, because of the dangers, and two, because I didn’t have any Yen.

“So…” Vanellope spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts. “What’s the plan for breakfast?”

I darted my eyes around carefully. “I’m not sure…” I said, “We’re broke, with that other family attacking the city we can leave, and I honestly don’t even know what there is…”

“Well, there has to be something ”, the tiny candy racer stretched her arms out with an unimpressed glare. “If this whole trip with you will eventually devolve into scrounging for scraps, I’ll regret coming.”

I shot her a sour look. “Alright, then how about you think of something, Crumb-Muncher.” Vanellope stuck her tongue out at me in response, but after a few moments of just the two of us staring at each other with glares, we both broke into laughter. I fell onto my knees and clutched my stomach while Vanellope rolled around on the ground. After we got all of that out of our system, I stood back up and helped Vanellope up to her feet.

“Well, as fun as it is taking jabs at each other”, Vanellope said with an eye roll and smirk, “We still need to find something to munch on.”

“Well, you two could have just waited”, said a new voice. We both turned to it in surprise and saw Steve walk up to us at a brisk pace. “Majima kinda guessed that we would have trouble getting food around here, so he said we can use some yen.” He quickly tossed us both some coin pouches. I caught mine and quickly opened it, and saw a decent amount of yen in it. I quickly shut it and put it away in my pocket, Vanellope mirroring my movements.

“This should be enough”, I told the builder with a smile, “Tell Majima we said thank you.”

“He said not to worry about it”, Steve said, “He did say not to blow it all on the claw machines at Club SEGA. They can be very cheap.” I looked down at Vanellope, and saw her eyes sparkle with joy. I cringed and sent Steve a worried look, something he shared.

“Don’t worry…” I said with worry, Vanellope remained as still as a statue. “We’ll be careful not to blow it all…” Steve shot Vanellope a look, nodded, then walked off. Vanellope instantly started to shake in excitement, looking up at me with large, innocent eyes. I looked down at her, and sighed sadly.

“No, Vanellope, we won’t go to Club SEGA”, I told her firmly. Her mood instantly deflated, and she looked close to tears. “C’mon, Ralph would pulverise me if I spoiled you. And Majima would, too.” She looked down and nodded. I looked at her with a sad smile. “Let’s go get our breakfast.”

I held my hand out to her, and she grabbed on to it tightly. I took the lead and headed to the bathroom, but I stopped when I saw something that caught my eye. It looked like a subway entrance, but when I felt Vanellope tug on my hand, I decided to just worry about it later. As we approached the door, a nearby worker ran up to us and gave me a map of Kamurocho, bowing as he did so. I did a slight bow in return, and the two of us made our way out.

“So, where do you want to go?” I asked the candy racer, letting go of her hand so I could look over the map. Gladius shifted slightly so he could see it.

“I don’t know”, Vanellope said with a shrug, then glitched onto my other shoulder. “Does this place have a café or something?”

I squinted at the map and comically angled it in different ways. Gladius cleared his throat. “Perhaps we could go here.” He carefully pointed a wing at a spot on the map, and I looked to see he was pointing at a place called Café Alps. I thought it was a good idea at first, but then I saw the one major flaw.

It was on the other side of the city. I cringed harshly, which Gladius noticed.

“I guess it is a bit far…”  Gladius said nervously.

“Meh, far, shmar” Vanellope said nonchalantly with a hand wave, “I’m hungry. If we run into any freaks, I can just glitch us out of there.” She hopped back onto the ground. “So let’s go!” She started skipping away towards the café. I looked over my shoulder to Gladius, who just shrugged in response. I sighed, and followed after the excitable young racer reluctantly. I caught up to her and followed carefully, constantly looking around, while Vanellope just continued to skip without a care in the world.

“Vanellope, as much as I love your crazy amount of optimism”, I said, “But seriously, we should be extra careful…”

“Ah, don’t get your underwear in a twist”, She turned to face me, still skipping with her face plastered with a smug smirk. “Everything will be fine.” Just then, as we turned the corner, We stopped dead in our tracks. There was a huge crowd of people blocking the street.

“What the heck is happening?” Gladius asked. We walked a bit closer, only to immediately get our answer. Someone, I assumed another thug, was thrown comically through the air, crashing on the ground right in front of us. We jumped in fright, but no one seemed to care, rather choosing to start walking off.

“I guess street brawls are common”, I muttered to the others. They nodded, none of us taking our eyes off of the man in front of us. He groaned in pain, mumbling in Japanese.

“I’m glad neither of you can understand him…” Gladius whispered, making me and Vanellope share a look. We carefully walked around the man to continue on our way, but we were once again stopped by something. This time, it was a single man, wearing a silver suit, maroon undershirt, silver shoes, and black hair. He pulled out a cigarette and lighter, lit the nicotine filled thing, and started smoking. We didn’t want to stick around for too long, so we just walked by like nothing had happened. When we were far enough, we looked back at him.

“Not gonna lie…” I said slowly, “That guy scares me.”

“He’s reminds me of Calhoun”, Vanellope added, “Only I could feel my terror being near him. He’s terrifying.”

“Let’s just get to the café”, I bluntly interjected.

“Agreed”, Vanellope and Gladius said simultaneously. And so we continued on our way.

~X~

Café Alps was a quaint place where not much happened. Me and Vanellope quickly ate our food and returned to the bustling streets of Kamurocho.

“Now that was a breakfast!” Vanellope cheered, patting her stomach. “It’s even better than anything I’ve had back home!”

“I have to agree, Vanny”, I said triumphantly, “That was incredible!”

“Well, now that we ate…” The candy president quickly snagged my pouch of yen, catching my off guard. “Can we please go to the arcade? I just want to see it. Please, Caleb?”

I looked down at Vanellope, opening my mouth in protest, but upon seeing her face, I closed my mouth. She was looking up at me with large pleading eyes, but it was the feeling they filled me with. I stared down at her with wide eyes, and she quickly noticed.

“Caleb, are you good?” Vanellope asked, the concern obvious in her voice.

I blinked and shook my head, then looked back down at her. I suddenly knelt down and picked her up into a tight hug, tears silently flowing from my eyes. “Yes”, I said in a whisper, “We`ll go to the arcade.” I set Vanellope down, but rather than seeing a wide smile and star filled eyes, she was frowning with eyes filled with concern.

“Caleb, are you okay? If you don’t want to go to the arcade, it’s fine…” Vanellope protested.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes. “No, it’s fine, this just brought back memories…”

“Of what?” Vanellope pressed.

“My brother.” I walked off, but unaware to me, Gladius had unsheathed himself and hovered close to her side. I saw they shared a confused look, then followed after me. Gladius resheathed himself, and I had calmed down significantly. It was enough for Vanellope to not worry, luckily, so we made our way to Club SEGA without any snags. We walked in, and Vanellope immediately let out a joyful gasp. There were cabinets lined back to back in the middle of the room, more on the walls, and two claw machines against the window.

“This. Is. Amazing”, Vanellope said in childlike glee, “Did I die and go to heaven?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Nope, you just have an amazing friend.” But my tone turned serious as I knelt down and looked Vanellope dead in the eye. “But don’t blow all your money on this place. I mean it.” I gave her a harsh, yet still friendly, look. She nodded rapidly in response, and instantly ran off to a Virtua Fighter 2 machine. I smiled as she ran off, only to turn my attention to the claw machine, called UFO Catcher . I made my way over to it and looked at the contents, and the plushies inside consisted of a light red cat standing on its hind legs; a bird wearing a hat and tie; something that resembled a robot; and a golden retriever. I smiled as I took out some yen.

“Planning to win one of these?” Gladius said quietly.

I looked over my shoulder and nodded. “Yep. Mainly the cat for Vanellope.” I paid the right amount, getting three chances. I played as carefully as I could, but I missed during my first try. For the second one, I actually was able to grab the cat, but it fell out of the claw’s grasp just too soon. I internally cursed, took a deep breath, and used my third chance. Miraculously, I won the plushie, and more than happily took it out from the machine.

“Wow, I’m impressed”, Gladius said quietly in shock, “I heard from others that claw machines are cheap machines they use to con people for easy money.”

“Yeah, but if you’re lucky, you get a cutie like this”, I smiled as I held up the cat to Gladius, the sword humming as he looked it over. I walked over to the machine that Vanellope was sitting at, said candy president kicking absolute butt in her game.

“Yeah! Take that, Kage!” Vanellope cheered as she controlled her character to deliver a high kick to the opponent, knocking them out of the ring and giving her the win. I walked up and stood beside her, the final battle starting. The match started, with the opponent Dural giving Vanellope a hard time. But the racer was able to turn the fight around and take victory. She jumped up into the air and cheered, my quiet applause making her smile grow.

“Nice job, Vanny”, I congratulated as Vanellope put in her initials for the high score, “Honestly, it’s a good thing you won that, because what’s a winner without a prize?” She looked up at me in confusion, but when I pulled out the cat plushie, she let out a gasp and instantly grabbed the stuffed animal  out of my hands. She looked it over, hugged it, then jumped up and hugged me.

“Thank you”, she said, burying her head into my chest as I returned the embrace. “This morning alone has been amazing.” But then she looked up at me with a flat look. “Which means something has to go wrong.”

“Want to get back to the site before that happens?” I asked. She nodded, so I set her down and we both made our way out. Just as we did, however, I saw a group of five guys at the end of the street towards us. They didn’t seem to notice us at first, but from how people moved out of their way fearfully, I knew the group was bad news. I grabbed Vanellope’s hand and quickly walked down the road towards the construction site. I looked over my shoulder briefly, then back ahead of us.

“Stay close to me”, I whispered to the racer. She nodded in response, but when she looked over, her eyes widened in fear. “What?”

“They’re running right at us!” She cried. I shot my head in their direction, and felt my stomach drop when I saw the five men dashing towards the two of us.

“RUN!” I shouted. Vanellope didn’t need to be told twice as she grabbed my hand again, pulling me along with all her strength. I quickly responded by picking her up and booking it at my full speed. Gladius subtly helped by flapping his wings just enough to give me a speed boost, which was just the edge we needed to start to outpace our pursuers.

“Caleb, should I glitch us out of here?!” Vanellope cried. I looked down at her and nodded, quickly turning into an alley so no one could see. Just when I turned, Vanellope glitched us upwards, hopping from rooftop to rooftop until we got to an empty alley that was right by West Park. However, it wasn’t a graceful landing, as we both crashed into a recycling dumpster, the lid slamming closed as we did. Vanellope shot up, blasting the lid open, and let out a cheer as I popped out of all cardboard and plastic.

“That was awesome!” The spunky girl yelled happily. I shot her a glare as Gladius shot beside me and into the air, shaking off a bunch of packing peanuts that stuck to him.

“You really should get better with your landings, Schweetz”, Gladius spat angrily. In response, Vanellope glared at him.

“Well, I’m not used to dragging others along, Blade Boy”, she spat back. I groaned and flopped onto the ground, quickly standing up and dusting myself off.

“Well, it doesn’t matter”, I said, ceasing the upcoming argument. ”We got away, and that’s all that matters. Let’s just get back to the others, okay?” The others grumbled something under their breaths and nodded.I shot them both a hard look, and they quietly apologised to each other. Satisfied, I sheathed Gladius, picked up Vanellope, who pulled out her cat plush from her hoodie pocket and started cuddling it, and walked across the street back to the construction site.

~X~

I walked into the site, and the site before us was something. Me and Vanellope gaped at the large number of suited men that were just laying around, all of them groaning and panting in pain. Vanellope hopped out of my arms, taking in what seemed to be the leftovers of a fierce battle.

“What the heck happened here?” The spunky racer asked, “We were only gone for, like, two hours!”

“Yeah…” I said apprehensively, flinching when one of the men rolled over. I looked around, noticing the lack of three people. “And where are the others?” I looked at Vanellope, and she just shrugged in response. Gladius flew high and looked around, then came back down.

“I can’t see them anywhere”, he said with a shrug, “Maybe they went out after they beat all these guys.”

I was about to try and suggest something, but stopped myself when I saw Jenny walk up from the subway entrance I noticed earlier. I looked over at her and waved, the robot quickly noticing and walking over, avoiding the barely conscious men.

“Hey guys!” She greeted, “As you can see, we were busy.”

“Really?” Vanellope said sarcastically, “I didn’t notice.” She shot Jenny a sh*t-eating grin, which got her a glare from the robot. But that glare lightened when she saw the cat plush.

“Oh, did you guys stop at Club SEGA?” Jenny asked me in curiosity. I smiled and nodded.

“Yep, we had the cash, and this little bugger…” I playfully ruffled Vanellope's hair, making her whine, “Was able to convince me.”

“Yep!” Vanellope cheered, “I destroyed Virtua Fighter 2 , and Caleb won my this from a claw machine!” Vanellope hugged the cat close to her, Jenny shooting me a smile and thumbs up.

“So, what were you doing in the subway?” I asked, pointing past Jenny to the entrance. “Was it because of this?”

“Well, kind of”, Jenny started, “Basically, after you three left to get breakfast, those guys from yesterday came back, wanted to fight, and…yeah…” We looked to see some of the other workers carrying the trespassers out, and then Jenny continued. “After we beat them, Majima told us he wanted to show us this place called Purgatory, and we followed him down there.” She jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at the entrance to the subway. I cocked an eyebrow.

“Huh? What’s Purgatory?” I shared a confused look with Vanellope.

“Well, let me show you!” Jenny said, gesturing for us to follow. The three of us  ran after Jenny and walked down the stairs. As we got closer to the bottom, loud chatter hit my ears. At the bottom, mine and Vanellope’s eyes widened at the sight, with Gladius finishing off with a whistle. It wasn’t a subway, but rather a nice red velvet carpet walkway that was flanked with many buildings. Cherry blossom petals laid all over on the ground, beautiful lantern light giving a warm feeling.

“WELCOME TO PURGATORY!” Jenny announced, stretching her arms out wide.

“Wow, this place looks so…cool…” Vanellope, at first, was excited to see such a cool place. But we both cringed when we saw some men in suits ogling women who were dancing…provocatively. I was quick to cover Vanellope’s eyes.

“Jenny, what the heck?!” I said angrily, ”We’ve got a kid tagging along with us!”

“Right, sorry!” She quickly pulled out a piece of cloth, and tied it around Vanellope’s head for use as a blindfold. ”This place is basically where sleazy rich snobs hang out.”

“You could have warned us before we got here”, Gladius said sourly. Jenny frowned a bit, but sighed and nodded nonetheless.

“Let’s just go…” She picked up Vanellope, and me and Gladius followed after her. None of the other guests of Purgatory seemed to care about Gladius (or even notice), so we swiftly made our way to the end of the path. There was a fairly large stone temple, preceded by a bridge that went over a calm body of water. One both sides of the bridge were three cherry blossom trees, a breeze from who knows where blowing petals, making such a beautiful sight. Jenny removed Vanellope’s blindfold and opened the door, and we headed inside. The building wasn’t too crazy, being a straight shot to a large office of sorts. At the other end of the room was a desk, Ralph, Steve and Majima seated at it. As we walked up, Majima smiled. Vanellope was quick to glitch onto Ralph’s shoulder.

“Looks like you had fun, kid” The wrecker said with a smile. He quickly noticed the cat plush in her arms. “Where’d you get the stuffed animal?”

“Okay, so…” As Vanellope explained what me and her got up too, Majima stood up and walked over to me, patting me on the shoulder.

“ カレブちゃん、ついに現れてよかった (Caleb-chan, glad you finally showed up)” Majima said happily, Gladius quickly translating for me. “私は何かを考えているので、あなたがここであなたの申し訳ないお尻を手に入れるのを待っていました... (I was waiting for you to get your sorry butt here, because I have something in mind…)

I looked at the others, all of them shrugging, so I turned back to Majima. “What is this ‘something’?” I said with air quotes.

Majima smiled devilishly. “リングで自分自身をどのように扱うかを見てみましょう... (Time to see how you handle yourselves in the ring…)” All of us shared glances, Gladius gulping in fear.

“I don’t like the sound of that”, the sword quivered.

~X~

And so ends another exciting chapter of Dreams Come True. I wonder what Majima meant, with this mention of a ring. It is  weird, but he is fairly excitable, so it could literally be anything. Y’all just have to wait to find out…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

“Wait, wait, wait”, I said, shaking my head and waving my hands around. Me, Vanellope, Ralph, Jenny and Steve were all sitting in front of Majima. He was smoking a cigarette and leaning back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk. I was just utterly baffled at what he wanted. Gladius was hovering next to him, translating everything.

“Let me get this straight”, I said in utter confusion, “You want us to fight in Purgatory’s colosseum, win this tournament you set up, and then…what?”

“ 基本的 (Basically)”, Majima started, sticking his cigar in an ashtray. “私は昨日と今日あなたの3人の友人に夢中になって感動しました。 (I was crazy impressed with your three friends yesterday and today.).” He pointed out Jenny, Steve and Ralph. “そして、私はこれを大したことにしたいのです。たくさんのお金でたくさんのホットショットをドラッグしてください。それに、もし君たちが上手くいけば、私はあなたに加わることを考えるかもしれない... (And I want this to be a big deal, drag in a lot of hot shots with lots of money. Plus, if you guys do good, I might think about joining you…)”

That last part caught my attention. “Wait, so if the others do good, you’ll join us?” I shot him a look of disbelief. “I kinda thought a robot, living video game characters and a talking sword would be enough?”

Majima laughed. “ほとんど。しかし、私は本当にあなたのフリークがワイルドになるのを見たいです。理由でシマノの狂犬と呼ばれています。(Almost. But I really want to see you freaks get wild. I am called The Mad Dog Of Shimano for a reason.)”

“How do we keep running into people like this?” Ralph said in exasperation. Vanellope shrugged.

“Because we’re all danger magnets in our worlds”, Jenny said bluntly with her arms crossed.

“I kinda like Majima’s idea”, Steve said. The rest of us (sans Majima) gave him utterly dumbfounded looks. “What? I’m being serious. After what happened in the Nether, I feel like it’ll be a good idea to fight guys who have crazy abilities. If we’re all with Caleb in this adventure, I feel like we shouldn’t slack.”

“Shouldn’t slack!?” Jenny angrily spat, “I’ve never gotten a real break in my life, and the three of us just took down an army of thugs two days in a row!” She glared at Majima. “I’m not doing it.”

“Well I am”, Steve said with determination, “Besides, fighting things that are actually competent would be a nic change of pace.”

Ralph scratched the back of his head. “I don’t know…” He muttered quietly. He looked at Vanellope, but her face didn’t house pleading eyes. She knew this was Ralph’s choice. So with a deep sigh, Ralph nodded. “Yeah, I’m in.”

Jenny looked between the two of them, then groaned. “ Fine, I’ll do this stupid tournament.” She leaned forward and glared harshly at the eyepatched man. “But you try anything, and you’re done.” Majima just smirked. I, meanwhile, just stared at everything happening lifelessly. Something about Steve’s reasoning about wanting to participate did something to me. It…made me scared, for some reason. I didn’t know why, but it felt…familiar, like a weird sense of deja vu. That’s when I started filling with dread, the memory flooding into my head.

“This is why you can’t let someone else fight your battles”, a venomous woman spat, “Because then they can’t handle it anymore.”

“Kid, you okay?”

I snapped back to reality at the sound of Ralph’s voice. I looked at them, breathing heavily, to see all their faces painted in concern. Except Majima, who looked at me in confusion.

“I-I’m fine…Ralph…” I said to my large friend. Suddenly, I stood up. “I just n-need some air.” I quickly sped out of the room, slamming the door behind me. When I was alone, I slid down the door and sat on the floor, taking long, deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. My mind felt so heavy, but I heard the others talking through the door, but I couldn’t make anything out. So I stood up and exited the building, choosing to lean over the railing of the bridge, feeling the gentle breeze and occasional cherry blossom petal hit my face.

“Caleb?” Gladius’ voice said. I looked to my left and saw him hovering up to me. “Is everything okay?”

I sighed. “Yeah, just a bit tired is all. I guess I’m a bit mixed on Majima’s plan.”

“It is a bit strange, but I bet the others will win for sure.”

“ああ、私は彼らがそうすることを知っています (Oh, I know they will)”, Majima suddenly said, leaning over the railing to my right. Gladius quickly took up the role of translator. “私はあなたの3人の仲間が他のみんなを完全に破壊することを知っています、私はショーのためにこれをしたいだけです。(I know your three buddies will completely wreck everyone else, I just want to do this for the show.)

“So you do want to join us?” I asked, a tiny bit of hope showing through.

Majima nodded. “ええ、敗者やたわごとから鼻を叩くのと同じくらい楽しいので、私は物事を変えたいと思っています。そして、あなたとあなたのギャングと一緒に出かけるのは、まさに私が必要としていることです。(Yeah, as fun as it is beating the snot out of losers and shitheads, I want to change things up. And heading out with you and your gang is just what I need.)”

“Well”, Gladius spoke up, “We would love to have you join our journey. Although we’ll need to fix the problem of the language barrier…” He trailed off, then turned to me. “Caleb, I believe we should do what I told you at the bar yesterday.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, Majima looking at us with a mix of curiosity and confusion. “What if it melts my brain or something?”

“If it did, would I have suggested it?” Gladius hovered close. “Now hold on to me tightly. This might be a bit much.”

I looked Gladius over in concern, but I steeled my nerves and did as I was told. Majima took a step back, a bored expression on his face. Gladius jewel began to softly glow brighter, making me brace for something painful. But after a few seconds, the glowing stopped. I opened my eyes, and looked at Gladius.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“That should be it”, Gladius said. He looked at Majima. “Say something, Goro.”

“I’m not someone you can just boss around, you stupid butter knife”, Majima spat. My eyes widened as I looked at him in shock. He still spoke perfect Japanese, but I understood every word he said. He stopped glaring at Gladius to look at me in confusion. “What? Did I stutter?”

I shook my head. “No. But that butter knife jab at Gladius was pretty good.” Majima looked at me in slight shock.

“Wait, so you can understand me?” The eyepatched man asked in slight shock.

“Yeah”, I said, nodding in surprise. “It’s weird. You aren’t speaking English, but…woah…” I looked at Gladius. “This is so weird.”

Gladius nodded. “Yep. And since it worked with you, I can do it on the others.”

That actually made me remember something. “Oh, yeah. Majima?” Goro looked at me. “What about the others? What have they been doing?”

“They’ve just been talking about this tournament”, he said with a lazy hand wave, “Just trying to come up with some sort of plan. I just wanted a smoke break. I think we should actually get back, make sure they didn’t change their minds.” I nodded, and so me and Gladius followed Majima back inside. When we stepped inside, I instantly bumped into Ralph, falling on my back.

“Oops, sorry kid”, the wrecker said as he helped me up to my feet, “We were just going to head out.”

Jenny sighed. “I was constantly unsure if we should do it, but Steve convinced me.”

“You’re welcome!” The crafter said happily.

“Well, let’s get going then”, Majima said, clapping his hands together. From Ralph, Vanellope and Steve’s vacant looks, they obviously still couldn’t understand Majima. “I got the kids a special spot, and I don’t want anyone getting all pissy.”

We all nodded and followed after him, the sounds of loud cheering already hitting my ears.

~X~

  We were following Majima back through Purgatory, the underground gambling hotspot still as alive as ever. Vanellope had to put on the blindfold again, much to her annoyance.

“I’m so done with not being able to see”, the racer grumbled, “Like, can’t we just leave already?”

“No, not yet”, Majima said with a scowl, “I don’t want this whole thing to go up in smoke. These sleazeballs spending their money down here helps finance my project.” Vanellope grumbled in frustration. Yes, after we joined back up with the others, Gladius made it so Ralph, Vanellope and Steve could understand Japanese, much to their joy. Jenny glared at all the men that chose to whistle and drool over her, me standing next to her being all that was stopping her from lunging at them. Soon, after a close call with Jenny nearly strangling two drunk men, we made it to where the tournament was being held.

“Welcome to The Coliseum”, Majima announced proudly as he walked up to the large engraved stone door. It automatically lifted into the ceiling, and the front lobby revealed itself to us. It was a simple hallway-like room with a desk to our right, a few TVs hanging from the roof, and an older man reading through some papers at the desk. Us entering caught his attention.

“Ah, Majima-san, I see you brought the newbies”, the man said. Majima, in response, smirked and nodded. “Well, if you three want to do this,just sign up here.” Ralph, Jenny and Steve all did as they were told and began reading over the papers. Meanwhile, Majima led me, Gladius and Vanellope to the large double door at the other end of the room.

“Alright you three”, he said, “While they’re getting all ready, I’ll get you to your spot.” He pushed the door open, and instantly the sounds of loud cheering slammed into me. Before us was a large circular room that had elevated parts like rings, several tables on each layer. In the very middle was a large round boxing ring with shoulder height fencing around it. Currently, a fight was in progress between a burly black man with a construction helmet who wielded stone spike balls over his hands and a chef in a blue uniform dual wielding butcher’s knives. As the two danced around each other, the crowd (which consisted exclusively of men in suits) roared.

“These guys are really into this, huh?” Vanellope, who had removed her blindfold, said with a cringe. “Man, kinda makes me glad I never went with Ralph to any of the sports games back at the arcade.”

“Yes, you are quite right”, Gladius said with a nod. He was hugging close to my back so as to not be seen. “Although Rainbow is much louder.”

“Yeah, sure”, Majima said in a bored tone, “Let’s just find your spot.” We followed after him as he scanned the tables, mumbling something about “Stupid reservations”. As we walked, I could feel some of the audience members giving us glances, which made an uncomfortable feeling rise inside of me. But it quickly subsided when we reached our table, which was in a special spot surrounded by red velvet ropes.

“You get some special perks when you’re me”, Majima said boastfully. I rolled my eyes and took my seat, Gladius taking the chair to my left and Vanellope taking the chair to my right. “Alright, you got your spot, so I’ll get going.”

Just as he turned around though, we all looked at him in confusion. “What?” Gladius spoke up, “But you said-”

“I know what I said”, Majima sharply said, cutting off the sword. He suddenly smirked. “But I have my own way of judging that.” And with that, he dashed off, leaving the three of us a bit concerned about what he had in mind.

“Should we be worried about that”, Vanellope said, pointing in the direction of Majima.

“Hopefully not”, I said in a low tone, “He does want to come with us, so I don’t think he’ll do anything stupid.”

“We can only hope…” Gladius trailed off. Suddenly, the buff black man had smashed the chef into the part of the fence we were sitting closest to, making us all jump. A bell ringing could be heard as the man with the stones over his hands cheered. I noticed a screen above, and it had the message “Gary ‘Buster’ Holmes Wins!” displayed with flashy effects around it. I watched as he left the ring, two men carrying the chef out after him.

“Do you think the others will be fine?” I asked, the realisation they probably won’t make it out in one piece hitting me hard.

“Ahhh, I wouldn’t worry about it, dude”, Vanellope said with a nonchalant hand wave, “They’ve got this in the bag. Besides, what’s there to worry about? Pigtails a robot and superhero, Ham-Hands is a tank, and Block Head has so many weapons. They’ll be fine.”

Gladius hummed in concern. “I’m not too sure. This world has shown it can be unpredictable. They might be blinded when they throw something in, like a crazy opponent.”

I looked up at the screen in worry as it constructed the tournament brackets. Jenny, Ralph and Steve weren’t fighting each other, thankfully, but I could only hope their opponents weren’t anything too crazy.

~X~

The first few matches went off without a hitch, but I didn’t pay much attention to them since it didn’t have the rest of the gang. But now it was time for Jenny’s first match, and she was up against the chef from earlier, Grand Chef Cho. The two of them walked up into the ring, glaring fiercely at each other.

“Who are you betting on winning?” Gladius asked. Both me and Vanellope looked at him, flabbergasted. He looked back at us. “What?”

“You’re seriously asking that?” I said to him, “When Jenny is fighting.”

Gladius just remained silent as he hovered, then scrambled realising what he said. “Oh, no! I meant out of our friends, who are you betting on winning? Only one of them can win, after all.”

That made the both of us calm down. “I’m betting on Jenny”, I said confidently, “She’s a robot, so I feel like she’s at an advantage.”

“Of course you pick her”, Vanellope said smugly, “You probably got a crazy big crush on her.” That made me look at her with a shocked look, my face exploding into a shade of red. Vanellope just laughed at me. “I’m only teasing ya’, Glasses.” She calmed down. “But I’ll have to bet on my boy Stinkbrain. He’ll stomp everyone .”

“I’ll have to say Steve”, Gladius said with confidence, “He’s a swiss army knife, so I say he’ll win this.”

“Jenny’s basically that too, though”, I said, shooting the sword with a side glare.

“Guys, the match is starting!” Vanellope cheered. Me and Gladius both looked to the ring, and Jenny stretched and flexed her arms as Grand Chef clashed his knives together. They both then glared fiercely at each other, the fire visible in them. I watched silently as the match was called to start, and the two clashed. Jenny definitely had the edge over Cho, but surprisingly the chef was still holding his ground really well. The two danced around each other, trading blows that were easily dodged.

“Gosh, this is nerve racking!” Gladius said in exasperation, the crowd around us cheering loudly. Vanellope stood up in her chair and watched carefully, obviously growing anxious as the two battled.

“I kinda regret not talking them out of this…” I mumbled. Cho, visibly growing impatient with how the match was going, delivered a violent kick right into Jenny’s chest, making her fall roughly on the ground a few feet away. A gasp escaped me, Vanellope and Gladius.

“That was a cheap shot!” Vanellope yelled angrily, glaring at the chef. Jenny, as if in response, sprung back to her feet and delivered an equally violent punch right to Cho’s gut. He didn’t even make a sound as he tumbled onto the ground, all his energy spent. The crowd went wild as Jenny held her arms up in victory. She looked over at us, smiled brightly, and waved, something the three of us gladly returned. She then walked away again back into what I assume was the changing room, Cho once again having to be carried out. Vanellope relaxed and breathed a relief, flopping into the chair.

“Okay, that was awesome!” She cheered, “Makes me want to check out Street Fighter 2 back home…”

“What a show!” Gladius said, clapping his wings together. “Jennifer put up such a good fight!”

“Yeah, that sure was something…” I said with a smile. I looked up at the screen, and watched as Jenny’s name moved up to the next bracket. It was so surreal, being able to watch something like this first hand. As Vanellope drank her glass of water and Gladius looked around at the rest of the crowd, I chose to wait patiently for the next match.

Ralph’s match.

~X~

There were three matches before Ralph’s, but they didn’t have anything of note. Because they lacked our 9 foot tall friend, me, Vanellope and Gladius didn’t pay much attention. We just talked between each other, the cheering crowd and pained yells just simple background noise.

“So what world are you hoping we end up in next?” Vanellope asked, twirling her glass’ straw between her fingers.

“Honestly, I don’t know”, I said with a shrug, “But preferably a world I know.” I paused and looked off in thought. “Like one of the old preschool shows I used to watch.”

“We can only hope”, Gladius spoke up, “The multiverse is constantly shifting. For all we know, we could end up in a world that was just created.” He turned to us and twirled his wings around like he was casting a spell. “Infinite possibilities.”

“Well, let’s just hope it’s a world where we can catch a break”, I jumped when the two current combatants in the ring roared and pummelled each other to the ground, “And have less of this.”

“Agreed”, Vanellope and Gladius said simultaneously. The match quickly ended after that, and when the two opponents were escorted out, Ralph walked up into the ring. Vanellope let out a loud cheer, me and Gladius joining in, and Ralph looked at us and us two finger guns with a smug smile. Vanellope paused her cheering to roll her eyes with a smile.

Coming up next was a man in a black trench coat, black pants, black boots, black sunglasses, and slicked back black hair. I looked up and saw the mysterious man’s name was “Jo Amon”. He was wielding dual swords, one crackling with electricity and the other engulfed in flames. Ralph looked at him in worry, a look shared by Vanellope.

“Uhhh…” Vanellope said, looking at the man in concern, “Should I be worried Ralph might be cooked like a Cy-Bug?”

I just stared at Amon in shock, especially his two blades. “I…I don’t know…”

“Kick his sorry butt, Ralph!” Gladius called, not sharing our concern.

Ralph looked over at us, nodded, took a deep breath, and faced Amon with a determined look. Both of them got into position, and after a few seconds of silence, the match started. Amon rushed at Ralph, and the wrecker retaliated by throwing a single punch. It hit Amon square in the jaw, and threw him against the opposite end of the fence. Everyone fell quiet at the action.

“Ralph!” Vanellope shouted, “You’re just meant to knock him out, not kill him!”

“It was a reflex, you Butt Muncher!” Ralph shouted back.

“He’s not a pile of bricks, Stinkbrain!” Vanellope cried. I just watched silently, snapping my head between them. I then looked up at the screen, and wasn’t that surprised when it said Ralph won. I watched as Ralph awkwardly left the ring, followed after by two men carrying an unconscious Amon.

“Well, that happened”, Gladius spoke up, “But, honestly, should we be surprised?” Me and Vanellope just shook our heads as we watched our friend leave in silence.

~X~

Next up was Steve’s match, but it was a long way after Ralph’s. So to pass the time, the tree of us played a quiet, calm game of Go Fish. Surprisingly, Gladius was completely crushing me and Vanellope, to the point I had to rage quit.

“Jeez, Glasses “, Vanellope shot my way with a smirk, “I didn’t think you would have it in ya’ to quit.”

I grumbled bitterly, Gladius patting my shoulder with a wing. “Oh relax, Caleb”, he said calmly, “It is just Go Fish.”

“Yeah”, I mumbled, “Doesn’t mean I can’t be mad.” I looked up at the screen. “C’mon, Steve’s up next.” Gladius put the cards away as Steve, in all his blocky glory, walked up into the ring, waving at the cheering crowd. I watched with a smile as he took in all the praise, but when I looked up at the screen, I was left confused when only the name of El Diablo showed up, but no photo.

“Who do you think Steve is gonna fight?” Vanellope asked in giddy anticipation. I shrugged, but the name made me kinda fearful. After a few minutes of nothing, Steve got into his position, and just then a blur of brown and beige landed on the platform. With a roar, a lion with beige fur and brown mane made his presence known.

“I HAVE TO FIGHT A LION?!?!” Steve screamed in pure fear filled shock. Me and Vanellope gaped.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” I cried. I looked up at the screen and saw that El Diablo was the lion, which only made my fears increase. When the match was called to start, El Diablo lunged at Steve, who ran away in pure terror, screaming his lungs out.

“Steve, you got to fight back!” Vanellope called, Steve running around the ring as the lion chased close behind.

“IT’S A LION !” He screamed back, “YOU GET IN HERE AND FIGHT IT YOURSELF THEN!”

“You’ve fought Zombies and Skeletons, but a lion is where you draw the line!?” Gladius countered. Steve just locked his eyes on him and said nothing, then pulled out a sword. He started swinging it around blindly, not stopping his run for even a second. El Diablo just kept close behind, occasionally biting and clawing at the builder, always just short. The whole scene looked like it was right from Looney Toons, but I just kept feeling my fear rising.

“STEVE, JUST HIT THE LION, DAMMIT!” I screamed. Steve looked at me briefly, then spun around and began slashing at the lion. El Diablo began to back away, taking hit after hit, despite the fact Steve was still utterly terrified. After what felt like hours, El Diablo finally fell in defeat, earning Steve an erupt of applause and cheers from the crowd. Except us, who just looked at the scene in shock.

“That didn’t just happen…” Vanellope said, staring off into space.

“I think it did…” Gladius groaned. I just remained silent as Steve sheepishly waved to us and walked away, El Diablo being carried into a crate. Just then, I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“WHAT THE FU-”

~X~

The rest of the tournament went by in a blur for me. Jenny, Ralph and Steve all fought valiantly against all the opponents thrown their way, from martial arts masters, more of the Amons (one who had a rocket launcher ), and even a disturbing grown man who wore nothing but a diaper. Soon enough, they were the last three in the tournament, and me, Vanellope and gladius couldn’t be happier.

“Heck yeah!” Vanellope cheered, “This’ll not only prove to Majima they can kick butt ten times over, but he’ll just have to come with us after seeing how awesome they are!”

“Right you are, Schweetz”, Gladius said with a nod despite knowing the truth, “Majima will have to admit they are cool.”

“Yeah, definitely”, I said, smiling brightly. I looked to the ring, where Jenny, Ralph and Steve all stood, waving at the adoring crowd. They then walked over to where we were and leaned over the railing.

“You guys doing good?” Jenny asked, her still damaged pigtail twitching a bit.

“Yeah, everything is fine”, I said nonchalantly, “What about you guys? Still holding up well?”

“Steve’s still a bit shaken up from the lion”, Ralph said with a flat look while pointing at said block man,who was quick to swat it away.

“I am not!” Steve whined, earning a smirk from Ralph and Jenny. “This whole thing just didn’t go the way I was expecting, that’s all.”

“Yeah, like a lion.” Jenny teased. Steve silently fumed, and was about to say something, but a referee called the three of them over. I watched as they listened to the referee tell them something, but my attention got pulled away when Vanellope tugged on my sleeve. I looked down at her, and when she pointed up at the screen, I looked up at it. From what I got, it seemed like the final round would be a free-for-all.

“Oh dear”, Gladius said in a concerned tone, “Does that mean they’ll have to fight each other?”

Vanellope cringed while I hissed. “Probably…” I said quietly. Just then our three friends made their way into their positions as another man walked up into the middle of the ring.

Majima.

“I’m impressed you three made it till the end”, the eyepatched man said smugly, “So, as a special sort of thanks, you’ll get to take part in a very special final round. You three against a single opponent.”

“Really, that’s it?” Ralph said in a confused tone, “Alright, who is it?”

Majima smirked darkly, grabbed the shoulder of his suit, and threw it off. It landed right on our table, but me, Vanellope and Gladius just watched in stunned silence as Majima’s tattoo was made fully visible to our view. Covering his whole back was an elegant tattoo that depicted a white skinned horned man overtop white waves and red petals.

The crowd exploded as Majima pulled out a knife, his body glowing with dark purple energy. He looked around at the others, his one sadistic eye meeting their shocked ones.

“You’ll be fighting me.”

Suddenly, he dashed at Jenny at crazy speeds, catching the robot off enough to deliver a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of her head. She slammed onto the ground, but quickly recovered. Ralph threw a punch, but Majima was quick to dodge and retaliate, grabbing the wrecker and throwing him at Steve. The builder barely had enough time to dodge, quickly swinging his sword. Majima wasn’t able to react quick enough and took a couple slashes, but was able to counter by spinning like a top, repeatedly kicking Steve away.

At our table, me, Vanellope and Gladius watched in shock as our friends were barely able to keep up with Majima. “He’s insane!” Vanellope cried.

“Jenny, Ralph, Steve!” Gladius called, hoping they’d hear him. “You need to work together!”

I just looked on in increasing worry as the battle eventually devolved into a cartoon fight cloud, the action far too messy to follow. Occasionally, I could make out Jenny and Ralph nailing Majima with punches and Steve smacking him with his sword, or Majima countering with kicks, punches or knife slashes. The crowd just continued to cheer and roar as the four fought viciously, which only added to my panic. Something was starting to boil inside of me, suddenly. It was an urge.

To protect my friends .

Stuck in a bloodthirsty trance, I suddenly grabbed Gladius’ handle and rushed out of my chair, Vanellope’s call nothing but static in my mind. I jumped impossibly high, my eyes locked onto Majima. Just as the brawl subsided for a bit, the eyepatched man wearing a twisted smirk, he suddenly looked at me, and time seemed to go into slow motion for me. Majima’s face twisted into shock as I came upon him, my hand that held onto Gladius clenched into a rock hard fist. Then, before anyone could fully react, my fist collided right in the middle of his face. Majima let out a howl of pain and crashed onto the floor, groaning and rubbing his sore face. The others all looked at what happened in complete shock, even the crowd had fallen silent. Only my furious, heavy breathing could be heard. Gladius quickly flew out of my grasp.

“Caleb?!” Galdius cried, “Where did that come from?!”

I took a deep breath, then looked around at the others. “I…I don’t…know…”

But then the sound of laughter hit all our ears, and we turned to see Majima slowly rising back to his feet, in one piece. “That was amazing!” He shouted, the giddiness evident in his voice. “You got yourself an arm, kid.”

“Uhhh… thanks?” I said with a sheepish smile.

Majima smiled and walked up to me, gesturing to the others to group up. They did as they were told, and Majima grabbed my wrist and held my hand up.

“We have our winners!” He announced. The crowd erupted in applause, Vanellope glitched onto Ralph’s shoulder and hugged her friend, and Jenny and Steve smiled at each other. Majima looked down at me and nodded, and I beamed.

~X~

After the tournament had ended, me and the gang had made our way to the top of Kamurocho Hills, so we could look out over the whole city.

“One heck of a night, huh kid?” Ralph asked Vanellope, who was busy hugging the cat plush I got her close to her chest.

“Yeah! You guys all did incredible!” She cheered.

“Definitely a nice change of pace from stuff that just slowly walks up to you”, Steve said with pessimism, “That lion was absolutely terrifying.”

“Yeah, I have to admit it was fun.” Jenny said with a smirk. She then looked at me and gave a genuine smile. “And that punch you threw at Majima something.” She playfully ruffled my hair, making me whine.

“Don’t make it be a thing”, I said with a blush, “I’m a pacifist at heart. Those moments are only a sudden thing I can’t really control.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, my dear friend”, Gladius said, hovering in front of me. “You have the makings of something special, I know it.” That only got me to blush harder, which made the others chuckle. Jenny wrapped an arm over my shoulders.

“Yeah, you got some stuff kid”, a new voice spoke up. We all turned and saw Majima coming up to us, smoking a cigar. “Only Kiryu-Chan has really been able to hit me that hard before. And because of that, I’m excited about what comes next.”

“So you’re keeping your word about joining us?” Ralph said sternly, crossing his arms.

Majima chuckled and shook his head. “You betcha’ Mountain Man. After seeing you three completely wipe all the asses of everyone in the tournament, I’d have to be crazy not to join you. Plus, travelling to worlds unknown is sure to make Kiryu-Chan jealous.” His eyes glinted with a mischievous flash, which got a giggle out of me.

“Yeah, definitely”, I said. I stood up and took a big stretch. “Well, are you guys ready to go?”

“You bet”, Ralph said with a smirk.

“Yeah!” Vanellope cheered.

“More worlds, more fun”, Steve said while checking through his inventory.

“Let’s do this”, Jenny said with determination.

“Time to show everyone the true Mad Dog Of Shimano!” Majima said evilly.

I looked all of them over and smiled, then looked at Gladius. “Ready?”

He flipped so he was blade up. “Always.” I grabbed hold of him and slashed the air in front of me, a portal forming soon after. I looked over my shoulder at the others, and when they all nodded, I smiled brightly and stepped through the portal.

~X~

And so ends the Yakuza arc. I’m gonna be honest, this chapter was a lot of fun to write, with how I structured the Coliseum part, the character moments, and the jokes. Hopefully you all did too! Now for the gang to continue on to the next world…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

The seven of us gracefully soared through the tunnel of endless colours and lights. Me and Vanellope were riding on Jenny’s back, whom had her wings extended to help stabilise herself. Steve was gliding with his Elytra equipped, Ralph was as still as a statue, Majima was treating it like skydiving, and Gladius was in front of all of us, blade pointed forward.

Majima laughed like a madman as he soared past Jenny. “This is awesome! If I knew about this, I would have joined you bitches sooner!”

I shot the man a pointed look. “Well, it’s all fun and games until one of us starts tumbling. Then we all become dominos and crash at our next destination.”

Majima scoffed but didn’t argue further, choosing to continue gliding around. Vanellope watched with a jealous look. “Why does he get to do that and not me?” She whined.

“Because you’re a little Crumb-Muncher who’ll get us all killed”, Ralph said sarcastically. Vanellope growled and made an attempt to pounce at Ralph, but I was quick to catch her.

“Be careful, Vanellope”, Steve said, gliding over to us. “Ralph has a point. Who knows what happens if you stray from this path…” He looked at the spiralling wall of memories from worlds from all over. I actually decided to take the time and see what I could recognise, and I could point out the Pokemon Anime, The Simpsons, Sonic the Hedgehog, Overwatch, and Avatar the Last Airbender, to name a few. It actually was kinda beautiful, almost like the whole multiverse was singing its life right before us. But I was snapped out of my trance when Jenny violently shook.

“Hang on, you too!” She commanded us, “We’re hitting some turbulence!”

Me and Vanellope quickly braced, but a fearful yell made all of us turn around. Majima was tumbling right at us, and like I feared, he collided into Ralph, who collided with Steve, and then us, and finally Gladius. All of us screamed in terror as we spiralled right towards the exit of the portal, but I couldn’t wait to tell Majima “ I told you so” .

~X~

We were spat out of the portal right to a forest. Ralph, as quick as he could, shifted all of us so he would take the brunt of the impact. Before I could even call his name, we crashed into the trees. We all made noises of pain as Ralph let us all go, each of us hitting branch after branch. I ended up hitting only two before I fell into a bush. It somewhat cushioned my fall, but not by much. Slowly, I crawled out of it and flopped onto the ground.

“Everyone”, I called in a strained tone, “Sound off.” I was met with groans from the others. I slowly rose to my feet and looked around. Gladius was imbedded in a tree, Jenny was in another bush sticking her legs in the air, Steve was lying face down on the ground in a little him shaped crater, and Ralph was lying on his back in a crater of his own, and Vanellope was sprawled out on top of him. Majima was nowhere to be seen.

“You guys all good?” I asked, walking over to help Gladius out of the tree.

Steve was the first one up. “Yeah, I’m fine. Not my best landing, but not my worst either.” He walked over to Ralph and started helping him up. Vanellope was quick to recover and Glitch over to Jenny, helping her out of the bush.

“Is my other pigtail damaged?” Jenny instantly asked. I looked over at her, struggling to pull Gladius out, even with his help.

“No”, I grunted, “You’re good.” She breathed a sigh of relief just as I pulled the sword out, falling on the ground. Gladius hovered above everyone.

“This is why we need to be more careful, Majima ”, Gladius spat, “So unless you want to get us all killed…Where is he?”

All of us began to look around, wondering where Goro went. “Oh, so now you realise I’m gone.” We heard him sarcastically spat. We looked up and saw he was tangled up in some branches, his arms and legs locked in place.

“Crap”, I said, “Jenny, can you get him down?” She extended her arms and grabbed Majima, pulled him free of the branches, and set him down in front of her.

“Thanks-” Majima was cut off when Jenny smacked the back of his head, “Ah! What the f**k?!”

“That’s for making us crash in the first place!” She growled. Then she crossed her arms and turned away from him. “And you’re welcome.” Majima just grumbled bitterly while rubbing the spot Jenny hit. I watched the whole scene in silence until Steve came up to my side.

“So…where the heck are we?” He asked. I looked around, actually taking in the surroundings, and I noticed a few things. The colours were slightly faded, and with the soft lines that formed rounded shapes everywhere, it gave me this cosy feeling.

“I don’t know”, I said honestly, “Kinda hard to tell. Maybe we should find something out of this forest.” The others all nodded, and I led the group forward. There wasn’t much of note in the forest aside from plenty of strange rocks. Vanellope, who was on Ralph’s shoulder, looked up and gasped.

“What the heck are those?!” She shouted in wonder, pointing up to the sky. We all followed her gaze, and gasped at the sight. Flying above us was a collection of creatures without wings. They had faces similar to dogs with a small tail, no limbs, and large eyes. While the others looked at the creatures in pure amazement, I looked at them in realisation.

“I know where we are!” I cried. I began to run through the forest following the creatures, everyone else staying close behind. We ducked and dodged the branches that impeded our path until we came to a cliff ledge.

“Wow…” Ralph said breathlessly. The cliff was overlooking a city that was surrounded by a thick stone wall with bell towers all along it. The wall didn’t surround the whole city, however, as a bay with docks could be seen on one end. The city itself was very crowded, with the buildings a mix of reds, greens and oranges, giving this warm autumn feeling. A blimp could be seen high in the sky, its slow movements almost hypnotising. The flying creatures almost were like a flock of birds, flying over the city and disappearing over the distant mountain range.

“Definitely not in Kamurocho anymore…” Majima quietly mumbled, taking in the view.

“Yes, I knew I recognized those things!” I said triumphantly.

“You do?” Jenny asked in confusion, “So you know where we are?”

“Yep!” I said with a nod, “We’re in the cartoon show Hilda , based on a series of graphic novels.” I started to pace as I explained. “It’s a girl named Hilda as she goes on adventures with her friends Frida and David! Mythical creatures like witches, trolls and elves just exist here, but the city of Trolberg”, I gestured to the city, “Is completely safe.”

“Trolls?” Everyone sans Majima asked in a concerned tone.

“Don’t worry, gang. Once we’re inside the city walls, we’ll be good.” I looked back over the ledge. “All we’ve got to do is climb down…”

This was when Steve stepped forward. “Allow me.” He was quick to equip his Elytra again and glide down to the bottom. Then in a flash, he dug out a five by five hole and filled it with water. He gestured for us to jump.

“Oh…” I said fearfully. Majima, the lunatic he was, jumped first and landed right in the water, unharmed. Jenny jumped and landed next to the pool, not wanting to rust.

“Hang on tight, Kid”, Ralph said, scooping me up into his arms. Before I could react, Ralph jumped off the cliff, earning a cheer from Vanellope and a scream of terror from me. Gladius quickly bolted after us. I shut my eyes, holding onto Ralph for dear life.

“Uhhh…Kid?” Ralph said. I popped open an eye and saw we were on the ground in one piece. I looked up at Ralph, and blush in embarrassment when I realised how I was clinging to him like a koala.

“Sorry about that…” I said meekly as I stepped on the ground, releasing my grip from the wrecker.

“Next time, can we find a better way down from a high place”, Gladius spoke up, “That doesn’t put Caleb’s life at risk?”

“Ah, relax Butter Knife”, Vanellope said smugly, earning a growl from the sword. “We’re all in one piece, and that’s what matters.”

“Let’s just go…” I mumbled, leading the group to the front gates of Trolberg.

~X~

We stumbled out of the trees, Gladius quickly picking any stray twigs and leaves out of my hair, and found ourselves at a road. I looked to the left, but the road just continued into the wilderness. To the right was the main entrance of Trolberg, its large wooden door open wide.

“C’mon gang”, I said. We all began to make our way to the city, the sounds of activity filling the streets. It was obviously a busy day, as evident by all the people walking around. We walked up to the front gate but a truck speeding right at us halted our progress. 

The truck came to a screeching halt right in front of us, and out of the driver’s seat stepped out a man. He stood at Majima’s height, wore a brown uniform with matching boots, dark brown gloves and black pants. He wore a light brown cape that had a golden clip that rested over his neck. He wore a belt that has a small pouch on his right side, the flap coloured gold. He wore a hat that matched his uniform that had a white feather poking out. His sideburns were black, along with the small moustache on his face.

“Greetings newcomers!” The man announced bombastically. His voice had a slight hint of a british accent. “I’d like to welcome you to Trolberg!”

We all shared looks, then faced the man again. “Um…” I stepped forward and cleared my throat. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you, sir.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, fine sir”, The man continued, “I am Erik Ahlberg, head officer of Trolberg’s prestigious Safety Patrol. And this is my associate, Gerda Gustav.” Erik motioned back to the truck, and out of the passenger side stepped out a woman. She wore an identical uniform to the head officer (the only thing missing was the feather in her hat), only she was a head shorter with pale blonde hair.

“It’s part of Safety Patrol protocol to welcome visitors to our city”, Gerda greeted with a smile. Her accent was obviously german.

“Well, thank you for the welcome”, I said, “My name is Caleb, and these”, I pointed out the others, “are my friends Jenny, Steve, Ralph, Vanellope”, I paused slightly when I noticed Gladius had hidden behind Ralph, “and Goro Majima.” I turned back to Erik and Gerda, the others all giving off their own greetings. Erik did a slight bow.

“We here at the Trolberg Safety Patrol would be more than willing to give you a tour of our wonderful city”, he offered professionally. I shared a look with the others, and we all nodded. Erik smiled and turned to his partner. “Gerda, I’ll take our guests on the tour. You take the truck back to headquarters.” Gerda nodded and hopped into the diver’s seat, driving away swiftly. Erik then turned to us. “Follow me, everyone!”

We all followed after Erik as he took us around the city, pointing out places of interest like the school, library, docks, and Safety Patrol’s own HQ. As we walked, I found myself next to Erik, Gladius having sneakily sheathed himself.

“Have to say, Erik”, I said, “Trolberg is just as amazing as I heard.”

“Is it not?” The officer said with joy. But then his mood took a turn. ”But with all the trolls that lurk outside the city, we can’t let our guard down.”

I looked up at him. “Yeah, I wanted to ask…” He looked down at me. “I don’t remember hearing anything about a ‘Safety Patrol’ in Trolberg. What happened?”

“Ah, that is such a horrific story”, Erik said in an overdramatic fashion, making me roll my eyes, an action he didn’t notice. “But, so spare you the true horrific scenes, a fierce beast called the Black Hound, once just an urban legend, turned out to be true. After it was heard outside of the city, the mayor used his power to create the Safety Patrol. The beast feld after crashing into the Sparrow Scout’s Hall, and hasn’t been seen since, but that doesn’t mean us at Safety Patrol can rest for even a moment.”

I just looked up at Erik silently, his explanation definitely missing parts of the whole story. But I was more amazed at how…enthralled by the whole retelling he was. He was clearly invested with his job, and felt like what he was doing was right.

“Well, I guess if any city got attacked by a big wolf”, I said, “Any rational person would want this.”

“Of course.” Suddenly, a buzzing came from his pocket, and he pulled out a walkie-talkie. I couldn’t hear what was said to Erik, but it was enough to make him mumble in confirmation. He then turned off the device and looked at me.

“Well, my dear friend”, Erik said in a dejected tone, “It seems duty calls. But fret not!” He pulled something out of his pants pocket and handed it to me. “A map of the city, so you won’t take the wrong turn.” He then quickly made his leave.

“Wait!” I called out to him, “Can you tell us where a hotel is?!”

“Across the street from the library, dear friends!” He called back. “Farewell!” Before I could ask him anything else, he disappeared around the corner. I huffed as the others looked at the officer.

“So, what’s the plan?” Ralph asked, “Do we just hit up the hotel and relax for the rest of the day or…?”

“Actually, I have an idea”, Gladius said, not leaving his place. “How about we all split up and spend the day exploring the city, to do what we want to. Jenny, can you create copies of the map?”

“You bet!” Jenny quickly grabbed the map and fed it into her mouth. I heard the sounds of a typical printer, and suddenly her chest opened with a tray. Out popped two extra map copies and the original. I took the original back, Ralph took one of the copies, and Majima took the second.

“Oooo, Ralph, let’s go check out the mayor’s office”, Vanellope said from her perch on the wrecker’s shoulder, “I want to see if he’s got anything cool.”

“Hey, Majima”, Jenny said to him, pointing at a place on the map. “Let’s go check out the Safety Patrol’s HQ. I want to see what kind of stuff they have there.”

“Sure, got nothing better to do”, Majima responded with a shrug. The four of them went in their respective directions, leaving me, Gladius and Steve.

“Meet up at the hotel when it gets late, okay?” I called to all of them. I then turned to Steve. “So, where do ya’ want to check out?” He walked over to my side, and the both of us looked over the map.

“How about the park?” He said, pointing at a large green area that was close to the wall. “I want to see if there’s any cool plants there.”

“Sure!” I folded up the map and stuck it in my pocket, and the two of us began to make our way towards the park. Gladius had decided to take a nap as we walked all the way there.

~X~

The park was honestly pretty stunning. There were a few towering trees scattered about, alongside beautiful patches of flowers and bushes. Steve let out a whistle.

“This is amazing”, he said in wonder, “Nothing at home can even compare to this!”

“You can say that again, buddy”, I added, “Shows like Hilda are just able to get away with that.”

Steve suddenly walked over to a clump of small leaves. “What’s up with this?”

I was quick to run over to him and push him away. “That is a Vittra. Underground plant people. Best to leave them be.”

Steve’s eyes didn’t leave the Vittra’s leaves. “Is it edible?”

“Steve!” I scolded him. He looked down in shame, and we both went to another place in the park. I found a bench to go and sit down at while Steve explored elsewhere in the park. Gladius chose this time to wake up from his nap and set himself down on the bench next to me.

“I must say, this city is very peaceful”, he told me, “But with what Erik said makes me fearful. We were lucky in Kamurocho, but if we stay here too long…”

“Relax, Gladdy”, I said, “If we stay within the wall, then we’re good.” Gladius mumbled something in confirmation, and I just chose to lean back and take in the fresh air. Birds chirped happily in the trees, the breeze was cool against my skin, and the occasional leaf that drifted by entranced me. I took a deep breath, but snapped to attention when I felt something else in my presence. I looked down, and a small animal was looking up at me.

“Well hey there, little guy”, I said sweetly. The animal was a fox with white fur and black spots. The odd thing about it, however, was it had hooves and small antlers, like a deer. Its large fluffy tail swayed as it looked up at me in curiosity, and I decided to calmly pet it. Obviously this is what it wanted, as it leaned into my hand, its tail wagging faster.

“It’s so cute!” Gladius gushed, leaning closer ever so slightly. The fox/deer hybrid backed away slightly in fear, which made Gladius flinch.

“No, it’s okay”, I told the animal, “This is my friend Gladius. He’s a magic sword, and he’s totally friendly.” I shot him a smirk. “Though he can be a bit snippy.”

“I beg your pardon?!” Gladius said indignantly. The animal seemed to like the jab, as it barked happily. Gladius looked at it strangely. “It can bark? What kind of creature is this?”

“He’s a Deerfox”, a new voice spoke up (which was definitely British), making us both jump. We turned and saw it came from a caucasian girl who was exactly Vanellope’s height. She wore a red sweater that had yellow cuffs with matching red boots, a blue skirt, a yellow scarf, black leggings and a black beret. The most striking detail about her was her blue hair, the same as her skirt.

“Oh, hello”, I greeted, “Didn’t see ya’ there. Sorry if this deerfox was yours, he just walked up to us.”

“It’s alright, Twig always loves getting attention”, the girl said with a smile as she petted the deerfox. Twig, in turn, started running around us.

“He sure is cute”, I said, watching Twig run around us. I then faced the girl. “My name is Caleb, by the way. And this is Gladius”, I gestured to the hovering sword. The girl’s eyes sparkled in awestruck wonder. Gladius hovered down and bowed.

“M’lady”, he said in a noble tone. The girl just looked him over in amazement.

“Wow…You have a magic talking sword?!” She quickly pulled out a sketchbook. “I never knew something like you existed.”

“Well, I am one of a kind”, Gladius said proudly, making me smirk and roll my eyes. “But who are you, may I ask?”

“Oh, right”, she put her book away, “My name is Hilda. It’s nice to meet you two!”

“It’s nice to meet you two, Hilda”, I said with a smile and nod. However, the sound of someone running up to us made me turn around. Steve was running up, in a full sprint, followed by a gang of angry Vittra.

“I didn’t mean to, I swear!” He cried as he dashed by. I only looked on in frustration.

“Who was that?” Hilda asked, pointing at the block man.

“That was my friend Steve”, I said in exacerbation, “I told him to leave the Vittra alone!” I started chasing after him, who was surrounded by the plant people. “Goddamit, Steve!” Hilda, Twig and Gladius followed after.

“I was just checking out the plant life”, he claimed, “But then one of these little weeds jumped me. I was just defending myself, I promise.” I stopped in front of him, looking at him with a look of frustration, then looked to the Vittra.

“Is he telling the truth?” I asked them. They all suddenly clammed up, and dashed off. I sighed, Hilda rubbing her arm.

“Yeah, that’s my fault”, she admitted, “After me and my friends tried to clean the park up for a Sparrow Scout badge, we kind of messed with the Vittra.”

Steve looked at her angrily, but I stopped him from doing anything. “It’s fine, Hilda”, I said, glaring at Steve. “We’ve been through a lot so far, so a couple of knee high walking onions wouldn’t be that bad.”

“That’s good”, she said. She then looked up at the two of us. “Are you two new here?”

“We’re travellers, my dear”, Gladius spoke up, “Me and Caleb are attempting to get back home, so we’ve been travelling afar.” He flew next to Steve. “Steven here is just one of the many friends we had join us on our journey.”

Hilda gasped. “You’re adventurers?!” She shouted in joy. “You have to tell me everything you’ve done!” She sat on a nearby rock in anticipation. I shared a look with Steve, then looked back to Hilda.

“Actually, I think we should get back with the rest of our friends”, I said, “We ran into the head officer of Safety Patrol, and he gave us a map of the city.” I suddenly realised something. “Nuts, they could be anywhere.”

Hilda looked at me, then had her eyes light up. “I can help you!” She said, jumping into a pose atop her rock. “And I can get my friends to help too!” Her eyes widened. “Oh no, I almost forgot about them!” She hopped off her rock and started running off. “C’mon Twig!” Twig ran after her, leaving the three of us standing there.

“Should we follow her?” Steve said, pointing after Hilda. “We’ll need all the help we can get to try and find the others. Unless you remember where they went?”

“Even if I did, they could have gone somewhere else”, I said, “So yes, we follow Hilda.” I took the lead as we chased the young girl, Gladius cursing Steve for provoking the Vittra.

“I said I didn’t mean too!”

~X~

Hilda and Twig were a lot faster than I expected, as we nearly lost track of her a couple times, but we soon caught up with her. Her two friends were waiting at a very dirty beach, the only thing of note being a large open sewer pipe.

“Frida! David!” Hilda called. The two of them faced her and waved, which allowed me to get a better look at them. Frida had dark skin, wore a violet hoodie, black pants and white shoes. Her hair was done up in a large poofy bun that aimed downwards. David, meanwhile, wore a pale orange sweater, dark grey shorts and black sneakers over his slightly pale skin. His hair was light brown and short, though his bangs were a bit messy.

“Hilda! I didn’t think Twig would give you that much trouble”, Frida teased.

“Actually, it was because I ran into some adventurers!” She said with joy. She held her arms out to me and Steve. “This is Caleb, Steve and…” She trailed off. “Where’s Gladius?”

I looked around, and I was just about to answer her, but a shout cut me off. “FILTHY RATS WITH WINGS!” Gladius shouted, rocketing by as a flock of seagulls chased him. “I AM A SWORD, NOT A PERCH! GO AWAY!” He flapped his wings around like crazy in an attempt to scare the birds away, but they didn’t give up. It wasn’t until Twig stepped in and barked for the seagulls to finally fly away. “Thank you, Twig.” Gladius bowed. Twig puffed up his chest and barked proudly.

Frida and David stared at Gladius in shock. I slowly walked up to them as they remained entranced by the blade. “Yeah, that’s Gladius for you.” I said, gaining their attention. I leaned down and whispered, “He can be a bit of a drama queen.”

Frida giggled. “After that show, I’m not surprised.” She looked up to me with a smile. “My name is Frida, and this is David”, she pointed at the boy, “It’s nice to meet you Caleb.”

“Pleasure’s all mine”, I said with a nod.

“So, you’re an adventurer?” David asked in curiosity. I looked at him, made a face and made a ‘so-so’ motion with my hand.

“Kinda, and not by choice”, I said, “See, I was just getting used to my new home when an accident lobbed me and Gladius far from home, so me and him have been travelling around trying to get back. Steve is one of the friends we made-are you kidding me, Steve?!” I did point at the builder towards the end of my explanation, but grew frustrated when I saw him fishing.

He looked at me. “What?”

Frida held up a finger. “I wouldn’t do that. There’s a no fishing rule.”

“Seriously?!” Steve cried. He pulled his line in and walked away, grumbling under his breath as he passed us.

“Sorry about Steve”, I said, “He nearly got swarmed by a group of Vittra at the park.”

David looked at Hilda. “Twig ran all the way to the park?”

Hilda shrugged. “He sometimes tends to wander. But that’s why he’s such a good friend when it comes to rock climbing.”

“Well, as sweet as this is, Hilda said you could help us”, Gladius spoke up, “See, we need to find our friends, as a member of Safety Patrol gave us some maps to explore the city.”

“Yeah, and they could be anywhere”, I said in a dejected tone. Steve, however, spoke up.

“But you said for all of us to meet up at the hotel?” He said in confusion.

“I thought about that, but, c’mon”, I said, “Jenny’s stuck with Majima, and Ralph is probably chasing Vanellope all around the city.” I turned to Frida and David. “So I was wondering if you two could help us.”

Frida smiled brightly. “I’d be more than happy to! Sparrow Scouts honor!”

“Yeah, I guess I could help”, David said in a relieved tone, “Better than visiting the Rat King.” I heard Gladius mumble “Rat King?” under his breath, but ignored him.

“Cool! You two can go with Steve, I’ll take Hilda and Twig”, I suggested, “Sound good?” Everyone nodded. “Alight! We’ll all meet up at the hotel across the street from the library.” Steve joined up with Frida and David, and the three of them walked off, waving goodbye. The four of us waved back, then went on our merry way.

“So, what do your friends look like?” Hilda asked.

“Well, it’s hard to explain”, I admitted, “They definitely aren’t like anything around here, so I’ll point them out when we see ‘em.”

“Then let’s go!” Hilda ran ahead, but Gladius was quick to pick her up to stop her sprint. “Hey…” She whined.

“Hilda, dear”, he said in a calm yet authoritative tone, “You should slow down a bit. Just so we can keep up.” However, he recoiled when the sound of seagulls approached. “Nevermind! Run like the wind!” He set the girl down and bolted away. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Got to love him.” I said with a smile. Hilda giggled and Twig barked, and so the three of us followed after him.

~X~

It was getting closer to the evening, but me, Hilda, Twig and Gladius had still yet to find the others. We asked around, checked down alleys, and even scaled some of the building to get an aerial view. No sign of any of them. Currently we were walking up to the outdoor marketplace, and I didn’t feel the best.

“It feels like we searched half the city”, I said in a dejected tone, “And no sign of the others…”

Hilda looked up at me sadly, looked to the market, then back to me with a smile. “Here, how about we check out the market. This place has anything you want.” She took my hand. “C’mon.” Hilda gently took the lead as we made our way into the market. I took in the sights, kinda surprised by all the stuff that was being sold. But as we browsed, my eyes caught sight of something. Or rather, someone.

“Jenny!” I called. She was standing in the middle of the marketplace with an impatient look, but when she looked to me, she gained a relieved look and walked over.

“Caleb, I’m so glad I found you”, she said, exasperated. I cocked an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s Majima”, she sighed and shook her head, “After we checked out Safety Patrol HQ, he kept running around just to get on my nerves. Now he’s just taking his sweet time here.”

“Well, I’m glad we found you”, I said as the others came up. Jenny immediately took notice of Hilda and Twig.

“Who’s your new friends?” She asked.

“My name’s Hilda”, the young adventurer said with a bright smile. She than pet Twig. “And this is Twig.” The deerfox let out a bark. Jenny happily bent down and pet him as Majima walked up.

“Ah, Caleb-San”, he said, “I was wondering when you’d show up.” He looked at Hilda. “Who’s the kid? You decided to adopt her?”

I shot Majima a scowl, then sighed. “No. This is Hilda.” I turned to her. “Hilda, this is Goro Majima, or just Majima. Ran into him when we got stuck in Japan.”

Hilda eyed Majima uneasily, but eventually stuck her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr.Majima. You have a…nice eyepatch.”

Goro smiled and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you too, princess.” Hilda just stared blankly at him, obviously hearing only Japanese. I leaned closer to Gladius.

“We’ll have to fix that”, I whispered to him. He nodded in return. I then stepped up. “Well, as fun as this is, we should be getting to the hotel. Steve joined Hilda’s friends to try and find Ralph and Vanellope, and they could be there now, so let’s go.” I let lead us on our way, Jenny passing a distasteful look at Majima.

~X~

It was now night, and I was sitting on the balcony of our room in the hotel. After getting here, just as I thought, Steve, Ralph, Vanellope, Frida and David were there waiting for us. After hanging out for a while, me and the gang bid farewell to Hilda and her friends. Not before Hilda offered me to come over to her house to have a cup of tea with her, her mom and her friends. I hesitated, but then accepted.

“Quite a day, huh?” I heard Ralph say, snapping me out of my trance.

“Yeah…” I said with a smile. “I honestly kinda wish I could live here. But I do want to try and get back…”

Ralph smiled at me, then looked up to the sky, the moon shining brightly. “Never expected to go on an adventure like this.” He looked to the mountains, and squinted. “Hey kid, what’s with that?” He pointed to the distant mountains, obviously curious about the lights on them.

“Trolls”, I said simply. Ralph hummed, then stretched.

“Well, we should hit the hay, kid. You got your thing with Hilda, after all.” Ralph stood up and made his way back inside.

I just looked up and smiled. “Yeah.” I then followed after Ralph, my spirits high.

~X~

Yep, the next place on the adventure is the Netflix series Hilda ! I just feel like someone like Hilda can balance out with the somewhat hectic nature of the rest of the gang. As always, I hope you liked my work!

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I let out a quiet yawn with a streak of light shining on my face. I squinted, glaring at the curtain that failed at its job, but chose to shrug it off. I looked at my phone, which was on the nightstand next to the bed., and checked out the time.

6:30

I quietly groaned at this, but then remembered my tea time with Hilda. She told me it was at 8. Carefully, I got out of bed and made my way over to the bathroom, quickly glancing back at the others. They were sleeping anywhere they could, still out like a light. I gave off a small smile, then entered the bathroom to get ready for the day. It didn’t take long for me to get all freshened up, and when I did a double check in the mirror, nodded, and left the hotel. As I walked out into the sunrise painted street, I saw Gladius hovering by a lamppost.

“I was wondering when you’d get up”, Gladius said cheekily. I rolled my eyes.

“You’re lucky we got to meet Hilda”, I said, “Otherwise you’d be stuck dealing with ‘Sleep-Deprived Caleb’. And that isn’t someone you want to meet.”

Gladius just chuckled at my weak threat. “Sure. Let’s just go, Hilda’s home is a couple blocks away.”

I nodded and the two of us began our trek through the city. It was a quiet morning, only the occasional car passing us every few minutes. I looked up at the sky, taking in the beautiful orange/pink sky, and took a deep, relaxed breath.

“Trolberg is so nice”, I said with a sigh, “Honestly, when we get back home and get this portal making down, I’d love to visit here more often.”

“I’ll be sure Rainbow helps with that”, Gladius said with a nod, “We’ve been lucky with our travels so far, as there are ‘graveyard’ universes that are extremely dangerous.” I looked up at him in questioning. “And the less you know, the better.”

“Alright, whatever you say”, I shrugged. We continued walking in silence for two more blocks, until we ran into a familiar face.

“Caleb!” Frida called. She and David had just crossed the street and walked up to my side, “On your way to Hilda’s?”

“Yep!” I said happily, “I haven’t had tea before, so I’m excited.”

“Hilda’s mum makes the best tea, so you should be”, David said. I was quick to notice a ladybug was in his hair, so I plucked it out and let it fly free. David chuckled sheepishly.

“Let’s get going”, Gladius spoke up, “Best not to keep Hilda waiting!” Frida took the lead of the group, and we all followed her down the street. As we walked, David decided to spark up a conversation.

“So, where are you from, Caleb?” He asked. It was such a simple question, but it irked me deep down. I did try my best to bury that feeling, however, and answer him.

“I did live in Canada, but after an incident, I moved to a large home I share with others”, I explained, “Gladius was stored in the basement, I freed him, and life was good. But after a welcome party went wrong, I got lost with only Gladius by my side.”

“Wow, I’m sorry that happened”, the young boy said sadly, “Must be hard being away from your family.”

“Not me…” I said too quietly. I then said, “Yeah, it is. It felt like I just found my place, and now it’s gone…”

“Chin up, Caleb”, Frida encouraged, “You’re here now, and as long as you are, me, David and Hilda have got your back.”

“Yeah!” David chimed in, before shrinking back a bit, “Unless we’ve got to run from Trolls.”

I let out a laugh. “That’s really sweet of you guys. Maybe if I’m persuasive enough, I can convince your parents to join us.” David shook his head fearfully, which only got all of us to laugh.

“If anything, when we get back”, Gladius said, “We’ll be sure to write frequently.”

Frida looked up at us, then looked ahead. “We’re here!” She announced. I checked out a clock at a nearby clock tower, and saw the time was a nice 7:50. I smiled, and Frida was quick to open the door to Hilda’s apartment complex. Me and Gladius followed Frida and David up the stairs till we came to a door.

“We aren’t here too early, right?” I asked in a concerned tone. “I don’t want to bother Hilda, Twig and her mom.”

“It’s fine”, David said, “Hilda’s mum starts work pretty early, and Hilda always is up early to explore.”

“Sounds lovely”, Gladius said. We all looked at him weirdly, unsure how we were meant to interpret that. But before we could press further, the door opened, and we were greeted with a smiling Hilda.

“You guys made it!” She said happily. She gestured for us to enter, and we happily obliged. I decided to take the time to look around the apartment, and it was exactly like it was from the show. Kitchen to the right, living room to the left, red walls all around. Twig quickly ran up to us and started hopping around, demanding affection. I happily obliged and pet the deerfox as Frida and David sat down at the table.

“It’s nice of you two to join us”, a woman’s voice called. I looked and saw a woman a tiny bit taller than me wearing a mahogany sweater, dark grey pants and white shoes. Her hair was shoulder length, and was brown in colour. “And you must be Caleb…” She looked at the hovering sword strangely. “...and Gladius, was it?”

Gladius, in response, bowed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Madame.”

“Yeah, thanks for letting us join, Miss…” I trailed off, not wanting to say her name to scare her.

“You can call me Johanna, sweetheart”, Johanna said with a smile, “When Hilda said she made some new friends, I didn’t expect she actually meant…you.” She pointed at Gladius.

“Yeah, I know”, I said with a nod, “But he’s a big softie. Ain’t that right, Gladdy?” Gladius growled under his breath, which got the three kids to quietly laugh.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you, Caleb”, Johanna said, smiling. “Tea will be ready in a moment, so find somewhere to sit.”

I nodded and chose to sit down at the table with the others. Just then, a bright purple flash came from under the couch, and a small creature with a head surrounded by fur, only its nose visible, an orange sweater that almost covered his whole body, and a tail, walked out.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you had…others here”, the creature sarcastically.

“Tontu, be nice”, Johanna scolded. Tontu just shrugged, pulled up an extra chair, and sat between Hilda and Frida.

“Caleb, this is Tontu”, Hilda introduced, “He’s a Nisse.”

I looked at Tontu and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Tontu. My name’s Caleb, and this is Gladius.” I held a hand out to the sword. Gladius, in turn, bowed.

“So, you have a flying butter knife as a partner?” The Nisse asked.

Gladius sputtered. “I beg your pardon, furball?!” He shouted angrily.

“A talking sword isn’t that crazy to me”, Tontu countered, “You aren’t that special.”

Hilda shot him a glare,but Gladius actually deflated. “You are quite right…” Gladius admitted. He then started floating away, muttering a “Curse you” under his breath.

“Sorry about Tontu”, Hilda apologised, “He’s got a bit of a sass streak going.”

“One that I don’t plan on breaking”, Tontu said proudly. I just laughed in response.

“It’s fine, Gladius is tough”, I said, still laughing a bit, “My buddy Majima already tends to be like that. Ain’t anything I’m not used to.”

“That’s right, Hilda said you have some friends with you”, Johanna spoke up, “You’ve been travelling around a lot, huh?”

“Yeah, you could say that…” I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head. “While I tend to be a bit apprehensive about it, I am willing to try new things.”

“Then you’re going to love today”, Hilda said mysteriously. I cocked an eyebrow at the blue haired girl said, but before I could ask what she meant, Johanna called out saying the tea was done. So I just chose to let it slide and enjoy everyone’s company, excited for the day. And, best of all, the tea was amazing.

~X~

“Your mom’s tea was amazing, Hilda!” I cheered. After having the tea and hanging out a bit longer at Hilda’s apartment, me, Gladius, the three kids and Twig all said our goodbyes (not before Hilda quickly grabbed her bag from her room), and we made our way outside. Currently we were all walking down the street, spirits high.

“Thanks”, Hilda responded, smiling up at me. “Mum’s the best, that’s for sure. Right guys?” She looked to her friends, who both nodded in agreement.

“Well, I’m grateful you invited me”, I said. I then turned to Gladius. “But I think we should get going. I don’t want to keep the others waiting.”

“Hang on!” Hilda said. “I was actually hoping you’d join us with a little thing I had in mind.” Me, Frida and David looked at her in curiosity. “I was thinking we could take a nice hike through the mountains, maybe ride some Woffs, and enjoy nature.”

“After what happened with the Black Hound?” David asked fearfully. “I don’t know…”

“C’mon, David, it’ll be fun!” Hilda posed triumphantly.

Frida hissed. “I think it’s because I asked David to help out with my essay for school.”

Hilda’s mood deflated. “Right, I forgot about that…”

“It’s okay, you’ve got first hand experience with Trolls.” David said reassuringly. “We’re just…a bit behind.”

“We’ll do a day in the wilderness another time, Hilda, I promise”, Frida said with a sad smile. Hilda sighed, returning with a sad nod. I watched as Frida and David said their goodbyes, and ran off. I looked to see Hilda obviously sad she couldn’t be with her friends, so I decided to do the right thing.

“You know what, no”, I said, earning everyone’s attention. “Hilda, me and Gladius would love to join you on your outdoor expedition. Right buddy?”

Gladius bowed. “Of course. M’lady, would you kindly let us join you?”

Hilda’s eyes sparkled as Twig let out a happy set of barks. “Really? That’s great!”

“Mind if I join you guys?” A familiar, snarky voice suddenly chimed as something sat on my shoulder.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!” All of us cried in fear. I snapped my head to my left shoulder, and staring at me smugly was none other than Vanellope.

“What, did I surprise you pansies?” Vanellope joked. “I should join the ghosts when Halloween rolls around.”

“Schweetz!” Gladius scolded, “You shouldn’t sneak up on us!”

“Ah, you guys just need to relax.” Vanellope hopped off my shoulder and walked up to Hilda, wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her close. “But yeah, let’s go roll around in the mud, climb all the trees in our path, and conquer all who pass us!”

Hilda looked at Vanellope in shock, but after a moment smiled at the racer’s enthusiasm. I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“I’d love to have you join us…” Hilda trailed.

“Name’s Vanellope Von Schweetz, sister!” Vanellope said proudly, jabbing a thumb into herself. “Frida and David told me about you when they found Ralphie chasing me around town.”

I gave her an unamused look. “Seriously?”

“What’d you expect, Glasses?? I’m a hyperactive candy kid.” Vanellope said all too proudly, forcing an eyeroll out of me.

Hilda just watched with a small smile. “Well, let’s get going. Alfur wants to see if he can find anything new to document.”

Gladius and Vanellope looked to Hilda in dumbfounded confusion. “Who?” They said simultaneously.

“Oh, yeah, I guess you guys can’t see him…” Hilda mumbled. She then took out an extremely tiny piece of paper and handed it to us. She then also took out a pen. “You’ll need to sign this so you can see him.”

We all shared looks but didn’t question it, and when we signed it, I finally noticed Alfur. He was sitting on top of Hilda’s beret, nose deep in a tiny book. He couldn’t be over 2 millimetres tall, wore a single red shirt and hat, had thin black lines for limbs, and pure white skin. Hilda cleared her throat while looking up at the tiny creature, and he finally looked at us.

“Oh, hello everyone”, Alfur greeted, “Alfur Aldric the elf, at your service.” He bowed. “Hilda told me about you, Caleb. Bit of an adventurer, huh?”

I blushed a bit in embarrassment, which only got a kind-hearted chuckle out of Alfur. “I’m just teasing, Caleb. I’m looking forward to heading out with you.”

Gladius bowed. “As are we with you, Aldric.”

Alfur smiled at that, only for Hilda to clear her throat. “Right, let’s get going everyone!” Alfur called. Me and my companions nodded, and we followed Hilda and Twig towards the front gate of Trolberg.

~X~

I took a breath as the sounds of a bustling city slowly dimmed, letting the song of nature to take over. I was walking next to Hilda (Alfur still on her beret) and Gladius, with Vanellope and Twig running ahead slightly to mess around.

“This is nice…” I said, taking another deep breath. “I couldn’t really do this back home all too much…”

“Really?” Gladius questioned. “But you said you used to live in a house surrounded by forest before coming to my place.”

“Yeah, but I was a shut in, I hate bugs, and living alone at sixteen in the middle of a forest can make things kinda scary. I mainly did it for the privacy it gave me.” Plus, it made sure they didn’t find me, I venomously thought. I then shook it away, wondering where that came from.

“Also, I wasn’t an extremely outdoorsy person”, I continued, “But with my current situation kinda changed that.”

“What did you do before getting taken away from home, Caleb?” Hilda asked innocently.

“An artist and a writer”, I said with a proud smile, “I take up commissions from others to sustain myself.”

“Like my mum and her graphic design!” The blue haired girl said happily.

I smiled at her enthusiasm. “Yeah, it’s great.”

“I must ask, Caleb”, Gladius spoke up, “Why were you out on your own? What about your parents?”

My mood instantly dipped, but I kept up my happy exterior. “It’s nothing to worry about. Let’s just worry about our hike.” I sped ahead a bit, leaving a slightly confused Hilda, Gladius and Alfur behind. I walked ahead of the group, trying to blow off my rising anger. I didn’t want to blow up in front of the others, but I needed to release all the pent up fury inside of me. But I couldn’t think of anything.

“Man, dude”, Vanellope spoke up. I looked up and saw she was hanging upside down from a branch, hands in her sweater pocket. “You look like Surge when I dunked a bucket of pink taffy on him.”

I grumbled. “Yeah…Just had some stuff pop into my head.”

“Yeah, I saw what went down”, she said sympathetically, “Whatever’s bugging you, just get over it. We’re all here now, so let’s have all the fun we can!”

“Yeah…” I said with a small sad smile. I turned around as Hilda and Gladius approached, looking a bit downtrodden. I walked over to them, smiling at them. “Hey, guys, I’m sorry about snapping earlier.”

“No, Caleb, it’s okay”, Galdius said, “Me and Hilda talked, and we decided to move on. We won’t press on.”

“Yeah, sorry for that”, Hilda said guiltily.

I just smiled at them. “It’s fine, guys.”

“Well, now that we let our bygones be bygones”, Vanellope chimed in, “Let’s move it!” She happily began skipping ahead, but Hilda stopped her.

“Let me”, she said with a smirk, “I know my way around pretty well.” Vanellope just shrugged and gestured for her to march onward, Twig hugging close to the blue haired girl’s side. Alfur pulled out a tiny notebook and began to jot down notes.

“Well, no time like the present”, I said in a whisper. I then followed after the two girls, Gladius close to my side.

~X~

The six of us traversed the wilderness with ease, Hilda leading us like the young, curious adventurer she was. We stopped every now and then to observe wild animals from a distance, Alfur documenting everything as we went. Hilda, luckily, had brought a camera with her, and she took pictures of all the wildlife we crossed. I even took out my phone and began taking pictures of my own, having the time of my life. Vanellope and Twig chose to play around, rolling around in the leaves, playing fetch, and just being little bundles of energy.

“Ah, now this is relaxing”, Gladius said as he lazily rested against a tree, “I’ve missed taking in the beauty of nature.” I leaned against the tree next to him, watching Hilda and Vanellope play with Twig.

“What was it like, being stuck in a rock?” Alfur inquired. He was currently sitting on Gladius’ hilt, scribbling in his notebook.

“It was fine”, he said , “I was given my own chaperon and handcart, so I could still check around. The place I lived in had a large and extravagant courtyard, and I loved just being set under one of the trees, listening to the singing birds.”

“But then you were put away in a storage room?” Hilda brought up, sitting down in front of Gladius, with Twig laying on her lap and Vanellope to her left.

“Yes”, Gladius said sadly, “I was around for so long that no one knows my origin, and even myself, so I’m far older than any of you. But one day, I was just sent away into storage with no explanation. I was left there, gathering dust, for fifty years until Caleb freed me from not only storage, but that blasted rock.”

“Fascinating”, Alfur said, jotting everything he heard down into his note book. “I’ve never heard of anything so magical.”

“Sounds like a horror movie”, Vanellope joked, wiggling her fingers.

“Meh, that’s not too bad”, Hilda said with a shrug, but still giggled at the racer’s joke. “When Frida lost a book, I thought a ghost took it, so me, Frida and David went to the graveyard and…woke them all up.”

Alfur hissed. “I remember that…”

“Get out!” Vanellope said, her face painted in shock and wonder.

“Yeah…”, Hilda said, sighing sadly. “Turns out I was wrong, and Frida blew up at me. Then, we weren’t friends suddenly…”

Gladius leaned forward a bit. “Then what happened? You two seem fine.”

“During a Sparrow Scouts camping trip, I dragged David with me into the woods to find Tontu, and we saw Frida with a group of Marra-”

“A group of what?” Vanellope asked in confusion.

“Nightmare spirits.” Alfur said simply.

“Yeah”, Hilda continued, “Things were awkward, David stood up for himself, and then the Black Hound - no, Jellybean - showed up. The Marra abandoned Frida, we ran, and me and Frida made up.”

“Jerks”, I scoffed, “Once they’re backed into a corner, they ditch whoever they see as weak and book it.”

“Well, that was a lovely story, Hilda.'' Gladius said, beginning to hover once again. “But I believe we should keep going. Daylight’s burning, so we should continue.”

We all nodded at the sword and stood back up. Hilda took the lead with Twig by her side, followed by Vanellope, and finally me, Gladius and Alfur. We passed by plenty of beautiful flowers, many more trees, and a lot of animals. Eventually, we made it to a waterfall that created a river that blocked our path. But Hilda, being the intrepid adventurer she was, quickly began hopping across the rocks that were raised out of the water. Twig followed his best friend’s lead, and Vanellope joined in, giggling all the way. I hesitated slightly, but after Gladius put a reassuring wing on my shoulder, I steeled my nerves and began to hop across the rocks. Hilda looked back at me and smiled, and I returned it even brighter. We continued to cross the river, and I couldn't feel any happier.

~X~

The sun was beginning to set as we scaled up a steep slope. There weren’t many trees, and rather there were a lot of large boulders half buried in the ground.

“What’s with the rock sculptures?” Vanellope said, poking a weird long part on one of the boulders.

“Dormant trolls”, Hilda said casually. Vanellope immediately “Eep’ed” in terror and backed away, quickly rushing to my side and hugging my leg tightly. Hilda walked over to her and rubbed her back. “It’s alright Vanellope. If we just stay out of their way, they won’t bother us.”

“I hope you’re right Hilda…” I said, eyeing the rocks with concern. I then carefully looked at the setting sun, my concern growing. But we continued to follow the blue haired girl and her deerfox regardless, the shadows cast only growing by the second.

“Where are you even leading us, Hilda?” Alfur, still riding Gladius, asked.

“A special place”, She said, “Me and Twig would always come here when we used to live in your village.”

I looked over my shoulder, and I suddenly shivered. “Hey, gang, is it just me, or are we being watched?”

The others all looked at what I was looking at, and they all froze. The dormant trolls, despite the sunlight that was still beating down on them, were clearly all staring at us. Their noses all were pointed at us, as if they were arrows, and their bodies were more upright, ready to break out into a sprint.

“That shouldn’t be possible…” Alfur said in shock. Twig gave off a defensive growl that had a hint of a whimper in it, and Vanellope hid behind me. I put a defensive hand in front of both the girls, and we all slowly backed away.

“Let’s go”, Hilda said in a whisper, “My special spot has a path that the trolls shouldn’t be able to take.”

“Yeah…let’s go…” I turned around and gently nudged the girls along, no one hesitating to get going. Gladius was careful to glide around the rocks, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the trolls kept their nonexistent eyes locked onto me as we walked. We carefully maneuvered past the dormant trolls, nearly tripping over loose pebbles every now and then, but nothing else really happened. Soon, we began to reach the peak of the mountain.

“So, what’s so special about this spot, Hilda?” Gladius asked.

“You’ll see, trust me.” She took Vanellope’s hand, and the two of them and Twig ran ahead. I shared a look with Gladius and Alfur, and we shrugged before running after them. As the peak approached, I began to see what Hilda wanted to show us.

The view was breathtaking.

I stopped dead in my tracks when Hilda held up both of her hands. “This…is why I love this place.” She said wistfully. I looked up, and my jaw dropped. It was a perfect view of all of Trolberg, ten times better than the cliff me and the others were at when we first showed up.

“Sweet mother of monkey milk…” Vanellope said in pure amazement. The other mirrored her response as Hilda smiled brightly. The setting sun only added to the beauty of it all, making me almost faint. I was quick to take out my phone and take a picture.

“I need to draw this when I get back home…” I mumbled, looking at the photo on my phone screen.

“You were right, Hilda”, Gladius said, “This is extremely special. Do you come here often?”

“Always with Twig”, Hilda said, sitting down over the ledge while petting the deerfox. “The two of us come here when we just need a break from everything. The quiet, the view, the peace, it helps clear my head.” She began to scratch behind Twig’s ear. “Isn’t that right, boy?”

Twig let out a happy bark.

“Sister, you sure are something”, Vanellope lightly punched Hilda’s shoulder, smirking at her friend. Suddenly, she gasped. “You should come with us!”

Me and Gladius froze while Hilda looked at her in confusion. “Come with you?”

“On our adventure!” Vanellope cheered. “We’ve got a long way till we get Caleb home, and I’d love to have you come with us!”

“WHAT?!” Gladius shouted in shock. I just remained speechless.

“I don’t know, Vanellope…” Hilda said in a dejected tone. She rubbed the back of her head. “Mum wouldn’t really like it if I went out with people I just met. Plus, me and Frida just made up…”

“That’s the best part!” Vanellope said. “We can just bring you back to right when you left with us. We aren’t your everyday explorers.”

Hilda looked up at me, and I understood her silent question. I sighed. “I’ll explain everything to you later. Let’s just get back now.”

Everyone agreed, and we began to follow Hilda to her special one way route down. But as we walked, I noticed the sun was finally vanishing behind the horizon, and the night began to take over. My heart dropped.

“Gang, we need to hurry”, I said quickly. The others looked at me weirdly, but then noticed the missing sun. at a much faster pace, we began to run down the slope at a much faster pace. The boulders around us began to lightly shake, filling us all with dread.

“Down here!” Hilda cried. She and Twig darted to the left, and the rest of us followed just as the trolls began to awaken. Some looked at us angrily, snarling through their pointed teeth. Suddenly, one troll leaped high into the air and crashed right in front of us. It glared down at us.

“Uh oh…” I whimpered out.

~X~

Yikes, looks like the trolls aren’t taking too kindly to Caleb and the others trespassing on their territory. Looks like this is going to be one hell of a night, and one ringing bells can’t save them from.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I stood still, staring up at the troll in pure fear as Vanellope and Hilda hugged my sides. Twig and Gladius stood in a defensive stance in front of us, the deerfox growling viciously. The troll just stood still, its eyes lacking any sort of life, just staring at us. None of us moved.

“What are we gonna do, Hilda?” Vanellope asked in a whisper.

“I don’t know”, Hilda admitted, “I know trolls can be dangerous, but nothing like this…”

“It’s because we’re here”, I said, not really realising it.

Hilda looked up at me in both confusion and concern. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’ll tell you later when we’re safe”, I quietly said. I kept my arms protectively around both girls and carefully guided us slowly around the troll. Twig and Gladius went around the other way, keeping the troll’s attention on them. The moment we were out of the troll’s view, I instantly picked both girls up and bolted down the mountain. Gladius quickly picked up Twig with his telekinesis and bolted after us, all while the troll let out a roar. It gave chase as we darted down the cliffside, my heart going crazy.

“This is ridiculous!” Alfur cried, “Trolls aren’t usually this hostile! At least from what I know.”

“Maybe they all just woke up on the wrong mountain side”, Vanellope said with a faltered smile. When Hilda shot her an exacerbated look, Vanellope looked down. “Sorry…”

“Look, let’s just worry about getting away from the rabid rock monsters before we start with the snarky jokes, okay?” Gladius butted in, carrying a terrified Twig in his wings. I didn’t bother to make any sort of sound, instead picking up my pace down the mountain. I kept my gaze locked to only what was in front of me, my breathing heavy as the weight of the two girls started to get to me. I looked around, and noticed a tight alcove of trees that were tightly packed together, just enough so the troll couldn’t follow us.

“Gladius!” I called. He faced me, and I nodded my head to the trees. “This way!” I quickly darted into the thicket, the sword close behind, and we vanished from the troll’s sight. It made a move to grab us, but it just couldn’t reach, so it began to roar and pound its fists into the ground in rage. I just kept running until the roaring was nothing but a hollow echo in my ear. When I felt we were safe, I put Hilda and Vanellope down, then collapsed.

“Woah!” Vanellope said in surprise, “Glasses, are you okay?”

“I’m… fine…” I said between heavy breaths, “I’m… just… not… use… to… running… so… much…”

Hilda looked down at me sadly. “Sorry about this, guys. I didn’t think the trolls would be like this…”

“No, it’s not your fault, Hilda.” Gladius reassured, “I believe this is because of us.” He gestured to himself, me and Vanellope.

“But, why?” Hilda asked, “When Caleb said that earlier, I just thought that maybe you just ran into the trolls before you met me and my friends.”

Vanellope looked away. “That’s not really it…”

Hilda looked at her in confusion, at Twig and Alfur, then back to us. “Who are you, exactly?”

I took a deep breath and sat up. “It’s a long story…”

~X~

And so for the next while, I explained to Hilda, Alfur and Twig about who I really was. I told them of where I was from, how I met Gladius, Vanellope and all the others, and the very small basics of the multiverse. All through this, the three residents of Trolberg stared at me with looks of shock.

“So, wait… I… You’re what?” Hilda said, her head obviously spinning at all the new information that was dumped onto her.

“That’s everything”, I said, “That’s the whole truth.”

I looked at the blue haired girl, bracing for a negative reaction. But it never came. Rather, Hilda looked at me with wide curious eyes.

“So this is why you didn’t tell me…” She said quietly. Suddenly, she smiled at me, catching me completely off guard. “Honestly, I shouldn’t be surprised. Your friends are pretty fantastic.”

“Wait, you aren’t upset?” It was now my turn to be shocked.

“Why would I be?” She said in excitement, “I just found out that my new friends are people from other worlds, with things I could never expect to see at all!” She hopped up to my side. “I’m just so excited!” Suddenly, her face instantly formed into a frown. “Oh, this is why you didn’t want me to join you…”

“Sadly, yes”, Gladius said, “It’s much too dangerous to face what might come in the future.”

“Seriously?” Vanellope interjected. “You’re worried about that? Please, seeing what Hilda’s dealt with before she met us, she’ll be fine if she joins us.” The racer then turned to Hilda. “And if you’re worried about your mom and buddies missing you, don’t worry. Gladdy here can open a portal that sends you right back, and not a second will go by here.”

Hilda’s eyes suddenly sparkled. “Yes!” Hilda began jumping around me, Twig slowly beginning to copy her enthusiasm. “Caleb, can we come with you? Pleeeeeaaaase?”

“Hilda, as much fun as this sounds”, Alfur said apprehensively, hopping onto a nearby rock. “I’m not too sure you should…”

“I’ll bring you and Twig!” At the mention of his name, the deerfox happily jumped into the girl’s arms. After hugging Twig close, she looked at Alfur. “Besides, I’m pretty sure nothing about travelling to other worlds has been documented.” She shot the elf a smirk.

Alfur perked up at that. “Well, that is true…”

“And just think of how you’ll be praised when you give them those reports!” Hilda cheered, acting out a sword battle. “Heroes, magic, creatures we’ve never seen before! The sky’s the limit!”

“Yeah, you’re quite right Hilda!” Alfur proudly announced. “Let’s do this!”

“Well, nice to have three new faces joining us.” I said with a smile. “The more the merrier!”

Vanellope quickly ran up and hugged Hilda. “Yes! Now I won’t be the only kid!” She let go of the blue hair girl and started to skip away. “C’mon, let’s go! I want to tell Ralphie the good news!” She spun around, but instantly smacked into something and fell onto her butt. “Hey, what’s the-” But Vanellope didn’t finish. None of us said a word.

Staring down at us was a very big, very angry looking troll. Its eyes had a soft red glow to them, painting us in it as we all looked up in fear. I quickly grabbed Vanellope and set her behind me, once again putting my arms protectively around them. Gladius and Twig took a defensive position, but they faltered when two more trolls came from the shadows. I kept backing up until we hit a large pile of knocked down trees. I quickly put everything together.

We were cornered.

The three massive trolls slowly walked closer to us, the rage in their eyes becoming more pronounced with each step.

“Crap…” I said in a whisper. The first troll leaned down right up to me, and I leaned back in response. I felt it breathe on me, then growl. My heart was racing. I felt like I was going to faint.

“LEAVE THEM ALONE, YOU STUPID BOLDERS!” A sudden voice shouted. We looked up and saw a large man leap over the pile of logs and land in front of us. He then decked the frontmost with a large, tightly clenched fist.

“Ralph!” Vanellope cried with relief. The wrecker turned around at the call of his name and flashed us all a smile.

“Hey kids”, he said, “Thought you guys would need some back up.” He dodged a punch from one of the trolls. “Jenny, get them out of here! Steve, Majima, I could use some help!” We jumped when a set of buzzsaws quickly cut the logs into nothing but splinters, and now standing triumphantly was Jenny (whose hands were said buzzsaws), Steve with a diamond sword in his hand, and Majima with his baseball bat.

“Let’s rip these rocks some new assholes!” Majima shouted gleefully. This was met with flat looks from Jenny and Steve. “What? I get really excited when a brawl’s about to break out?” The two of them rolled their eyes, but just moved on.

Jenny stretched her arms out and grabbed me, Vanellope, Hilda and Twig, pulling us out of the line of fire. Alfur clung to Hilda with all his strength, and Gladius soared close to my side. Once we were back on solid ground, Steve and Majima immediately rushed at the trolls, and I could only watch in pure amazement as the three guys gave the trolls hell. Hilda joined in, but both of us snapped back to reality when Jenny shook our shoulders.

“Enough gawking, you two!” She barked. “We need to get out of here! There’s a lot of trolls looking for us, so we need to get back to the city!”

“R-Right”, I stuttered. We began to run away, leaving our friends to deal with the trolls. It didn’t last long, however, as they soon soared over us and crashed in front of us in a heap.

“Okay, these trolls are a lot more durable than Iron Golems…” Steve groaned. We quickly helped the men up, but a loud roar came from behind us. I snapped my head over to the sound like a meerkat, only to be scooped up by Ralph.

“We are leaving!” He said with exacerbation. I looked to his shoulders and saw both Vanellope and Hilda occupying them, so I quickly scrambled into a piggyback position as Ralph booked it, followed closely by Jenny, Steve, and a Twig carrying Majima.

~X~

The moon wasn’t that high in the sky, but it felt like we were running through the dense forest for hours. Everywhere we turned, there was a troll waiting for us, which made us bounce around like crazy.

“This is crazy!” Vanellope cried in terror, “How are we supposed to get back to Trolberg?! These crazy boulders are everywhere!”

Hilda darted her head around, until she pointed in a direction. “That way! That’s where the Sparrow Scout hall is!”

“Right!” Ralph answered back with determination. He made a sharp turn around a cluster of trees, but we suddenly were cut off when a troll burst from the thicket and stopped in front of us. Me, Vanellope and Hilda all gasped, but Ralph didn’t flinch.

“Kids, hold on!” He barked. “And don’t let go!” We did as we were told, and Ralph charged right at the rock monster in our path. I braced for what was coming, and quickly grabbed hold of the two younger girls.

Then Ralph and the troll clashed

They both were forced into a stalemate, hands locked together. The troll let out a roar, but Ralph didn’t flinch and just roared back. I could only watch silently, constantly bracing for the inevitable.

“You got this Stinkbrain!” Vanellope cheered. This seemed to give Ralph a boost, as he suddenly crushe the troll’s hands. Hard. An audible crunch could be heard, and The troll suddenly wailed in pain as its face morphed into horror. When it freed itself from the wrecker’s grasp to nurse its sore, potentially broken hands, Ralph let loose a powerful punch. It connected with the troll, square in the gut, sending it flying a good few feet away. The hit was so strong it created a shockwave that almost levelled the surrounding forest. Other trolls looked at the scene in horror and ran away, while Ralph just panted aggressively, holding his sore hand.

“Ralph, that was incredible!” Alfur praised from his pot a top Hilda’s beret, “I haven’t seen anyone take on a troll like that before!”

Ralph looked to his left shoulder and smiled. “All comes with my line of work, Alfur.” He said proudly.

Jenny suddenly ran up next to us, Steve, Majima and Twig following closely behind.

“Right, but can we get going?” Majima said impatiently, “I’m getting tired, and these trolls are pissing me off.” A distant roar hit our ears. Majima, in turn, faced the noise. “Yeah? Well fuck you too!”

“Let’s just go”, Steve said, clearly exhausted. But before he could say anything else, a loud rumbling began to shake the world around us. We all looked and saw a stampede of trolls rushing at us.

“You’re kidding”, Gladius said.

“Why us?” Hilda whined.

“OH FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” Majima screeched.

“Book it!” I called. No one argued with that, and we all ran towards the Sparrow Scout Hall. It was a bit of a trek, but we were able to make it there in one piece. No one was around, but it was just nice to be safe.

“That was… intense…” Jenny said, clutching her knees in exhaustion. Steve just wordlessly flopped onto the ground next to her. Ralph helped me, Vanellope and Hilda back onto the ground, and Twig rushed over into Hilda’s arms.

“Hey boy…” Hilda said happily as she hugged her deerfox close. She then turned to the ones who saved us. “Thanks, you guys. This was… some night.”

“It was”, Vanellope added, “A terrifying, awesome night.”

“I think we should get you home, Hilda”, Gladius said, “I don’t want your mom getting mad at us…”

“But, wait, I want to come with you guys”, Hilda said. Ralph, Jenny, Steve and Majima stared at her in shock. “You aren’t leaving tonight, are you?”

“Wait wait wait”, Ralph said, shaking his head and waving his hands around. “Who said you could come with us?”

I hissed and rubbed the back of my head. “Yeah… before you guys saved our butts, I told these three about who we are…” I gestured to Hilda, Alfur and Twig, who all nodded. Ralph, in response, let out a loud sigh and ran a hand over his face.

“Look, I get wanting Majima to tag along with us”, he explained, “but Hilda? She’s just a kid!”

“Hey, I can handle myself!” Hilda said in an offended tone. “I’ve dealt with Weather Spirits, Dragons, Giants and Trolls! Anything that happens, happens.”

Jenny looked down at Hilda with an unreadable expression, then looked over the whole group. “How about we get Hilda home first, go to the hotel, and talk about this.” Hilda nodded sadly while I frowned slightly, but neither of us made any sort of complaint. So we just walked back to Trolberg in silence.

~X~

Currently I was just lying in bed staring up at the ceiling. After we dropped Hilda off at home, we made it back to the hotel. Vanellope was asleep in the bed next to me, while the older, more experienced members of the group were elsewhere. Gladius, despite his confidence in Hilda and her friends, chose to stay with me.

“How do you feel about this, Gladius?” I asked the sword quietly. Said sword was hovering by the back sliding glass door, staring out towards the mountains.

“I do believe Hilda joining us is good”, he said, “We don’t know how this adventure might go, so we’ll need plenty of help. The more, the merrier…”

I hummed and nodded silently, looking back up to the ceiling. My thoughts were clouded, but I wasn’t too sure why. But before I could press on, I heard the doorknob to our room click, so I quickly shifted myself so I appeared to be asleep.

“I just don’t know guys…” Ralph said in a whisper. “I mean, I’m all for helping Caleb get back home, but I just don’t want to become public enemy number one. I mean, all of us now have been through a lot, so I just don’t know if bringing Hilda is a good idea.”

“Says you”, Majima spat, “I might be mad, but I’m not stupid. Hilda-chan knew where her scout hall was, and she got Caleb-chan, Gladius-kun and Vanellope-chan up that mountain in the first place. Kid knows her stuff.”

“Plus, might I add”, Steve interjected, “She’ll be bringing Twig and Alfur with her, so she won’t be completely defenceless either.”

“Maybe… Maybe we should let her come”, Jenny said with a slight smile, “Never can have too big of an entourage.”

“That’s because you have eight sisters…” Ralph grumbled, not liking how he was out voted. He then looked to Gladius. “What about you, Gladius? What do you think?”

“I say we let her come”, he said, “Something happened earlier today, and I think it’s because Caleb didn’t have the best home life, But I’m not sure…”

I tensed when he said that, and only tensed further when Jenny pressed on. “What happened?”

“I won’t dare tell”, Gladius said, making me release my tension. “I just feel like it will be best for Hilda to come with us.”

Everyone silently agreed, and started going to bed. I couldn’t help but smile just the tiniest bit before succumbing to sleep. I then immediately woke up, and it was daylight already. I looked around and saw everyone but Gladius were gone.

“Ah, so you’re finally awake”, Gladius said teasingly, “I was wondering of I’d have to smash pans above your head.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up”, I grumbled. I then began looking around the room again. “Where is anyone, anyway?”

“Well, they all went to pick Hilda and her friends up to take her to the park”, he explained, “And when you didn’t wake up, I chose to stay behind.”

“Wait, so we’re doing it?” I said with a small bit of excitement.

“Yep. Although, I’m surprised you know that…” Gladius said with an accusing tone. But I could tell he was just playing along, which got a laugh out of me.

“Yeah, I know”, I waved him off with a smirk, then suddenly bolted out of bed. “But I don’t want to keep the others waiting! Let’s go!” I shot out of the room, Gladius chasing close behind me. I took off down the street towards the park, a wide smile painted on my face. I felt like I could fly. But I didn’t get distracted by those thoughts, and soon I made it to the park. It didn’t take long for me to find the whole gang, who were all tucked away in a corner away from prying eyes. As I came up to them, They all looked at me.

“Look who finally decided to stop counting sheep!” Ralph joked. I rolled my eyes at that, but my smile didn’t leave my face.

“Caleb!” Vanellope cheered, clamouring over to me. “Ralph said Hilda could come with us!” She suddenly glitched over to said girl’s side. “Which means the multiverse better watch out! Vanellope and Hilda are coming to conquer you!”

Hilda giggled at Vanellope’s remark. “Yeah! New people, new worlds, I can’t wait!”

“Well, since Caleb’s here, let’s get going!” Steve said proudly.

“Hang on!” Gladius shouted, “Before we do anything…” He faced Hilda, Twig and Alfur. “I need you three to hold on to my handle.”

“Uhhh… why?” Hilda said in confusion.

“Oh!” I said, realising what was happening. “It’s just so language barriers aren’t a problem.”

“Fascinating…” Alfur said, quickly jotting that down into his notebook. He then joined Hilda and Twig in holding Gladius’ handle, and after a few seconds, he hovered out of their grasp.

“There! That should solve that”, Gladius turned to Majima, “Goro, say something.”

Majima’s face twisted in irritation. “I’m not going to do this every time!”

Hilda looked at him in amazement. “Wow, that’s… weird…” She shook her head. “I’m going to need sometime to get used to that…”

“Don’t worry”, I said, grabbing hold of Gladius’ handle, “You will.” I looked over the whole group. “You guys all ready to go?”

Ralph nodded.

“You betcha’, Glasses!” Vanellope said, glitching onto Ralph’s shoulder.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Jenny said with a smile.

“Yep. And I didn’t lose anything, luckily.” Steve said as he rummaged through his inventory.

“I’m ready to smash faces and bitches.” Majima said evilly, earning shocked and desturbed looks from the rest of us. An awkward pause followed, which Majima caught. “Scratch that last part.”

Hilda gave him a side glance before facing me with a smile. “I’m ready to take on the unknown!”

“Oh, everyone will be so jealous when I show them this!” Alfur said, not really at me.

Twig barked happily.

I smiled at them all, turned around, and slashed Gladius into thin air. After a moment, another portal opened, its colours as bright as ever.

“Let’s do this”, I said, jumping into the portal. Everyone followed after me swiftly.

~X~

And so the door closes on the Hilda arc, and three new faces join the team. Why did I have Hilda join? And why with Twig and Alfur? Well, the three of them are a trio, and what they deal with on the show, I feel like, makes them necessities for the team.

Next up, a universe of magic, a butterfly, and a mysterious crystal. (I’m gonna try and get into the habit of making these teasers)

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

Art done by @doglover502 on Tumblr

We were cruising through the multicoloured portal with zero issues. Vanellope, Hilda (Alfur on her hat) and Twig were on Jenny’s back (whom had her wings extended), Steve was gliding with his Elytra equipped, holding onto a not too happy Majima, and Ralph stayed stable while I sat on his back. Gladius flew around us in a circle, trying to keep us on course.

“This is incredible!” Alfur exclaimed, “All of this, just out of arm’s reach. I can’t believe it!”

Hilda, however, was cringing. “Yeah, but it’s a bit loud, don’t you think?”

“Eh, you’ll get used to it”, Vanellope said, waving off Hilda’s displeasure with the noise. “This honestly isn’t that bad.”

“Says you, you little Gutter-Snipe…” Ralph grumbled. I just quietly laughed from my spot on his back, but stopped when he made a glare in my direction. “Have something to say, kid?”

“Uhhhhh, nope!” I said, feigning innocence. Ralph just grumbled something and faced forward again. I internally sighed, and began to look around the portal. It was as beautiful as always, but when I turned around, I saw something weird. It looked like a bubble was forming on the edge.

“Hey, Gladius?” I asked. The sword came up to my side, so I pointed at the anomaly. “What’s that?”

Gladius looked up and observed. “I’m not too sure. I haven’t seen anything like it.”

“What’s going on?” Steve asked.

“Nothing we should need to worry about.” Gladius reaffirmed. Just then, the bubble burst and launched something right at me at crazy high speeds. I didn’t even get to make a shocked look before I got slammed by the thing, sending me careening down the tunnel.

“CALEB!!!” I heard the others scream. I just screamed in terror back, the massive thing the smacked into me keeping me locked on my path. I couldn’t even tell what was up and what was down before the multitude of colours vanished for a calm sky blue. I braced for my eventual crash landing, I instead was saved by Gladius, who quickly blasted next and saved me with his telekinesis. The mysterious object crashed into the ground, being embedded in the grass under us. Gladius set me down, and not long after the others landed next to me. Ralph had the roughest landing, but Jenny was quick to help him.

As they did that, Majima, Steve and Twig started investigating the strange object. It appeared to be a large light purple crystal, but it was extremely foggy, so we couldn’t see through it.

“What do you guys think?” Steve asked, pulling out his iron pickaxe. “Should I crack this thing open?”

“I don’t know, Steve…” Hilda said apprehensively, “We don’t know what it could be.”

“As much as I would love to see what’s inside”, Majima said flatly, “I agree with Hilda-Chan. The thing could be explosive.”

Steve put his tool away. “Good call.” He looked around, taking in the sights. “So, where are we?”

I took this as my chance to look around myself, and I couldn’t really tell. We looked to be in a typical city park, but when I noticed some people going about their day with no acknowledgement of us, I decided to investigate. I walked up to someone, a man in a typical business suit.

“Excuse me, sir” I asked kindly. The man looked down at me. “Mind telling me where me and my friends are?” I gestured to the gang, who were busy trying to help Ralph lift the crystal.

The man smiled down at me. “You’re in Echo Creek, son.”

My mind instantly froze when I heard that name. Echo Creek. I did know where we were. “Thank you.” Was all I said before joining the others. They had managed to lift the crystal out of the ground and put in a minecart Steve placed. Majima was the first to notice me.

“Find out where we are, Caleb-Chan?” He asked, earning the attention of all the others.

“Yeah, a city called Echo Creek”, I said, “And I know exactly what that means.”

“Alright, we won’t be going in blind!” Vanellope said in exacerbation. She suddenly let what I said click. “Wait, is this place bad?”

“No, it’s just… weird.” I said with a side glance and over dramatic frown.

“How weird are we talking here?” Hilda asked, a slight edge of concern in her voice.

“Well, it’s-” I began, but was cut off.

“Hello!” A sweet, bubbly voice came from behind me said. I let a cry of terror as I jumped a few centimeters in the air, then whirled around to the source.

Behind me was a girl about my height, was clearly caucasian, and had a large smile on her face. She wore a turquoise dress with a cartoon squid on it, white frills at the hem of the dress and the sleeves, stockings the were striped two shades of purple, and purple boots that had printed eyes and a horn at the tip. Her hair was blonde and went down to her knees, and she wore a red hairband that had two devil horns.

“Uhhhhhh… Hi.” I said, still trying to process the girl’s sudden arrival.

“Wow, I didn’t think I’d get you that badly”, The girl said with a giggle.

“Who the heck are you?” Vanellope said, looking the blonde girl up and down.

“My name is Star Butterfly, you little cutie!” The girl proudly announced. She then picked up Vanellope in a tight hug, making the poor racer squirm for freedom. Vanellope, after a bit of fruitless struggling, simply glitched out of Star’s tight grasp and hid behind Ralph.

That made the blonde girl gasp. “You guys can use magic too?!” She said, stars filling her eyes.

The others all shared looks of confusion, then looked at her in complete befuddlement. “What?” They all said together. I looked back at the others, then looked back at Star with a phoney smile.

“Yeah, we’re magic”, I said. Star squealed and suddenly hugged me, something I wasn’t prepared for. But she just as quickly let me go.

“So, Star”, Hilda started slowly, “How did you know where we were?”

“Oh, it’s not that hard”, She said dismissively, “I’m an expert on magic, so a portal opening in the sky isn’t that hard to spot.”

Gladius quietly made a coughing sound.

Star continued “Plus, I’m gonna be queen one day, so I need to be…” Star trailed off. “Uhhh… diligent… Yeah, that’s the word I’m looking for!” She then leaned in close to me. “But enough about me, what about you guys?”

“Oh, right”, I straightened myself up. “My name is Caleb, and this is Ralph, Vanellope, Jenny, Steve, Majima, Hilda, Twig, and my main man-uh, sword, Gladius.” At every name I called, each person waved, earning a rapid, happy wave from Star. “Me and Gladius launch through a portal, and now me and him are trying to get back home. Everyone else is tagging along for support.”

Star’s smile fell at the mention of me trying to get home. “Oh, so you’re lost?”

“Yeah, you could say that…” I said sadly.

“Well, I think I know exactly what you need”, she said with a small smile. I looked at her in curiosity. “You need a place to stay! You can crash at my place!”

“Are you sure, Star?” Jenny asked in apprehension. “We don’t want to bother you.”

“Pffft, no, it’s fine”, she said, waving off the concern lobbed at her. “I’m staying here while I’m practising to be queen, and the family I’m staying with are amazing. Oh, wait till you meet my BFF!”

“Star!” A distant voice called.

“Speaking of…” Star sang. We all turned to see a boy running up to us. He was exactly Star’s height, and a slightly tanned complexion, wearing a red hoodie, dark grey pants, and light brown shoes. His hair was dark brown and a bit messy, and his eyes matched his shoes. He took a breath when he made it to us.

“Marco Marco Marco!” Star said, bouncing around the new arrival in excitement.

“Star, take it easy”, The boy, Marco, said, “You just ran off, and if you got ambushed by Ludo…” He finally took notice of us. “Uhhh, Star, who are these guys?”

“My new friends!” She cheered, grabbing Marco by the sleeve and pulling him up to us. “They’ve got magic, and need a place to stay, so can they stay with us?” She gave Marco large, innocent eyes. “Please?”

Marco obviously was cracking under Star’s puppy dog eyes, but he just shook it off. “Fine, but you’ll have to magic them up a place to stay.”

“YAY!” Star jumped high into the air, cheering with joy. She bolted over and picked up Hilda and Twig. “Let’s go, gang!” She then ran away, presumably to Marco’s house. Everyone else shared looks, shrugged, and followed after her. Except me, Gladius and Marco. The boy looked me over in suspicion.

“So, who are you, really?” Marco asked in an accusing tone. I was taken by surprise by the tone. “Star has something that a lot of people would love to try and take.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not like that”, I said in a reassuring tone. “Besides, I got this guy.” I jabbed a thumb at Gladius, who bowed.

“Huh, so you got a magic sword as a partner”, Marco said in a chill voice, “Cool. I’m Marco, by the way.”

“Caleb”, I said with a smile, “And this is Gladius.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Marco.” Gladius said in a formal tone.

Marco smirked at the sword, then faced me again. “So, if you guys aren’t here for Star, then what’s your deal?”

“Accidental portal, trying to get back home”, I flatly said, pointing between me and Gladius.

“Dang, really? I’m sorry to hear that”, Marco said in a sad tone. “Guess that explains why Star offered my place for you guys to stay at.”

“If you don’t want us over, that’s cool.” I said. “We could find a hotel or something.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Besides, my parents are more than willing to let you in. They let Star in, and I can’t say that was a bad thing.”

In my mind, I knew that was bull, but I didn’t say anything. “Speaking of Star, we should probably catch up to her.”

“Yeah, good call.” and the three of us left on that note, running after the rest of the gang.

~X~

We had caught up with the rest of the gang, who were all chilling in front of Marco’s place. It was very much based on hispanic culture, but the only oddity was a castle turret with a massive roof broken out of the left side, with a way smaller, green one right next to it.

“Welcome to Casa La Diaz, everyone!” Star proudly announced from the step that led to the front door. Marco stood next to her and smirked while rolling his eyes.

Steve let out an impressed whistle. “Gotta say, Marco, your place is sweet.”

“Yeah”, Ralph added, “Although what’s with that?” He pointed at the castle turret.

“That’s my room!” Star exclaimed happily, “That’s where you guys will be staying. But first, the grand tour!” She swung the door open, much to Marco’s obvious frustration, and led us inside. Ralph helped Steve get the crystal inside, which was still in the minecart, and we entered the living room.

“My parents are out”, Marco said, “So we got the house to ourselves until they get back.”

“Cool”, I simply said. I began to look around the living room curiously, then took a seat on the dark green couch. Everyone else looked around at our new temporary residence, all while Star and Marco talked quietly off to the side. After a moment, Star bolted upstairs. After she vanished, a group of a dozen puppies all ran downstairs and began to crowd around us, demanding attention.

“Where’s she going?” Majima asked.

“Getting your guy’s beds ready”, he said. We walked over to the couch and sat next to me. “So, what’s up with that thing?” We all followed where he was pointing, and all looked at the crystal.

“Honestly, no idea”, Jenny said, “It just fired out at us, rammed into Caleb, and that’s it.”

“It hurt like heck…” I said, rubbing my chest. Marco looked at me with a small frown, then looked back to the others.

“That sucks, I’m sorry that happened.”

“Nah, it’s fine”, Vanellope said nonchalantly. “We’ve tussled with trolls, thugs and giant robots. This is nothing.”

“Yeah, because you weren’t the one that got bulldozed by a five metre bolder…” I grumbled angrily, giving the racer a glare. She just smiled sweetly back.

Steve began to look the crystal over. “Maybe it’s a power source? Let’s plug it in somewhere and see if it does anything.”

“And remember what I said”, Majima spat, “Could be explosive.” Steve backed away from the crystal. Marco, however, just looked at Majima in confusion.

“What did he say?” Marco whispered to me.

“Don’t worry about it”, I whispered back, “We’re just really unsure about that thing.”

Marco opened his mouth to say something, but Star rushing down the stairs shut him up.

“Guys!” She called, “I got all your stuff ready! Come and see!” She bolted back up the stairs, leaving us all in an awkward silence. We all shared looks, shrugged, and followed her upstairs. Marco took the lead, Ralph struggled to make it through the hallway, but we were taken to Star’s room with no massive issues. We all entered, and it was exactly like I imagined. Light blue walls, faded grey floor, Star’s large bed, everything like my memories told me.

“This is where you guys are staying!” Star suddenly cheered to our left. We turned to look at her, and saw a collection of soft mattresses, blankets and pillows of varying colours all stacked up in a large pile.

“Not the best when it comes to offering guests a bed, huh?” Jenny said shooting, Star a side glance. Star blushed in embarrassment and looked away.

“It’s okay, Star”, I quickly said, “Travelling around, we’ve been having to make due with whatever. This is just fine.” That made Star smile at me.

“I suggest we get set up”, Gladius said, clapping his wings together. “Except you Caleb, I’d like to talk with you.” I gave my friend a look of confusion, but shrugged and followed him out of the room. Alfur was sitting on Gladius’ hilt, scribbling away in his notebook.

“So, what’d you want to talk to me about?” I asked the sword.

“I just want to know what’s up with this world”, he responded, “Marco’s tone back at the park, and Star’s out of place room just set me off.”

“It’s nothing too crazy”, I said with a shake of my head, “Star’s a magical princess from another dimension, and currently living on earth to practise to be queen. She has a wand, fights monsters, and… that’s it.”

“Really”, Gladius hummed, “Well, hopefully we get to have a break in this world. I’m getting tired of constantly running away and fighting everything that moves.” He then paused. “Wait, did you say she fights monsters?”

“Meh, those guys are pushovers”, I said nonchalantly, “Star just needs one spell, and they’re beat.”

“Thank goodness”, Gladius sighed in relief.

“Do you think Ms.Butterfly would be willing to demonstrate her spells?” Alfur inquired.

I shrugged. “Probably.” We entered the room again, and the first thing I saw was Star, Vanellope and Hilda jumping on the magic princess’ bed.

“So, you break buildings for a living?” Marco asked Ralph. Both of them were sitting on the mass of mattresses, Twig curled up on Marco’s lap.

“Yep. Break the building down, my buddy Felix comes by and fixes it, then we rinse and repeat.”

“Doesn’t that get boring after a while?” Marco shot, gently petting the deerfox.

“Meh, it kinda was”, the wrecker responded, “Didn’t help that everyone else kept treating me like some monster that had to be avoided. Then, after some rule breaking, I ran into Vanellope. Ever since, my life’s turned around.” He passed a glance to the racer and smiled. I decided to take a seat next to them, relaxing into the softness.

“So, you’ve got a magic wand?” Vanellope asked Star after the three girls stopped jumping on the bed.

“Yeppity yep!” Star boasted, pulling out said wand and showing it off to the younger girls. “This baby’s been in my family for so long, and now it’s my responsibility!”

“Seems like a pretty big thing to dump on you…” Hilda said in concern.

“Pffft”, Star scoffed, “Not really. Yeah, I got to listen to my mom’s boring lectures, but other than that, magic wand!” She twirled the wand around, tossing it between her hands

“Oh brother, someone kill me…” Majima grumbled, clearly not the biggest fan that Star was a magic princess..

“So cool!” Vanellope said in awe. “I want to see you blast something!”

“Excuse me!?” Ralph shouted, shooting up into a standing position.

“Don’t get your undies in a twist, Ham-Hands”, the racer said, shooting Ralph a smirk. “I was kidding.”

“We’ll, I can show you if you want”, Star said with a shrug. Everyone looked at her silently, and she looked around. “What? She asked.”

Steve cocked his head, then turned to look out the window. I noticed he leaned closer, so I stood up and started walking over to him.

“Uhhhhh… guys?” He said, concern dripping from his voice. We all shared looks, then joined him at the window. Looking outside into the backyard, we all saw what looked like a portal. It was spiralling with two shades of green and bordered by a bright white.

“Is that a portal?!” Majima shouted in shock.

“Not again!” Star whined. She let out a frustrated breath and shook her head. “Alright, let’s get this over with.” She ran out of her room.

“What the heck is happening?” Jenny asked.

“Ludo and his monsters”, Marco said in frustration, “They keep trying to take Star’s wand, I’ll say that.”

“What?! Ah heck no!” Vanellope shouted like a cowgirl. She suddenly glitched onto Ralph’s shoulder. “C’mon Knuckles, we’ve got to help!”

“Well, can’t argue with that”, Ralph said with a shrug. He ran after Star, nearly ripping the doorway apart.

“Fighting monsters are our specialty, right Steve?” Jenny asked, making the motion of cracking her knuckles.

“Oh, you know it”, Steve said devilishly, pulling out a diamond sword. The two of them then ran off.

“Time to crack some skulls”, Majima said, chuckling darkly. He then went to join the others.

“C’mon Twig, we should help. Or at least try to…” Hilda told her deerfox friend before dashing after the others. Alfur had hopped onto her hat, presumably to get a better view. That left me, Marco and Gladius alone. We all shared looks, Marco let out a frustrated breath through his nose, and we headed out of the bedroom.

~X~

We were all in the backyard, carefully watching the portal silently. It had been a few minutes since it opened, but Ludo and his monsters had yet to step through.

“What’s taking this guy so long?” Vanellope whispered angrily.

“No clue”, Star admitted, “Ludo’s not the brightest.”

“Understatement of the year”, Marco said sarcastically. Just then, A group of people finally walked through the portal. The main bulk of the group was a variety of monsters, each of them looking like they were just a hodge podge of random things. The most notable member was riding a large bat and wore a skull on his head. He wasn’t that tall, had green skin, yellow eyes, and a dark green beak.

“Ah, Star Butterfly”, The tiny bird-like said in a semi-nasally voice, “I see you’ve fallen right into my trap.” He chuckled darkly.

Star looked at him in confusion. “Uhhhhh… what trap?” She darted her eyes around.

“This one! We open a portal and wait for you to approach!”

We all stared at him in utter befuddlement, our jaws hanging open. “Wait, Ludo, you’re serious?” Marco said, speaking what was on all of our minds.

“Of course I’m serious, fleshwad!” Ludo scolded. He just then took notice of the rest of us. “Woah, wait, who are these people?”

“Star and Marco’s new friends, Chicken Wing”, Vanellope spat. Twig let out a growl, and Majima giggled sadistically. Ludo let out an over dramatic gasp.

“How dare you insult me like that!” Ludo squawked. He then looked at his men. “GET THEM!” The monsters let out roars as they charged.

“Bring it on, fuckers…” Majima said with a sadistic smile. He was the first to rush forward, belting the three-eyed boar-like monster over the head with his bat.

Jenny found herself flanked on both sides by the two headed red monster and giant chicken. “Oh, trying to single out the robot, huh?” She suddenly activated her Fists of Fury, making both monsters jump. “Bring it on.” She grabbed the chicken by the leg and hurled him into the two headed monster, then proceeded to beat the ever living heck out of them.

Steve was just running forward swinging his sword wildly, chasing the absolutely terrified giraffe monster. “Keep running, boy! This arm was made for swingin’!”

The antler monster was constantly spinning around, trying to keep track of Vanellope. “I’m over here now!” She said, standing to his left. Then she glitched to his right. “Now I’m here!” Then she glitched behind him. “Nope, right here!” Every time she glitched , the monster would fail to hit her with his club. Just as his patience was wearing thin, Vanellope glitched on top of his head. “You’re really bad at this, huh?” The monster made the mistake of swinging his club again, only succeeding at clocking himself in the face.

Ralph was battling the monster with spiky balls for hands, easily blocking the punches, then retaliating each hit. “Man, Felix put up a better fight than you.” Ralph joked. He then decked the monster square in the face. “But hey, at least you’re trying.”

Twig and Gladius had teamed up to take on the Lobster, crocodile and fly monsters all at once, and they were crushing it. All three of the monsters couldn’t move quick enough to hit the sword or deerfox. Then, when the monsters were back to back, Gladius and Twig ran around them with a hunk of rope, tying the three up. When they were done, Gladius and Twig bumped wing and hoove respectively.

Marco was bouncing around, fighting multiple monsters at once, not breaking a sweat. “C’mon you guys, you’re making this easy!” He kicked the horned bear monster square in the gut, before roundhouse kicking the side of the muscular frog’s head.

While all of this was happening, me, Star and Hilda were glaring sharply at Ludo. “So, what’s your move Ludo?” Star asked in a cocky tone.

Ludo began to sweat as his fierce look twisted into worry. “Uhhhhh…” He began to look around, then looked directly at Marco. “I’m going to single out your friend! Everyone, get him!” Pointed at the red hoodie wearing boy, who stopped to look at Ludo in shock. All the monsters obeyed, and began to chase Marco. The poor boy began to run away in fear, while the gang of monsters chased him. However, all my friends began to chase the monsters, fire within all of their eyes.

Me, Star and Hilda just watched the whole scene in silence. I blinked slowly, unsure if I should stay silent or burst out laughing. “Uhhhhhhh…” Was all I could say.

“Shouldn’t we do something?” Hilda asked as Twig bit the ankle of the boar-like monster, although he just kept running.

Star flashed a big smile. “Hey!” She shouted, catching the attention of the monsters. Star held up her wand. “Looking for something.”

Ludo began to fume. “Get the wand!” He barked. All the monsters changed course, rushing at Star. But she didn’t flinch. Rather, her smile grew, and her gaze hardened.

“Narwhal Blast!” She shouted, pointing her wand at the approaching beasts. Suddenly, a group of narwhals shot out of the wand, assaulting the monsters with their horns.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!” The monsters all roared in pain, stopping their rush. This was just enough for the rest of the gang to plow into them, beginning an all out brawl. Me, Star and Hilda were once again just left to silently watch the chaos before us.

“I think you should wrap this up, Star”, I said, not taking my eyes away from the scene before us.

“Yeah…” Star said, cringing when Majima smashed his bat in the frog’s special area. She spun around and shouted “Thermonulear Butterfly Blast!”

We all let out screams as the massive blast consumed us all. After the smoke cleared, I opened my eyes to see no destruction to any bit of the property. Hilda was hugging me close, and she too was surprised at the sight. Star turned to us, twirling her wand and blowing on it like a smoking gun. She flashed us a bubbly smile. “And once again, Star Butterfly saves the day.” This was met with a chorus of groans.

All around us, Ludo, his men and my friends all laid sprawled out in the grass. “A warning would be nice next time!” Jenny croaked. Star frowned, and the three of us quickly went to help the others up. Meanwhile, Ludo, shakily stood up, pulled out a pair of scissors, and cut at the air in front of him, creating a new portal.

“You win this round, Star Butterfly!” He cursed, shaking his fist angrily at the girl. He stopped to wince in pain, clutching his hand close. “Get up you nincompoops!” He weakly kicked the foot of the fallen giraffe, and soon all the monsters rose and followed their boss through the portal. Once they were gone, it closed.

“Well, that sure was something”, Gladius said, flying low to the ground.

“Yeah”, we all said together.

“How about we all head back up to Star’s room and relax?” I suggested. My offer wasn’t met with protest, so we all slowly made our way back inside.

~X~

The rest of the day went smoothly after that. We relaxed in Star’s room for a few hours to recover our wounds, then we went down into the kitchen so we could sample, and as Star said, Marco’s cheesetastic nachos. As we munched on the chips, Marco’s parents, Rafael and Angie Diaz, returned home. After explaining to them our predicament, and Star shooting them puppy dog eyes, they eagerly accepted us into their home. And for the next few hours, we all hung out. Ralph, Majima, Steve and Jenny chose to hang out with Rafael and Angie while me, Gladius Vanellope, Hilda, Twig, Star and Marco played board games and in the backyard for the rest of the day. At some point, we explained to them about Alfur, and after they signed the paperwork, they could finally see the elf.

After all of that, night had finally come, and I found myself leaning against the railing of Star’s room balcony, looking up at the bright moon. I let out a sigh just as Star walked out to join me.

“I gotta say”, Star started, “Today was awesome! You’re pretty cool Caleb. You and your friends.”

“Thanks”, I said, smiling at her. “I’m just glad there are people who got my back through this whole mess.”

Star’s own smile faltered slightly. “You really miss home, don’t you?”

“I don’t even know if what I’m getting back to is home…” I admitted. “I was only there for three days before me and Gladius got lobbed across the multiverse…”

Star looked me over, her smile falling into a flat line. “I’m guessing you don’t mean my world when you say that…”

I shot her a shocked look. “How do you know?”

Star shrugged. “When I was younger, the Magic High Commission would sometimes stop by to have boring meetings with my mom and dad. But sometimes, no one was around, they’d talk about people and places that didn’t exist.”

I looked at her for a few moments before looking down. “Yeah, it’s exactly like that.”

“Were you living with Lightness and Darkness? The Commission dropped their names a lot.”

I nodded, and she continued. “I’m not mad at you. If the MHC were keeping this a secret from my mom, then it’s got to be serious.”

“Yeah, it is”, I said, looking back up at the moon. “I just hope we get back soon…”

Star then smiled brightly at me again. “Well, until you have to go again, you got me and Marco.”

I looked at Star. “Maybe you could come with us…”

The princess gasped. “Really?! You’d let me come along?! Can Marco come too?!”

I laughed at her excitement. “Sure. When we get going, we’ll bring you two along.”

Star squealed in pure joy and hugged me tight. I somewhat hesitated to return it, as the warmth of the hug reminded me of something, but I shook it off and returned it. After Star let go, she bounced on the balls of her feet. “I’m so excited! Goodnight Caleb, I want to try and get plenty of rest!” The princess bolted back inside, leaving me to smile. I spared one last look up at the moon before heading back inside myself, ready to let sleep take me over.

~X~

Yep, the next world visited is Star Vs The Forces Of Evil. While I understand this show has a lot of certain opinions, I’ve chosen to have this arc take place during season one, specifically around when Toffee is introduced. Why? Well, it’s because of that mysterious crystal.

Coming up next, different takes on a father visiting, a prison breakout, a day of history, and a lot of hair.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I was currently fast asleep on the mass of blankets and pillows, a light bit of drool escaping my open mouth. The past few days haven't been the kindest to me, as, well…

We couldn’t leave.

After a close call where Star nearly let some fortune cookies tell her to practically give her wand to Ludo, we had gotten ready to leave…

~~~

“Are you two sure you want to come with us?” I asked Star and Marco. We were all currently in Marco’s backyard, ready to get going as soon as we could.

“Of course we’re ready!” Star exclaimed. Marco, meanwhile, smiled and nodded.

“Think about it, travelling the multiverse with a hyperactive magic princess”, Vanellope whispered to Hilda, “This’ll be awesome.”

“Definitely”, Hilda responded.

“Look, can we get going?” Star asked impatiently, bouncing on her feet. “I want to see what’s out there! The anticipation is killing me!”

“Star, relax”, Marco said with a laugh, grabbing the princess’ shoulders gently. “We’ve got all the time in the world, don’t worry.”

“Well, I’m with Star on this one”, Gladius shockingly said. He hovered up to me. “Let’s get this over with Caleb.” I smiled and nodded, grabbing hold of Gladius, and swung at the air.

…

But nothing happened.

“What?” I said in confusion. I swung again, and nothing happened. Again, and again, and again. I swung Gladius around like crazy, forcing the others to back away, but nothing happened. The portal wouldn’t open.

“What the heck?” Jenny was the first to say, “Where’s the portal?”

“Gladius, do you know what’s going on?” I asked the blade. He flew out of my grasp and started spinning around, only to look at me and shrug.

“I can sense there’s something else here, but I can’t pinpoint it”, he explained, “But really, I don’t know. This is something entirely new to me.”

“So we’re stuck here?!” Ralph shouted in both shock and frustration.

“We are”, Gladius continued, “At least until we figure out what’s causing this.”

I just stared at the sword silently, before feeling a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Marco standing behind me, a small frown painted on his face.

“You guys can stay here till we figure this out”, he said. I nodded slowly, my mind feeling heavy.

~~~

And so for three days we were trapped here, unable to do anything. Even when Star accidentally froze time, I still couldn’t open a portal. But what really weirded me out was it only affected me and Gladius. The pair of dimensional scissors Star owned could open portals just fine, which only angered me more. It caused me to spend nearly the whole last two nights trying to find out what was the issue, but no matter how much I tried, I came up empty handed. Eventually Ralph stepped in and told me I had to sleep, and, in all honesty, I’m glad he stepped in. As soon as I laid down, I was out like a light. But my sleep couldn’t last forever, as the sound of running water kicked me awake.

“Now what…” I whined. I slowly rose from my spot and sluggishly made my way over to Star’s bedroom door. I grabbed the knob and slowly opened the door, and what I saw… honestly didn’t surprise me. The whole hallway was filled with a river of rushing water, and tubes that resembled a water slide snaked around in all directions.

“Fun…” I said, sighing in frustration. I watched as Marco stepped out of his room, dressed for the day, only to get swept up in the current and sent down the stairs. I watched him go with a flat look. “This day isn’t going to be fun…” I watched as a small paddle boat came floating by, so I quickly hopped into it and let the water coast me down the stairs. Before I was sent down the water slide, I jumped out and landed in what was supposed to be the living room, but had been turned into a pool.

“Caleb!” I heard Star call. I turned and saw she was approaching me, and she was wearing a turquoise one-piece swimsuit with a pink floral pattern headband. “You like? Felt like we could use some R&R.” She finished with a cool tone. I hummed in indifference, only for my attention to Marco, who just came out of the water slide screaming. He burst from the pool with a massive smile.

“That was awesome!” Marco cheered.

“I know, right?” Star said as she ran up to her friend. I chose to remain silent, but follow after her. “Stairs are so boring.”

Marco chuckled a bit before raising his arms. “I hope my parents don’t flip when they see this.”

“I am flipping!” Rafael shouted, doing a flip as he dove into the pool. When he splashed, the laser puppies within barked happily.

Marco was rightfully caught off guard. “Dad?!”

Rafael stood up proudly. “Relax, son”, he said, patting Marco’s head. “This is like the perfect getaway without actually getting away!” He laughed as a star eyed dolphin carried him away. Star let out a happy laugh.

“I love living here!” She exclaimed, “If my parents found out I was using magic for stuff like this…” I suddenly felt my whole body shake in discomfort, but I chose to ignore it.

“About that”, Marco interjected, “This was cool, but next time… maybe a little heads up?” He held up one of his wet sock clad feet. “Wet socks are a form of torture in some countries.”

However, Star didn’t get to answer back (or she just ignored Marco), as she left to answer the door after the doorbell rang. She opened the door, and on the other side was a short man with a blonde beard, wearing a crown and wielding a scepter with a crescent moon at the tip. Only thing was, he was riding another person like a horse.

“Oh hey, dad- DAD?!” Star said, first calm only to switch to terrified in a split second.

“Hello-” Star’s dad began, only for the door to be promptly slammed into his face.

“Oh no, I need to hide everything!” She said, darting her eyes around in every direction. She cleaned out the living room as quick as a flash. Why, the princess even hid the last can of Magic Mash… whatever that was. After the impressive lightshow, she opened the door again, this time in a proper dress. Marco was still soaking wet, though.

“What a pleasant surprise!” She laughed weakly. “What brings you here unexpectedly?”

“Well, I was in the neighbourhood, and…” He instantly deflated, letting out something between a scoff and a groan. “Who am I kidding? Your mother has banished me from the castle.”

Star instantly gave her dad a look of suspicion. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, I just left a garment or two lying around.” He continued to talk as he walked inside, his servant struggling to pull in his massive trunk. “I thought perhaps I could stay here for a day while this blows over.” He was instantly brought into a bearhug courtesy of Rafael, who was still wet and in his swimming trunks.

“Of course you can stay here”, Mr.Diaz said happily “You are familiar! You can watch the kids while me and the wifey actually get away!” The hispanic man set the king down, running off while saying something in Spanish I didn’t quite get.

River smiled back at him, but then noticed me. “Why, Star, who’s your new friend?”

“Oh!” She said in giddiness. “Dad, this is Caleb! He and his other friends are staying with us for a while!” She grabbed my arm, dragging me closer to the king. I gave Marco a look, and he shrugged. “Caleb, this is my dad River!”

“It’s… nice to meet you, Mr.Butterfly”, I said with a small bow. River, in turn, let out a hearty laugh.

“It’s also a pleasure to meet any new friends of Star, my boy!” I was suddenly brought into a bearhug of my own, which had me squeak in both shock and because of the sudden lack of air. After a moment, he let me go just as one of the puppies popped out of his beard. He looked down at it, only to eat a laser blast from the puppy’s eyes, resulting in his beard getting singed. Star, Marco and I all cringed when he gave us the stink eye.

“Star…”, River said in a scolding tone as he held the puppy to us, “If your mother was here and knew you were using your want inappropriately, she would send you straight to Saint Olga’s!” He gave us a cold stare for a few seconds, filling me with dread, only for him to throw his head back and happily pronounce, “But I’m not your mother! I rather enjoy destructive magical puppies.”

I internally breathed a sigh of relief.

Star seemingly shared my sentiment. “This visit is actually gonna be fun, then!” She cheered happily. Then, both Star and River hugged and said “Father-Daughter Day!” simultaneously, both charging elsewhere into the house.

“Hey guys, hold up!” Marco called, slowly beginning to back up to the stairs, “I’m gonna go change my socks!”

However, before Marco could leave, I quickly stopped him. “Wait, Marco.” He turned to me. “Can you tell me where the others went?”

“Oh, yeah, sure”, he said. “Gladius should be in the kitchen with Glossaryck, Vanellope, Hilda, Twig and Alfur are in the backyard, and the others went out. They said they were looking for whatever is keeping you from opening portals.” He finished with a shrug, then started heading upstairs.

“Thanks Marco!” I called up to him. I headed into the kitchen, and was greeted by my sword companion talking with a small blue man with elf ears, a pink gem in his forehead, and wearing a yellow cloak. Both of them were hovering over the table. They both turned to face me as I walked up and sat down in a vacant chair.

The blue man let out a laugh. “You were right, Gladius. This boy is one heck of a heavy sleeper!”

I pouted as Gladius patted my shoulder with a wing, still managing a light chuckle. “That he is. Caleb, this is Glossaryck. He’s Star’s mentor.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Glossaryck.” I said, somewhat trying to smile at him despite the jab at my sleep.

The mentor, in turn, pulled out a handful of chocolate pudding from his pocket and shoved it into his mouth. “Ohghfhgfghd” Glossaryck said with the pudding still in his mouth. I leaned back just the tiniest bit, passing a glance at Gladius. The sword just shrugged. Glossaryck just swallowed the pudding nonchalantly. “Well, I have a sauna to attend to, so I’ll bid you farewell.” He bowed and flew into… the dishwasher. Me and Gladius shared a look, then shrugged.

“Want to see what the girls out back are getting up to?” I asked my companion.

“Yeah, I was curious what they were going to do”, Gladius admitted. “They were bringing out a bunch of stuff, like poles and a ball.” I gave him a questioning look, then walked to the back door, the sword close to my side. When I opened it, the sight before me made my heart flutter.

Vanellope and Hilda had used the poles and some net to make their own soccer nets, and the two of them were in an active match against each other. Alfur was sitting on a nearby lawn chair on top of a napping Twig, but the deerfox lifted his head to face us when I closed the door behind me. Vanellope was the second one to noticed us, and her already wide smile grew even wider.

“Caleb!” She called. Hilda looked over to me and smiled as well.

“Hey gang”, I said, walking up to Twig and petting him, Alfur jumping onto one of the arms. “Marco said you would be out here, but I didn’t think you’d get this all set up by yourselves.

“They were determined, that’s for sure”, Alfur said in a sweet tone.

“Oh shush, you” Hilda joked. “You were always butting in when we were building the nets!”

“I just wanted them to not collapse…” Alfur said, feinting innocence.

“Yeah, sure Bookworm”, Vanellope jabbed back. Then she looked back at me. “So, you like?” She held up the ball they were using, what looked like a dodgeball.

“Yeah, I got to say, this is really nice”, I said. Then I blushed a bit. “Would you guys mind if I joined you?” I shot them an unsure smile. Both girls shared a look, smiled, then both nodded at me.

“Heck yeah!” Vanellope cheered. “Me and you against Hilda and Twig.” The racer faced the blue haired girl. “Sound good, sister?”

“Yeah!” Hilda said happily in response. “Gladius and Alfur could even be our referees!”

“I’d be more than happy to”, Gladius said formally with a bow. Alfur hopped on top of Gladius’ hilt and took a seat.

“This will definitely help with my report”, the elf said with giddiness. We all quietly laughed at that, and then got into positions. After Gladius relayed the rules, the game was on.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this happy for a long time.

~X~

The game had lasted two hours, and all of us were absolutely exhausted. Vanellope, Hilda and Twig were all cuddled up against me, all three of them fast asleep, as I relaxed under the shade of the single tree in Marco’s backyard. Gladius and Alfur had decided to head inside to chat more with Glossaryck, leaving the backyard calm and quiet. That was, until I heard the back door open. I opened one of my eyes slightly to see Marco approaching us. When he made it to my side, he sat down.

“Gladius told what you guys got up to”, he explained, whispering as not to wake the girls and deerfox. He then looked over to the makeshift soccer nets. “Gotta say, I’m bummed I missed out.”

“It was a crazy game”, I whispered back, feeling Vanellope shift slightly on my right. “Twig’s pretty good, the score was tied for the longest time thanks to him.” I gently pet said deerfox so as to not wake him. “Honestly, I haven’t had fun like that in a long time.”

Marco’s smile fell. “What do you mean by that?”

My eyes widened a bit. “Just… dropped out of school when I was young. I’d rather not go into it.”

Marco carefully reached over and put a hand on my shoulder, so I smiled back at him. “It’s cool, I totally get it.” Hilda moaned a bit in her sleep, shifting to be closer to me. This made Marco pull his hand back quickly. “How about we get them to bed? Then after that we can keep talking.”

“Good idea”, I said with a nod. “You take Twig, I got the girls.” Marco nodded and carefully picked the deerfox off my lap, letting me finally stand up while carrying the two girls. Neither of them seemed to be disturbed, so I carefully walked to the back door, following close behind Marco. He opened the door for us, and we carefully walked inside. As we made our way to the stairs, we passed by Gladius, Alfur and Glossaryck, who all silently waved at the two of us. We both nodded back, then headed up the stairs to Star’s room. Marco carefully opened the door, and we both made our way to the pile of mattresses. I gently set the two girls down, and they instantly cuddled up close together. Marco then set Twig down, draped a blanket over the two girls, and led me back outside the bedroom. We closed the door, then let out long breaths.

“They were so cute!” I gushed. “Now I know why Star was so quick to cuddle Vanellope when we first met.”

“Yeah, I have to admit, your friends sure are something”, Marco responded with a smile and a shake of his head. “Let’s get back to the kitchen. I’ll make you a plate of some of my nachos. But save some for Star. I feel like she’ll strangle me if there isn’t any left.”

“Don’t worry, buddy, I won’t”, I said back, “I’m not that big of an eater.”

“I’ll take your word on that.” And so we headed back downstairs to the kitchen, and for the rest of the day, me and Marco happily hung out, swapping stories and interests with each other. Eventually, Star entered with her dad, wearing a face that screamed Why Me. I cringed, as I could tell her dad had been a handful. But, luckily, when they got back, it was basically night, so we all decided to head up to bed. We all bid goodnight to each other (except Gladius, Alfur and Glossaryck. They were choosing to stay up and talk), and I curled into bed with the girls and Twig. I was able to succumb to sleep shortly after, but when River decided to tussle with many of Star’s magical creations constantly throughout the night, I cursed internally. It didn’t help the others never came back.

When morning finally came, me and Star were absolutely exhausted. Both of us sat at the dinner table on either side of Marco, and he was quick to point out the elephant in the room.

“It was ridiculously loud last night”, he said, pausing his cereal eating.

“Wasn’t me, Oskar”, Star said in a half dead state, “It was my dad.” She suddenly burst out of her chair, an action that nearly made me jump out of my chair in fright. "He’s insane! He just thinks he can come down to Earth and do whatever he wants? He’s so inconsiderate!”

Marco made a bored look, eating a spoonful of cereal. “Huh… I can weirdly relate.”

Star faced her friend. “What do you mean?”

Marco gave Star an accusing look. “Doesn’t that sound familiar?”

Star remained silent for a moment, looked down, then thought of something. “Yeahhhh… He does this to my mom!”

Marco leaned forward and squinted past Star. “Nevermind.”

“Well I’m just glad he’s leaving today”, Star continued. As she spoke, I noticed River was swinging on a wire of Christmas lights through the window. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.” River then slammed into the window, making me, Marco and Star all cry in shock. River waved to his daughter, opened the window, then walked inside.

“Dad, what are you doing?” The princess asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vanellope, Hilda and Twig poke their heads around the corner from the living room, their faces twisted in disdain as they stared at the king.

“I’m hanging lights for the party”, River answered, playing with one of the lights.

“What party?” Star asked. The rest of us were slowly forming a small audience for the father-daughter confrontation.

“Aww, jeez”, River said, lightly smacking his forehead, “I forgot to tell you.” He walked up to his daughter. “I’m having such a great time here, I’ve decided to stay!” Star’s face twisted into one of pure horror, my eyes bugged out, and Vanellope and Hilda gaped. “Isn’t that great?”

“Greeeeaaaat”, Star droned out.

River then stepped back from her. “Oh, and in celebration in moving here I’ve invited some friends to check out my new digs.” The doorbell rang, and he quickly ran off to answer it. Suddenly, a huge rush of guests flowed into the living room, River right at the centre. As Star tried to talk to her dad, Me, Marco, Vanellope, Hilda and Twig all watched from the kitchen.

“This is ridiculous”, Hilda said as a living sun, whose name was apparently Helios, started to make other guests to orbit around him.

“As much as I love a good party”, Vanellope said, cringing as one of the guests got sucked into Helios and was promptly vaporised, “This just ain’t it.”

Marco was quick to notice some guests juggling a couple of water balloons between each other near the fireplace. “Hang on guys, I need to deal with something.” He walked off.

I looked around, shaking my head. “This isn’t good. I don’t want Mr. and Mrs.Diaz coming back home and seeing this. We need to do something!”

“Yeah, but what?” Vanellope asked. Just then, Ralph, Jenny, Steve and Majima walked through the front door, stopping dead in their tracks at the mess of a party before them.

“What the…” Ralph started, looking around in shock, before his gaze fell on us. “Kids, what the heck is going on?”

“Star’s dad”, I said, “He came to stay here for a day, but he’s decided to stay now.”

“Yeah, if this is the sort of tone he’s going to have”, Jenny spat, glaring at all the party guests like a hawk. “He needs to go.”

“The old man kept us up all night”, Vanellope groaned, having glitched onto Ralph’s shoulder to lean against his head.

“We’re open for ideas”, Hilda said.

Suddenly, out of absolutely nowhere, several loud gunshots rang out through the whole house, making me and the others all jump. The entire party came to a screeching halt, everything falling deathly silent as all eyes turned to Majima. The man had his right arm in the air, holding onto a pistol as he aimed into the ceiling.

“Would all of you kindly shut the fuck up?!” Majima screamed. “None of you are allowed here, so get the fuck out, or you all start dropping like flies!”

I quickly ran up behind Majima and began to push him into the kitchen. “I’m so sorry about my friend, everybody!” I said in a fearful tone. “He’s not a people person.” I shoved him into the kitchen, the others, Star and Marco following close behind. Shortly after, the party resumed like nothing had happened.

“Majima, what the heck was that?!” Steve shouted. Majima scoffed and turned away.

“Just trying to help”, the eyepatched man spat back.

“Yeah, but could it not involve you shooting anyone???” Ralph said in pure annoyance. Majima looked away and grumbled angrily, but sighed and nodded nonetheless.

I let out a shaky sigh and turned to Star and Marco, the latter’s socks soaking wet. “Sorry about that, guys. Majima’s world is kind used to what he has to offer.”

“It’s… fine…” Marco said, giving Majima an unsure glance. “But we should do something about the party.”

“But what?!” Star cried in agony. “He won’t listen to me! He just does whatever he wants!” Suddenly, Star’s eyes shot wide open. “Ohhhh… Marco…” The princess faced her friend, a guilty look on her face. “Marco, I’m so sorry that everytime I try to have some fun, I ended up soaking your socks.”

Marco’s face became a soft smile. “Look, I love all the fun things you want to do. Just a little heads up would be nice. There’s really nothing worse than wet socks.”

Star looked down at Marco’s socks, only for her eyes to flash with an idea. "Oh, yeah! Nothing worse than wet socks!”

“Need some water, Star?” Steve asked, pulling out two buckets of water. Jenny transformed one of her arms into a fire hose. Star looked at me with a large smile, summoning a pink cloud with small purple wings. Me and Jenny happily hopped on with her, and we flew into the living room.

“It’s time to purge this party!” The princess called, blasting a beam of light out of her wand. The spell promptly flooded the house, giving all the guests wet socks. The now annoyed guests all swiftly left, leaving a distraught River finally realising what he had done. We walked up to me, Star and Marco, who were on the couch to avoid the water. I silently watched as River and Star made up, hugged it out, kicked Helios out, and say their goodbyes.

“Well, I got to say that flooding a house to stop a party was something I could add to my resume”, I said, leaning back against the couch as Star and Marco rode on some dolphins. Steve and Jenny paddled up to me in a wooden boat.

“Yeah, but if stuff like this is just the norm, you better get used to it”, Jenny said in a dejected tone.

“Couldn’t find anything?” I asked in a sad tone.

Steve nodded. “We pretty much spent the whole day yesterday walking around town, trying to find whatever is keeping us from leaving.” He looked to Jenny. “I still think it’s because of that stupid crystal that smacked into Caleb.”

“Well, if it means you guys get to say longer, then that’s fine by me!” Star cheered as Vanellope and Hilda, who were now riding with her, both laughed in pure joy. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Hey Star!” I called. She looked at me, only to eat a faceful of water, which knocked the three girls off the dolphin. I just laughed as we all devolved into a massive splash fight. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gladius, Alfur and Glossaryck watching with beaming smiles, and I couldn’t help but wave back as Hilda dragged me into the water.

~X~X~X~

Two days had passed since River had left, and we still had yet to find whatever was keeping us from leaving. The crystal we had with us was constantly the target of Steve’s, and eventually Ralph’s, suspicions, but Majima was surprisingly the first one to share his concerns of it, even suggesting it might be something worse than an explosive. But I didn’t let it bother me. Despite my initial fears of being stuck in Star and Marco’s world, I was quick to feel relaxed within Echo Creek. Star and Marco had taken me out the day before, and it was such a fun time. Hell, I was really starting to get close to both of them, which only excited them more when we finally could leave for the next world.

Currently I was chilling in the living room with Marco and Twig, all three of us just chilling on the couch while Vanellope and Hilda drew on the floor. Gladius hovered nearby, observing the outside world. The others were once again out exploring to see the source of our problems, this time taking Alfur to see if he could help at all.

Marco let out a breath. “I’m gonna go see if Star’s up to do anything today.”

“Eh, I’ll join you”, I said out of boredom, “Anything is better than just sitting around doing nothing.” Gladius scoffed, but I chose to ignore him. I followed Marco into Star’s room. When we entered, Star was on her knees crying to the ceiling. However, Marco didn’t notice this and just hopped right in front of her.

“Ready to take out life’s frustrations on some ill-intentioned monsters?” Marco asked confidently, striking several karate poses. Star just pouted then continued crying.

“This is terrible!” She cried. “Best friends don’t let best besties have bad birthday days!” Star pulled a tissue out the top of her wand and blew her nose. “And Pony Head is having the worst one ever!”

“Pony Head?” Marco said. His face instantly fell and turned to leave. “Nah I’m outta here…”

“Hold up there buster”, I said, grabbing hold of Marco’s hood to keep him from leaving. “I ain’t about to let Star’s friend have a crappy birthday.” I faced the princess. “What’s the problem Star?”

“She’s stuck in princess jail!” She said, her eyes misty. This seemed to change Marco’s mind.

“Ah, a breakout”, he said walking up to his friend. I rolled my eyes. “Why didn’t you say so?” Marco then realised something. “Wait, isn’t Saint O’s-” But he didn’t get to finish as Star screamed and ran off to hide.

“Star, you’re still home”, I said calmly. “Everything is okay.” She revealed herself from behind a rack of dresses. Me and Marco suddenly shared a bug-eyed look, then looked back to a pair of Star’s boots (identical to the ones she was currently wearing) kicked from under a rug.

“What is that under your rug?” Marco asked.

“I have no idea”, Star answered, “But I do know one thing: Never, ever step on it.” I suddenly felt a chill crawl up my spine.

“Let’s just focus on breaking out Pony Head”, I said, trying to steer the conversation back on course.

“Did someone say breakout?” A new voice suddenly said. The three of us all screamed in fright, turning to the source. Vanellope was the culprit, and she was looking at us smugly while sitting on top of Star’s vanity. “If you need someone to help, I’m your girl.”

“I’d really like to help too!” Hilda said as she ran in, followed closely by Twig and Gladius. “Maybe this place has ways to get into Knowhere Space.”

“And if you think you’re to attempt a prison breakout without me”, Gladius told me, “Then you’re sorely mistaken.”

“But guys”, Star said with worry, “No one’s ever escaped from there!”

“I’ve seen every prison escape movie made” Marco began to rummage through one of the drawers in the vanity. “We only need three things; patience, brains, and…” He pulled out a bobby pin, “The multifaceted bobby pin.”

Star, however, didn’t seem to care. “Ooooor, we use my Dimensional Scissors to go straight to her cell and get her the heck out of there!” Star cut into the air and opened a portal, letting Marco go first.

“Uhhhh… this isn’t Pony Head’s cell.” We heard Marco say. We all stepped through after him and found ourselves in a dark rocky area. Star looked around in confusion.

“Huh, I’m usually pretty accurate with these things.” We suddenly all heard another portal open close to us, and a chariot pulled by two horses barreled through right at us. We all quickly ducked out of the way behind some of the rocks. He peeked over to see where the chariot was heading, and what stood before us made my blood run cold. A massive castle surrounded by a high wall with barbed wire, dead trees surrounding it and Storm clouds high above. A group of princesses stepped out of the chariot and were greeted by one of the three men standing out front.

“Aw yes, the newbies have arrived”, the short man with a gem eyepatch said, “Welcome to Saint Olga’s School For Wayward Princesses.” On cue, lightning flashed, shrouding the front of the castle in a dark shadow.

Star let out a scream and ducked back behind the rocks. I gaped at the pure size of the castle. Gladius mumbled “Good God” under his breath. Vanellope flickered while staring at the castle. Hilda hugged Twig close, the deerfox growling defensively.

Marco, however, was planning. “New arrivals?” He faced all of us. “If we could just blend in somehow, we could sneak in, unnoticed.” He made a thoughtful look. “All we need is a-”

“Radiant Shadow Transform!” Star chanted as she held her wand upwards. She suddenly was surrounded by a rainbow light and when it subsided, was wearing an entirely different outfit. It was mainly black, complete with longer horns on her headband and black boots. She began punching the hair as the rest of us looked on in amazement.

“Woah”, Marco started, “Do me, do me!” Star tapped him with her wand, chanted the same spell, and Marco soon looked just like a princess. He was given a large ponytail and a pink dress. Marco instantly deflated. “You couldn’t turn me into one of those guards with the cool masks?”

“I don’t know”, Star said cheekily, “Pink is definitely your colour.”

Vanellope suddenly flickered, her appearance changing into her princess dress, complete with her scepter. “Well, at least you’re not the only one who has to wear a stupid dress, dude.” The racer complained.

Star looked at her with stars in her eyes. “Vanellope, you look adorable!” Said girl let out a whine. The magic princess then faced Hilda. “Your turn!” She chanted the spell, and Hilda was suddenly wearing a red dress with blue at the hem. Her hair was styled into twin pigtails and her beret was now a small tiara.

“Huh”, Hilda said as she looked herself over. “Never thought I’d wear something like this ever.” Twig sniffed the dress, then barked happily. “But if you like it, then it’s fine.”

Star beamed, then faced me. “You ready, Caleb?”

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded wordlessly. Star cast the spell on me, and I was soon wearing a short purple skirt dress with plenty of makeup on my face. I could feel that my hair was longer, and had a bow in it. I also, however, felt that a bit of the area on my upper back was exposed.

“Couldn’t you have given me something a bit less breezy, Star?” I asked, shifting my shoulders a bit.

“Nah, you’re fine”, Vanellope said smugly. I just sighed and rolled my eyes, turning back around to scout out a good time to sneak in and join the group. But it suddenly became very apparent how deathly silent it became.

“Guys?” I turned back to me, and everyone was looking at me with faces of shock and horror.

“Caleb…” Hilda said in shock. “What… where did those scars come from?”

My head suddenly crashed as I just stood silent. I quickly turned back around, then looked over my shoulder with a dark look. “I’d rather not talk about it”, I said. “Let’s just focus on saving Pony Head.” I quietly jumped over the rocks and ducked behind the carriage, gesturing for the other to follow. They all shared uncomfortable looks, then joined up with me, Twig hiding under Hilda’s dress as to not be seen. Gladius, meanwhile, quickly sheathed himself behind my back, the action making me uncomfortable for some reason. But I just ignored the feeling as me and the others quickly and carefully filed in with the other princesses. As we passed under the gate, Star quietly squealed in fear.

“Try not to blow our cover.” Marco whispered through clenched teeth. I looked over my shoulder slightly and shot Star a smile, hoping to help calm her down. She returned with a shaky smile of her own, thankfulness flashing in her eyes.

~X~

After a very unsettling orientation video, we were all lined up in front of the headmistress of the school itself, Miss Heinous. Standing by her side were the three men from earlier, the trio standing at attention and completely silent. While all of us gave Heinous flat looks, Star nervously rubbed her arm, making me and Marco share a worried glance.

“Everyone of you is here for a reason”, she said, her voice feeling like it froze the air as she spoke. She walked forward, her hard gaze scanning us all. “Too wild, too opinionated.” She paused in front of one of the princesses and popped the growing bubblegum bubble. “Too bubbly.” She walked down in front of all of us. “As part of a noble lineage, you don’t have the luxury of being an individual. So by the time I’m with you, you’ll all be fixed. Every last one of you.” Star flinched at that last bit, Heinous leaning in close to her. “Whether you’re from Pixtopia, or Mewni.” She touched one of Star’s cheek marks, freezing it. I had to internally restrain myself to not smash that witch into the floor.

Heinous then moved back up the line. “And don’t even think about escaping.” She snagged a pair of Dimensional Scissors another princess pulled out. “These are useless. There’s a Tramorfidian crystal in Tower 3. No rift can sustain itself within our walls, so you might as well cough up the scissors you smuggled in.”

All the princess groaned and dropped their scissors, Star about to do the same. “It’s totally hopeless…” I was quick to stop her.

“Once we get Pony Head”, Marco whispered, “and disable that crystal thing, those are our ticket out of here.”

Heinous, still standing by the window, gave us all a stink eye. “That concludes your orientation.” She began to leave through a door to our left. “I’m confident you will all become perfect princesses… one way or another…”

After she was gone, the short man with the crystal eyepatch spoke up, holding a clipboard tightly. “Now to get everyone checked in so we can start sucking the individuality out of you.” As we all followed the man, Marco flashed a smile.

“I hear the first one checked in gets her own room”, Marco said in a higher pitched voice. All the princesses in front of us looked back, then began to giddily run ahead, the three men chasing after them. We ran off through a different doorway and hid behind a large flower pot.

“This place isn’t what I thought it wa-” Star began, before being quickly shushed by Marco. We all ducked behind the pot as one of the guards walked by.

“Yeah”, Marco said, “Breaking out Pony Head is gonna be a breeze.” We ran down a hallway, Marco leading us. “It’s just a high surveillance prissy finishing school.”

“No Marco”, Star whispered fearfully, “It’s worse than I imagined. Look.” She pointed out a window, and we all watched what was happening. Simply put, it was an instructor teaching a princess how to sing to animals.

“Yeah, I’m with Star on this one”, Vanellope spat. “This place gives me the heebee geebees.”

“Let’s just get Pony Head and go”, Gladius said. “I think we should split up, some of us finding Star’s friend, and the rest heading out to shut off that crystal.”

“But guys…” Star squeaked in fear.

“Star, it’ll be okay.” I said. “Me, you, Gladius and Hilda will find Pony Head, Marco and Vanellope will shut off the crystal. Then we’ll meet at the front and book it. Sound good?” I looked around the group, and everyone but Star nodded. Marco and Vanellope ran off down a different hallway, while I took Star’s hand and led my team down the way we were going. Soon we came to a hallway that had doors on both sides.

“Must be the princess’ rooms.” Hilda whispered. Twig crawled out from under her dress and began to sniff around. I looked through one of the door windows, hoping to see Pony Head. But it wasn’t her, rather a princess that was dancing… almost like a robot.

“This place makes my skin crawl…” I mumbled.

“I know, right?” Star said in a high-pitched whisper. “I just hope Pony Head is okay…” We ran down to the end of the hall, coming to another door. I looked through the window, and saw what looked to be a flying decapitated horse head.

“Star, I think I found her”, I said. Star instantly held up her wand.

“Let’s blow down the door so we can get out of here”, she said as her wand began to glow. Hilda quickly pulled the wand down.

“If you do that, the whole place will be alerted!” She said fearfully.

“Yeah, stealth is our friend here”, I said. I then looked over my shoulder. “Gladius, think you could get the door for us?”

“I’ll try…” He mumbled. Carefully, he hovered over to the lock, and after a few seconds of nothing, a faint click was heard. “Got it.”

As soon as Star stepped into the room, she began to loudly sing a birthday song of some kind. Hilda and Gladius quickly shut the door while I put my hand over the princess’s mouth. “Are you trying to get us caught?!” I whispered angrily at her.

“Sorry…” Star shot me a quick apologetic look, that looked back to Pony Head, calling to her friend in a quiet tone. “Hey, Pony Head!” No response. “It’s me, I brought some friends to help break you out so we can party!” That’s when Pony Head turned around, and we were met with a frozen phoney smile and large unblinking eyes. Me and Hilda recoiled at the sight. Star gasped.

“My deepest apologies”, the brainwashed Pony Head said, “But I must abstain, as partying is for the unrefined.”

“That’s not the Pony Head I know and love…” Star said, her voice laced with fear.

“Aw jeez…” I said. Gladius hovered over to her and waved a wing in front of Pony’s face. No reaction. Star, in a fit of panic, ran up to her friend and began to shake her violently.

“Snap out of it, Pony Head! Snap out of it!” When Star stopped, Pony just laughed and asked if we would like any crumpets. Star faced us, shock filling her features.

Hilda quickly peeked through the door. “Let’s just grab her and get out of here!” She whispered. “We can fix her back at your place.”

“Yeah.” I said. Star grabbed her friend, but I was quick to notice something. “Wait, she’s had her brain scrambled, so she’ll probably call for the guards if we all escape.” While this was happening, Gladius quickly put together a dummy that resembled Pony Head and used a rope to keep it airborne.

“Then what do we do?” Gladius asked when he finished. I, in the heat of the moment, grabbed a pillow from the bed and pulled off the case.

“Sorry about this…” I said, tying the case around Pony’s mouth.

“Caleb…” Star said.

“Let’s just go.” I led the charge as we left the room after checking if the coast was clear. When we hit a split, I looked down the right path, saw a guard was blocking it, and decided the other way was safer. As we ran through the halls, Pony Head trying to speak all the way, we came across a large room. A single princess sat at each of the tables, all of them mumbling the phrase “Keep your pinkies at ninety degrees, more tea please”, taking a sip of their tea, then repeating.

“This is just fucked right up”, I swore. The sound of approaching footsteps made us all duck behind one of the tables, a guard coming through to check up on things.

“What’s the plan?” Star asked. “Should I just blast our way out of this?”

“No!” I said, my brain running overtime, “Then we’ll be swarmed by guards. We need some kind of distraction…”

“Well they are not getting my individuality…” Star said with determination, standing to fight the guard head on.”

“Wait…” I said, grabbing her arm. “That’s it!” As the princesses began to loop their robotic phrase again, I stood up, and cried “It’s not criminal to be an individual!” I grabbed the nearest tea cup and tossed it at the guard, getting tea all over his uniform. “C’mon everyone! It’s not criminal to be an individual!”

“It’s not criminal to be an individual!” Hilda joined in.

“It’s not criminal to be an individual!” One of the princesses, a small fairy, cried, holding her tea cup over her head. Soon, all the princesses in the room joined in, all of them tossing their tea cups at the one guard. As this happened, I took picked up Hilda and began to lead us out of the room.

“That should buy us some time”, I said as we ran.

“Let’s just hope things don’t get any harder”, Gladius added. As we ran, however, Pony Head actually began to laugh… in an emotionless princess way.

“Teehee, he got scalded”, the brainwashed princess said.

“She’s laughing at an authority figure!” Star happily said. “I think the real Pony Head is still in there!” I smiled at Star’s enthusiasm, and picked up the pace down the hall. I turned a corner and was about to continue, only for several guards to come around the corner and start charging at us.

“Nope!” I cried fearfully, taking Star’s hand as we ran down another hall, quickly entering a room and barricading the door. I looked around every which way till I saw another door. “This way!” We all ran down the hall, losing the guards that were tailing us. After some more running, we came to a circular room, doorways on all sides.

“Oh no…” I said, looking around for any kind of exit.

“What is this place?” Hilda asked as I set her down.

“I don’t know…” Star said, both exhausted from the constant running and fearfully. The sound of dogs barking brought our attention to one of the doorways, and it made my adrenaline spike.

“Move!” I barked, heading down the hallway opposite the noise. We kept running as the dogs became louder, and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw it was a three headed dog chasing us. Heinous was holding the lease while a single guard accompanied her. I looked forward and saw a laundry chute on the wall, so I quickly opened it and held it open.

“All of you first!” I ordered. Star didn’t argue as she instantly hopped in, still holding Pony Head close. Twig was next, then Gladius. Hilda struggled to get up, so I picked her up and held her. But when the barking got closer, I just hugged her close and went in. But I stopped when Hilda’s dress kept her from following.

“Caleb, my dress!” She cried in fear. I tried to pull her free, but it was no use. She wouldn’t budge. Then she let out a scream. “Something’s got my leg!” Hilda was suddenly wrenched from my grasp and pulled out of the chute’s entrance, forcing me to slide down.

“HILDA!!!” I screamed as I slid down into the darkness. I could faintly hear Hilda call back, then I was consumed by darkness.

~X~

I screamed my lungs out as the chute brought me down deeper, winding in several directions. Then after an eternity, I flopped onto a pile of dirty dresses, slid down that, then planted onto the floor.

“Caleb!” I heard Gladius call. I was helped to my feet by him and Star, the dim lighting of the laundry room not helping the mood.

“Guys… Heinous got Hilda.” I said, my breathing heavy. Star and Gladius gasped while Twig whimpered. The deerfox then began to run around the room aimlessly, trying to escape. Star quickly looked to her brainwashed friend for any sort of help, but Pony Head just stared off into space, oblivious to what was happening. Star looked around the room for any sort of answer, then saw a poster on a nearby wall.

“Embrace a princess mentality”, she said, reading off what the poster said. “Wash away your individuality.” Star glared hard at the poster and fumed. “Embrace this!” We all watched as she grabbed a nearby broom and began to fruitlessly smack the poster with it, giving up after only a few swings to being crying. I was quick to rush to her side and hug her, something she returned as she cried into my shoulder. I just closed my eyes, accepting my fate when I heard the poster tear. I turned around and saw Pony Head had begun tearing up the poster with her horn, her laughter becoming more apparent as she continued. I nudged Star and she watched with wide eyes as her friend came too, losing the braided hair and make up.

“Pony Head, you’re back!” Star screamed with joy. She ran over and hugged her friend close.

“Oh you know it!” She said in a sassy tone. She then noticed me, Gladius and Twig, letting out a laugh. “Wow, girl. Left Earth Turd behind to find some more turds to hang with?”

“What, no!” Star said. “These are some friends who are staying with me and Marco. They came to help! Marco and one of them went to shut the crystal off!” Just on cue, we heard screaming coming from the chute, and when we looked, we saw Marco and Vanellope fall out of it.

“Marco! Vanellope!” I cried, running up and hugging them. ‘What the heck happened?”

“You guys set the whole school off!” Vanellope said after she wiggled out of my embrace. It was then I noticed she wasn’t in her dress anymore. “Me and Diaz barely made it down the nearest laundry chute before we were nabbed.”

“Good news is, the crystal is offline.” Marco said, dusting his hands together. His mood instantly dipped when he noticed something. "Wait, where’s Hilda?”

Vanellope suddenly paled. “Heinous grabbed her”, I said. “Her dress couldn’t fit down the chute, and I lost my grip.” I started to feel tears tread in my eyes. “We’ve got to get her back!”

Suddenly, we all heard a high pitch scream echo through the room. “Hilda!” Vanellope cried. Twig growled fiercely and ran over to a nearby vent. Vanellope ran up to it and began to pull on the grate. “Help me get this stupid thing off! I’m not going to let my sister get brainwashed!”

“Right. C’mon Pony Head!” Star grabbed her friend and held her to the grate. Pony Head, in response, began to spin her horn like a drill. She got the screws out, and we quickly followed Vanellope through the vent. After following, Vanellope kicked open the second grate and jumped out. I gasped when I saw Hilda was strapped to a chair, her eyes being forced to stay open as some sort of video played in front of her. I looked around, and saw Heinous behind a window. I suddenly felt my blood boil seeing her face. A ringing hit my ears, and all I could see was red. Before anyone could react, I bolted straight at the window and smashed straight through it.

“What?!” Heinous screeched. I snarled like an animal in response.

“You just hurt Hilda”, I said in a very dark tone, “Now you’ll understand why that was the biggest mistake of your life.”

Heinous just scoffed, only to jump when Star blasted the whole wall down. “You think this is over? This school prides itself on its teachings. All of you will be swiftly punished. Guards!” Suddenly, six guards rushed into the room, their masked faces glaring down at us. “You haven’t won. You never will. You’re all just a waste of space.”

That one phrase. I don’t know why, but it made me snap. My patience was gone. I let out a shockingly loud roar of rage and charged at Heinous, and before anyone could react…

A bone-shattering crack sounded off. Everyone watched with looks of pure shock as I decked Heinous right in her face. She fell to the ground unconscious, blood spilling from her nose.

“Head mistress!” the short man cried. I suddenly snarled again and grabbed him by his uniform’s collar.

“You. Are. Dead.” I snarled. I then began to swing the man around wildly, using him to obliterate the other six guards. I ripped them all to pieces, and when that was done, slammed the short man against a wall, winding my other fist back for a devastating punch.

“CALEB! THAT’S ENOUGH!” Gladius shouted. I let in a small gasp as I looked over my shoulder, only to see the faces of my friends twisted in shock and horror. I suddenly felt my head rush like crazy, and then I fainted. The last thing I remembered was all my friends rushing to my aid while screaming my name.

~X~

I let out a scream as I bolted away, suddenly finding myself back in Star’s room on top of the pile of mattresses. I looked around the room, but there wasn’t anyone else around. None of Star’s magical creations, none of my friends, not even the mysterious thing that was under the rug. I was all alone, only the crystal to keep me company. I did a big stretch and hopped out from under the blankets, and it was then I realised I wasn’t in the dress anymore. I rushed over to Star’s vanity mirror, and saw that I was all back to normal. I was utterly confused as to what happened, so I decided to investigate. I walked to Star’s bedroom door, and opened it just a bit. That’s when I heard their voices.

“And he just snapped?” I heard Ralph ask. The others must’ve come back from their exploration of Echo Creek.

“Yeah”, I heard Marco say, “One moment he’s fine, the next he’s jumping the window to face Heinous head on.”

“Caleb was… really scary when that happened.” Hilda admitted. “It was like he became someone else…” I heard Twig let out a quiet whine. My heart was slowly beginning to break.

“Look, kid probably just had a lot of adrenaline built up”, Majima said simply, “ike when he decked me back at the Coloseum.”

“That was different, though”, Jenny said, “This… I don’t know…”

“Maybe it’s because of those scars?” Steve brought up. I felt my whole body lock up.

“ENOUGH OF THIS!” Gladius shouted. “It’s not right to talk about Caleb behind his back, theorising why he did what he did. When he feels like the time is right to tell us, he’ll tell us.” I heard the others all make noises of agreement, and the conversation ended there. But I was losing my mind, and let out a choked sob. Silence fell over the whole house.

“Oh no…” Vanellope said. I quickly slammed the door shut and ran back to the mattresses, I hid myself under the blankets just as I heard the bedroom door open. I took a careful peak, and saw Gladius floating through the doorway.

“Caleb”, he said sternly, “I know you’re awake. You can talk to me.”

I just remained silent, only managing to force out the occasional sob.

“I understand you probably aren’t up for talking right now”, the sword said, “When you are, just tell me.” He left on that note, closing the door behind himself. I just remained silent, my head so clouded that I fell asleep again.

~X~X~X~

A day had passed since I helped Star and Marco save Pony Head from Saint Olga’s, and my head was still clouded. I had told everyone to just drop what had happened, as I wasn’t up for a bombardment of questions. They all obliged, though Gladius obviously was irked I wasn’t telling him what was wrong. Over the course of the day, I just hung out with Star and Marco, trying to relax after the stress-inducing trip to the school, and it did seem to help. I eventually was able to calm down enough, returning to my old self once again. It made the others relax, but Gladius was being a lot more clingy than usual.

“Gladdy, I get you’re still worried about what happened back at Saint Olga’s…” I told my sword as I paced in circles on Star’s balcony, “But seriously, I’m fine. It was just stress.”

“I know…” he said in a dejected tone. “I’m just worried. I never took you to be such a violent person.”

I looked away in embarrassment. “Yeah, I have anger issues. I’m still kinda ashamed of that…”

Gladius gave off a good hearted laugh and slapped a wing on my back. “Nothing wrong with anger issues, my boy. It’s what fuels Rainbow.” We both shared a laugh at that.

“Thanks for this Gladdy”, I said, beaming up at the sword. “I’m so happy we’re in this together.”

“Same here, my friend.” Gladius finished with a bow. Suddenly, the bedroom door slammed open, making both me and Gladius jump in surprise. Star had entered the room, wearing what I assume was meant to be a makeshift crown on her head. In her hand was a sword that was about her size.

“Caleb, Galdius!” She called, picking up her dress and running over to us. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” She hugged my arm, looking up at me happily.

“Uhhh… what’s going on Star?” I asked.

“It’s Mewnipendence Day!” She cheered. I just stared at her with a vacant gaze.

“Mewnipendence Day?” Gladius asked in confusion.

“It’s a very special day!” She said with joy. “I’ll explain downstairs, Marco and everyone else are waiting. C’mon!” She grabbed my arm and began to drag me along, out the door, and down the stairs. Gladius was flying after us swiftly, and came to my side when Star set me down on the floor next to Ralph. I was still trying to process what had happened as Star ran back upstairs. I looked around the group, and I recognised Jenny, Steve, Majima, Hilda, Alfur, Twig, Vanellope, Hilda and Marco. Elsewhere in the room were people I didn’t recognise. There was a girl wearing a green beanie, a short red haired boy, one short one with glasses, a tall one with glasses, a girl who seemed to be copying Star’s style, a large troll with fiery red hair, a man in some sort of martial arts outfit, and a boy in a teal shirt.

“So, you’re the new guys who’re staying with Star and Diaz, huh?” The girl with the beanie said in a relaxed tone. She held out a hand to Jenny. “Name’s Janna.”

“Jenny”, the robot said back, taking Jackie’s hand and shaking it. I could tell she was kind of apprehensive, as Janna had this air of eeriness about her.

“So, you get around often”, the troll said flirtatiously to Ralph. The wrecker gave her a questioning look.

“Sorry lady, ain’t looking for anyone at the moment”, he said gruffly. The troll just huffed and looked away. I repressed a laugh that was rising, and I was luckily able to distract myself when Star came back down the stairs, this time with a sword in hand. She jumped onto the couch, looking over the chatty group. Me and Gladius watched her silently.

Star cleared her throat and banged the end of her sword’s handle on the ground. “Okay, quiet everyone!” Her voice was unheard by everyone. “QUIET!” Everyone looked at her, so Star took a breath. “I assume you all brought your swords.”

Marco darted his eyes around. “Uhhhhh… What?”

“It said on the invitation you were supposed to bring a sword.” She let go of her blade, and it clashed onto the floor.

“Invitation?” I quietly asked Gladius. He just shrugged his wings.

One of the boys, the taller one with the white and blue striped shirt, held up a small piece of paper. It depicted Star in a princess gown and posing triumphantly with a sword in hand. “I was a little confused by your invitation.” The troll quickly grabbed it.

“I’m not confused.” She pointed at a small drawing of a hunk of meat. “This is clearly a drawing of meat. “ She made a face of satisfaction. “I came for the meat.”

“That’s what she said.” I whispered to Gladius, who snorted.

“I think everyone’s just wondering why they’re here.” Marco explained.

“Uh”, Star leaned forward, “It’s the Thirty-Seventh of Rognok?”

“Is that a euphemism I don’t know?” Majima said. This was answered by a swift elbow into his shin coursesty of Jenny, making Goro curse silently.

Still, no one understood what Star meant. “Mewnipendence Day?” Still nothing, causing Star to frown. She walked off to the left, walked upstairs to grab something from her room, then stood back on the couch from the right. She held up what looked like a small children’s book. “Mewnipendence Day.” She opened the book, and for the next few minutes, I listened to her explain the story of this oh so important day. However, I noticed she skipped over a good chunk of the book and skipped right to the end. And I wasn’t the only one to notice.

“Wait, but you just blew past all the important stuff.” Marco pointed out.

“When do we eat?” The troll asked in a bored tone.

“We feast after we reenact… The Great Monster Massacre.” Star then stood straight. “Now please split into two teams, Monsters and Mewmans.”

“Can I be a human?” The troll asked, raising her hand.

“You are a monster”, Star said flatly, “That’s why you were invited.” The troll walked to the right side of the room, grumbling bitterly. Everyone else slowly split off into the two teams… except me, Gladius and Jenny.

“Something bugging you, Jenny?” I asked the robot. Her face made her conflicted nature all the more apparent.

“Yeah”, She said, “Something about this whole thing just doesn’t sit well with me…”

“Because of what happened with Vega on Cluster Prime?” I asked. She nodded silently, and I instantly understood what she meant. We eventually split up into the groups to see where this would all go.

~X~

An hour had passed, and we were all set up for the reenactment. But from how those playing the Mewmans were in the large suits of armour, and those playing the monsters had nothing, it really irked me. Star stood in the middle of both teams, dressed in a gown with her hair in a big bun.

“This whole thing is rubbing me the wrong way”, I said. Despite the fact I was on the Mewman’s side with Gladius, Jenny, Hilda and Majima, I had yet to put on my suit of armour. In fact, none of us have.

“You’re telling me”, Majima said, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. “I’m all for bashing in the skulls of shitheads, but even I have my limits.”

Hilda cringed and took a step away from him, facing me in the process. “Honestly, Star’s book just felt so… one sided.”

“It does”, Jenny spat. She was sitting on a rock, her face twisted in disdain. “It’s like how Vexus warped my head into thinking all of the Cluster were just a race of planet conquering lunatics.”

“And then you met Vega”, i said, sitting down next to her, “And realised they were fed similar stories about you.”

Gladius turned to the makeshift battlefield, and hummed. “I’ve been around for millennia. I’ve seen your world rip itself apart, Caleb. The French Revolution, World War 1, World War 2, The Cold War… battles all fought because lunatics rose to power.” He watched as Star climbed out onto her balcony. “I don’t want her mind being warped like them…”

“Nah, she’ll be fine”, Majima waved off his concern. “She’s a kickass princess from outer space. She’ll come around.”

I looked up to Star, then stood up. “Gladius, how about we talk to her? Just so she’ll see.” The sword nodded, so I grabbed hold of him and we both soared over to Star. I let go of my friend and walked up to Star. She looked over her shoulder and gave me a small smile.

“Hey Caleb”, She greeted. Her smile fell a bit. “Why aren’t you in your armour?”

I shared a look with Galdius. “Two reasons.” I began, holding up two fingers. “I ain’t wearing something that big. And two… I don’t feel comfortable with all of this.”

“What? Why?” Star gave me a look of shock.

“It’s just… I don’t know. It’s just the fact this is glorifying the genocide of a species.” I rubbed my arm.

“But, well, we were just…” Star trailed off. “I guess you’re right…” She opened the book again, flipping to a page that depicted the monsters running into a burning forest as the massive Mewman soldiers chased them. “I never thought of it like this…”

“Well, Jenny can relate.” I said.

“She can?”

“Yeah. Back in her world, her home was constantly attacked by this evil robot queen named Vexus. She and her army from the planet Cluster Prime tried to conquer Jenny’s home multiple times, to the point Jenny thought all of the Cluster was bad.” I came by her side, retelling the story.

“And she eventually went there and crushed them all, right?” Star asked with a grin.

“Not really”, I answered back. Star’s grin faded. “It turns out Cluster Prime was this amazing place that Jenny loved. But then she saw this video.” I looked on to the mock battlefield. “Turns out Vexus had told lies about Jenny to her own people, warping her into a monster that should be feared. In the end, Vexus was the only true monster in the end, everyone else was just manipulated by lies and deceit.”

Star looked down. “Wow…” That’s when Marco, in his massive suit of armour, came up to us. “Hey Star, everything’s set up. We’ll get started whenever you give the signal. Or not, and we can just go eat.”

Star looked back to me, as if wanting me to have final say. “It’s your call, Star.” I said, patting her on the shoulder. “This is Mewnipendence Day. You’re queen here.”

Star looked down. “Okay.” She said, nodding her head. “This’ll be fun.” She looked at Marco with a weak smile.

“Okay”, Marco said. He leaned back, put his helmet back on, and walked to the battle.

“Knights of Mewni”, Star began, holding her wand high. “Take up your stabby weapons, and drive out the evil monsters!” She fired off a large magical flare, and the battle was on.

I just watched silently from behind the princess as the battle began, letting my eyes wander to the side where Jenny, Majima and Hilda were. They just watched silently, uncomfortable looks on their faces as the battle raged in front of them. I then noticed that one of Star’s friends had hid within a tree, only for one of Ludo’s monsters, the frog one, to hop through a portal. I didn’t make a peep, rather letting all of this play out. I carefully watched as the frog monster stealthily made his way up the side of Star’s tower, Star setting her wand, and pulled out a mace when he was within arms reach. He began to click a button on its side, but after a few moments of nothing happening, he threw it away and began to reach forward.

“Furgeson?” Star said, staring the monster down. She didn’t know, and Gladius was about to correct her, but a unicorn horn flung him away. Star screamed her friend’s name again, and used a blast of magic to get by his side. After realising the mix up, Gladius and I flew over and landed next to the princess’ side.

“Do the right thing, Star.” I said. She had her wand pointed at the terrified monster, but after looking back at me and Marco, lowered it. The frog then ran off, and everyone decided to head in for the feast after Marco made the call. I was about to follow after everyone, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.

“Caleb?” Star asked,looking up at me with wide eyes. “Did I do the right thing?”

I stared at her for a moment, then smiled. “Star, as queen, you need to sometimes make hard decisions. And that”, I pointed to where the frog monster ran off to, “was such a selfless one. You’ll make a great queen someday.” She beamed at me, and the two of us left to enjoy the feast.

~X~X~X~

Another two days still stuck in Echo Creek, another two days off dealing with Star’s magic shenanigans. Vanellope and Hilda were all for it, much to my chagrin, and our almost week and a half being here didn’t help. But one thing I will admit is it helped us all bond. Ralph, Jenny, Steve and Majima were slowly becoming almost like my fun uncles and aunt, while Vanellope, Hilda, Star and Marco began to feel like the siblings I never had. Twig was such a delight, always a bundle of endless energy, and Alfur was always so nice to just sit down and chat with.

Then there was Gladius, my main partner through all of this. He was always there for me, and I always felt safest when he was nearby. I was beginning to actually not regret going on this trip (even if it was an accident). And today was like any other, me and Gladius just chilling on Marco’s couch. It was a fairly quiet morning.

Then we were slammed by a tsunami of hair and tossed out of the house.

“What the heck!” I heard Hilda shout, Twig popping out of a batch of hair next to her. I swam out of the thick brown hair, coughing up a hairball.

“Ah!” Star screamed as she flew out a window. She was stopped before hitting the ground, as a coil of the hair caught her..

“Star, what the heck happened?!” I asked. Star freed herself from the coil and spit out some hair that was in her mouth.

“I might have used magic to help Marco grow a beard…” The princess said innocently.

“Sweet mother of monkey milk, this is all Marco?” Vanellope chided. She then called up to the house. “Nice one, dude!”

I crossed my arms and gave her a flat look, and her resolve instantly crumbled. “Okay, I did! But I can fix this!” She faced the house. “Don’t worry your pretty little face, Marco! Star Butterfly has this all under control!” She reached for her wand, and then pulled out… a taquito. She quickly ate it. “Okay, but where’s my wand? It’s got to be around here somewhere…” The princess began to run in circles, pain slowly rising in her. “Where is it?!” She dove into the hair, but after a few moments, came up empty handed.

“Star…” Gladius said fearfully.

“I must’ve dropped it in the bathroom when Marco’s beard exploded”, She said.

I hit a hand on my face. “Looks like we’re doing this the hard way…” I groaned. “Gladius, think you could help us with this?”

“I’d be more than happy too”, the sword answered back proudly. He went over and flung the door open, only to be buried by more hair. He was quick to slash through and laugh off the little incident. “Follow me, everyone!’ He began to hack at the hair like a machete to a jungle thicket, and we all followed after him deeper in.

“This is crazy…” Hilda groaned, Twig perched on her shoulder. She shoved a clump of hair out of the way, only for it to fling back right into her face. “ACK!”

“Man, and I thought Blanka had had a lot of hair…” Vanellope grumbled, hopping over some loose coils. “Are we getting any closer?”

“We should be!” Star cheered. “Just a little longer and we’ll…” She dove through some more hair, only to land on the couch. “...still be in the living room?!” She let out a loud, frustrated groan, rolling onto her back. “This is ridiculous! I can’t do this without my wand!” I gave Star a sad look, before looking down at my feet. A poor puppy was tangled up in some coils of hair, so I freed it and held it up. Then, I came up with something.

“Hey, Star”, I began. She looked at me, and I held up the puppy. Her face brightened as she connected the dots. She rushed over, grabbed the puppy out of my hands, and scratched it on the head. It barked happily, shooting several lasers that burned away the hair, revealing a clear path.

And Ludo and his monsters.

“Ludo?!” We all shouted. He turned around and glared at us.

“Don’t let her get the wand!” He barked. His monsters all immediately charged at us, but Star, Gladius and Vanellope overwhelmed them, letting me, Hilda and Twig sneak by and head to the stairs. Star and the others were able to climb over the monsters and join us, but our adversaries were resilient, tripping us up and getting ahead. Star began to use the hair to her advantage, tying it around arms and legs to stall for time. I was the first to reach the bathroom door, so I quickly rushed in and looked for the wand. I was, however, suddenly dogpiled by some of the monsters.

“Gah!” I screamed.

“Master, get the wand!” One of the monsters cried. Ludo, who was all on his own, began to slowly and fearfully walk over the hair. He flinched at some whipped by him, but he continued regardless. He was just within arm’s reach of what he’s been fighting for, but suddenly a coil of hair barely brushed by him, forcing him to devolve into a laughing mess. Suddenly, Star rose from the hair in front of him, holding her wand close.

“Gotta say, as fun it is to blast you guys with this”, She twirled her wand around, grinning devilishly, “I think it still needs a break.” She then beat the light out of the monsters and booted them out of the house. Once I was freed, I quickly ran over to Marco, grabbed Gladius, and sliced a good chunk of the hair off of him.

“Oh my gosh, Caleb”, Marco said, taking a gigantic breath in. “Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it, dude.” I said with a shrug. I then looked at Star. “Care to do the honours, princess?”

“You bet!” She let loose a spell that eliminated all the hair from within the house. We all instantly went downstairs and flopped onto the couch, absolutely exhausted.

“Who wants to spend the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing?” I asked.

“Me.” Everyone responded, each of them raising a hand.

“Honestly, after today”, Gladius began, “I can only hope we are done with this until we leave.”

“Shouldn’t jinx us, Gladdy”, Vanellope said cheekily. This made the sword grumble, and the rest of us laugh.

~X~X~X~

Gosh, that chapter was looooong. It turned out like this because of one thing: Consistency. I have a plan for this story where each arc must be 3 chapters long (except for the first one and last couple), so this chapter being this long was the only way to have it work. Hopefully this was a good read!

Up next: A friend is kidnapped, only for a much greater power to be unleashed…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I was currently chilling on the couch within Marco’s house all on my own. It had been only a day since Star’s Magical Marco Beard Mishap (as Vanellope jokingly called it), but things felt pretty tense in the house. And it was because the two magic magnets, Star and Marco, had a bit of a blow up in the morning over an adventure they just had. I didn’t want to fan the flames, so I just left them to their own devices. I was currently in the kitchen sitting at the table with Gladius, Steve and Jenny.

“I never would have thought those two would blow up like that”, Steve said, reading through one of his enchanted books.

“They didn’t really blow up, per say”, I corrected. “They obviously just need some time apart. Clear their heads, and all that.”

“I’m with Caleb”, Jenny said in agreement. “I’ve had this happen between me and Brad sometimes, so I totally get what they’re going through.”

“Well, whatever it is”, Ralph said as he sat down at the table with us, a glass of juice in hand, “I just hope they make up. I feel like we’re close to figuring out why Gladius can’t make portals.”

I looked up at him in surprise. “You are? What do you think it could be?”

He, Jenny and Steve all shared a look, then faced me again and said simultaneously “The crystal.”

“The crystal?” I said, confusion replacing my surprise. “Why do you think it’s that thing?”

“Because we’ve looked all over this town, top to bottom”, Jenny explained in exacerbation. “Multiple times. That stupid rock is the only magical thing here aside from all of Star’s stuff. We need to smash it.”

“Or have Star blast it so it’s powerless”, Steve added. “Glossaryck, from what Alfur told me, seems to be willing to help us with that.”

“Well, that’s reassuring”, I said in a relieved tone. My attention, however, was drawn to the living room when a police officer walked in. Overcome with curiosity, I made my way over, seeing Majima standing nearby, Star pacing next to the officer while rambling, and Rafeal and Angie huddled on the couch, gripping one of Marco’s sweaters tightly.

“Majima”, I whispered to the man as the other three came to my side. The eyepatched man faced me, a tint of anger in his eye. “What’s going on?”

“That fucking Kappa kidnapped Marco”, he snarled in a whisper. The four of us gasped. “That stupid fly told the princess to head to his castle alone.”

I was staring up at him wide-eyed, then looked at Star in pure shock. I dashed right at her, and she faced me, tears threatening to leave her eyes. “Caleb…”

“Majima told us”, I said, holding her by the shoulders to keep her steady.

“It’s just… If we hadn’t fought…” Star began, nearly bursting into tears.

“Star, it’s okay”, I reassured her, “Friends fight, it happens. Don’t blame all of this on yourself.” The princess sniffed, then nodded sadly. I turned around and saw Steve heading upstairs, while the others talked with Marco’s parents. I looked back to Star with a determined look. “We’re coming with you.”

“What?” Star said in shock. “No! I was supposed to go alone!”

“Like hell you are!” Majima shouted, joining my side. “That stupid kappa hasn’t done anything like this since we’ve gotten here. Because of that, you aren’t going alone.”

Star looked between the two of us, took a deep breath, then gave us a serious look. “You’re right.” She pulled out her scissors. “Let’s go-”

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Steve’s scream sounded off. Everyone in the living room snapped their heads to the stairs as the block man came running down. His eyes were wide. “THE CRYSTAL IS GONE!”

“What?!” Ralph roared. “What do you mean it’s gone?!”

“It’s gone!” Steve repeated. “The balcony door was open, and the minecart was empty. I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

“That son of a…” Jenny said in anger. “They must’ve took it when Star and Marco left earlier today!”

“Shit…” Majima mumbled. “I don’t like how any of this is playing out.” He then looked at Star with an angry look. “We’re coming with you now 100%, princess. Can’t say no.”

“Guys!” I shouted. Everyone’s attention turned to me. “We now all have a reason to go to Ludo’s castle. But the main priority is we save Marco, got it?” Everyone nodded, except Marco’s parents. I turned to them. “Mr. and Mrs. Diaz, I promise we’ll get Marco back safely.”

“Another breakout? Count me in!” A snarky voice suddenly said. We all turned to the kitchen doorway and saw Gladius, Vanellope, Hilda, Twig and Alfur standing in the middle of it. “Marco’s a cool dude, like heck we’re being left out of this”, Vanellope continued.

“Yeah! Let’s crack some skulls!” Majima shouted with glee. We all looked at him silently.

“We really should’ve done a better background check with you”, Ralph said flatly, giving Goro a side glance.

“Well, you didn’t”, Majima fired back, smiling and shrugging. “And now I’m stuck with you. Better get used to it!” He walked off, Ralph grumbling in annoyance.

I looked at Star, who nodded. She then opened a rift with her scissors, and we all charged through, leaving behind a distraught Rafeal and Angie, and the absolutely confused cop. As the rift closed behind us, I looked ahead to see Ludo’s castle standing tall in the distance.

“So, what’s the plan once we get inside?” Ralph asked as we all spied the castle.

“We go in, blast everything that moves, and get out with Marco and the crystal”, Star said angrily.

“Star, hang on”, Hilda began, “We should at least try and come up with something better. If Ludo’s kidnapped Marco, this has to be serious.” Twig growling brought her attention to a rock over to the side. “Wait… is that Ludo?” We all looked at the scene, and sure enough was Ludo and the frog monster, a wiggling sack next to them. Before any of us could react, Star jumped down and blasted both of the monsters away from the sack. She quickly opened it, and…

“Tadpoles?” The princess said, making a noise of disgust. The frog monster recovered from the blast and sat back up, only to eat another laser blast. We all then walked over to the still downed Ludo, glaring down at him.

“Where’s Marco?” Star said in a dark tone. She aimed her wand at him, filling the bird man with fear.

“I don’t even know who that is!” Ludo said in fear.

“She is talking about Karate Boy”, the frog said. Star aimed her wand at him. “Please, no more laser beam.” Star aimed her wand back at Ludo.

Ludo held up his hands. “I swear I have no idea where your friend is!”

“Not buying it”, Jenny spat, transforming one of her fists into a gun. “You said you were holding him at your castle!”

The frog groaned and stood up. “It is no longer his castle.” He pointed at Ludo, who got up and began to cry.

“He’s right”, Ludo pulled down his shirt, “It’s Toffee’s castle now.” Ludo kicked the ground.

“Who the fuck is that?” Majima spat, gripping his baseball tightly.

“Obviously bad news…” I said, only to trail off when the frog oogling the tadpoles drew my attention to him.

“Ludo gave me babies”, he said bluntly.

Star held up her hands. “Okay, I’m done. Guys, let’s go.” We all followed after her, beginning the slow walk to Toffee’s Castle.

“So…” Steve began. “What’s the actual plan for freeing Marco and getting the crystal back? Whoever this Toffee guy is, he’ll probably have the whole place on lock down.”

“After he had had one of Ludo’s goons to tell Star that message?” Vanellope said bitterly from her spot on Ralph’s shoulder. “Yeah, sure. He wants Star to just walk on in.”

“All of this is rubbing me the wrong way…” Majima said, glaring at the approaching castle. “It’s takes some sick fuck to kidnap a kid, and to steal something from me. He’s so fucking dead.”

I looked over my shoulder, then to Star. “Well, what do you think, Star?”

“I just don’t care”, she said quietly in rage. “Marco’s in danger, and all I care about is getting him home, apologising, and sleeping for a whole day.”

“Just be wary, Butterfly”, Gladius warned. “We don’t know anything about Toffee. Who knows what he’s capable of.”

“Nothing I can’t handle…” Star walked ahead, stomping her feet harshly on the ground. I shared a concerned look with Gladius.

“I’m really worried about this, Gladdy”, I told him. “Marco getting kidnapped is one thing, but stealing the crystal? It makes me fear that rock is a lot worse than we think.”

Gladius hummed as we entered the castle’s shadow. “Whatever happens, I’ll be sure to keep you safe.” I nodded at him, then climbed the steps to stand by Star. There was a set of keys inside the keyhole already, which made me and her share a flat look.

“Good luck getting in there.” Ludo said from behind all of us.

“Uhhh, there are keys in the door”, Star said flatly, pointing at the keys.

“It’s obviously part of Toffee’s plan!” Ludo argued.

“Looks like these are yours”, Star held up the keys, and sure enough, attached to the keyring was a tag of Ludo’s head that said “Ludo’s Keys”.

Ludo scratched his head as we all glared at him. “Those aren’t mine”, he said. We all rolled our eyes and followed Star in after she got the front gate doors open. Ludo began to run after us, climbing onto the wall. “Wait! You all have no Idea-” He tripped, then caught up to us. “-how powerful Toffee is. What you need… is the element of surprise!” He fell on the ground in front of us. We all stopped and looked angrily down at him. Ludo recovered and smiled up at us. “Lucky for you, I know this caste like the back of my hand.” He pointed at an absolutely horrific mole on the back of his hand that was shaped exactly like his castle.

We all recoiled, making various noises of disgust.

“I sneak us into the castle”, Ludo continued, “And you all stomp Toffee into paste!” He giggled. “It’s the circle of life.”

“That doesn’t make any sense”, Jenny spat.

Ludo growled. “Whatever! Do we have a deal?” He held up his mole hand to Star.

“I’m not gonna touch the hand with the mole on it”, she said. Ludo grumbled and swapped hands. “Actually, I don’t want to touch any of your skin with my skin.” She used her foot to push Ludo’s hand away.

“Don’t trust him.” We all turned to see the frog monster standing firmly, one arm cradling the tadpoles.

“Yeah, news flash”, Vanellope snarked, “We don’t trust you either, Swamp Breath.”

The frog didn’t seem to care about Vanellope’s insult, rather choosing to ignore her and putting the tadpoles into a nearby fountain. “I am a father now.” He pulled some vines down and began to wrap them around the fountain. “I would like my children to grow up inside castle. You don’t have to trust me, but consider alternative.” He pointed at Ludo, who made a move to grab Star’s wand. Majima and Steve quickly stopped him, using their weapons as a sort of wall. The kappa backed away fearfully. The frog then wrapped the vines around his shoulders and lifted the fountain up, wearing it like a backpack. He walked over to a nearby door with ease and ripped it off its hinges.

“Let’s go”, he held out his hand. Ludo excitedly ran right inside, but as we were about to follow, the frog stopped us. “Woah, woah.” We all looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Before you go inside, I must tell you, Toffee is not like Ludo. He knows about you, and he does not like your magic.”

“Oh yeah?” Star said back, taking a few steps inside. “Well I don’t like his… uhhhh…” Before Star could continue, Ralph walked in and nudged her along. I chose to linger at the back of the pack, waiting till only me, Gladius and the frog were left outside.

“Hey listen”, I said, earning the frog’s attention. “Thanks for helping us out with this.”

“I should be thanking you, glasses wearing friend”, the frog said as he knelt down. “You helped convince princess to spare life. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Don’t mention it, Mr…” I trailed off, unsure about the frog’s name.

“My name is Yvgeny Bulgolyubov”, he said, pounding a fist against his chest. “But friends call me Buff Frog.”

“Yeah.” I said with a nod. “Don’t mention it, Buff Frog. Let’s go.” I ran inside, flanked by both Buff Frog and Gladius.

~X~

“So, what exactly happened here?” Star asked Buff Frog as we followed him through the castle.

“Ludo hired Toffee around when you were playing with odd cookies”, the frog explained. “Toffee was one that had idea.”

“That does make sense”, Gladius said. “Ludo doesn’t seem like he could come up with something so clever.”

“I’m right here, you know?” Said kappa whined, an offended expression on his face.

“After, he replace me with robot eye”, Buff Frog continued, ignoring his ex-master. “Used it to spy on you during battle reenactment.”

“Mewnipendence Day…” Star mumbled in shock. She then looked back at the frog. “And you went to steal my wand because he told you to?”

“Toffee had special device that could open portal right to Ludo’s hand, but it did not work for me…”

“And that’s why we caught you reaching for it”, I added.

Buff Frog sighed, but nodded. “Toffee was able to convince Ludo I failed, so I was kicked out of castle.”

I hummed in response. “It seems like Toffee was planning this for a while.” I looked at Ludo. “But then why did you get kicked out? What happened?’

Ludo scoffed. “Toffee somehow was able to spin that I was a terrible leader after the whole”, he shivered in disgust, “hair incident.”

“You were bad leader…” Buff Frog said dangerously. But was stopped when Steve stuck an arm in front of him.

Star came to my side. “Honestly, Toffee sounds scary.” She whispered.

“Yeah…” I whispered back. “So we’ll need a better plan than just blasting everything in sight.”

Star’s face hardened. “We’ll see…”

The rest of the run was silent, and after a bit more time wandering the halls, we came up to a room where all the monsters resided. In the middle of the room was a long dining table with a white cloth set on it, a lizard man with a white button up shirt sitting at the end opposite the entrance. To the right of the room, we all gasped as we saw Marco, who was trapped in a glass box. I scanned around a bit more, finally seeing the crystal was behind the lizard’s chair. One thing that made me feel weird was that the crystal was softly glowing, and I could swear there was a shadow of something inside of it.

“Marco!” Star cried. She gripped her wand tightly and faced all of us. “Here’s the plan: we’re going in on the count of one.”

“Uh, that is not good plan.” Buff Frog said apprehensive. The rest of us shared nervous glances.

“Star, listen, we should think of something-” I began.

“One”, Star said, running in with her wand glowing brightly.

“-better…” I said, slumping my body. I let out a sigh and charged in after her, everyone else following close behind.

Star bagen to charge right at Toffee, shooting the ground so she could jump onto the table. Before anyone could react, she blasted Toffee’s arm clean off, and an all out brawl commenced. Everyone split up and tackled a monster, all while Star jumped around blasting everything hostile with magic, and Buff Frog ran around helping anyone who needed it. Meanwhile, I was at the box Marco was trapped in, feeling around for some sort of opening.

“Do you have any idea how to get this thing open, Marco?” I asked, flinching as an explosion sounded off behind me.

“No clue”, Marco admitted, his voice muffled slightly by the glass between us. “Toffee used a door to get in here earlier, but I don’t know how he opened it.”

“Let me try”, Gladius said, flapping his wings rapidly. I watched as he hovered all around the glass case, tip constantly pointed at it. I was so distracted that I didn’t see the large crocodile monster with a small human arm run up next to me. I let out a shout of fright as he lifted his fist up high, only for Buff Frog to tackle him and knock him out cold.

“You are welcome, glasses wearing friend”, Buff Frog said in a determined tone. He then charged to help Ralph with the masked monster with spike balls for hands. Suddenly, Star jumped to my side and aimed her wand at the case.

“Super Sonic Leech Bomb!” She shouted. A bunch of glowing green leeches were suddenly stuck to the glass and began beeping. Me and Marco instantly dove back, bracing for the explosion. It happened, but the glass was undamaged. Star growled, transformed her wand into a missile launcher and fired the missile in an arc. It crashed onto the top of the case, but there was still no damage.

“What the heck?!” I shouted. Star, however, fell silent. She began to march up to the glass, rage filling her eyes.

Many of the monsters ran right at her, but she wasn’t having any of it. “NO.” She said in the most threatening tone I’ve ever heard. She then blasted the floor, and it created a large blast that knocked all the monsters except Buff Frog away. We all watched silently as her heart cheek marks began to glow a bright white, her wand shine as bright as the sun, and herself to twirl and fire a massive blast that shook the whole castle. After the smoke cleared, we all fanned the smoke awake to see the glass was finally broken. Me and Star ran up to Marco, who was uninjured.

“Marco, you’re okay!” I shouted. Star, however, accidentally pushed him down onto the floor.

“Sorry, I was just excited”, she said in embarrassment. She held a hand out to him. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” I watched out of the corner of my eye as the crystal flickered slightly, but my attention was pulled away from it when the glass reformed, trapping Marco once again. Me, Gladius and Star all gasped, but before we could do anything, the monster with spike ball hands grabbed us in a bear hug. The others were all pushed to the ground.

“Stop”, we all heard the fallen lizard say. The monster let me, Star and Gladius, and we watched as Toffee rose to his feet, holding onto the table for support. “That’s no way to treat our… guests of honour…” He said between groans as his whole arm regenerated. With his other arm holding a remote, he pressed the button on it.

Marco’s cage suddenly began to sink into the floor, the top on route to crush him. We all let out gasps and began to fruitlessly try to stop it. Star whirled around and aimed her wand at the cage.

‘That’s not going to work again”, Toffee said, gaining all of our attention again. “That crystal is twice as strong now.” I gaped silently, looking at Marco through the glass. He looked back with an equally fearful expression.

“Fuck this”, Majima swore. He pulled out his bat and began to bash the cage over and over again. Jenny transformed her hands into drills and pressed them against the glass. Steve pulled out his diamond pickaxe and began to swing at it. But nothing worked. Even Vanellope trying to glitch in didn’t work.

“Don’t worry guys…” Marco said in a strained tone as he struggled to fight back against the top of his cage. “I think I got it.” All while this was happening, the crystal behind Toffee began to glow brighter, and I could definitely see something inside of it. Star, oblivious to the crystal, looked at her wand, then back to Toffee. She jumped onto the table and dropped it on a plate in front of the lizard.

“Fine, take it”, She said. We all looked at her in silent shock, but I kept glancing back at the crystal. “Now let Marco go.” She pointed at the cage, only for Ludo to jump up and make a grab for the wand. The chicken instantly partially swallowed him.

Toffee glared at Star. “Do you think I’m like Ludo?” He glanced at the struggling lLudo. “Just swallow it”, he ordered the chicken. It did just that, making all of us cringe in disgust. After that, Toffee pushed the plate back to Star. “I don’t want your wand. Destroy it.”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?” We all said in shock.

“SURPRISE!” Toffee said in twisted joy, his face forming a sadistic, toothy smile before turning back to normal.

Star just stared at him silently. “I can’t. I don’t even know how.”

“Yes you do”, Toffee countered in an almost gentle tone. “It’s the first spell your mother taught you.”

Star’s eyes began to mist. “The Whispering Spell…” I noticed the crystal shook at that, and began to levitate off the ground just the tiniest bit, slowly rising every second. I started to feel pure terror course through me, the crystal’s appaerance suddenly showing in my memories.

“Exactly”, Toffee said back, “Marco’s waiting.” Star looked over to us, her eyes falling on her trapped friend, then back to Toffee. She dropped to her knees and picked up her wand… and began to whisper the spell that would destroy her wand.

That’s when the crystal, now hovering high above, let out a shockwave.

We all let out shouts of shock as we were all knocked off our feet, Star being knocked back out of her spell and Toffee out of his chair. The lizard snarled as he glared back at the crystal.

“What is the meaning of this?!” He shouted angrily. I just watched silently as the shadow within finally became clear. The two massive wings… the twin horns… the pointed lance… and the two burning magenta eyes. My mind began to scream in terror, and my pupils dialiated.

“What’s happening?!” Vanellope screamed. To answer her question, the crystal shattered, sending an even stronger shockwave throughout the whole room. None of us were blown back this time, but it was enough to shatter Marco’s cage. Instantly, Jenny reached in and pulled him out before the crystal could reform.

“Caleb…” Gladius said as he looked up at what was in the crystal. “What is that?”

I just stared up at the being as the memories flooded back. The being had two massive lavender wings that were twice its length, wore silver sabatons on his feet, had silver pauldrons with golden rims and white gloves. Its whole body was hot-pink in colour, including his feet and arms. In its left hand was a shield with a four tipped golden star on it, and in its right was a magenta lance with purple handguard. On its face (which was basically its whole body), it wore a whitish-platinum mask with two fierce golden horns rising from the top of it. The mask had a four tipped star slit in it, much like what was on its shield, but the slit just opened to complete darkness. All that was visible was the being’s burning magenta eyes.

I stared breathlessly up at the being, my mind only able to say one thing.

“Galacta Knight…”

~X~

…Yep. This is how things are happening. After this chapter followed the Storm The Castle episode fairly well, it’s now time for things to take a turn. This marks the end of the Star Vs arc, and the beginning of the next one…

Up next, a powerful warrior unleashes his powers, putting all of Mewni at risk…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I had just muttered the name of the once crystal-imprisoned warrior, and everyone within the castle’s dining room had fallen silent. Galacta Knight’s eyes moved ever so slowly over all of us, almost scanning us. His eyes came onto me, and I felt like my blood froze solid.

“YOU!” A voice suddenly cut out through the silence. We all looked to see Toffee glaring at the knight. “If I knew you were coming, I would have made things more welcoming for you.”

Galacta Knight silently stared at the lizard.

“Now, if you’re done, I have important business to attend to.” Toffee faced Star again. “If you wish to-” He stopped when he saw Marco out of the cage, safe and sound. His left eye twitched.

“Listen, Toffee…” Star began as she slowly backed away, continuously glancing up at Galacta. “I think it’s better I just leave with my friends, you give Ludo his castle back, and we all get a happy ending! Sound good?”

Toffee let out a snarl, and that was my cue. I slowly began to back away myself, gesturing for the others to do the same. As we all began to carefully leave, Toffee spoke again. “Running away like a coward. You Butterfly’s are all the same. And you’re supposed to be the greatest warriors of Mewni.”

That set Galacta Knight off. He instantly locked his gaze onto Star, and shot right at her, aiming his lance right at her heart. Star gasped and blasted at Galacta in defence, but the knight held up his shield to block the blast, still flying at the princess.

“Star!” Jenny cried. She bolted at her and jumped in front of her, intercepting Galacta with a shield of her own. Sparks flew as the knight pushed against the robot’s shield, but Jenny held her ground. This gave Star just enough time to jump off of the table and join us, so Jenny duck and rolled out of Galacta’s way. The knight’s eyes were still locked onto Star, so after Jenny got out of his way, he instantly snapped and charged at the princess again.

“SHIT!” Majima shouted. We all dove out of the knight’s way, his lance nearly piercing through Star’s hair. “What the hell is this guy’s deal?!”

“It doesn’t matter!” I screamed. “We need to leave, now!” I helped Steve to his feet and began to usher everyone out of the room. However, the monsters, who were just watching all this unfold, decided they were going to be difficult. They all roared and ran at us, and I screamed in both rage and fear internally. Ralph instantly tackled both the crocodile monster and spikeball handed monster to the ground, while the others took one the others. Buff Frog, before he could join the fray, was stopped by me.

“Buff Frog, just run”, I said. He was about to argue against it, but one look at my face, which was twisted in fear, and he reluctantly agreed. He ran off, all his tadpoles still in the fountain, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Caleb!” Marco yelled. I turned around and saw him running at me. “What the heck is happening?!”

“I’ll explain when we get out of here and away from him!” I shouted back, pointing at Galacta Knight. The knight was just soaring around, trying to rush at Star at every given opportunity. However, at one instant, he was able to dive and strike Star’s wand. I snapped my head at her. “STAR!”

She screamed at the wand as it began to violently shake and glow, so she released it. All the monsters began to flee, but not before the chicken monster laid an egg. Toffee seemed to find joy out of this, as his once furious glare shifted into a sadistic smirk. Galacta Knight, meanwhile, looked at Star, and was about to strike her, but Vanellope glitched over and glitched again, bringing Star over to me.

“We need to go”, Hilda said fearfully as she ran up to us.

“We won’t be able to get away in time!” Star screamed. I looked around all over the room until I saw Toffee’s remote on the floor near the glass cage. I quickly ran over to it, picked it up, and jabbed the button on it. An opening formed, and I ran in.

“Everyone!” I cried. All my friends looked at me, their attention taken away from the wand. “In here!” Everyone quickly ran over and entered the cage, but Galacta Knight also made a move to the cage. Once Ralph had gotten in, I hit the button and the opening closed, Galacta Knight just barely missing it. He smashed against the glass, lightning and sparks flying as he flew back. He shook his head, and went to slash at the cage.

Only for the wand to explode.

The eruption shook the world around us, so Ralph was quick to shield me, Vanellope, Hilda, Twig and Alfur from the blinding light. I kept my eyes closed as the deafening boom made my ears ring. After a few moments, everything fell silent, so I finally opened my eyes again. I looked around, and all the destruction was shocking. All of Ludo’s castle had been levelled, to the point the cage we were in was completely destroyed.Star looked over at Marco, and dove into him with a hug. Marco was quick to embrace her back, and the rest of us all looked at them with small smiles. I walked up to Star, and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Star”, I said happily. She let out a shaky breath. “You did it.”

She lifted her head up and faced me. “No, we all did it…” she said, her nerves frayed. “I got Marco back safe, you guys are all okay, and those two are gone. I couldn’t have done it without any of you.” Suddenly, the sound of cracking turned our attention to the egg the chicken laid earlier. I suddenly cracked apart, revealing Ludo without any clothes on. We all cringed as he hacked and coughed. Then he looked around at his ruined castle, then back at us.

“Where is my castle?” He asked.

“It’s gone”, Star said back.

“And… where is your wand?”

“That’s gone too.”

“Everything…” Ludo instantly filled with rage. “We are no longer friends!”

“We never were friends”, Star said in annoyance.

“You are now my mortal enemy!” Ludo ranted, pulling out his Dimensional Scissors. “This day, I vow-” He stopped when Star walked over, took his scissors, opened a rift, and tossed him through. Suddenly, something fell from the sky and crashed into the ground, leaving a crater. We all shared looks and ran over to the mysterious object. One the smoke cleared, it was revealed to be Star’s wand, the crystal shattered and colours drained. Star looked down close to tears, so me and Marco quickly hugged her. However, the sound of someone speaking Italian drew our attention to our feet.

It was a small horse. We watched as he did up his mane in a ponytail, slid into the crater and climbed into Star’s wand. Me, Marco and Star all shared looks of confusion, and slid down into the crater as well, just as the wand sunk into the ground. Suddenly, a wall of light blue crystals began to form around the hole.

“What the heck?!” Gladius shouted. The others quickly followed after us, and we all watched as we were surrounded by the crystals. A large one rose from the ground in front of us, and opened to relieve a new wand for Star. it hovered over to her, and fell into her hands.

“Woah…” The princess said with stars in her eyes.

“Upgrade…” Marco said in amazement.

“Well, guess it’s a happy ending for all of us then, huh?” Ralph said. Vanellope glitched onto his shoulder and let out a relieved sigh. I was about to nod with them, when a loud boom suddenly hit my ears. We all snapped our heads behind us, and I squeaked in fear. Glaring down at us, without a scratch on him, was Galacta Knight. He stared down at us with his burning eyes, but then blasted into the sky, becoming a shimmering purple light as he flew away. I felt my heart lodge in my throat, and I was so distracted by him that I barely paid any attention to Marco’s parents arriving with Mewman soldiers. I heard Star ask how they got here, and the voice of River hit my ears. But I didn’t care about any of it. My eyes were locked onto the purple light within the sky.

We had to stop him.

Otherwise he’d destroy everything.

~X~

I was currently at Butterfly Castle, standing on a balcony that overlooked the whole kingdom. After River had picked us up, we were brought to the castle so Star could explain everything to himself and her mother. I, however, drowned a lot of this out. Mainly because Galacta Knight had completely consumed my thoughts. My fears of what he could, and can, do made my head spin. So here I was, standing on the balcony, my eyes locked onto the purple star in the skies above.

“Caleb, are you good?” I snapped back to reality, whirling my head around at the source of the voice. Gladius was right behind me, all the others standing at the doorway. “You’ve never been so silent before. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” I said in a way like what was bothering me was obvious.. “Galacta Knight is what’s wrong!” I pointed at the star in the sky, and all the others shared looks.

“Kid, he ran off”, Ralph began, “He’s not going to bother anyone.”

“Yeah, c’mon dude”, Star said coolly, leaning on me. “Let’s get back to Echo Creek, me and Marco will get packed up, and we’ll head off to a whole new world.”

I remained silent, looking at her for a moment, then down to the floor. “Do you want Mewni to be destroyed when you leave?”

That instantly made the whole mood turn. “What?”

“Because that’s what Galacta Knight can do!” I shouted as I walked back onto the balcony. “He was sealed away because he was too powerful!”

Everyone shared looks. “So you know who he is?” Jenny asked.

I nodded stiffly. “Galacta Knight is a boss from the Kirby series, and he’s… scary.”

“Why?” Steve pressed.

“Because, and I quote, ‘He may end up destroying a nearby planet or two, but such is life’.” I paused, but the others didn’t get it, so I took a deep breath. “Galacta Knight… is a planet killer.”

That made everyone freeze. “He’s… what?” Jenny said, her eyes saying that she was hoping I was just joking.

“That thing we’ve been lugging around with us”, I continued, “That thing that Toffee stole, that thing that survived Star’s wand exploding. That thing can destroy planets. And now that he’s free, we have to stop him, otherwise this whole planet is gone.”

Star breathing hitched, while Majima glared venomously at nothing in particular. “You’re fucking kidding me. We basically had a doomsday button with us this whole time?!”

I nodded, making everyone share looks of worry and fear. “We have to do something!” Hilda cried.

“Perhaps we should tell the king and queen?” Alfur inquired. “They should know about something so devastating.”

“We can’t”, I said, earning confused looks from the others. “The MHC are members of The Council.”

“MHC… wait, the Magic High Commission?” Star asked. “What do they have to do with this-” Suddenly it clicked. “Right… what I overheard them say…”

“Exactly”. I said. “We tell your mom and dad, they tell the MHC, they realise I’m here with all of you, and that will potentially spark something much worse.”

“So we have to take this guy on our own?” Steve asked. I nodded, so he sighed. “Of course we do. We just can’t ever catch a break.”

“So what’s the plan?” Marco asked.

I stood there, silently thinking for a moment, then snapped my fingers. “We have to fight him.”

“WHAT?!” The other shouted in shock, nearly knocking me off my feet.

“Hear me out, first!” I shouted back. They all shut up, I took a deep breath, then continued. “Galacta Knight can’t be killed. But if we fight him, we’ll be able to seal him back in his crystal and send him on his way. Some of us will have to distract him while the rest of us try to hit him with cheap shots. It’s the only way.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.” Vanellope spat with an eye roll. “Just take the crazy knight with overpowered abilities head on. Sounds like a great plan!”

“Well, it’s either that, or let him destroy everything”, I said with a shrug. Gladius hovered up next to me, looking up at where the knight was.

“Why is he just there, then?” He asked. “If he was truly so powerful, why isn’t he doing anything?”

“Because he wants to fight a worthy opponent”, I explained. “Destroying planets are just collateral to his one-man wars.” I looked up at the purple light. “So he’s probably looking for a worthy challenger to engage with.”

“Is that why he targeted Star back at Ludo’s castle?” Marco asked.

“Most likely…” I said, pondering the idea. “He must’ve been aware… which is why he stopped Star from uttering The Whispering Spell! He saw you were the most powerful, and he left us alone when you got your new wand is…”

“...Because he didn’t see me as a worthy challenge…” Star finished, all the pieces fitting in her head.

“Then how do we even get him to attack us?” Ralph asked.

“We fire the first shot”, I said. Everyone shared looks with each other, then looked back at me with a nod. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Wait, Caleb?” Hilda asked. I looked down at her, and she pointed to the sky. “Where is he going?” I looked up and saw Galacta Knight was going back to the ground.

“I don’t know…” I said.

“That’s where Ludo’s Castle was”, Star said. Why would he go back there?”

I thought as to why indeed, then it hit me. “Star, do you realise what we left there?” I said, my whole mind running wild with fear.

“No, what?”

“LUDO’S SCISSORS.” I said through clenched teeth. That made everyone go into panic mode, all gaping at the falling star as it vanished over the horizon.

“Holy fuck, we need to go now!” Majima shouted. Star, on cue, pulled out her scissors and opened a rift as fast as she could, and we all bolted through back to the ruins. I began to dart my head around like crazy.

“Split up and find the scissors!” I barked. Everyone did just that, and we all began searching through the rubble in a blind panic. Gladius was close to my side, using his power to locate magical objects. But we couldn’t find them. The scissors were nowhere.

“ANY LUCK?!” Gladius shouted. I heard the others all say back variations of no, which only made me more panicked. I continued to look through the rubble, when the hair on the back of my neck stood on edge.

“GLADIUS, LOOK OUT!” I screamed, tackling Gladius out of the way as a bolt of blinding orange lightning struck where I once was. I looked up to see Galacta Knight staring down at me, his shield moved onto his arm so he could grip what I feared he’d find tightly.

Ludo’s Dimensional Scissors.

“KID!” Ralph shouted. He clambered over the wreckage and ran to me, Star and Jenny doing the same. Galacta Knight looked over the three of them, then spun around. Several orange energy swords were created, and he fired them off at the others. They dodged the blades as they bounced off the ground, soaring into the air. Galacta Knight then went all out, focusing his assault on the magic princess. Jenny and Majima quickly jumped to her aid, and the three of them tag teamed the knight.

But it wasn’t even close to a fair fight.

Galacta Knight was the one to make the first move, spinning around and holding his lance up high. This summoned several sets of lightning (the same that nearly struck me) that began to strike the ground around my friends. They did their best to dodge them, but Jenny was sadly struck by one of them. She convulsed as the electricity coursed through her body, which was just enough time for Galacta to rush up and kick her in the side. She was sent into a nearby pile of the wreckage.

“Jenny!” Star cried.

“Shit!” Majima swore. He pulled out both his baseball bat and knife and rushed at the knight, but Galacta quickly blocked Goro with his shield. Majima just kept the pressure on, giving Star a chance to sneak up on Galacta’s other side and prepare to blast him.

“Narwhal Blast!” She shouted. I saw Galacta’s eyes glint, and he instantly shot up in the air. This meant Majima bashed Star on the head with his bat, while eating her Narwhal Blast in turn. Galacta came back down, doing an overhead slash that made him spin. When he landed, his lance shot out a shockwave that headed straight at Majima.

“Majima, look out!” Hilda cried. The eyepatched man looked over at the approaching attack, so he quickly pushed the narwhal that was on him off, and dove away. The blast just travelled until it hit some of the castle wreckage, creating an eruption of fire and rock. Me, Gladius, Vanellope, Hilda, Twig and Alfur cried out in fright and ran away from the explosion, diving behind a solid hunk of wall for cover. When I peeked over, I saw Steve, Ralph and Marco rushing up to Galacta Knight while Majima quickly picked up and carried both Jenny and Star behind the wall I was behind.

“Keep an eye on them”, he said sternly, rushing back to the battle. I instantly helped Star and Jenny into a sitting position.

“Are you two okay?” Alfur asked.

“I’m fine”, Star groaned, magicing up an ice pack for herself and putting it on the spot where Majima smacked her. “You’d be surprised how much I can make it through.”

“And you Jenny?” I asked, turning to the robot. She nodded weakly, then jolted when excess electricity sparked out of her. “Okay, you are sitting this out.”

“I… can’t…” She said in defiance, jolting between words. Slowly she rose to her feet and, with Star, both of them charged back to take on the knight. I felt my heart go into overdrive as I watched all my friends fight someone so unbelievably powerful. Without even thinking, I grabbed Gladius and rushed in to join the battle.

“Caleb, are you nuts?!” Vanellope screamed.

“YES!” I called back. I charged right at Galacta Knight, and just as he was about to bring his lance down onto Ralph, I intercepted it with Gladius. The two of us held strong as Galacta Knight put more strength into his swing. But this was just what we needed, as Jenny and Ralph were able to slam Galacta with oversized fists, launching him into a pile that was once Ludo’s throne. The two of them took deep breaths, Jenny convulsing as she did so. The two girls, deerfox and elf hopped out from behind the wall and dashed over to us.

“Guys that was amazing!” Vanellope cheered, glitching onto Ralph’s shoulder. Hilda ran up to Star and hugged her leg.

“Are you all okay?” She asked. Star nodded, Majima scoffed and nodded, Jenny jolted again, Marco ruffled his hair then nodded, Ralph let out a sigh and nodded, Steve nodded, and I smiled and nodded. Gladius wiggled out of my grasp.

“A warning next time would be nice”, He said in exacerbation. I chuckled and nodded, only to jump when we were all surrounded by massive flame pillars. Rifts then opened in front of the flames, and I instant;y knew what was happening. I snapped my head over to the pile Galacta Knight was punched into, and I watched as he rose from it completely unharmed.

“Ready for round two, you motherfucker?!” Majima screamed in fury. Everyone else took up defensive stances, but I knew what he was going to do.

“No, guys, we need to go! Now!” I screamed. But before anyone could counter, Galacta Knight stabbed his lance into the ground, and right from under us he summoned a tornado. We all let out screams of shock and fear and we were all whipped around by the wind. I felt something collide with my chest, and I looked down to see Twig in my arms.

“Hang on, Twig!” I screamed as the tornado sent me and him into one of the rifts. I suddenly hit pavement, and scrambled to my feet. I made a dash for the rift, but it closed just as I reached it. “No…” I felt something brush up against my leg, and I looked down to see Twig looking up at me sadly. I let out a shaky breath and picked him up. “Don’t worry buddy, we’ll find the others.” I began to look around, and I instantly recognised the place I was in. It was a school. More specifically, I was in Star and Marco’s school. Me and Twig were back in Echo Creek.

“Crap…” I whispered. Twig let out a whine, only to snap his head behind me.

“Sup dude?” I heard a voice sound off behind me. I jumped and faced the source, feeling some relief seeing Janna.

“Hey Janna”, I began in relief, “Boy am I glad to see you.”

“I get that a lot”, she replied coolly. “So, what’s up?”

I felt my blood run cold. “A lot. None of it good.” Twig whimpered.

Janna raised an eyebrow. “Considering what Star brings with her, I bet it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

I gulped fearfully, and was about to counter, only for my mind to crash. I took a deep breath, and looked at Janna. “This isn’t anything like what she can do…” I trailed off.

“Well, can’t help ya’ then, dude”, she said simply with a shrug. I grabbed her arm.

“I’ll tell you.” A thick sound of thunder echoed through the air. “But we don’t have forever.”

~X~

And so I quickly explained to Janna everything that had happened since finding out Marco got kidnapped. From Buff Frog and his tadpoles, to the battle in the dining room, Toffee’s attempted deal with Star for Marco’s life, and Galacta Knight’s reawakening and show of power. Janna, who was sitting on a bench, let out a whistle.

“Jeez, that’s… a lot”, she said.

“And now me and Twig are separated from the others”, I continued. “If we don’t stop Galacta Knight, he’ll lay waste to everything.”

“Well, good thing you found me”, Janna said with a smug smirk. “I’ll help you out with this.”

“No!” I said suddenly. “Galacta Knight is not someone you can sass away or freak out. He’s a white knight, fighting anything he wants.”

“So? Star dragged all of us on an interdimensional field trip a few days ago”, Janna explained. “I got this magic stuff down.”

I was beginning to lose my patience. “But that’s not what-”

“Hey Janna”, a new voice sounded off. I looked over to see a platinum blonde with a teal streak in her hair skateboard up to us.

“Sup, Jackie”, Janna greeted. The girl, Jackie, hopped off her board and looked me over.

“Are you Star and Marco’s new friend?” She asked. I looked at her silently, then blinked.

“Yes…” I said slowly. “It’s nice to meet you, Jackie.”

“Marco’s told me a lot about you and your friends”, she said in a lax tone. She looked around. “Where are Marco and Star, anyway?”

“Dealing with a knight”, Janna said. I glared at her.

“There’s more to it, but yeah, it’s bad.” I said. I looked up and saw a rift open, and my eyes bugged out. Janna, Jackie and Twig all looked up, and we watched as Galacta Knight soared through. He looked around for a brief moment before locking his eyes on me.

“Oh no…” I whispered fearfully.

~X~

Yes! This arc is one I’ve been so excited to write! Yes, this arc’s main plot is Galacta Knight, a fan favourite boss from the Kirby series, causing havoc in Star Vs The Forces Of Evil. So, while many of the locations won’t change too much, I feel the threat of someone like the knight is enough to justify it.

Up next: A race to reunite the team, and to save a member of the MHC…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I looked up at Galacta Knight, once again in fear. Twig growled viciously at the knight while Janna and Jackie just looked up in confusion.

“Dude, is that the knight you told me about?” Janna said, jabbing a thumb at Galacta. “He doesn’t seem so bad.”

“You’d be surprised”, I said in a strained tone. I quickly picked up Twig as Galacta Knight stared us down.

Jackie glared at him. “So, he’s done something to Star and Marco?”

“And the others”, I explained. “He has Ludo’s Dimensional Scissors, and he opened rifts to who knows where.”

“Pfft, yeah”, Janna said nonchalantly. I gaped at her, as I couldn’t believe she could be this cocky. “Trust me dude, I got this.” She cupped her hands and began to shout up at Galacta. “YO, BUDDY! YOU SAY YOU’RE SO POWERFUL? THEN PROVE IT!”

“Janna!” I cried fearfully. I looked up and saw Galacta didn’t even flinch.

“See? All bark, no bite”, she said while crossing her arms. Suddenly, the knight puffed out his wings and rushed right at us. I cried in terror and grabbed Janna’s arm, pulling her out of the way. Jackie quickly dodged with us, and Galacta crashed into the ground. Time seemed to slow down for a second as I stared into Galacta’s eyes, his gaze burning into my soul. After that, he sent out a shockwave that kicked all the chips from the pavement away from him. He then locked onto me and fired some of his energy blades right at me.

“Watch out!” I yelled. We all ducked as the blades soared over us, hit the wall behind us, and bounced back. Once they hit another hard surface, they exploded in a bright orange light, scorching the surrounding area. I had pulled Janna and Jackie behind a bench, with Twig glued to my side.

“Okay”, Janna said as she glanced around the bench at the knight. “I see what you mean.”

“And this is the thing that was in the crystal Marco said you guys had?” Jackie said fearfully.

I nodded. “Yep. And the worst of it is this guy is a walking doomsday. He’s a planet killer.”

“Oh, well that’s great!” Janna shouted quietly. “What’s the plan?”

“The plan is you two getting out of here”, I said. “Me and the others can deal with him. When I find them…”

Twig barked, and I recoiled at Galacta slashed the bench into splinters. Janna grabbed Jackie’s hand and led her away, while I ran in the opposite direction.

“Hey, Galacta!” I called. The knight snapped his head at me, and bolted at me. “Uh oh”, I said quietly as I swayed out of the way of him. But he was smart, spinning so he could deliver a kick right into my abdomen. I let out a wheeze as all the air left my body in one moment, and I collapsed on the ground, clutching my middle. Twig snarled and leaped at the knight, but a swift backhand knocked him right to my side. I could barely see Galacta, but I could tell he was lifting his lance to strike me down.

“DAGGER CRYSTAL HEART ATTACK!”

My eyes snapped open as Star and Steve jumped out of a rift, the princess firing dagger hearts at the knight. He was caught off guard by their sudden entrance, unable to block Star’s attack. He was hit hard and was sent into some lockers, sending a few scattered papers flying. With him dealt with, my two friends rushed to my aid.

“Caleb!” Steve said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m…” I paused to cough. “... fine. He just got me in the stomach.” I took a deep breath in.

“You have no idea how worried we were!” Star said in worry. She picked up Twig and gently hugged him close. “We’re lucky I didn’t lose my scissors, otherwise we’d all be done for.”

“Yeah, we really are”, I said, a headache slowly forming. “Let’s just hope we can find everyone back together, ASAP.”

“ASAP is right!” Steve cried. Me and Star looked to where Galacta was, and we gasped when we saw him get back up, open a rift, and swiftly leave.

“Crap…” Star muttered. She then shook her head and looked back at me and Steve. “Whatever. He can run off. We need to find the others. I just saved Marco, I’m not losing him again!” Twig let out a determined bark, and I nodded. Steve did a quick double check through his inventory, then looked at Star and nodded. The princess smiled and pulled out her scissors, opened a rift, and we all jumped in. On the other side of it was what looked like a rave club set on some clouds.

“Uhhhh… Star? What is all this?” Steve asked.

“The Bounce Lounge”, she said with determination. “It’s my favourite place to hang, but I was hoping some of the others would be here.”

I looked around, nodding my head. “I can see why. This place is pretty safe.”

“Unless you fall off the ledge”, Star added, walking into the dancing crowd. Me and Steve shared a look, then both of us looked over the ledge. It was just an endless sea of deadly spikes down below, so we backed up from the ledge and followed after Star. The club was packed with people, so it was hard to make our way through the crowd. The music was loud, the lights were bright, and everyone was being a bit too wild. It was torture for me. I stayed close to Steve until we found Star, who was looking around, clearly thinking she found someone.

“Did you find the others, Star?” Steve asked. She faced us, Twig still cradled in her arm.

“Apparently…” She began. “I asked around, and some people said they saw Majima and Hilda, but I can’t find them…”

I looked around myself, and soon I saw what I hoped was Majima based on the suit. “Over there!” I said, pointing at the man. Star and Steve looked over, and all of us weaved through the crowd carefully till we reached him. I tapped him on the shoulder, and I beamed when the man turned around to reveal it was Majima.

“Oh my god”, he said in relief. “I’m so glad to see you guys. This whole place is driving me fucking insane.”

“What’s wrong with the Bounce Lounge?” Star asked, as if offended by Majima’s anger.

“Where’s Hilda?” I asked, ignoring Star. She pouted and crossed her arms.

“Left her by the photo booth”, Goro said, jabbing his thumb behind himself. “I was hoping to ask someone to open a rift to Mewni, but everyone here are either fucking idiots or assholes. C’mon.” We all followed Majima to the photo booth, Star quietly ranting about Majima’s disrespect of her favourite chill spot. When we finally reached the photo booth, Hilda, who was leaning against the side, faced us.

“TWIG!” She cried. The deerfox leapt out of Star’s grasp and jumped into Hilda’s awaiting arms. She then jumped up and hugged me. “Gosh, this was so scary. I was lucky to be with Majima, but still…” She buried her face into my chest. I just smiled and held her close, facing the others.

“Alright, two down, six more to go”, I said. Star nodded and lifted her scissors, only for Majima to lower her hand slowly.

“Majima, what’s wrong?” Steve asked. He said nothing, rather choosing to point upwards far off of the clouds. We all followed his finger, and we all paled as we saw Galacta Knight rush out of a rift right at us. Star squeaked in terror and quickly opened a rift, and we all jumped through, just missing the knight. The rift closed before he could follow us, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was too close”, I said, setting Hilda and Twig down on the ground. “We need to find the others soon, I don’t want them running into Galacta without any way to escape him.”

“Yeah, definitely”, Star said with a nod. She then began to look around to get the lay of the land. I followed her lead, looking around at the surrounding area. It looked like a foggy bog of sorts, and from Star’s massive frown and wide eyes, I could tell it wasn’t good.

“Soooo, where are we, Star?” I asked slowly. Star just sighed and slumped her shoulders.

“This was where I got my sandwich…” Star said sadly. I instantly knew what she meant by that, so I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Majima coughed loudly, fanning the fog out of his face.

“Let’s just pick up whoever got stuck here”, he said bitterly. “And go. This fog is so fucking stupid.” None of us argued with him, and we began to swim through the fog, seeing if any of our friends were here. We searched high and low, behind trees, in the bog, and around rocks. But there wasn’t any sign of anyone. We all grouped back up, and I shook my head.

“I couldn’t find anyone”, I said. “Did you guys have any better luck?” The others all shook their heads, and I felt a feeling of defeat fill me. Until I heard something that snapped all our heads up. It sounded like Marco yelling in the middle of a battle. We all began to look around for where our friend sounded off, and then he yelled again, helping us pinpoint him inside of a nearby cave.

“Hang on, Marco!” Star said bombastically. “We’re comin’!” We all ran after Star, following her into the cave. We eventually found where our friend was, and I let out a gasp. Marco was currently fighting one-on-one against a large green monster with multiple smoke stacks on its head. I looked to my left and saw Jenny, her face twisted in silent confusion as she twitched and sparked. Me, Hilda and Twig ran over to her while Steve, Majima and Star ran to help Marco. I slid right next to Jenny, looking her over in concern. Her eyes were slightly flickering as she slowly turned her head to me.

“C-C-C-Caleb…” She stuttered, her head twitching as she spoke. “Am I-I-I-I ggggglad to see-see-see-see youuuuu…” Her voice was constantly changing pitch, was constantly breaking, and had slight static in it. I did my best to hold back tears at my friend’s state, hugging her close. Her arms barely moved. Hilda came up to my side, letting out a quiet gasp.

“Jenny, what happened?” The adventurer asked in a shocked whisper.

“The-The-The-Theeee light-t-t-tning Galacta hiiiiiiiit me-me-me with fried-d-d-d my cuuuuuurciiiitsssss…” She droned out, sparks flying out of her neck as she spoke. “Marco-co-co helped mmmmmeeee when wwwwweeee landed-d-d, but-but…” Her voice devolved into quiet, garbled static, and I could feel my heart break. I shared a sad look with Hilda, and I stood back up, helping Jenny into a leaning position against me. Then, with Hilda and Twig helping me, I walked Jenny out of the cave as the others fought the beast. It was a slow walk, but eventually we made it out. I set Jenny down, leaning her against a rock that faced the bog, then looked at Hilda.

“We have to fix her”, I said, my eye twitching as a tear slowly formed in it.

“But how?” Hilda countered. “Neither of us know how this stuff works. We can’t do anything.” Twig let out a whine, walking over to Jenny and brushing his head against her hand. Jenny’s hand twitched slightly in response.

I just silently stared at my friend, knowing what Hilda said was right. I turned my head to the cave entrance as Steve, Majima, Star and Marco ran out and next to us, all of them leaning against their knees to catch their breath.

“I am so done with this dimension!” Star said bitterly. She then looked at the robot, and let out what was between a gasp and a scream “Jenny?! What happened?!” She fell on her knees and looked the robot over, only to me met with the garbled static. We all flinched.

“That bolt of lightning got her good”, Marco said. “I tried to fix her before you guys showed up, but it was no good. Then that thing”, he jammed his thumb at the cave entrance, “Grabbed her. I chased it, got Jenny away, and began to fight it.”

Jenny convulsted, and Majima growled. “When I get my hands on that knight…”

“We need to fix her”, Steve cut in. “There has to be something that we could get.”

Star suddenly stood up, her eyes wide. “Quest Buy”, she said in a hushed tone. Before any of us could ask her what she meant, she used her scissors to make another rift, and jumped in. Marco and I quickly tag teamed carrying Jenny, and we all followed the princess through.

~X~

I stumbled a bit as Jenny’s weight as I landed on the other side of the rift. Star quickly helped me steady, and the others stepped on through. I looked around and found that we were in a massive shopping mall. Hilda looked up in amazement, Steve silently gaped, and Majima looked up at the nearby shelves.

“Holy shit…” He muttered. “This place is crazy…”

“This is Quest Buy”, Star explained. “This place has everything and anything you need.”

“And you hope we can find something to fix Jenny?” Marco said, shifting Jenny’s arm a bit. The robot opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was more static and high pitched beeping. I cringed as the noise shook my ears, and Jenny instantly shut up.

“Okay, Star?” I began. “Do you know where we need to go?”

Star whimpered a bit and looked away, her head looking around for something. “No… This whole place is a maze, and no one knows how to get around…”

“Well that’s wonderful to hear!” Majima spat sarcastically. “So we’ll just be running around like fucking idiots while a knight that can destroy planets just flies around wherever! Fucking fantastic!”

Steve gave him a pointed look, Hilda walked up to Star, the princess continued to frantically look around, Twig sniffed the air, and me and Marco cringed when Jenny’s head spun around rapidly. Star letting out a gasp drew my attention back to her, and I watched as she ran up to a bipedal sloth in some sort of employee’s uniform.

“Excuse me!” She called, waving to the sloth as she ran up to him. The sloth slowly turned around to face Star with a bored look. “Listen, can you tell us where we can find a mechanic or something? Our friend needs some serious repairs.” She gestured to Jenny as we all walked up to join her. Jenny let out a static filled groan.

“That’s not my department”, the sloth said in a bored tone. He turned to make his leave, but Majima walked right in front of him and held his knife at the sloth’s throat.

“Listen hear, shithead”, Majima threatened quietly. Hilda took a few steps forward to stop him, but Steve blocked her with an arm. The sloth’s eyes bulged as Goro continued. “We ain’t leaving unless you tell us where we can get our friend fixed. Otherwise I’ll show you how I make people squeal…” He spun his knife around and stabbed it into a nearby shelf, making the sloth flinch.

“Alright, I’m sorry!” The sloth said, holding up his hands up fearfully. “Go straight, then when you reach the map kiosk turn left. The mechanic is at the end of the aisle. Just, please, don’t hurt me…”

Majima gave a flat look. “Good man.” He faced the rest of us, grabbed Jenny, and lifted her up no problem. “C’mon guys, Let’s go.” He gave the sloth one last glare as he ran down the aisle, the rest of us following after him. I mouthed a “Sorry” at the employee, and ran next to Majima. He had a steely look on his face, his eyes hard and cold. I wanted to say something, but once I let my gaze fall on Jenny, who Majima was carrying bridal style, I chose to just forget it.

When we reached the map kiosk, we followed the employee’s instructions and headed left, running down the aisle as fast as possible. Jenny’s state was clearly deteriorating, if her flickering eyes and quite static were anything to go by. After a few more minutes of running, we reached the mechanic. Majima dropped Jenny down in front of him and began to explain, while me and the others hung back with looks of worry.

“Do you guys think she’ll be okay?” Steve asked in concern.

“I don’t know…” I said sadly. “Jenny’s a special kind of robot… this mechanic might not be able to do anything…”

Star nervously began to chew the top of her wand, so Marco put a reassuring hand on her back. “This is crazy. I just met all of you guys, and now I’ll probably have to say goodbye…”

“Don’t think like at”, Hilda said, trying to boost our moods. “We’ve made it through so much already, and Jenny’s taken on armies!” Hilda struck a triumphant pose, earning a bark from Twig. “She’ll be fine.”

“You bet… I will…” Jenny said in an exhausted tone. We all snapped our heads to the entrance, and we all beamed when we saw Majima supporting a fixed Jenny leaving the mechanic’s workshop. The robot looked at us with tired eyes, and me, Hilda and Star raced to her and hugged her tight.

“Jenny! How’re you feeling?” Marco said happily.

“Not 100%, but I'm good enough to take action, thanks to you guys”, she said, messing with my hair. “Seriously, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it, Jenny”, I said with a beaming smile. My face then became serious. “Okay, now that you’re back in one piece, we need to find the others and stop Galacta Knight.”

“Way ahead of you Caleb”, Jenny said. Her chest opened, and what reached out was a mechanical arm with a screen on the end. On said screen was what looked like some radar system. “While Galacta was whipping us all around in that tornado, I instantly saw what his plan was, so I fired off trackers that attached to everyone before we all got seperated.” She looked between me and Twig. “Except you two. You both went through the rift before I could get a tracker onto you two.”

Star and Steve shared a look. “So that was what I blasted off of us”, the princess said in thought. She then glanced at Jenny’s screen and pulled out her scissors. “Let’s get the others back together.” We all shared determined nods, and thus the princess opened a rift. She was the first in, followed by Steve, Hilda, Twig, Majima, Jenny, and then finally myself. But before I hopped through, I looked over my shoulder at the crowded, busy mall. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, then faced the rift again and jumped through.

~X~

The many worlds we had to jump through was honestly shocking. Galacta had done a good job separating us. We had plenty of close calls, plenty of chases away from things that were very big and scary, and many new traumatising memories.

Ralph and Alfur (such a weird duo to get stuck together) were in a world of… volcanoes. Lots and lots of volcanoes. The wrecker and elf, when we found them, were stranded on a rock surrounded by a massive lake of lava. The rock was slowly beginning to sink when we found them, so Jenny quickly reached forward and pulled them to safety. Alfur quickly hopped off of Ralph’s shoulder and onto Hilda’s beret as soon as Jenny brought them over to safety. Alfur was completely hysterical, earning a smirk and eye roll for all of us. I explained to Ralph what the plan was, and he nodded in understanding. Steve suggested we should get going, and after a nearby volcano erupted, we all quickly ran through the next rift Star opened.

Next up was Vanellope and Gladius. Just as we stepped through the rift, I was tackled to the ground by Vanellope, who was grateful to have run into me. She then glitched onto Ralph’s shoulder, telling us that she and Gladius were running for their lives from a massive hoard of wolf warriors. I was just about to ask where Gladius was, but when I heard his scream, I got my answer. I looked behind me, and my face twisted into one of shock and horror when Gladius was soaring at us, being chased by at least 20 bipedal, heavily armoured, battle axe wielding wolves. We all cried in shock, Marco and Hilda rushing Star to get another rift opened. My head snapped back and forth between Star fumbling with her scissors and Gladius rushing at me for a minute, and once the princess opened another rift, I quickly grabbed Gladius once he was in arm’s reach and dove through after the others. The rift closed shortly after that, and I fainted in shock as I hugged Gladius close.

~X~

I snapped awake, and I found myself on the pile of mattresses in Star’s room. I looked around the familiar space, the tenseness in my shoulders leaving as I saw all the others standing off to the side by Star’s wall mirror. I pulled the blankets off of me and joined them.

Gladius was the first to face me. “Ah, Caleb. Glad to see you’re finally up.” This made the others notice me, either smiling or waving at me.

I waved back, letting out a yawn. “Morning gang.” I paused to stretch. “What the heck happened after I fainted?”

“So you do remember”, Ralph said in an amused tone. I shot him a soft glare, so he just raised a hand. “I’m just joking, kid. Well, after you face planted on the ground, Star brought us all back here, and we let you rest while we planned.”

“Planned what?” I asked.

“What to do with Galacta Knight”, Majima growled as he absentmindedly looked out a nearby window.

“I called Pony Head as soon as we got back”, Star explained, earning my attention. “She said she saw Galacta fly over…”, she paused to take a breath, “... Saint Olga’s, but he didn’t do anything. She did say it looked like he was looking for something, and I’ve been trying to think what…” Everyone fell silent as they continued to think.

I joined in, trying to figure out what Galacta Knight could be looking for. I combed over everything I knew about the Knight and Star’s world, trying to connect the dots. I looked over to Star’s vanity, and on it was a monster skull, some makeup equipment, an unlit candle, a bowl of small crystals, Glossaryck watching us while eating some pudding-

Then it hit me. My eyes widened while I looked back at the bowl of crystals, the pieces finally falling into place.

Galacta wasn’t looking for a what, but rather a who.

“Guys…” I said, earning all their attention. “I think I know who Galacta Knight is looking for…”

“You did, great-” Hilda started happily, only for her and everyone else to do a double take when they finally realised what I said. “Wait, who?”

I rushed to Star and looked her dead in the eyes, the princess taken by surprise by my sudden action. “Star, would you be mad if you were sealed in a crystal for who knows long? Still aware of everything?”

Star gave me a confused look. “What the heck do you mean?”

“Just answer the question”, I said. She sighed and nodded. “So that means you would do anything to stop getting put back in the crystal, right?”

“Yeah…” Star said in an unsure tone.

“Kid, what the heck are you talking about?” Ralph asked. The others were all massively confused about where I was going.

“So that means…” I continued with Star, ignoring Ralph. “... You’d try and, let’s say, try and kill someone whose job is to seal people in crystals?”

Suddenly, it all clicked for Star. “Rhombulus…”

“Wait, who’s Rhombulus?” Jenny asked.

“A member of the Magic High Commission”, Star explained. “He’s the ruler of The Crystal Dimension, which is basically a big prison.”

“What’s this have to do with Galacta Knight?” Steve added.

“Rhombulus’ main ability is sealing guys in crystals only he can break”, I said, my pupils shrinking into pinpricks.

The others all shared looks for a moment, before realising what I meant, snapping their heads back to me and Star with terrified looks.

“You can’t be serious…” Vanellope said in a nervous pitch.

“I'm serious”, I said. “Galacta Knight must be trying to find him, so we need to get to The Crystal Dimension before him. Rhombulus can’t handle him on his own.”

“And we should care why?” Majima spat.

Gladius made a noise akin to clearing his throat. “It’s because, if I’m right, Rhombulus, and in turn the MHC, are members of The Council.”

“But what does that even mean?” Majima countered.

“The Council is a group of the most powerful beings across the whole multiverse that have to meet weekly”, Gladius continued. “While they can’t govern what happens to their world’s stories, they can keep the multiverse in a state of peace. If any member were to be killed, especially by something from another universe, the whole multiverse would be sent into a war that would destroy everything.”

We all gaped up at him with bugged out eyes and dilated pupils. I didn’t even know things were that serious. We all shared our horrified looks with each other, the silence becoming deafening.

“You’re fucking kidding…” Majima said breathlessly.

“This is bad…” Marco said, running a hand through his hair.

“No…” Hilda said shakily, on the verge of tears.

“Everyone, calm down!” I barked. The others all looked at me. “We know what we need to do, now.” I looked at the princess. “Star, do you know where The Crystal Dimension is? Because we need a rift.”

“Well… I-Uh…” She stammered. She was cut off by Glossaryck, who floated over to her side.

“Don’t worry about this, my liege”, he said. He pulled Star’s scissors out of her pocket and opened a rift. He then tossed them back to her, a neutral look on his face. “You got this. Go save the world.”

Star shared a look with me, and I nodded in determination. She was the first to jump through the rift, me, Gladius and Marco right behind her, and the rest of the gang right behind us. When we landed, we found ourselves in a place that was just filled with massive faded light blue crystals and blue rocks. I ducked behind some of the crystal, and peeked over it to see a large staircase that went up into a massive crystal.

“This is it”, Star said as she came up to my side, looking up as well. “Home of Rhombulus and Lekmet…”

“Wait, two members of the MHC live here?!” Marco said in shock to my right. He slowly turned his head up to the staircase. “This makes things a lot harder…”

“Well, hopefully Lekmet isn’t here”, Steve whispered. He pointed over to the left. “Because I think we found our guy.”

We all followed his arm, and sure enough, there was Rhombulus lifting a hunk of crystal. The MHC member was a fairly buff man with green skin, snakes for hands and feet, and a large four sided crystal for a head. His face consisted of only a single pupil and an eyebrow, all while he wore a purple-brown cape/cloak.

“This is the guy we got to save?” Majima said. We all watched Rhombulus with flat looks as he dropped a crystal on his foot, making him hop around while holding the sore foot. “He’s a lost cause,let’s go.” Goro turned to leave, but Jenny grabbed the back of his suit. She lifted him up and had his eyes meet her’s.

“Yeah, right. NO.” Jenny said. Majima huffed and crossed his arms, only to be dropped onto the ground roughly. He cursed silently as Gladius hovered close to my side.

“So what’s the plan?” He asked me.

“We wait. Galacta could show up any second now…” I said with steely determination. Right on cue, a loud boom echoed across the land, and I was quick to notice a bright purple star rush out of a rift from high above and crash into the large crystal formation. Rhombulus also noticed, stopping what he was doing and rushing up the stairs. I nodded my head after him, and we all carefully followed after him up the stairs. The MHC member rushed through the door at the top of the stairs and went to slam it closed, but Gladius was just barely able to rush to it and hold it open for us. We all carefully snuck in, and I felt a shiver crawl up my spine. All around us were creatures and people with horrified expressions encased in crystals, and it made the place feel cold and unwelcoming.

“You weren’t kidding about this place being a prison Star…” Ralph said, an uncomfortable look on his face as he looked around. “I’d say this place is scarier than Hero’s Duty…” He jumped back when he turned and instantly came face-to-face with a crystalized pizza delivery man.

“Well, now that we’re here…” Gladius said. “Now what?”

A loud boom sounded off, so I gestured everyone together. “Okay, here’s the plan.” I began. “We need to split up. All of us who are heavy hitters and can keep up with Galacta, you’ll all go together to distract him. The rest of us will try and get cheap shots on him. Jenny, Ralph, Majima, Steve and Star. You five can out range him and hopefully over power him. Me, Vanellope, Hilda, Twig, Alfur, and Marco, you’re with me.” I looked at my sword. “You too, Gladius.”

“Of course, my boy.” He responded with a bow.

“Everyone onboard?” I asked. I received determined nods in return, so we all split up. I led my group to the left, and Majima led the other group to the right. As we carefully snuck through the crystal prison, a bright beam shot up to the roof.

“Buzz off, you evil winged monster!” I heard a voice shout. I shared a look with the others, and we looked around some crystals. Rhombulus was currently in a vicious confrontation with Galacta Knight, the knight simply hovering around and dodging any attack sent his way. “Just sit still!” Rhombulus fired another beam from the mouth of his right snake head’s mouth, but Galacta simply blocked it with his shield.

As the two battled, Marco passed me a glance. “Okay, what are we supposed to do about the crystal guy?” He asked.

My brain crashed. “I don’t know… Crap…” I could only watch silently as Galacta Knight, finally bored with the crystal master, brought his lance down. Rhombulus retaliated by grabbing it in his right snake head, charging up another blast in with his left.

“We’ve got to do something!” Hilda whispered harshly. I looked around, trying to find some way to help. I then looked up and saw a chunk of crystal that was hanging over the two who’re fighting. I nudged everyone and pointed up at it, and they all caught on instantly. I quietly ordered Gladius to knock the crystal down, and he swiftly did so, carefully digging in and cutting around it out of the ceiling.

“Okay, while he’s doing that…” Vanellope whispered as she watched the sword work away. “What do we do?”

“We wait till Rhombulus gets knocked out, and we’ll drag him to safety.” I explained. “That way Ralph and the others can tackle Galacta Knight without any casualties.”

Everyone gave me a flat look, and I shot back with a grumpy look of my own, which seemingly made them all agree with me. So we silently watched as Galacta blocked Rhombulus’ next beam attack, then spun around rapidly to surround himself in a lavender tornado. The MHC member was launched back into one of the crystalized prisoners, knocking him unconscious. Just then, Gladius finished cutting the crystal down, and it fell on Galacta with a loud earth-shattering crash, burying him in the rubble.

“Guys, c’mon!” I said. My group vaulted over the crystal walls and rushed over to the fainted MHC member, lifted his arms, and began to drag him away. We leaned him up against some rocks, and I quickly grabbed a nearby large rock. “Someone break this in half!”

Vanellope quickly obliged, grabbing onto the rock and glitching violently, making the thing crack in half. I then grabbed both halves and set them at either side of Rhombulus. Everyone looked at me in confusion.

“Just so he thinks he was just dreaming”, I explained. That’s when an explosion nearly rocked us off our feet back where Galacta was left buried. I spun around and saw Galacta was charging right at us, only to get a punch from Ralph that launched him to the left. He bounced off of the crystals like a pinball and crashed into a random pile of rocks. Ralph shook his hand, his face in a hard glare. He then looked us over with a gentle expression.

“You kids okay?” He asked as he knelt down. Vanellope scoffed and rolled her eyes sweetly and I nodded.

“We’re good, Ralph.” Hilda said, who picked up and hugged a defensive Twig close. “Just… a bit shaken…” Twig let out a growl in the direction of the knight.

I sighed in relief for the smallest moment, before filling with fear again when Galacta burst from the rubble and soared up high above us all. I took a step back, gripping Vanellope’s arm tightly as Galacta rushed at us again. He was swiftly halted when Jenny and Majima clashed with him, sword and bat respectively.

“Caleb! You get yourself and the girls out of here!” Jenny barked as she strained against the knight’s might. “We’ll handle this freak!”

“Right!” I said, picking up Vanellope and quickly making a run for it. She screamed in protest as we left Ralph, trying her hardest to break out of my arms. Hilda and Twig ran alongside us, Alfur on her beret and Twig right behind her. Gladius hovered above my head. When we got far enough away, I set the candy president on the ground, and she immediately kicked my shin.

“OW!” I cried, falling onto the ground, gripping my leg in pain.

Hilda gasped. “Vanellope! What was that for?!” She shouted at her. Gladius rushed to help me up, with Vanellope looking away from the blue-haired girl guiltily. She then looked back up at me slightly.

“Sorry about that, Glasses…” She said sadly. “It’s kinda an instinct, ever since Turbo happened…” She said the older racer’s name with nothing but venom. “I’ve got an issue leaving Ralph behind to deal with anything.”

“That’s… understandable.” Hilda admitted, putting a reassuring hand on her friend’s shoulder. I smiled slightly, then looked back to where the others were. It was then I noticed Steve and Jenny bolting around the corner while being chased by Galacta Knight. The block man was firing arrows from his crossbow while the robot was clashing with Galacta, one hand transformed into a sword and the other into a shield. Me, Gladius, Vanellope, Hilda, Twig and Alfur all ducked behind some crystals and watched the confrontation in silent fear.

Galacta slashed his sword fiercely to the right, creating a crackling energy beam that was aimed right at her. Luckily, Steve was quick to jump in front of her and quickly build a blockade of obsidian. The beam hit the wall, breaking it but saving Jenny. It was then Majima and Ralph leaped up from behind Galacta, sending a dual punch right at the knight. Galacta responded by swiftly spinning around and blocking their attack with his shield, and blocking Jenny and Steve with his lance. This left him wide open for Star and Marco to deliver a powerful dual kick, sending the knight straight into the ground. He puffed up his wings and flew above, but Steve (wearing his Elytra) and Star (quickly jumping onto a summoned Cloudy) gave chase.

“Star! Swerve around and try to get in front of him!” Steve said. “We’ll sandwich him!” Star nodded and did exactly that, flying low before suddenly flying right in front of the knight. Galacta, however, just simply delivered a kick right into Star’s chest. She let out a shocked cry and stumbled off of Cloudy. Steve was quick to glide down and grab her before she could hit the ground. Ralph, in retaliation, began to throw chunks of crystal and rock at the knight. After dodging a few, Galacta was struck on the right wing. But he didn’t fall. Rather, he spun around and fired off several of his energy sword beams. He also fired a bright, thick laser from the tip of his lance.

“Incoming!” Majima yelled. We all dove out of the way of the rain of projectiles, which gave Galacta just enough time to escape, opening a rift with his stolen scissors and flying into it. I let out a scream and began to run around wildly, complete nonsense spilling out of my mouth. I was stopped when Ralph grabbed me and shook me.

“Kid, relax!” He barked. “We’ll chase after him and stop him!” The others all gathered together with us, and I took a deep breath.

“Right, right, right.” I said, shaking my head. “It’s just hard. Galacta Knight… he…” I paused. “You get it.”

“All we need to know is where he went”, Jenny said.

Majima nodded. “I say we head back to Marco-chan’s place. Maybe Star-chan’s mirror can help.”

Star looked to the side. “Hang on, I need to check something…” She ran off, leaving us all confused. She then ran back, her face twisted in utter shock and horror, which made my heart stop for a moment. “I know where he is.”

“Where?” Marco asked.

Star just started pacing silently, her eyes remaining bugged out all the while. I walked up to her. “Star, what did he do?”

“History…” She said in fear. “He looked through Rhombulous’ photo album of all my ancestors.” She looked at me, tears threatening to leave her eyes. “He’s going after my mom. Her photo was taken out and destroyed.”

That made all of us fall silent. Star, completely wordlessly, pulled out her scissors and opened a portal to her home, and we all rushed through to save the queen and king.

~X~

Uh oh, looks like Moon and River are going to be steamrolled by a one-man army if our misfits don’t step in and save the day! (Or are they?) Galacta will put up one hell of a final fight, so they better be ready.

Also, we are officially 1/4 of the way through this adventure! Wow...

Up next: The gang faces the greatest warrior for a battle to determine the fate of Mewni

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

When we all stepped onto Mewman grounds, I found that we were on a cliff that was overlooking the whole kingdom. Butterfly Castle stood strong in the centre of the town, the sounds of an active population hitting my ears. One thing was clearly apparent…

“I was expecting it to be…” Majima said slowly. “More on fire…”

“I guess Galacta just isn’t here yet?” Steve suggested.

“Or he just set that up to trick us.” Jenny said. “He’s either off attacking somewhere else, or did this so he can plan something else.”

Star just watched her home over silently, the wind blowing her hair like a flag. Me and Marco shared looks, and then walked to either side of her. Marco put a hand on her shoulder, while I just looked over the kingdom with the princess.

“I’m sorry I caused this, Star…” I said sadly. Star and Marco looked at me with sad looks.

“Caleb, this isn’t your fault.” Marco said carefully.

“I know… I just can’t help that I’m still partially responsible.” I looked to the side and kicked a pebble off the cliff. “If I just recognized Galacta’s crystal sooner, then we wouldn’t be in this mess…”

Star suddenly hugged me close, but I didn’t reciprocate. “Caleb-Cat, it’s cool. None of this is your fault. You’ve been such an amazing friend for me and Marco, and I can’t be happier.”

I felt my whole world come to a screeching halt when Star called me that. Caleb-Cat. I hadn’t been called that since… since forever ago. I didn’t scream, however. I didn’t rage, I didn’t cry, I didn’t laugh. I just simply turned around and hugged back.

“We’ll figure this out.” She let me go, and she and Marco both smiled brightly at me. “We just gotta stick together.”

I smiled at the two of them, then looked at the others. They were all smiling at me, and I saw Gladius give off a nod. My smile grew, and I looked back to the magical princess. “You’re right.” I said. “We came this far. Some puffy knight isn’t gonna stop us anytime soon.”

“YEAH!” Everyone cheered.

“So, what’s the plan?” Majima said as he adjusted his gloves.

“Let’s get back to my place”, Marco said. “We don’t know where Galacta is, so we can use this as a chance to get prepared.”

“Good call, Diaz!” Star said while shooting her friend a finger gun. She pulled out her scissors, twirled them around dangerously, then cut open another rift. We all followed after her and stepped back into her room. Marco quickly left so he could check up on his parents; Jenny, Ralph, Steve and Majima left so they could make up a plan; Hilda, Vanellope, Alfur, Twig and Gladius all left to relax after the stressful day. That left me and Star alone in the princess’ room. Said princess let out a shaky breath and walked over to the edge of her balcony. I carefully walked over to her side, and I was quick to notice how… unusually quiet.

“Hey, Star…” I began slowly. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah…” She said, “Just thinking. I guess seeing Galacta Knight in action made me realise how… how small I am.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Galacta isn’t like anything I’ve seen”, she continued. “It just makes me see that… I’m me, in not just a massive universe, but a whole multiverse with people stronger than even my family. It makes me feel so small…”

I looked at her quietly, taking in what she said, then looked forward to the city. “I get what you mean…”

Star looked at me in confusion. “You do?”

I sighed. “Yep. Whenever I would leave my safe space at home, I’d always feel so small, just enough that people could walk over me because they were smarter, stronger, more creative, whatever…” I looked down at my hands. “I would watch cartoons, play video games and read so I could escape that. You, Ralph, Jenny, and many others became my heroes because you could do all these impossible lives with amazing friends, crazy powers, and fantastic worlds. You all had the sort of life… I longed for…” I fell silent as nothing but the sound of the breeze flowing through the trees and passing cars echoed in my mind. Star looked at me with a shocked face, then slowly brought me into a one arm hug. I leaned into her, accepting the embrace. We stayed like that for a few minutes.

“Well…” Star said sweetly after a bit. “I guess it’s not all bad, being so small. It just means the friends I make are that much more special.” She smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back. We separated and Star stood proud. “No matter what happens, you can count on me and Marco.”

“I know I can, Star”, I said with a laugh. “Also, about earlier when you called me Caleb-Cat…”

“I just felt like it suits you”, she beamed. Her smile then fell and she tilted her head slightly. “Why? Do you not like being called that?”

“No, no, you can call me that”, I said. “I just haven’t been called Caleb-Cat in a long time.” Star smiled and skipped off, heading to her vanity where her spell book was.

I took a deep breath and left her to her own devices, leaving her room and heading downstairs. Marco, Vanellope and Hilda were all together chatting in the dining room with Rafael and Angie, Twig was sleeping on the couch with Alfur sitting on him flipping through his notebook, and Gladius was looking out the window. I walked up to the sword, and he faced me.

“Ah, Caleb, how are things?” He asked in a jolly tone.

“Fine. Well, as fine as they can be with a planet destroying knight running around”, I said with a shrug. Gladius laughed once, and I joined him looking out the window. “Where did Ralph and the others go?”

“Out”, the sword said. “They were going to do a sweep of the town, then head to a taco stand after before coming back.”

I nodded, my head becoming distracted as I looked to the sky and began to watch the clouds. I began to make out shapes within them, from a dog, to a dragon, and finally a shoe. It put a smile on my face, so I left Galdius’ side and went into the made my way to the backyard. I pet Twig as I passed him, waved to Vanellope and the others, and walked out into the fresh air. I spread my arms out wide and closed my eyes as the wind hit my skin. But then I could faintly notice a magenta light form, so I peeked open an eye. A magenta rift had formed over my head, and I instantly felt my heartbeat skyrocket as I recognized it. I dove out of the way as the rift fired a powerful laser that passed over everything, a loud rumbling hitting my ears. After the laser stopped and the rift dissipated, Gladius, Vanellope, Hilda and Marco all rushed outside with looks of shock.

“Caleb, what the heck happened?!” Marco shouted as he helped me up. Hilda began to investigate where the laser struck.

“Galacta”, I said as I gripped onto my friend tightly. “That was one of his attacks…”

“He was here?!” Vanellope screeched. “How? Why?!”

“Caleb!” We all looked up to see Star leaning over her balcony, then quickly ride Cloudy down to the rest of us. She rushed to my side and wrapped me into a bearhug, but I was still so shaken about my near death experience that I wasn’t uncomfortable. Vanellope began to glitch around furiously; Gladius soared high trying to see if he could find the knight; Hilda, now joined by Twig and Alfur, continued to investigate where the laser fired. All that was running through my mind, however, was pure terror.

~X~

I was currently lying on Star’s bed staring up to the ceiling. It had only been an hour since Galacta’s attempt on my life, and I was still so out of it. As soon as I was brought in and helped into the princess’ bed, Gladius flew off to find the others and tell them what had happened. They rushed back instantly, and now they were all talking while I recovered.

“This is ridiculous”, Ralph said. “We need to find this freak now. Star, are you sure nothing’s happened anywhere else?”

Star nodded with a concerned look. “I asked Pony Head when Gladdy went to get you guys, and she said nothing had happened. He might just be messing with us.”

“Yeah, by trying to kill Caleb!” Jenny screeched. She then took out her chest screen. “I’m finding this monster myself. He’s got to be somewhere…”

“But we don’t know where he could be!” Steve countered. “Heck, by the time we find him, it could be too late!”

“We need to think of something…” Majima inquired. At that point, the somewhat calm discussion devolved into a bitter argument, Jenny arguing to go after Galacta, Ralph and Steve arguing against that, and everyone else voicing their own opinions. It gave me a headache, so I quietly groaned and rolled over.

That didn’t work.

So I decided to cover my ears with one of Star’s pillows.

Didn’t work.

I hid under the blanket.

Still could hear everything crystal clear.

I used both the pillow and the blanket.

Still nothing.

That’s when I had it. Filled with frustration, I grabbed one of the other pillows and tossed it right at Ralph’s face. He stumbled back, silenced instantly, and everyone followed suit. After the wrecker got the pillow off his face, everyone looked at me. I grunted in frustration and draped the blanket back over me, rolling so my back was facing them.

“Arguing won’t get us anywhere…” I growled. All I got in response was silence, then the sounds of everyone leaving me in the room. But I could tell someone stuck behind, and I was okay with it.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop them, my friend”, Gladius said. He hovered over to me while I sat up, letting out a shaky sigh.

“It’s fine…” I responded with a shake of my head. “All of this is just stressful…”

“It feels like Galacta is always one step ahead of us”, Gladius continued. “I don’t understand why…”

I nodded absentmindedly, but then something felt off about that. “Always one step ahead…” I said quietly as I stood up and began to pace in thought.

“Caleb, what’s wr-” Gladius started, but I held up a finger to silence him. I said nothing as I paced, the gears in my head cranking at 110%. Something about that phrase made me terrified, but I couldn’t tell why. I then looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall…

Wait…

Clock…

Time…

That’s when I felt my heart lodge in my throat, the pieces falling into place. I stared at the clock with a horrified expression, grabbed Gladius, and rushed out of the room. “GUYS!!!!!” I screamed as I ran down the stairs. I nearly fell over as I made a sharp turn into the kitchen. All of the gang watched with wide-eyes as I rushed over and pulled a shocked Star out of her chair. A dizzy Gladius wiggled out of my grasp, falling to the ground.

“Caleb! What the heck!” Star said, caught off guard by my actions.

“I know where Galacta is.” I said, my breath heavy. This made everyone share looks.

“You did? Where?” Jenny shot out of her chair, slamming both of her hands onto the table.

I didn’t acknowledge her. “Star, remember when you accidentally froze time?”

Star gave me a confused look. “Uhhhh… yeah?”

“Where did you have to go to fix it?”

“Well, me and Marco had to help Father Time-” She fell silent as it clicked for her. It did for Marco, too, as he shot out of his chair so fast it nearly fell over. He and Star shared looks, then looked back at me with faces of pure horror and terror. I didn’t even think their pupils could get so small.

“You can’t be serious”, Star said. I grimly nodded, and she let out a terrified squeak. Marco quickly rushed to my side as the princess fumbled with her scissors.

“Guys, what the heck is going on?” Ralph asked in concern, standing up alongside the others.

“Galacta Knight is somewhere really bad”, I said, “That could spell doom for all of Star and Marco’s universe.” Star finally was able to open a rift and rush in, followed closely by me and Marco, then all the others. On the other side was a vast desert with streams, rivers and lakes all blanketed under a beautiful night sky. All around were clocks and hourglasses of all kinds, many of them looking as if they were warped or melted.

“Where… are we?” Alfur asked from his perch on Hilda’s beret.

“The Plains of Time”, Marco explained. “Basically the place where you can mess with time.”

That made Steve release a sudden breath. “And you think this is where Galacta Knight is?”

“Yep”, I said, darting my head around. “There’s a place here where you can view all of the universe’s history, and I think that’s what Galacta used to almost kill me. He’s hiding here…”

“I just hope Father Time is okay…” Star said in a fearful tone. She looked around, but a loud boom brought our attention to the right, and I almost fainted. In the distance, we could see a blue man with a long white beard and white cloak riding on a gear that was being pulled by two large hamsters. He was being chased by a very aggressive Galacta Knight, who was firing sword and blade beams at a scary rate. Star screamed at the top of her lungs and fired a massive volley of crystal dagger hearts, which blindsided Galacta and knocked him away. Star then ran towards the blue man, who actually stopped the gear and jumped off, bending over in exhaustion. Star immediately bolted at him, and the rest of us followed.

Majima looked off in the direction of where the knight went. “He’s probably getting really pissed that we keep ambushing him.” None of us said anything in response, although Ralph did shoot the man a glare. Star and Marco rushed to the man’s side and looked him over.

“Father Time!” Marco cried. “Are you okay?!”

Father Time let out a cough, then stretched. “I’m okay now that you’re here.” He said. “That weirdo starts chasing me whenever he pops on in. Wonder what his deal is?”

“That’s Galacta Knight”, I spoke up, earning his attention. “He’s a warrior who basically wants to kill anything in his way.”

Father Time let out a whistle. “Well, guess that means I should get out of here, huh?” He hopped back onto the gear and grabbed the reins that were attached to the hamsters. “See ya’, kids!” He sped off before anyone could ask anything else. Star and Marco both breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly had to dodge when a recovered Galacta Knight rushed past all of us.

You could practically see the steam blow out of Ralph’s nose as he glared fiercely at the knight, who had turned around and was making another advance. “READY FOR ROUND THREE, YOU OVERSIZED PIDGEON?!” Galacta Knight didn’t flinch at the insult, but what happened next surprised us all.

Ralph, Jenny and Majima, all banded together, grabbed Galacta’s lance, stopping him dead in his tracks. His shield began to glow, readying up to fire a beam, but the trio all used their combined strength to flip the knight over and slam him into the ground.

We all stared, gobsmacked, until I jumped up in celebration. “YEAH YOU GUYS!”

Galacta recovered quickly, but instead of fleeing, he counter attacked, slashing his lance. The trio dodged, and the fight was on. Jenny and Majima stayed right in his face, clashing their weapons with his lance and shield. Steve and Star hung a bit back, Keeping the pressure on with projectile spam. Ralph and Marco, meanwhile, made sure me and the girls were behind cover first before rushing in to help. We all watched the brawl from afar.

“We have to do something”, Hilda said, cringing as Marco and Jenny collided with each other when Galacta spun around, surrounding himself in a tornado.

“Yeah!” Vanellope agreed. “We can’t sit here and do nothing as our friends get tossed around!” On cue, Ralph got thrown back and rolled across the ground, but quickly recovered and charged at the knight again.

I looked at Gladius, who sighed. “As much as I’m all for keeping you all safe, I agree. We need to help.”

I nodded, then began to look around as the battle raged on. My eyes eventually fell on one of the many clocks that were scattered around. I glanced at the battle, my heart screaming as everyone was sent back when the knight unleashed a powerful slash. I quickly grabbed the clock I was eyeing and rushed over to the knight with fury in my eyes. Gladius called my name, but I ignored him as I lifted the clock over my head, and smashed it over Galacta’s head. Hard. The sound of shattering glass and cracking metal echoed across the desert as the knight slumped down, , using his lance to give him a little support. But then he slowly rose once again, I retaliated quickly by smashing the clock over him again, but he was quick to block it and glare at me.

“Oh no you don’t!” Steve called. Before Galacta could do anything, Steve fired a volley of fireworks at the knight, blasting him away from me and into a nearby body of water. Jenny then stretched her arms out and pulled me to safety.

“Next time you want to play hero”, she told me, “Don’t just blindly smash bad guys over the head, K?” I nodded at her, then turned my attention to the body of water Galacta fell in. The water was still, so Jenny let me go and we all carefully approached. We all looked in, but nothing more happened.

“Is that it?” Majima asked.

“Feels a bit… anticlimactic.” Alfur said.

“Maybe he just hates fireworks that much?” Steve said, putting away his fireworks. I just hummed, my mind crying out that this wasn’t it. But Star clearing her throat snapped me out of our thoughts, and we all turned to her.

“Well, now that that’s over with”, she said, pulling out her scissors. “Let’s get out of here.” Everyone made noises of agreement except me, and Star went to open a rift…

Only for Galacta Knight to burst out of the water and land on the ground right in front of all of us. We all froze and stared at him, his back facing us. He then looked behind him, his burning magenta eye piercing through us. He then opened a rift with his own scissors and went through. But the rift didn’t close.

“What is he doing?” Ralph asked. Everyone began to share worried looks and quietly talked, but I just stared at the rift. I then glared at it.

“He wants us to follow him…”, I said, earning everyone’s attention. I began to walk up to the rift as I spoke. “This is him saying that he’s ready for a proper fight, both sides ready to fight. This is his last stand.” I faced the others with a determined look. “It’s time we finish this. You guys all with me?”

Ralph struck his fists together and cracked his knuckles.

Vanellope glitched slightly as her face formed a serious glare.

Jenny transformed both of her hands into swords as steam bellowed from her arms.

Steve equipped a whole set of diamond armour and pulled out a diamond sword.

Majima took out his bat and swung it around, laughing like a maniac.

Hilda brushed her bangs off her face as Alfur sighed.

Twig let out an angry growl.

Star twirled her wand as it began to glow a bright pink.

Marco took a deep breath and adjusted his sweater.

Gladius hovered right in front of me and spun so he was blade up, and I grabbed hold of him. I shared a look with everyone, and when they all nodded, I led the charge through the rift.

~X~

I steadied myself as I stepped onto the ground of wherever Galacta was waiting for us. As I took in the surroundings, a sudden ringing hit my ears that was so bad I nearly fainted. But a bright flash snapped me out of that, and I looked at Star to see she was wearing a blue bubble over her head.

“That was close…” she said as she helped me to my feet.

“What just happened?” I asked.

“We’re in space”, Vanellope said. I looked at the others, and just like Star, everyone had a blue bubble over their heads, except Jenny and Gladius. I quickly came to the conclusion Star quickly cast a spell so none of us would suffocate.

As everyone recovered from nearly dying, I began to look around again, and that’s when I noticed we were on a moon. How? Because of the giant planet that eclipsed us, its clouds dancing over the pink and green surface.

“Holy shit”, Majima said in a stunned tone. “I’m in space. Awesome, now I have something to rub in Kiryu-Chan’s face the next time I see him.”

Jenny studied the planet carefully, then extended her eyes out like telescopes. After a moment, she gasped. “Star, this is the moon that’s over Mewni!”

“What?!” Star cried. Jenny opened her chest so the screen could be seen, and just like she said, what came up on screen was an overhead view of Butterfly Castle, still standing strong. Star’s breathing hitched.

“Well, this is one heck of a final battle arena…” Gladius chimed in. I was still staring up at the planet, but was pulled away when he wiggled in my grasp.

“What?” I asked, looking down at him. He pointed, and a distance away from us, back turned, was Galacta Knight. I cleared my throat to get the others’ attention, and soon we were all staring at the knight in anticipation. Slowly, he turned to face us, and we all snapped into battle ready stances.

“This is it, Galacta”, Gladius said as I held him over my head defensively. “This is where you fall. No more running, no more hiding. Just us against you.”

The knight didn’t react at first. Then, after a few moments of nothing, he pointed his lance right at me, and I buckled. But I didn’t show any weakness. Galacta Knight then lowered his lance, silence falling over all of us. It was a tense few minutes as me and my friends all glared at the knight fiercely, while he stared back with his burning magenta eyes.

Then, Galacta rose his lance over himself and stabbed it down into the ground. The surface of the moon cracked, some of the chunks jolting upwards, but we dodged easily. Galacta then rushed at me, but I blocked him with Gladius. And then the brawl to save all of Star and Marco’s universe began.

As Galacta began to put in more strength against me, forcing me down, Jenny and Majima came to my rescue and bashed the knight away. He did a flip and countered as he flew back, firing a crescent beam from his shield at us. The three of us quickly dodged, using the moon’s lowered gravity to our advantage. Twig jumped onto the knight and began to viciously bite one of the knight’s wings, with him only able to shake off the deerfox after suffering several bites. Twig was sent flying, but was caught by a jumping Hilda, who was with Vanellope and had a terrified Alfur on her beret. Galacta then turned his attention to them, charging at them lance first. Just before he collided with them, the candy president quickly grabbed Hilda’s hand and glitched the two of them out of the way.

“Is that all you got?!” Vanellope taunted. Galacta lunged again, only for Vanellope to glitch the two of them away again. “C’mon, Caleb said you were The Greatest Warrior In The Galaxy, show it!” Again, the knight lunged , only to miss when Vanny glitched again.

“Seriously, you’ve been giving us all this trouble?” Hilda said, joining in insulting the knight. Galacta lunged at the two girls, spinning around wildly, only for them to step out of the way so Marco could deliver a flying kick to the knight. He just barely missed the knight’s lance, slamming the kick right into the centre of Galacta’s mask. The winged harbinger of doom was launched back, right to an awaiting Ralph, who delivered a devastating uppercut that catapulted the knight upwards.

This was where Star struck. She rode Cloudy right at the stunned Galacta, casting a spell that surrounded her in rainbow coloured fire, and she charged full force at the knight. She was assisted by Steve, who fired off a bunch of fireworks and TNT from a redstone contraption he quickly put together, and Jenny, who fired powerful blue lasers from her chest, eyes and hands. All of the projectiles merged with the fire around Star, and before Galacta could react, he was hit full force. What ensued was a massive multi-coloured explosion that swallowed the knight. The shockwave from the blast almost knocked me to my feet, but luckily Gladius caught me before I fell.

Star returned to the surface of the moon and unsummoned Cloudy, and rushed right at Marco and tackled him in a massive bear hug. Ralph perched Vanellope, Hilda and Twig on his shoulders and they all cheered. Jenny, Steve and Majima all cheered and fist-bumped, proud smiles plastered on their faces. Meanwhile, me and Gladius shared a look, smiling at our friend’s celebration, then looked back up at the rainbow cloud leftover from the explosion. Just when I felt like we had done it, a couple powerful shockwaves came from the center of the cloud, blowing it away and forcing all of us to brace and cover our faces. After it stopped, we all looked up.

Galacta Knight remained in the air, his mask down so we couldn’t see his eyes. Then, as we all were prepping for round two, Galacta spun around and became surrounded in a faded, glowing orange aura. His lance also lit up in magenta flames, and I wanted to scream.

I could hear the electric guitar start to play in my head.

Galacta knight unleashed hell on us, summoning dozens of lightning bolts and flame pillars, which made us all scatter apart as we dodged the onslaught. The flying cataclysm then used his lance to slice open several rifts that all fired their own massive, layered over reality laser like the one from earlier today. I screamed my lungs out as Gladius soared around, dodging all the chaos that was happening around us. And all the while, I could only watch in horror as each and every one of my friends all fell to the endless barrage of attacks, and I felt fiery rage build up inside me.

“Gladius!” I yelled at the blade. “We need to take out Galacta!”

“Are you nuts?!” The sword cried back, swerving out of the way of a flame pillar.

“Do you want this freak to kill the others?!” I screamed back. He fell silent, then sharply turned, bolting right at the knight. He was luckily distracted just enough so Gladius could ram into him and knock him to the ground. This stopped the onslaught on the others, who were able to get away just far enough to recover. I took this as my opportunity to take on Galacta on my own, and I was so set on it that I blatantly ignored my friends’ protests.

Galacta Knight recovered from my blow, but could just barely defend himself as I landed next to him and began to swing Gladius around. The two of us clashed viciously, sparks flying as Gladius and the lance smashed together. As the two of us danced around, Galacta’s better mobility giving him a massive advantage, I began to notice the moon was falling apart. Where we were fighting was slowly sinking, while other chunks around us began to float up. I felt my adrenaline spike as I dealt a deadly blow to the knight, then another, then another, and then another.

Galacta was able to push me back slightly, and did cut me every now and then, but I didn’t let up. As we sunk lower and lower into the moon, I let my pure rage fuel me as I fought the knight. He made an attempt to fly out of the hole we were slowly falling in, but I only chased after him, pouncing and slamming him into the ground. Galacta struggled to stand up after that, and I took that as my chance, I ran at him, Gladius held high…

And suddenly did a dash of black and white lightning, slashing Galacta Knight one final time.

The knight suddenly did a little hop and froze in midair, becoming swallowed in a white like. Then, like the power within him was trying to break free, he began to snap to different points above us, a loud banging sound after each one. Then he snapped one final time, sucked in more light, then released it all and fell gently to the ground, lance and shield next to him. I looked at the defeated knight with overwhelming joy, only to shakily release Gladius and fall over. Luckily, Ralph was there to catch me before I hit the ground, and I smiled as the relieved, happy smiles of my friends entered my vision.

“Caleb, that was amazing!” Vanellope cheered. Her ponytail was undone and her skirt and sweater were slightly torn.

“Yeah, kid, you’re a goddamn champion”, Majima praised. His suit was torn, one of his gloves was off, and his eyepatch’s design was scratched.

I was met with similar praise from the others, and it made me weakly laugh. “Thanks, you guys…” I said, taking slow breaths. “That was intense, but I’m glad it’s finally over.” Just then, Galacta slowly shifted and began to rise once again. This made everyone go into attack mode.

“What, still not done?!” Jenny, most of her paint chipped and her right arm damaged. “Well, we’re looking forward to have a turn with the freak that almost killed us!” Everyone charged at the knight, Ralph still holding me close, only for them all to stop dead in their tracks when Galacta held up a hand. He rose back up so he was back in his usual idle, hovering a few inches above the ground.

“I will admit”, the knight said, his voice deep and with a slight echo. “That was the most fierce battle I have ever had.”

My brain immediately crashed. “You can talk?!” I shouted, shooting upright quickly, only to cringe in pain and lean back into Ralph.

“Yes. I can”, the knight continued. “I must apologise for my actions. Because of who I was made to be, it was hard to fight back against that urge.”

I looked at him. “You know?”

“I do”, he said. “I know what I am, about the other worlds, and about who you are.” He hovered closer, but Jenny, Majima, Steve and Star defensively aiming their weapons at him made him stop. “I am simply just a video game boss. One that you seem to care a lot about.”

I blushed slightly. “So what you’re my favourite Kirby boss…” that earned me flabbergasted looks from the others, but they didn’t say anything.

“I must say I am flattered”, Galacta said with a bow. “And, also, thank you.”

We all looked at him in confusion. “Thank you?” We all asked simultaneously.

“Yes. You see, this Galacta you’re talking with right now”, he gestured to himself, “Is what I wished to become after seeing things about the multiverse I shouldn’t have. In that crystal, I became this. A knight that longed for freedom, for something more in life.” He turned away from us. “I saw many stories of love, loss, betrayal, sadness and triumph. All of them carving me into who I am.”

“But, how?” I asked.

“Because of what I am.” He looked over at us, his eyes almost reflecting a slight sadness. “I was stuck in limbo. I was neither canon nor non-canon. It made me isolated and alone, trapped with no way to escape. Until you passed by.” He faced us again. “Your friend”, he pointed at Gladius, “Pulled me out of my universe, and I knew you could be the key to finally freeing me. So I used all my power to keep you from opening portals.”

“It was you!” Steve shouted accusingly.

“It was”, the knight admitted, “But it was all so I could finally become who I wanted to. Once I was freed, however, my ‘programmed’ self took over, fighting to keep my dream from coming true. Until now, when you bested me in battle.”

All of us remained silent, taking in everything he said. “So basically what you mean is…”, Ralph said, “That you’re cool now?”

Galacta rolled his eyes. “Yes, it does.”

Twig seemed to buy it, as he carefully walked towards the knight. Hilda went to stop him, but Galacta gently picking up the deerfox and petting him calmed us all down. I stepped onto the ground and slowly approached the knight, who set the deerfox down and gave me his full attention. We both stood there in silence for a moment before the knight bowed.

“Caleb, I cannot thank you enough”, he said. “You have freed me. Nothing I can give will be able to make up for that.”

I nodded. “It’s cool, Galacta.” I faced the others. “How about let’s get out of here. I’m exhausted.”

“Ditto that, kid”, Ralph said with a nod. Everyone else made groans of agreement, and Star pulled out her scissors.

“Wait”, Galacta said, holding up his hand. He then pulled out Ludo’s stolen scissors. “I wish to return these to the wreckage of your adversary’s castle first. These are a horrible reminder of what I have done here, and I wish to move on.

“Sure”, Star said with a shrug. “But then we are going back to my place, and I am sleeping for a whole day.” She sliced open a rift, and we all followed after her. Galacta Knight was quick to grab his shield and lance, placing them on his back before heading through. The rift closed and we found ourselves at the ruins of what once was Ludo’s castle.

“I completely forgot about that little fucker”, I heard Majima whisper, “Wonder how the little shit is doing?” I heard Steve giggle at that, and I rolled my eyes. Galacta, meanwhile, paid no mind to them and tossed the scissors into the rubble.

“Alright, all done!” Jenny said impatiently. Star opened another rift and made a move to step through, but when Galacta didn’t move, we all stopped.

“Is everything okay, Galacta?” Hilda asked.

Galacta didn’t face us, choosing to look over the destruction. “I never thought I would get this far”, he said, “But now I don’t know what to do. I’ve hurt so much, so maybe it’s best I stay here and wait till I can go back to my home universe.” He sighed sadly. “Perhaps it’s for the best. I am nothing but a mindless killing machine.”

I couldn’t help but feel bad for the knight. But as I looked at him, an idea popped into my head. “Why don’t you come with us?” I offered.

“What?” Everyone sans Galacta said in disbelief.

Galacta slightly turned, one of his magenta eyes looking back at me. “You’d let me join you on your adventure? Even after everything I’ve done to all of you?”

I nodded. “I know it seems cheesy, but I get what you want. I was in your same place. I had a crappy life, where I couldn’t really be who I wanted to be, until I moved on. I can’t leave you behind after what you told us.”

This made the knight fully face me. Despite his mask, I could tell he was smiling. “You are an anomaly, Caleb. A boy accidently brought here from outside, moulded by what he loved.” He shook his face, but then looked at me. “There’s something to admire about you. Perhaps when all of this is over, I can teach you and the sword how to fence.”

I beamed at that. “That would be amazing! C’mon, the sooner we rest up, the sooner we can go!” I suddenly sprinted into the portal, the others letting out sweet laughs before following after me.

~X~

I woke up with a loud yawn, sitting up from the pile of mattresses that resided in Star’s room. After finally getting back, Star blasted all of us with a healing spell that slowly helped us all recover our injuries. The only one who couldn’t be fixed was Jenny, because she was mechanical. While she was upset she still couldn’t fix her pigtail, Star and Hilda helped redo her paint, and Steve was able to at least patch up her arm. After that, we all instantly went to bed and fell asleep, all the running around having drained us completely.

I did a big stretch and hopped out from under the blankets, put my shoes on, and began to make my way to the bedroom’s door. I stopped, however, when I noticed Galacta Knight hovering on the balcony. I walked up to him, a smile on my face.

“Hey Galacta”, I greeted. “Sleep well?”

Galacta looked over at me, then nodded. “Yes, I did. It was nice to finally get proper rest that wasn’t trapped in that crystal prison.”

I smiled a tiny bit more. “Yeah, I bet.” I then looked back into the room. ‘By the way, where are the others?”

“In the backyard”, He said. I looked over the balcony’s wall, and sure enough, all of the gang were there, fired up and ready to go. “I chose to stay behind so I could greet you when you woke.” He then mumbled, “Gladius was right when he said you were a heavy sleeper.”

I scoffed and rolled my eyes playfully. “Nothing wrong with that, buddy.”

Galacta grunted. “Do you wish for me to take you down?” He offered.

I looked at him, thought for a moment, then silently agreed with a nod. I held my hands up as the knight hovered above me and grabbed them with his own, and he carefully carried me down to the others. They all stopped chatting about whatever and smiled as Galacta set me down. I stumbled a bit, but recovered. The knight went and joined the others. I smiled at them all, then turned to Star and Marco.

“You two ready for this?” I asked them.

“You bet!” Star said excitedly. “I’ve been counting the days since you showed up!”

I laughed at her enthusiasm, and Marco nodded. “Yep”, he began. He flashed me his backpack. “Got everything I need.”

My smile grew wider, and I finally turned to Gladius, who was hovering by my side. “Ready to get going, Caleb?”

“You bet”, I said with a nod. I grabbed his handle, but before I opened the portal, I faced everyone. “Are you guys all ready to get going?”

“You betcha’, kid”, Ralph said with a smile.

“Heck yeah, Glasses!” Vanellope cheered from Ralph’s shoulder.

“The sooner we get going, the better”, Jenny said with a smirk.

“More to explore…” Steve began.

“...More to discover.” Alfur finished.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Majima said confidently.

“No time like the present”, Hilda said with a half shrug, Twig barking happily by her side.

“Ooooo, I wonder if we’ll meet other magical princesses!” Star said in wonder.

“Well, I hope not. One is already enough”, Marco joked, earning a light shove from the princess.

“Whatever happens, nothing will be able to stop us”, Galacta Knight reaffirmed.

I beamed at all of my friends, my eyes almost unleashing the tears that were building up. But I blinked and faced away, my smile not leaving my face as I slashed Gladius at the sir in front of me, opening the multi-coloured portal I oh so missed.

“C’mon guys-” I started, only to suddenly trip on a clump of grass and fall through.

“CALEB!” I heard everyone cry as I spun through, all of them following after me.

~X~

And so ends the Galacta Arc. This was my most favourite arc to write so far, and I couldn’t be happier how it turned out. This whole story is coming together so nicely.

Up next: the gang finds themselves caught in the middle of a war between the undead and botany.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I was currently resting on Ralph’s back as we all coasted through the stained glass portal. Galacta was able to stop me from tumbling all the way through, and set me on the wrecker’s back. I sighed in relief as Gladius glided on over to check on me, and I smiled, telling him I was okay. After that, we all grouped up and flew through the portal at a stable pace. I smiled over at Star and Marco, who were both riding on Cloudy, and Galacta, who was gliding next to Steve and Majima. I felt so free, so happy. So much so I let out a loud, happy sigh and fell backwards, lying on my back on my large friend.

Ralph chuckled a bit. “Feeling better, kid?”

“You know it”, I said happily. I sat back up. “I’m so ready to be heading on our way. It was nice to stay at Marco’s place, but I just want to get home. Hopefully we don’t have much farther to go…”

“You never know, Caleb”, Jenny said, “You’ve been through so many worlds already, and you met all of us.”

“She’s got a point”, Steve added. “Heck, we could have another Galacta situation for all we know.” He suddenly flinched. “Uh, no offence, Galacta.”

“None taken”, the knight said bitterly. “If this is what my mistakes created, I’ll take them to my grave.”

Vanellope, who was riding on Jenny’s back with Hilda, Twig and Alfur, scoffed. “Just be happy we didn’t leave you behind, Chicken Wing.”

“C’mon, guys, can’t we just get along?” Star whined, soaring over in the middle of all of us. “We’re all exploring the endless multiverse! The actual one”, she corrected, “So we should try and work together.”

“Star’s right”, Marco said, “So let’s try and not rip each other to shreds.”

Galacta grunted and fell silent, and Vanellope crossed her arms and pouted. Hilda giggled, and Majima let out a laugh. I rolled my eyes at my friends all bickering amongst each other, but I chose not to add anything. Gladius then sheathed himself down the back of my shirt. I looked over my shoulder and shot him a questioning look.

“I’m just resting my wings”, he said casually, “I can’t fly forever.”

I shrugged and nodded, looking back to what was in front of us. The portal continued far into the distance, no sign of the exit, so I let out a sigh and began to look around at my friends. Nothing that interesting was happening, so I cleared my throat to spark a conversation.

“So, where do you guys hope we’ll end up?” I asked everyone.

“Home”, Gladius said. I shot him an unamused look.

“I know what you want”, I spat, “I was asking the others.”

Jenny hummed in thought. “Probably a place with an inventor who can fix me up. I’m kinda frustrated I’m forced to be a walking pile of scrap.”

“I’m with Jenny”, Steve added, “Because then it could be a world where we can get an actual break. I’m getting tired of the constant danger.”

“You’re fucking right, block man”, Majima said gruffly with a nod.

“Yep”, Vanellope and Hilda said simultaneously. Twig barked in agreement with them.

“As much as I love documenting all that we’ve seen”, Alfur admitted, “It would be nice to encounter a world with… less hostile environments.” The elf shivered. “I still can’t believe Ralph and I survived that long…” Hilda looked up at her tiny friend sadly.

“Meh, I’m cool with whatever”, Star said with a shrug. “As long as I get to beat up bad guys, I’m happy.” She posed heroically, pointing her wand upward.”

“As nice as that would be”, Marco suddenly said, bringing Star’s arm down, “It would be nice to use this as a way to get in a little vacation.” Star ‘hmph’ed’ and pouted, but didn’t counter back.

“Well, an important sign is if we have a good landing or not”, Gladius brought up. “So far, they haven’t been the best…”

“What do you mean?” Marco asked.

“Well, crashing into the ground from fifty feet up”, Ralph listed off, “Crashing into a tree that wrecked Jenny’s pigtail”, the robot let out a quiet whine, “Getting through the exit one time only to slam into a wall immediately and then fall into a dumpster, falling into a forest and hitting every branch in our way, and then Galacta’s crystal ramming into Caleb.”

Star and Marco shared a cringe. “That seems rough…” Star said sympathetically.

“That’s not even considering the fact that me and Gladius nearly got electrocuted when our first portal spit us out in Game Central Station…” I said, shivering at the memory.

Majima hissed, Ralph let out a quiet “What?”, Jenny and Steve gave me sad looks, and the others all gave me their own messages of sympathy. Galacta, meanwhile, glided over to my side and pat my shoulder. I smiled up at him in silent thanks, but then my attention was drawn back ahead of us, where there was a quickly approaching white light.

“Buckle up, gang!” I shouted, “We’re coming up on our next destination!”

Everyone braced as we approached the light, and we squinted as it swallowed us.

~X~

As we all exited the portal, one by one we slid on the ground and then posed Triumphantly. Except Majima, who was released by Steve and slid on the ground, face in the dirt. We all looked at him silently, and he lifted himself up.

“Why was I the only one to eat shit?” He cursed. We all slowly looked to Steve, who sheepishly darted his eyes about. Goro glared harshly at him and tackled him to the ground. As the two of them fought, and the others either became an audience or tried to break up the brawl, I decided to take in my surroundings. We were in a crater, but judging by the blue sky and green grass, we were on Earth.

“Do you have any idea where we are, kid?” Ralph asked me as he came up to my side, putting his hands on his hips. Vanellope had hopped up onto his shoulder, and looked up at the sky.

“Hey, is it just me, or is some of the sky purple?” She said in a confused tone. Me and Ralph looked at her, then to the sky, and sure enough, just barely visible over the edge of the crater, was a misty, purple sky. It and the blue sky merged with each other, with swirly clouds scattered about.

“No, you’re right”, Hilda said as she joined us, “The sky is definitely purple.”

I hummed in suspicion, and Gladius wiggled a bit. “Do you want me to check it out, Caleb?”

“No, it’s cool”, I said, shaking my head. “We’ll check it out when those two quit their little tussle.” I jabbed a thumb at the still brawling Steve and Majima, and it seemed neither party would let up. I sighed as Ralph went to get involved, easily picking them both up and holding them apart. They clawed towards each other fruitlessly, then both growled and stopped.

“Are you two done?” Ralph asked. They both glared at each other, but silently nodded. “Good, because we need to figure out where we are-” The wrecker was cut off by an explosion that sounded to be just over the craters edge. We all froze, snapped our heads at each other with shocked looks, then all scrambled to the edge. We all poked our heads out, and I could hear the shattering glass as our eyes all bugged out at the sight.

We had somehow ended up in the middle of a full scale war. Only the two armies were… strange. One side seemed to be a bunch of mutated, child sized plants firing needles, corn cobs and oversized peas, while the other side was zombies dressed as soldiers, football players, and pirates firing back with equal force.

“How did this happen?!” Marco yelled fearfully. I was about to shout back an “I don’t know”, but something stopped me.

“DUCK!” I screamed. Everyone, sans Galacta, yelped as we ducked under a missile that soared over the crater. We watched as it suddenly began to snake around in the sky, then crashed, creating another explosion that sent some of the mutated plants and zombies airborne.

“We need to get out of here”, Jenny barked as yellow paintballs and fireballs flew overhead, “On the count of thee, we book it. Got it?” She looked at all of us, and we all nodded in return. She spun on her heel, ready to break into a sprint.

“One...” We all joined her, readying up for the dash through the active battlefield.

“Two…” Jenny stretched her neck up so she could make sure we wouldn’t instantly eat a rocket.

“Three-” We all froze once again when we all became bathed in a purple light as a loud explosion came from behind us. We all slowly and fearfully turned around to see a massive mushroom cloud with the word DOOM at its peak. I could feel the approaching shockwave reaching us fast, so I elbowed Jenny.

Done by @isa_though on Instagram

“THREE, GO GO GO!” She screamed. We all then broke into a mad dash, all of us (except the silent Galacta) screaming and yelling in terror as both armies began to fall back. I thrashed my arms around wildly over my head, Gladius attempting to help give me a speed boost. Vanellope, Hilda, Twig and Alfur were all on Ralph’s shoulders as his feet left tiny craters with how much pressure he was putting into his strides. Jenny, Steve, Majima, Star and Marco all ran ahead of us, all of them showing their panic differently. Finally, Galacta was coasting by my side, his wings stretched out as he dashed next to me. We kept running till we dove behind a typical suburban home, escaping the blast. Jenny and Galacta watched around the corner while the rest of us all began to breath heavily, still shaken up from the whole ordeal.

“I’m gonna say it”, Steve started, “I may have jinxed us.”

“YOU THINK?!” We all shouted back, glaring at the block man. He shrunk back a bit in shame, and I let out a sigh.

“But seriously, what just happened?” Star asked, throwing her arms up. At this, everyone looked at me, and I darted my eyes across them all. I groaned and hung my head.

“Yes, I know where we are…” I said in annoyance. I then quietly mumbled “I’m just a glorified tour guide now”, then cleared my throat. “We are in the Plants Vs Zombies franchise. Kinda self-explanatory.”

Everyone stared at me vacantly. “That’s it?” Vanellope said. “It’s that simple. Sure, we didn’t duck under a rocket and run from a massive explosion.”

I shot her an annoyed look. “One side is the Plants, led by Crazy Dave to protect their city of Neighbourville, the other side is the Zombies, led by Dr.Zomboss, bent of eating all the brains in Neighbourville.” I sighed. “The franchise had shooter spin-offs, which is what happened.”

Vanellope leaned back against the side of Ralph’s head. “Better.” Ralph gave her a weird look.

“Well, that’s great”, Majima snarled. “We end up right in the middle of open warfare. For fucks sake.”

“I suggest we find a safe haven away from the battle”, Galacta suggested. “Preferably on the side of the plants.”

“My thoughts exactly”, Gladius said, choosing to unsheathe himself and hover next to me. He flew up high above all of us, and after a bit came back down. “There’s a large white mansion over in that direction, and it has a lot of plants around it.”

“Well, it’s worth to check it out.” Hilda said with a shrug. We all agreed with her, and thus began the long trek through the streets. As we walked, it became very apparent how empty the whole place was.

“This place is… spooky…” Star said.

“Yeah, where is everyone?” Alfur asked. “Was this war so severe they were all evacuated?”

“Nope”, a fearful voice suddenly said, making all of us jump. Galacta and Majima defensively whirled around to the source of the noise, weapons drawn, and we all followed suit. But all we were greeted with was nothing, aside from a pair of eyes poking through an open mail slot.

“Uhh…” We all said, sharing looks.

“Everyone just locked themselves inside”, the man continued to explain fearfully, “You should too. Be sure to knock four times.”

“Why?” Jenny asked in a confused tone.

“The zombies can only count to three”, the man finished, closing the mail slot. We all lowered our weapons/defensive stances, and blinked in shock, not saying anything.

“This place is weird…”, Steve said in a quiet tone.

“Let’s just get out of here”, I said, not taking my eyes off the door.

“Agreed”, Everyone said at the same time. We all returned to walking down the street silently, occasionally taking in the sights around us. On a tall hill in the distance, a building resembling a sports arena with the sign called the FUNDERDOME, a radio tower on the opposite end, a large tyrannosaurus skeleton on top of what looked to be a museum, and far off in the distance, under where the purple sky was, looked to be a thriving metropolis.

I hummed to myself as we walked, my mind wandering to other places as Hilda to her right. “Uhhhhh… guys?” She said in a worried tone, pulling on my sleeve. I shook my head and looked down at her, and she pointed to our right. I followed her hand, and I saw something that made me smile.

It was an Ice Pea, its blue head and crown of ice crystals just as I remembered.

“It’s cool, Hilda”, I said to her, “That’s an Ice Pea. One of the many, many plants.”

“Oh”, she said simply. The young adventurer slowly walked up to the plant, holding her hand out. Ralph and Jenny made a move to stop her, but I held up an arm to stop them. Hilda placed her hand on the Ice Pea’s head, and it let out a happy kazoo like noise, leaning into her touch. The girl let out a happy giggle, and Twig, filled with curiosity, walked up and began to start smelling the plant before he let out a happy bark.

“I’ll admit”, Majima said, “The little bastard is cute.” Steve nodded.

Me and Vanellope walked up to Hilda, and while she joined in giving attention to the plant, I knelt down.

“Hi there, little guy”, I said in a sweet tone, “What’s with you being all here alone.”

The Ice Pea pointed one of the peapods that were attached to its stem at me.

“You were looking for me?” I put a hand on my chest.

The Ice Pea shook its head, making a kazoo noise as it pointed to all of us.

“Oh, so you came to get us? Where were you going to take us?”

The Ice Pea pointed over in the distance, and when I followed, I could see a massive white mansion on a hill.

“We got to go there?”

The ice Pea nodded with a happy kazoo noise.

I stood up and looked back at the rest of the gang. “Looks like we got our ticket away from the war.”

“Yes”, Vanellope said, hanging on the ‘s’. She glitched onto Ralph’s shoulder, and Hilda and Twig ran up to my side. The small Ice Pea smiled, and spun around, leading us forward down the road. As the plant began to break into a happy march, Hilda, Twig and Vanellope joined in. Soon Star, Marco and Majima did too, and the six of them all marched behind the Ice Pea with massive smiles. The rest of us all laughed at the scene, so we all happily joined in. Even Galacta joined in, his eyes flashing with a subtle happy glint. We all marched down the street with powerful strides until we came up to a barn-like structure surrounded by a wooden wall. Our new Ice Pea friend let out a triumphant call, and a sunflower with an army cadet hat and an eyepatch came skipping up.

“Nice job, you pulled in the stragglers”, she playfully pet the Ice Pea’s head. She then looked at us with a massive smile. “My name is Major Sweetie! You’re lucky I spotted you all during that last battle. Didn’t want you to get trampled by the Zombies.”

“Uhhhh… thanks”, I said in an unsure tone. I then shook my head. “We just got a bit… lost, so this little guy really helped us.” I nodded at the Ice Pea, who let out a happy noise.

“This is Private Frosty”, Major Sweetie said, “He’s a new recruit, and I thought helping get you back to Dave Manor was a perfect mission for him!” She gestured for us to follow, and as we did she continued talking. “I never thought tourists would ever be brave enough to tackle our little ol’ city. Neighbourville’s name is known the world over, so people tend to avoid it at all costs.”

“We… were just stopping by”, Jenny said slowly.

Sweetie seemed to have bought it. “Which is why you’re here. Dave Manor is the safest place around, so you can hang out there till you can get going.” She then cupped her mouth. “HEY PENNY!”

We all jumped at her volume, but then watched as a camper RV with wings and jet engines hovered down and landed in front of us.

“Yes, Major Sweetie?” The RV asked in a robotic voice.

“Get these civilians to Dave Manor”, the sunflower said, “I got a feeling the Zombies will fire another attack.”

“Of course”, Penny responded. Her door swung open, and we all slowly began to file in. But I stopped when I felt a weight on my shoulder, and looked to see Private Frosty looking up at me cutely.

“He can head up with you”, Major Sweetie said, “He’s not combat ready just yet, so I’ll be happier if he’s out of harm’s way.”

I smiled back and nodded at her, then looked at the Ice Pea as his eyes sparkled. “Looks like you’re coming with us, little guy.” Frosty let out a triumphant kazoo noise and I boarded Penny with the others. The RV fired up her engines, and before we knew it she took off. Me and Frosty waved back to Major Sweetie through Penny’s back window, and she waved back as we headed to Dave Manor.

~X~

Penny landed with a bump on her landing pad, nearly jolting us all off either off our feet or out of our seats. We all shared confused looks, and Penny’s door opened.

“We have arrived at our destination”, Penny’s robotic voice sounded off, “I advise you to watch your step. Potato Mines and Spikeweeds tend to be scattered about.”

“Right. Thanks, Penny”, I said, being the first to step out of the living RV. Frosty was still on my shoulder, and Gladius was by my side. I squinted at the sunlight that blinded my vision, but my eyes quickly adjusted to it, and I looked over the absolute chaos in front of me. Peashooters were jumping around, a group of Chompers were gathered off to the side, a Rose and a Citron talking in front of a massive capsule machine, and many more plants all running around.

Majima whistled at the sight as he and all the others came up next to me. “These are the plants that protect Neighbourville?” Hilda asked.

“Yep”, I said, “This whole place just had a very… strange… sense of humour.” This was immediately answered when a Sunflower and a Snapdragon walked by arguing about cheese and which was best. We all watched them go by, and the others all shared weirded-out looks after the two plants were out of an earshot.

“Ah, you must be the civilians Major Sweetie told me were coming”, a gruff voice said. We all looked, and standing in front of us was none other Kernel Corn, one of the main players in the plant army.

“Sweetie said to keep ya’ here until things cleared up enough for you to head on your way”, Corn continued, “But I think I’d be fine to let you guys explore. So, since you’re all tourists, you get access to almost all of the manor and the surrounding area. That includes Giddy Park.”

This made Vanellope, Hilda and Star perked up at this, while Ralph cocked an eyebrow. “Giddy Park?”

“An amusement park that you can get to just that-a-way”, Kernel said, pointing his corn cob hands to an arch. “You can have some fun there, there’s the town right around this hill’s base with stores, and we have a park. But whatever you do, stay away from Weirding Woods, Mount Steep, and especially around the graveyard. Those areas are active battle zones, and the graveyard is right on the border of Zombie territory. So Stay away from there.”

“You said we could explore almost the manor…” Jenny inquired, but Corn instantly cut her off.

“War stuff. Not for the eyes of civilians”, he said, crossing his arms. We all nodded, and he smiled. “Well, welcome to Neighbourville. If you have any questions, there’s plants around that can help. Now, I’m needed elsewhere.” Kernel Corn marched off, heading into a door that went downwards into the ground. We all looked around, taking in the busy front yard of the manor.

“Well, I say we split up”, Steve suggested, “That way we can keep track of each other better.”

“I’m with Hilda!” “I’m with Vanellope!” Both Vanellope and Hilda called, respectively. Both girls looked at each other, then burst into a fit of giggles.

“That’s a good idea, Steve”, Ralph said. He nodded at the two giggling girls. “They obviously want to head to Giddy Park, so I think it’s cool.”

“I’ll head with them”, I offered, “You guys check around the manor to see where we can get sleep.”

“Good call”, Ralph responded. At that, we all split up. Majima, Jenny and Galacta went into the manor, Ralph, Steve and Alfur stayed in the manor’s front yard to ask around, while me, Vanellope, Hilda, Twig, Star and Marco all headed to the amusement park. But when we headed under the arch, we were actually met with a stone balcony that overlooked the whole park. I cocked my head at the four odd fan machines.

“What the heck?” Marco said, walking up and looking the machines over from a distance. “How do we get down to the park?”

Frosty made a noise, and we watched him hop off my shoulder and walk up onto the device. The wind that was blasting out from it launched Frosty into the sky, and we all gasped. We watched as he fell down and landed on the brick ground, then made a happy kazoo noise. He jumped up and down, waving up at us.

“That looked so fun!” Vanellope cheered, bolting to the launch pad.

“Vanellope, wait-” I began, but I couldn’t finish before she jumped on the pad and had the wind blast her into the air and right next to Frosty. She jumped and let out a loud “Woohoo!”.

“Heck yeah!” Star cheered. She grabbed Marco’s hand and dragged him to the launch pad. The princess cried in excitement while her friend screamed in fear, both of them flying through the air and landing in a nearby shrub. I cringed, and Hilda hesitated with the launch pad, so I knelt down and gave her a sweet smile.

“Do you two want to head down with me and Gladius?” I offered to the young adventurer and her deerfox. Both of them nodded, and I looked at Gladius and gave him a nod. I grabbed onto Gladius’ handle, Hilda wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tightly, and twig jumped up and planted himself firmly on the top of my head. Very carefully, Gladius lifted us up and hovered down to the park next to the others. Vanellope and Frosty were helping Star and Marco out of the shrub, and the princess was happily giggling as Marco brushed her hair to get rid of all the leaves and twigs that got stuck in it, and when that was done he ruffled his own hair to do the same. He looked at me and Gladius, then passed a light glare to Star.

“Next time there’s a launch pad like that”, he said in an exacerbated tone, “You can go by yourself. I’d rather take the Gladius express to fly around, thank you.”

Star scoffed and lightly punched his shoulder. “Pffft, you had fun. Don’t deny it.”

Gladius came right up into the boy’s face. “Besides, I’m not a taxi. Only Caleb is allowed to fly around with me. Hilda and Twig were his passengers, so I allowed it.” He crossed his wings and turned around.

“Like how you and Jenny tag-teamed Armagedroid?” I said cheekily. My smirk grew as Gladius sputtered, trying to refute my claim. This got everyone else laughing wildly, and Gladius slumped in defeat. Vanellope was the first one to stop laughing, looking around to take in the sights of the park.

“This place is awesome…” She said, glitching next to Hilda and grabbing her arm. “I saw this place has a Merry-Go-Round! C’mon!” She ran off, Hilda and Twig in tow. Star dragged Marco to the ferris wheel, and I smiled as I watched all my friends run off, then turned to Frosty and Gladius.

“Where do you two want to check out?” I asked them. Gladius hummed in thought, looking around at what was available, while Frosty climbed onto my shoulder once again. He made a happy kazoo noise and pointed at a tall tower at the other end of the park, which was one of those lift rides that shot down after raising.

“You sure?” I asked apprehensively. Deep down, I was terrified. I never was a fan of fast rides, but for the sake of my new ice-filled friend, when he nodded, I took a deep breath and began to walk to the ride, Gladius hovering next to me.

~X~

The ride was awful, at least for me. After nearly losing my lunch, I spent the rest of our time in the park feeling ill. I barely wanted to move at all, so when Vanellope said that she wanted to check out the town at the base of the hill, I eagerly agreed, as did the others. So we went and started to explore the town, and it was completely different to the street where we met Frosty. People were actually walking around happily, with powerful plants like Winter Melons and Apple Mortars stationed at little kiosks styled after garden sheds. Elsewhere, people walked their dogs, relaxed on their porches, or even attended to their own gardens, all smiling and waving at their neighbours. I weakly smiled at all that was happening around me, slowly recovering from the tossing and turning I had experienced before. As we walked, I noticed one of our friends down the street, hovering above a fire hydrant.

“Hey, Galacta!” I called, waving as I ran up to him. The knight, who was staring in the direction of the distant metropolis with his arms crossed, looked behind himself.

“Hello, everyone”, he said, “How was the park?”

“It was… fine…” I said in growing embarrassment.

“This guy nearly lost his lunch”, Vanellope said smugly as she nudged my leg with her elbow. I blushed even more in response. The racer then turned her attention to the knight. “What’s with you, though? Where’re the others?”

“The others are elsewhere”, he said, “Ralph is actually in that store there.” He pointed at the store across the street. Vanellope quickly darted in. “And as for me, I haven’t been able to stop looking at that.” He pointed at the distant city.

“So you noticed that too?” I said with a flat look. The knight nodded, and the two of us hummed.

“What’s so special about that place?” Hilda asked.

“That’s Zombopolis”, the citizen of the house we were in front of told us. We all snapped our heads at her. “Dr.Zomboss rules over the whole city, and a lot of the buildings there were actually taken from Neighbourville’s suburbs when the Zombies controlled half of the whole city.”

“That happened?” Marco said.

The citizen nodded. “Yep. Luckily Crazy Dave and his niece evacuated that part of town, but since then the whole city’s been on edge.”

“We know”, Star said, “Some guy was really scared. Said something about knocking”

The citizen nodded. “The zombies can’t count to four, so people closer to the more battle frequent places have it so you need to knock that many times to visit anywhere.”

Hilda pet Twig, who let out a quiet growl. “Excuse me, miss?” Hilda asked, earning the citizen’s attention. “Have the Zombies ever done anything here?”

She shook her head. “Nope. This place is basically the center of the Plant activity, so it’s 100% Zombie free. Although we do occasionally see drones and parrots overhead sometimes, it’s nothing to worry about.”

Hilda silently nodded and knelt down, petting her deerfox in an attempt to reassure him. I then decided to talk to the woman.

“So, has anything crazy happened since the plants pushed the zombies back?” I asked, “We’re tourists with some others, and we’re new to the whole thing. Only heard stuff about this in passing.”

The woman let out a loud laugh. “I’m not surprised, Neighbourville is seen as a city that should just be left abandoned. But to answer your question, no. The most the zombies have done is try to set up a flag and launch a satellite. And the plants stopped them both times, so we’re good.”

“Right, thanks”, I said with a nod. I then turned to see Ralph leaving the store with not only Vanellope, but a bag in his hand. I shot him a smirk.

“What?” He said sheepishly. “We’ve been around so much that I kinda want to snag something as a souvenir.” He ruffled through the bag and pulled out a bag of, surprisingly, Fume Shroom seeds. “Since we don’t get any sunlight in Niceland, the shop owner told me a mushroom would be best. So I got this stuff! Even got a flower pot, some fertilizer, and even my own watering can!” He looked at me with a smile. “Let’s get back to the manor. I want to show the others all this stuff.”

I nodded and took the lead of the group as we all walked back to Dave Manor. It was a long walk, but it was nice to get some peace with the gang. Because I feel like Galacta was feeling what I was feeling: That the Zombies will strike again. But I didn’t let it bother me, and soon we were back at the manor. Jenny, Majima and Steve joined us shortly after we showed up, and it turns out everyone took this as a chance to relax after our constant battling with Galacta. I went and relaxed on a b nearby bench as the others all chatted about their day, and I looked up at the setting sun. I let out a long, relaxed breath as I leaned back, taking in the nice breeze. I was so relaxed that I snapped awake when Gladius poked me with a wing.

“You ended up falling asleep for an hour, Caleb”, Gladius said with a laugh. I blinked, and noticed that the rest of my friends were gone.

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“They set up some tents in the park”, he explained. The sword then gestured for me to get up. “C’mon, I don’t want you falling asleep here on this. Star got some comfy beds set up.”

I quietly nodded, let out a big yawn, and stood up. Gladius led me back down to the town, and we soon found ourselves in the park. Ralph, Majima, Jenny, Star and Marco were all sitting around a campfire that was set up. Steve crawled out of one of the four tents with some snacks and handed them out to the others. I just trudged past them all, waving at them when they waved at me, and slipped into one of the tents. No one was inside, so I slipped off my shoes and curled up under the blankets, sleep instantly taking me over.

~X~

So the next world is PopCap’s own Plants Vs Zombies series. Specifically, a combo of the worlds set up in Garden Warfare 2 and Battle for Neighbourville, as I like aspects from both games with the locations. I feel it works best for what I have planned.

The story will be taking a bit of a hiatus, as I've fallen behind with writing future chapters. I will get to posting the next parts soon, I just need to catch up.

Up next: The maniacal leader of the zombies launches an offensive, taking some of the gang prisoner…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I awoke with a start when I heard a loud plane fly above me. I silently groaned as I carefully left the tent so as to not disturb my tent mates, which were Star and Marco, to see what all the noise was about. I blinked as I stepped into the morning light, and looked up to see a corn cob plane fly over the park towards the rustic mountains in the distance. I did a big stretch and yawn, looking over to a nearby bench. Majima and Galacta both resting on it, silently watching the plane fly by, so I walked up and sat next to them.

“‘Sup”, Majima greeted with a nod.

“Good morning, Caleb”, Galacta said with a bow, “I see the Plants mobilising woke you up.”

“Yeah”, I said, stretching again, “What’s that all about?”

“I guess those undead shitheads are doing something in… Mount Steep?” Majima said. He sighed. “That’s such a fucking stupid name.”

“Really?” I said. I looked at Galacta. “Do you know what they’re up to?”

Galacta shook his head and shrugged. “No idea. But if it doesn’t involve us, I’d rather it stay that way.”

This made Majima lean forward and shoot the knight a questioning look. “But aren’t you some crazy powerful knight that loves to shit on weaker losers?”

“Yes”, Galacta affirmed, “But after what happened in Butterfly and Diaz’s world, I’d rather save my full strength for only when it’s totally necessary. Otherwise cities will be levelled.”

“That’s… really mature of you, Galacta” I said in a surprised tone.

“I just believe with this journey”, the knight began, “We can all use it as a chance to expand our horizons and become who we want to without restrictions. At least, I’ll take advantage of that.”

“Yeah, but I won’t”, Majima saidas he leaded back, “I’m happy with who I am. Fucking crazy and not ashamed to admit it.”

I smiled at the two of them, but then I felt my smile fall. “It’s nice to be able to change who you are. I tried to do that, but it didn’t really work out…”

Majima leaded forward with a confused look, and opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced when Galacta held up a hand at him. “You’re here now”, the knight said to me, “No matter what happened in the past can't harm you now. You just need to move on.”

I nodded somberly, partially thankful Galacta stepped in before anything else could come spilling out. I then jumped, snapping out of my thoughts, when another two planes soared overhead. They were a lot faster than the first one, which made me suspicious. This was enough to wake the others, as they all slowly climbed out of the tents. They all rubbed their eyes, stretched and yawned as they all walked up to us and watched the planes travelled to the rust red mountain in the distance.

“What in the mother of all Cy-bugs is happening?” Ralph groaned. Vanellope and Hilda were leaning against either side of his head, laying on his shoulders.

“Something is going down at Mount Steep”, Galacta said. “It seems the Zombies are pushing an offensive, but none of us know the specifics.”

Marco hummed as he watched the army march by, while Star let out a loud yawn. Steve walked over to the army, and Jenny just sighed and rolled her eyes. I stretched one more time and walked away from the group, heading down one of the trails. I took a deep breath as I took in my surroundings, letting the sunlight hit my face. I closed my eyes, and just then I could feel the presence of someone else joining me. I opened one of my eyes, and smiled when I saw Gladius hovering next to me.

“Want to check out the town, Gladdy?” I asked my sword. He nodded.

“Neighbourville is a place that will be rich with history”, he said, “So I’d like to see what we could find. Isn’t that right, Alfur?” I then finally noticed the tiny elf on the sword’s hilt, notebook grasped tightly.

“Of course I am!” The elf said happily, “It’s not everyday you get to talk to the undead. I’m still annoyed that Hilda didn’t tell me when she and her friends talked to those ghosts…”

I laughed at Alfur’s complaining. “I honestly don’t blame you, buddy. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll be able to meet Crazy Dave.”

“That would be something”, Gladius mumbled, “Getting to meet the man with Crazy in his name…”

“Well, I guess we can try”, I said with a shrug, “C’mon, let’s go. Time’s wasting, and I want to see all this place has to offer!”

“Lead the way then, Caleb!” Alfur proudly announced.

“You got, Alfur!” I said back happily. I began to walk ahead with Gladius close behind, my head held high.

~X~

The three of us had found ourselves out of the park and into the bustling streets of the city. Citizens happily went about their days, either walking their dogs, watering their gardens, or reading a good book on their porch. I looked around with a smile on my face as Alfur and Gladius engaged in a bubbly conversation. I gave the two of them a quick glance, then faced forward once again. As I wandered, waving at any people we passed, I looked to the horizon. The rusty hills of Mount Steep filled me with worry, but I shook it off when I remembered where we were. So I continued to lead the way, until we came up to a house. I was instantly drawn to it, as it wasn’t just a house.

It was a store. It was a gardening store, much like the one Ralph bought his mushroom from. Curiosity took me over, and I walked up and into the store. The bell that hung from the top of the doorframe rang as I entered. I looked around at all the seeds set up on display, all the lawn ornaments, all the tools, and all the posters. It was quaint, giving off a warm, cosy feeling. The smell of many flowers entered my nose, and I let out a sigh as the smells relaxed me.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d see a customer so soon”, an almost pathetic voice said. I looked to the front counter, and behind the counter was a bigger than normal Scaredy-Shroom who was wearing typical “nerd” glasses.

“Oh, hi”, I greeted, “This place just caught my attention, so I came to check it out.”

“Of course”, the mushroom said with a nod, “With all the other stores around that sell garden supplies, it’s hard for business for most of us. So we’ll take whatever we can get.” I smiled and nodded, returning my attention to the seed packets.

Peashooters, Sunflowers, Wall-Nuts, Chompers, this place had all the plants across the whole franchise. As I browsed, one packet of seeds that was all on its own captured my attention the most. It was for something called a Wasabi Whip, and something about it called me. So I pulled the single pack off the hook and brought it over to the counter. I set it down, and the mushroom store owner looked at what I had picked out.

“Ah, a Wasabi Whip. You don’t see a lot of them around”, he said as he pulled out a pot, a bag of fertiliser and soil, and a watering can.

“Why?” I asked.

“Wasabi Whips are just really new, so much so I didn’t even know I had a pack yet.” He began to load all of the items into a plastic bag. “That’ll be 20 dollars.”

I then started to frantically pat my pockets, and when I reached in, out of my left pocket I pulled out exact change. Pushing my confusion aside, I set the money down on the counter and grabbed the plastic bag. The store owner nodded at me, and we both bid farewell. I stepped outside and returned to the sidewalk, where Gladius and Alfur were caught in a quiet debate. When I came up to the sword’s side, they stopped and turned their attention to me.

“I see you bought something”, Gladius joked. “Felt inspired by Ralph?”

“Yeah, I guess I want something more to remember this journey”, I said, smiling down at the bag. I then looked back upat Gladius and Alfur. “Let’s get back to the camp. These guys can grow pretty quickly, so I’d like to get him grown ASAP.” The other two nodded and we began our slow trek back to the others. As we walked, I reached into the bag and pulled out the seed packet, looking over the instructions on the back. I was so entranced by it that I didn’t notice when I was about to walk into open traffic. Gladius stopping me snapped me out of my trance, and I blushed in embarrassment as we waited for the signal for the crosswalk.

“You should pay more attention, Caleb”, Gladius said, “I don’t want you getting hit by a car.”

I nodded, not giving him eye contact as I still felt embarrassment coursing through me. When the signal changed so we could cross, I dashed ahead and began to quickly make my way to the park. Gladius was quick to catch up to me, and he hovered to my side as Alfur scribbled into his notebook. Soon enough, we made it back to our camp, and everyone was at full strength, all of them busily tending to our temporary set up.

Steve was the first one to notice us approaching. “Well, nice to see you guys are up and about”, he said kindly as Gladius hovered over to Hilda so Alfur could hop onto her beret. Steve then noticed my bag. “Oh, you bought something like Ralph did?”

I nodded as I took the pot out and set it on a nearby picnic table. “Yep. I just wanted to have something more to remember this whole trip by, so I bought a plant.” I opened the bag of soil and dumped the whole thing into the pot. I then quickly grabbed the watering can and ran off to a nearby fountain, filled the can with water, and ran back to the pot. As I watered the seed, I began to earn a small audience of the others, and Marco picked up the opened packet to read it over.

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to grow this guy now?” He asked.

“Yeah, I mean, nothing wrong with getting a little buddy with us”, I said. Twig hopped up onto the table and began to sniff the pot, only to jump back slightly when a small green sprout suddenly popped up like a jack-in-the-box. Hilda and Vanellope hopped up onto the seats to watch, and we all watched in stunned silence as the plant grew at a very fast rate. I grabbed the bag of fertiliser, ripped the top off, and dumped a bit onto the plant. It suddenly erupted from the pot, and what was left was a short green plant with a long vine coming from its top. At the end of the whip-like vine was a flaming leaf, burning brightly with a cosy warmth. The Wasabi Whip blinked as it took in all the sunlight, then it looked right at me. Then, much to our shock, the plant used the leaves at its bottom to pull itself out of the pot and use its unseen roots to climb over to me and onto my shoulder.

We all just silently watched all of this play out until Gladius was the first to speak. “That… was something…” He said. The Wasabi Whip grunted at him, but I wasn’t sure if it was of offence or acknowledgement. I just smiled and rubbed the back of the Wasabi Whip’s head, and it started smiling at my touch.

“Well, whatever happens, we got a new member of the team”, I said happily, “The main thing now is just figuring out a name for you…” As I pondered what to name our new companion, the Wasabi Whip hopped off my shoulder and made its way over to a nearby tree. It then started pointing the flaming leaf at one single maple leaf that was on the ground.

“You want to be called Maple?” I asked.

The Wasabi Whip nodded. I walked over to it and picked him, beaming at it. “Maple it is then! Welcome to the gang, Maple!” Maple happily nodded and flexed its whip into a shape, and I noticed it was the symbol for the male gender. I smiled and nodded at Maple, and went back to join the others, who had all scattered to do their own things. Star, Marco, Steve and Ralph were back at the picnic table chatting; Vanellope, Hilda and Twig were running around in the distance; Jenny and Majima went down the trail, chatting between each other. That left me, Gladius, Alfur and Galacta on our own with Maple on my shoulder.

“So, what’s the plan?” Gladius asked.

Galacta looked off aimlessly to the side. “Perhaps we could spend some of this free time getting some fencing practice in.” He faced me and Gladius. “We might not get an opportunity like this again.”

“Good call”, Gladius affirmed with a nod. Alfur took this as his cue, and joined Maple under the shade of the tree after hopping off of the sword. I grabbed Gladius’s handle and took a few paces away from Galacta. The knight did the same, then pulled out his lance and pointed it right at me.

“If you wish to handle fierce opponents that are as dangerous as I was”, Galacta said with a tone of order, “But I’ll take things slow with you two. So, the basics.” He hovered up a bit so his lance was more lined up with Gladius. “First, practise your movements. Clash Gladius against my lance.”

I did as the knight instructed and pointed Gladius’ blade at him, then took a few steps forward and gently tapped Gladius and Galacta’s lance together. The knight nodded, and then we began to carefully fence. Both weapons remained still as we circled each other, occasionally clashing in an attempt to catch the opponent off guard. We continued this for the next hour, neither of us flinching.

“I must say, Caleb”, Galacta said, his voice calm, “The fact you haven’t made a drastic move is admirable.” He suddenly circled his lance around Gladius and swung hard, knocking the sword out of my hand and a few feet away. The action caught me off guard so much I stumbled back and landed on my back. I groaned as Galacta hovered over me.

“You must always be prepared for your opponent to suddenly act”, he said, “Otherwise you’ll suffer defeat.” He held out a hand.

“Yeah, yeah, I know Sherlock”, I said in an annoyed tone, accepting his help. I got back onto my two feet as Gladius came to my side. Maple and Alfur, both of whom were watching the whole confrontation under the shade of the maple tree, came over as well.

“I’m just trying to help you, Caleb”, Galacta said in a strict tone, “What happens if you and Gladius get separated from the rest of us? You need to be prepared.”

I sighed. “I know. Still doesn’t mean I can’t be mad at you for doing that.”

Galacta gave me a flat look. “Sure. Next time, I’ll start actually teaching you some of the movements.” He then hovered away towards the fountain, leaving me alone with Gladius, Alfur and Maple.

“So, after that enthralling match”, Alfur said, doing his best to hide a yawn, “What’s that plan now?”

I hummed in thought as Gladius looked around, then spoke. “Well… one thing I have to say is… shouldn’t Jenny and Majima have come back by now? They said they were only going to do a lap of the park.”

Maple looked around as I shrugged. “They probably just got distracted.” Then I heard a small explosion, and saw a plume of smoke in the distance. “Or something bad happened…” I began to run towards the smoke. “JENNY! MAJIMA!” I was closely followed by the rest of the gang, who all ran close to my side. When we reached the site of the explosion, it was a mess. There were plants looking around accessing damages, worried citizens off to the side, and a large hole surrounded by many scorch marks. I walked up to one of the plants, the bounty hunting orange from the future Citron.

“What the heck happened here?” I asked as the others hung back.

Citron looked up at me. “Zombies happened. They must’ve used the attack on Mount Steep to sneak right here. Luckily no one was hurt, but the Zombies did kidnap two people right as we showed up.”

I felt my heart rate increase. “Who did the Zombies kidnap?”

“Based on witness reports”, Citron continued, “One was white and blue woman with twin pigtails, and the other was a man wearing a golden shirt with an eyepatch. We’ll try to send what available plants we have to save them.” As Citron walked over, barking orders at a Chomper, I felt my skin pale. My legs buckled. My ears began to ring. I almost fainted if it wasn’t for Galacta and Steve, but my vacant look didn’t help calm anyone down.

“Why would the Zombies take Jenny and Majima?” Hilda said in worry, pacing around all of us with Twig by her side. Star growled in anger, her wand beginning to glow a faint green. Marco, Steve and Ralph all shared looks, trying to calm everyone. Vanellope and Galacta, meanwhile, looked at me in concern.

“Caleb, what are we going to do?” Vanellope asked. I shook my head and barely could hold my weight as I tried to stand.

“I… don’t… know…” I said weakly. I stumbled a bit but was caught by Galacta. Gladius went over and began to hover the hole the Zombies used. I looked around at the others, from Hilda and Vanellope hugging each other in worry, Star being held back from jumping into the hole by Marco and Steve, and Alfur and Maple looking into the hole while on Ralph’s shoulders. My mind began to chug as it tried to think of what to do. I looked over to Citron, then to the sky, to a group of curious citizens, to a random tree, and then finally my own feet. I was at a loss.

“Caleb”, Galacta said firmly. I snapped my attention to him. “We need to save Jenny and Majima.”

“I don’t know how to, though…” I said in a whisper.

“Well, what do you think the Plants would do?” He asked gently.

I looked off in an aimless direction as I took in what my friend said, shuffling through my memories of this series. What would the Plants do? I thought hard about it…

Then it clicked.

I suddenly felt my strength come back full force, and I scrambled over to Ralph. He made a cry of shock as I scaled up his back. Alfur and Maple moved out of the way as I stood up on the wrecker’s shoulders. I looked to the horizon, facing the purple skies that hovered over the Zombie Capital. I glared at the distant city, then hopped down to the ground.

“Guys!” I shouted. All of the gang stopped what they were doing and faced me. “Get ready. We’re going to Zombopolis.”

“Wait, what?” Marco said in shock.

“Kid, hang one”, Ralph said, “Are you sure about this? It’s not like you to rush in this deep.”

“I don’t care”, I said, shooting an angry look at Ralph. “I’m not playing it safe this time. If we wait too long, we could lose Jenny and Majima. We need to save them now.”

“That’s it, Caleb-Cat!” Star cheered. Galacta nodded with a grunt, and Vanellope and Hilda ran up to my side. Ralph, Steve and Marco all shared looks, then they all sighed simultaneously. I looked back towards the distant Zombopolis, then faced the gang once again.

“All we need is a ride…” I said thoughtfully.

~X~

“You want to do what?” Major Sweetie said, flabbergasted. I took the lead of the group and brought them all back to Dave Manor. I had explained to Sweetie that we needed to save our friends, and we needed Penny to do it.

“We just need Penny to drop us off as close to Zombopolis as she possibly could”, I repeated to the plant leader, “I’m not waiting around for any remaining plants to save Jenny and Majima.” I glared at her hard, but she didn’t back down. Rather, she returned with a just as fierce glare.

“No way”, she said stubbornly, “It is strictly forbidden to let civilians anywhere near Zombopolis.”

“Well, we aren’t civilians”, I spat back, “We’ve been through so much, and each of us has a little trick that makes us special.”

Sweetie didn’t back down. “Don’t care. Penny is off limits, you understand me?”

“Now hold on”, a robotic voice cut through. Me and Sweetie both turned to face the RV, who was parked on her launch ramp. “I have as much say in this as both of you.”

Sweetie gaped at her. “Penny, seriously? You know the rules.”

“I do. But Caleb and his friends obviously aren’t just civilians”, she began. “Caleb, why are you so set on saving your friends?”

I scoffed. “Why? Because I care about them. Because it’s the right thing to do.” My rough exterior melted a bit. “I don’t want to lose them. Not after how far we came.”

Penny remained silent for a moment. “I see…” Her door suddenly opened. “All of you, I’ll take you as close as I can to Zombopolis without triggering their alarms.”

I perked up. “Wait, really? You’ll take us?”

“Penny, are you nuts?” Sweetie argued. “We need to follow our-”

“Do you think that matters to the Zombies?” Penny cut off the Major. “They’ve never kidnapped anyone, so who knows what they could be planning. If these fine people are willing to risk their lives to save them, then I’m willing to help as much as I can.”

Sweetie sighed in defeat. “Fine, but you are just dropping them off and coming right back, got it?”

“Of course”, Penny affirmed. “All of you, hop on.”

We all began to board the RV, but before I climbed on, Penny beeped.

“Caleb, promise me one thing”, she said.

“Yeah, what is it?” I asked her.

“Save your friends”, she said in a determined tone. I nodded and boarded with the others, and Penny closed her door. She began her launch sequence, so we all took our seats and buckled up. Maple rested on my shoulder, and Gladius sheathed himself down my back. The RV then fired off into the sky, and I looked out the window and waved at Sweetie, who, despite her frustration with our plan, waved back. When she vanished from view, I faced forward to the others.

“So, when Penny drops us off, what are we supposed to do?” Marco asked.

I thought for a moment. “Penny, do you have any walkie-talkies?”

“In the drawer next to the big one”, her voice called out. Ralph looked to the drawer to his left and opened it, taking out a couple of the devices. He handed them out to all of us, and when I snagged mine, I stuffed it into my pocket.

“Alright, here’s the plan”, I began, “When Penny drops us off, we’ll sneak into the city then split up. That way we’ll be able to find Jenny and Majima easier. We’ll go in groups of two or three, and whichever group finds our friends first will immediately call the rest of us so we can all tackle the rescue as a team. Everyone got it?”

I got nods from all the others.

“Well, it’s a good thing you thought of that, Caleb”, Penny said.

“Why?” I asked, looking up at the ceiling.

“We’re here…”

We all unbuckled ourselves and looked out Penny’s windshield, and we all gasped as the polluted, mechanical cityscape of Zombopolis filled the whole window. Penny swerved downwards and landed next to a bunch of rocks. Her door opened, and we all stepped out to check the city out.

“Alright, I played my part. Now you go and save your friends”, Penny said.

“We will, thank you for helping us Penny.” I smiled at the RV and pat her hood. She then took off again into the sky, leaving us to our own devices. We all peeked over the rocks, and began to survey the city.

“Alright, this is where we’ll split up”, I began, “Ralph and Vanellope, Steve and Hilda and Twig and Alfur, Star and Marco, and finally me and Gladius and Galacta and Maple. Those are our groups, does that sound good?”

Everyone nodded in confirmation.

My face twisted into a look of determination. “Let’s go save our friends.” We all split up into our groups, entering the city at different points. Galacta took me up high, Gladius close by my side and Maple on my shoulder, as we scanned the streets of the city. After an hour of nothing, I felt defeated. That was when Gladius spoke up.

“Down there”, Gladius said, pointing a wing to an empty alleyway. The knight silently made his way down and gently set me on the ground, before making his way to one of the ends of the alley to check the streets for an opening.

I dusted myself down. “Why did we stop here?”

“I felt we just needed a rest”, Gladius said, “We were airborne for a while, so I feel like we needed a break.”

“But we’ll still need to search”, Galacta said. All three of us faced him. “The streets are too crowded so it would be better to get to a higher vantage point for the time being.”

I looked around the alleyway for a solution to our predicament, and I soon saw a fire escape that scaled the side of the building to my right. “Guys, this way.” I ran over to the ladder and climbed it up to the first platform. I then began to climb up each step as Gladius and Galacta hovered next to me.

“You know one of us can just fly you up, right?” Gladius mentioned.

“I know, but I don’t want you guys to do all the work”, I explained, “We’ve all got to pull our own weight if any of us will get me and you home.”

“Very mature of you, Caleb”, Galacta said with a nod.

“Thanks. I did learn from the best.” Maple beamed from his perch on my shoulder, and I continued my climb in silence until the top. We had a perfect view of most of the city from up here, so I decided to turn on my walkie-talkie.

“Sounding off, how are the rest of you guys doing?” I said into the speaker.

“Fine with us”, Ralph’s voice sounded off, “But there’s a lot of Zombies around.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to try and find Jenny and Majima when we all have targets painted on our backs”, Marco sounded off, concern seeping from his voice.

“Well, did you guys see anything that could help us locate them?” I asked.

“My team did!” Hilda called, “Some of the screens closer towards the big building with the… brain? If that’s right. But yeah, some of the screens said ‘Report inside to tend to prisoners’.”

I perked up and looked over the rooftop, and sure enough I saw a large building with a brain in a large glass dome deeper amongst the buildings. “Okay, that’s our best bet. Everyone carefully make your way to that building, we’ll group back up, and sneak in.”

I got calls of confirmation from the others, and I shut off the walkie-talkie. I pet Maple on the head before facing the knight and sword. “Let’s get going. I don’t know what Zomboss could be doing to Jenny and Majima.”

“Of course”, Gladius said, “Only issue is getting there without being seen…”

Galacta Knight hummed in thought. “It would be safest to fly there. Any other option would make us vulnerable.”

“I feel like flying in the open sky is already making us vulnerable”, Gladius argued, Maple nodding in response.

“But we were completely ignored for the past hour”, I said back.

“Because I blend in with the sky”, Galacta said. I looked at him, then it hit me.

“Oh, I can’t believe I forgot that…” I said, smacking my hand on my forehead. “Alright, with that solved, let’s go.” I held my hand up, and Galacta swooped into the air. He came up from behind and grabbed my hands, and we were off. Gladius flew next to us, and Maple rested on my back between my shoulder blades. The knight and sword flew close to the tops of the buildings, weaving around any of the visible watchtowers and security cameras, until we reached the large building. I began to scan the streets, and soon saw Steve and Hilda in a nearby alley waving us down.

“Galacta!” I called, quiet enough to not raise any attention. “Down there.” I nodded towards the alley, and Galacta and Gladius looked down at our friends. He took us down and gently set me next to Hilda, Alfur and Twig as Steve stood off to the side. Gladius came down and went to the street just out of view to get a look around.

“So you guys think Jenny and Majima are here?” I asked, peeking out of the alley to look at the large building.

“Yeah, we do”, Steve said, “Just before you guys showed up, we saw some Zombies dressed like scientists enter the front doors, so obviously there’s something going on in there.”

“Wait, scientists?” I asked, fear beginning to fill me.

“Yeah, why’s that so bad?” Alfur asked from atop Hilda’s beret.

“If the screens said ‘Attend to prisoners’ and then a bunch of scientists walked in…” I explained, “Then Jenny and Majima are in a lot of danger.”

Galacta was the first to say something after a moment of silence. “We move as soon as the others show up.” Just then, Star and Marco came up from behind us.

“Hey everyone!” Star greeted cheerily, “Sorry we’re a bit late. Safe Kid here didn’t want to take the sewers.” Star jabbed a thumb at Marco, who shot her a glare.

“Yeah, because the sewers are such a good idea”, he spat. Vanellope and Ralph joined us just then, the wrecker squeezing past to join me, Gladius and Maple at the street entrance.

“So, what’s the plan on getting in?” He asked.

“We’ll be taking the sewers”, I said.

“What?!” Marco, Alfur and Ralph shouted in shock. Twig rolled his eyes, as Star smiled proudly.

“There should be an entrance into this place’s basement”, I continued, “So it’s our best bet to get inside safely. Anyone who says they aren’t taking that way, you’re basically trying to admit you can take on a whole city’s worth of Zombies.”

I was met with silence.

“Good”, I said, walking away from the street. I then headed deeper into the alley and stood over a manhole. Gladius came up to my side, then stuck himself into the ground and wrenched the manhole cover out of the way. I gave the gang a determined look. “Let’s go.”

~X~

Steve and myself lifted the exit to the sewers, carefully scanning around the room we were in. It was clearly a warehouse of sorts, with towering shelves filled with boxes upon boxes. The sewer entrance we were at luckily had no Zombies nearby.

“Can we go, please?” I heard Marco whine, his voice bouncing off of the walls of the dark, dank sewer. We all harshly shushed him, then I looked back into the warehouse. Carefully, I lifted the cover out of the way as I climbed out, and quickly gestured for the others to follow. Slowly and carefully, everyone followed after me, and we were all soon peeking around the nearest shelf, looking down the central pathway. All the way at the opposite end, there was a sealed door with two sleeping Foot Soldiers perched at either side.

“Star, Marco, you two sneak around and take them out”, I whispered. Both Echo Creek residents swiftly snuck around and approached the two guards as silent as they could be. Then, they struck, kicking the soldiers together and knocking them both unconscious. As Marco fiddled with the door’s touch screen panel lock, the rest of us all rushed to their side.

“Excellent work, both of you”, Gladius whispered. Star beamed up at him, and just then Marco opened the door.

“The password was ZOMBOSSRULES, not that hard to figure out”, the Safe Kid said with a shrug. Carefully, we all filed out of the room and began to make our way through the halls of the large building. We passed by windows that let us see scientist Zombies doing a variety of strange and stupid ideas. Like sticking forks into wall sockets. Or dropping a plugged in toaster into a filled bathtub. We all cringed as the one unfortunate scientist was electrocuted. After that, we continued on our way until we came to a window that overlooked a much larger room.. I peeked into the window, but the sight nearly had me slamming my open palms through the glass.

Scientist and Engineer Zombies all ran around the room, papers flying everywhere as the wrote down on notepads and sat at computers. In the centre of the room, hanging from the ceiling by a bunch of cables, was Jenny, fully repaired and painted. Her eyes showed nothing but purple static and green scan lines and she dangled limply in the air. Right in front of her, standing on the ground, was a Zombie wearing a labcoat, black pants and black shoes. He was as tall as the other Zombies, but the most striking detail was that his head was massive, coloured a faded pink with visible veins.

It was Doctor Zomboss, the leader of the Zombies.

He almost hungirly eyed Jenny as his henchmen all ran around. Occasionally, Jenny would twitch a limb, purple electricity arcing out of it as it did so. Every time this happened, Zomboss would almost seem to smile wider.

“We got to do something”, Vanellope said in quiet anger from her perch on Ralph’s shoulder.

“But what should we do?” Hilda asked from the other shoulder.

“Well, we need to get down there first”, Steve said. I was about to say something else, but something poked me in the back of my neck which made me freeze. Slowly, I turned around and leaned back as a gun barrel was forced into my face. We were surrounded by Foot Soldiers, All-Stars, Space Cadets and Imps, all of them aiming their weapons at us. We all slowly raised our hands as the Zombies gave us looks between vacant stares and hard glares. I looked back over my shoulder and back down at the window, and saw Zomboss smiling up at us, waving up as us sadistically. I screamed internally, but before we could be taken away, Star and Ralph suddenly started to give the Zombies hell. Steve and Marco, as they did that, smashed the window, and all of us jumped down into the room. Ralph’s weight caused the ground to crack a bit, but none of us staggered as we glared at Zomboss.

“Well well well…” The sadistic zombie leader started, “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“Why’d you take our friends?”, I asked angrily.

“Well, when some of my Zombies came back from yesterday’s battle and told me they saw you”, Zomboss explained as he paced in front of the limp Jenny. The purple lighting filled me with an uneasy feeling as her vacant gaze almost seemed to be glued to me. “So I staged the attack at Mount Steep to distract David, his idiot niece and her moronic best friend so I could try and kidnap some of Neighbourville’s citizens for a special experiment of mine. But when my cameras showed your friends were right in the way… I had my team switch targets…”

He pulled out a remote, and pressed the single button on it. The floor underneath Jenny began to open, moving Zomboss away from us as a platform rose from the darkness. Our robot friend remained still as the platform stopped, revealing Majima strapped to a chair, an odd device on his back that had wires connecting to his head. We all gasped at the state he was in.

“I was fed up with David’s Hypno Shrooms turning my Zombies against each other, so I thought…” His face twisted into a psychotic smile. “Why not just do the same thing?” He pressed a key on a nearby computer keyboard, and both Jenny and Majima were released from their binds simultaneously. Jenny stood firm as Majima slowly rose to a standing position. Both of them were deathly silent.

“Jenny? Majima?” Gladius said in a hushed tone. Neither of them reacted.

“Guys”, I said slightly louder. Still nothing. I looked at Zomboss, and his smirk said it all.

“If you want to know if your friends are okay…” He said in a dark tone.

Both Jenny and Majima’s heads snapped up, their eyes now a deep purple with glowing green pupils.

“Why don’t we let them tell you themselves…”

~X~

Oh boy, things sure did take a turn, huh? Not only have our favourite Teenage Robot and Lunatic Yakuza been kidnapped, but now they're under Zomboss’ full control! Yes, this is what is happening, because I liked the idea.

I wanted to try and craft Zomboss to be a fusion of how he’s depicted in the games and graphic novels, where he is a genuine threat that does come up with good plans, it’s just his own army or Crazy Dave’s unpredictability that screw him over. I want him to be a threat, but still have his moments that show how he's still a bit pathetic.

Up next: A battle between friends and a crazed scientist.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

Time felt like it became still as me, Gladius and all the others stared in silent shock at our mind controlled friends. Jenny and Majima gave us empty looks as their eyes glowed with Zomboss’ signature colours. The maniacal Zombie scientist gave all of us a twisted grin as he was flanked by a dozen of his troops on each side.

“I’ll make this easy for you all”, Zomboss said. ”Either you just give up now, or you make this more of a mess it needs to be.”

“As if, you old fart!” Vanellope yelled, “We didn’t come all this way to lose our friends!”

“Yeah, so you can shove your ego up your butt!” Star shouted.

I steeled my gaze past my possessed friends to Zomboss, and delivered him a harsh glare. “Ralph, Star, you two help me and Gladius deal with Jenny and Majima. Everyone else, go to town on every Zombie here.”

“Right!” Everyone shouted in response. Maple hopped onto Galacta as he rushed into the fray, a comical fight cloud erupting as the gang brawled with the Zombies. I stood strong with Ralph, Star and Gladius as our mind-controlled friends vacantly stared back at us. Zomboss, seemingly realising he was vulnerable, pulled out a whistle and blew it. Flying through the window we smashed was his hovering cockpit, piloted by his pet zombie hedgehog Mr.Stubbins. The spiked rat flew the pod down, and Zomboss jumped in. He took over controlling it, out of the bottom jerked out a satellite dish. The orb at the end began to blink purple, and our friends snapped to attention. Both Jenny and Majima then took up battle stances.

“Hope you’re ready to cream your friends!” Zomboss taunted. “You two, destroy!” He pressed a button on the pod’s console, and that set Jenny and Majima off. They both lunged at the four of us. I grabbed Gladius’ handle and he swerved me out of the way, Star jumped to the side, and Ralph remained unmoving as they both crashed into him. He quickly retaliated by grabbing both of them with an arm each, hugging them tightly as they struggled to free themselves.

“Star, blast that stupid dish!” I barked, pointing at the device. Zomboss’ confident smile faded and was replaced with one of pure terror as Star charged up her wand. She unleashed several Narwal Blasts at the Zombie leader, who frantically flew around in every direction in an attempt to dodge. He screamed all the time, but Jenny and Majima freed themselves from Ralph’s grasp by simultaneously headbutting the wrecker in the face. He wailed in pain as our two friends turned their attention to Star to protect Zomboss. They both charged at the magic princess.

“Star, look out!” I cried, fruitlessly reaching my hand out to her. She quickly spun around and ducked under her two attackers, and they both collided with several computers. Star resumed blasting at Zomboss while me, Gladius and Ralph all tried to keep our possessed friends occupied. Jenny was the first to recover, and made an attempt to lunge at Star again, only for Ralph to grab her leg and throw her away. While that was happening, I was using Gladius to do battle with Majima, doing my best to block the onslaught he was unleashing onto me. He was slashing his knife around wildly, and I was beginning to struggle. Majima was just too tough. I could feel the wall I was backing up against getting closer and closer as my friend didn’t let up. Ralph was sadly occupied with Jenny, the two of them battling above all of us.

“Caleb, focus on Goro!” Gladius yelled. I snapped my attention back to the eyepatched man, and just barely blocked a powerful knife swing. It was just too late, however, as Gladius was knocked right out of my hand. He landed under a desk, and a stray Imp Punt demolished it and buried him under a bunch of wreckage. I fell onto my bottom as I narrowly dodged another knife slash. Majima then stared at me with his vacant gaze and held up his knife. I felt my heart lodge into my throat.

“Oh no you don’t, Cyclops!” Vanellope suddenly yelled. She, Hilda and Twig all pounced onto the knife wielding maniac. The two girls pulled his hair while the deerfox bit down on his leg. He remained silent as he flailed around in an attempt to shake his attackers off. This gave me a chance to dash away and start digging through the rubble for the talking blade. But I was interrupted when Majima’s knife whizzed past my head and stabbed into a plank of wood. I spun around and pressed up against the rubble fearfully as I watched the man grab the girls and deerfox and toss them off of him. They flew into desks like ragdolls, and my friend stomped over to me. I braced for the inevitable, but a loud crash brought all the chaos to a screeching halt. Everyone faced Zomboss’ pod, and I quietly gasped when I saw what had happened.

Star, despite being trapped in a massive brawl between all the Zombies and our friends, had climbed to the top of the pile and fired off a single Narwhal Blast at Zomboss, and it actually connected with the satellite dish. A hole was blown straight through it, and I could see Zomboss leaning over his pod’s edge, gaping at the destroyed device. Suddenly, a massive plume of smoke erupted from Zomboss’ spot, and when it subsided, the Zombie leader coughed weakly, covered head to toe in soot.

“Retreat…” He said, falling over into his vehicle. Mr.Stubbins squeaked angrily at us, shaking his tiny fist as he took over the pod and piloted it away. This was then followed by all the Zombies rushing out of the room, some of them leaving their weapons and headwear behind. As the last Zombies ran away, we all let out sighs of relief.

Then both Jenny and Majima fainted.

“Guys!” Steve shouted. Me and Steve helped Majima back up, while the girls helped Ralph with Jenny. Both of them groaned as we all grouped up together in the centre of the room. Majima was the first to recover, followed shortly by Jenny. Both of them shook their heads and blinked slowly, showing their eyes were back to normal.

“Fucking hell, that stung”, Majima growled, gripping his head. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter and cigarette box. When he stuck a cigarette into his mouth and sparked his lighter, Jenny gave him a glare.

“Of course the first thing you do is start smoking”, she spat bitterly.

He shrugged. “What, we’re good now. No point getting your tits in a twist.” Jenny defensively put her arms over her chest while the rest of us all watched in silent awkwardness. I then took a few steps away to try and dig Gladius out from the rubble. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Majima just noticed the apparatus on him.

“What the fuck is this?” He said.

Steve just mined it off of him, the thing reduced to scrap in seconds. “Just what Zomboss used to control you.”

“Actually, should we be worried he could just flip a switch and make you guys get all killy on us again?” Star brought up in a fearful tone.

“I… don’t think so…” Jenny said, still obviously uncomfortable from Majima’s remark. She walked over to a nearby computer (one that was untouched from the battle), plugged herself in, and started clicking away at the keyboard. “Nope, we’re both good. Knocking out that dish killed the link.”

Marco helped Majima remove the wires, giving Jenny a suspicious look. “Really? We take out an oversized dinner plate and everything’s good?” He gave Star a weird look. “You’d think he’d, you know, not make such a glaring flaw in his plan.” The princess shrugged.

“Zomboss- Ack -is a bit pathetic”, I strained as I moved some of the rubble out of the way. “He’s pretty bad with his plans. They all have glaring- Fuck -weaknesses that he tends top blame his army on. He’s- Sonava -not that great of a scientist.” A hunk of rubble slammed into my face, and I stumbled back gripping my nose. Everyone instantly ran over to my side.

“You okay kid?” Ralph asked. I sighed as I nodded at him, feeling a bit of blood leaking from my nose. Maple came to my side and hugged me with his whip. Jenny and Steve took over clearing the rubble out of the way, and soon Gladius was freed.

“Finally!” The sword proudly announced as he flew above us. He then looked down at me and hovered over. “Caleb, are you okay?”

“Yeah, just got smacked by a stray rock”, I brought my hand away from my nose, and felt a bit of blood slowly leak from my nostril.

Hilda cringed. “I say we just go. This whole place is weirding me out.”

“Agreed”, I said as Majima handed me a handkerchief . I stuck the thing in my nostril to stop the bleeding, and began to look around. “Do we take the window, or the door?” I pointed at the window we jumped through, then to the door all the Zombies retreated through.

“I say the window”, Vanellope said as she glitched onto Ralph’s shoulder, “I’ve had enough of the tall, dark, smelly undead for a long while.” Ralph nodded and began to make his way to the window. We all followed after him, Maple climbing onto my shoulder and Alfur riding on Gladius. Jenny, Steve and Galacta all helped us out of the room and through the pane of exploded glass, but as Gladius flew me up to the window, the door the Zombies took blew open, and in rushed two Gargantuars and several Z-Mechs.

“Guys!” I screamed. Jenny Gasped and quickly flew down and hugged the four of us close. She then quickly flew back up and tossed us into Ralph’s arm, her eyes wide with panic. She was about to speak when we all heard what sounded like an alarm. I instantly recognized the sound, and scrambled out of the wrecker’s arms.

“RUN!!!!” I yelled. Two of the orange Z-Mechs began to fire a barrage of missiles up at us, and we all ran down the hall, narrowly missing the purple explosives as they collided with the wall. I looked over my shoulder as three Z-Mechs styled off of shrimps hopped up behind us and began to fire piercing pink lasers from their tops. This caused us to split up when the hallway reached a junction, Majima, Marco, Hilda, myself, Gladius, Alfur and Maple going one way. I turned back around, and my eyes met Jenny’s.

“Just go!” She shouted, “We’ll meet back up.” I nodded once and continued down the hallway, two of the mechs following after us. We kept running down until we came to a four way junction.

“Which way do we go?!” Marco said fearfully. I could hear the Z-Mechs approaching fast, so I looked around frantically. Only issue was, it all looked the same.

“Let’s try this way!” Hilda cried, pointing down the hallway to our left. “There’s windows, so we can use them to lead us to the front door!”

“Good call, Hilda!” Alfur said. We all dashed down the hallway, but as we did some Foot Soldiers and Imps jumped out from nowhere and blocked us.

“I don’t have any fucking time for this!” Majima roared. He pulled out his bat and gripped it tightly in his left hand, and pulled out a handgun with his right. Then he began to unleash hell against all that stood in front of us. The Zombies all ragdolled as the crazed man either unloaded a whole clip of bullets into them, or smashed them out of the way with his bat. A few unfortunate Zombies even were sent out the windows to our right.

“As much as he freaks me out”, Hilda whispered to me quietly as we followed Majima’s path of destruction, “He’s still so cool.”

“Yeah, I’m with you on that…” I whispered back.

~X~

Our run through the sparling and seemingly endless building soon brought us to a dead end. It was some sort of outlook point that had windows on all sides. Majima had slammed the door shut as soon as we entered, so we had some time to figure out what to do next.

“So, how do we get out of here?” Hilda said frantically. I did the only thing I could think of: I grabbed the nearest chair and threw it at one of the windows with all my might.

Only for it to weakly fly through the air and smack against the window, doing absolutely nothing.

“Oh for fucks sake”, Majima growled, “Let me try!” Still wielding his bat, he swung at the glass, only for nothing to happen. He darted his eye around a bit before smashing the chair I threw. “Grab a leg and help me out here. This shit is stronger than stone.” Me, Hilda and Marco all nodded and began to bash at the glass with Majima. Gladius and Maple soon joined, both of them using their most prominent body parts to whack the glass. And Alfur? He had to cling onto dear life as Gladius flailed around. We kept attacking the glass relentlessly, but it wasn’t letting up.

“This is ridiculous!” Gladius complained, “We aren’t getting anywhere with this!”

Just then, the glass cracked where Majima was striking. “Shut up and keep going, you fucking dullhead. We’re getting there.”

We all began to increase the bombardment on the window, but I slowed when I heard something. An extremely faint sound that was growing in volume made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. As the sound grew in volume, I could make it out as over a dozen marching troops, all running towards us.

“Guys”, I said in a hard, fearful tone.

“Well stop gawking and fucking break the glass!” Majima barked. We all began to hammer at the glass twice as hard. The one crack slowly began to web out more and more. The footsteps became louder. Our assault on the window became more relentless. A loud banging came from the door. I started jabbing the wooden leg at the cracks in an attempt to dig them deeper. The door burst off its hinges as a Gargantuar, flanked by Scientists and Foot Soldiers flooded into the room.

Then the glass shattered.

I stumbled forward and fell out into the open air, my friends all screaming my name as I fell to the pavement. I closed my eyes as the road quickly rushed to my face, but just before I could make contact, I suddenly stopped. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and felt my heart skip a beat as I hovered just a few inches from the ground.

“Glad I showed up when I did, huh?” A familiar voice sounded off. I looked over my shoulder and beamed as I saw Jenny holding onto my shirt. Her jet boosters were running at 100%, and I couldn’t be happier. I quickly wrapped her in a hug, and she carefully set me on the asphalt.

“Jenny… I- How?” I asked, still shaken from the whole experience.

“Well, after we lost those mechs”, she explained, “We started to look for you guys so we could all group back up and blow this pop stand, but then we overheard Zomboss bickering with the guys that kicked down your door being told where you were at. So we followed them.”

“Wait, you and the others?” I asked. I was answered as several Zombies were suddenly blasted out of the window and started cratering on the road around me and Jenny. I looked up, and after a moment, the rest of the gang all looked over the edge at us.

“Kid, are you okay?” Ralph called

“Yeah, I’m good!” I cried back, cupping my hands around my mouth.

This was the gang’s cue to all hop down. Gladius, carrying Twig and with Alfur still on his hilt, was the first to hover down. Next, Ralph just jumped down and landed on the ground like a rock. He shook the earth as his feet left tiny craters. Oddly, Vanellope wasn’t with him, but this was fixed when she glitched onto his shoulder, accompanied by a dizzy Hilda. Majima was carried down by Galacta, Steve jumped down and quickly dumped a bucket of water before he hit the road as Maple rested on his head, and Star and Marco rode down on Cloudy. Soon we were all back together, and it made me sigh with relief.

“Alright, are we all ready to get out of here?” Alfur said, being the first one to speak up.

As everyone nodded, Maple hopped off of Steve’s head and returned to his spot on my shoulder. I could see Vanellope shoot the plant a subtle thumbs up, and it made me smile.

That was when the worst possible thing happened.

A large garage door that was in front of me slowly opened, and on the other side was none other than Zomboss, still in his pod, glaring at us as he hovered above an absolutely massive group of Zombies, all of them varying in body shape and profession. The Zombie leader jumped out of his pod and rode on a Gargantuar’s shoulders.

“You think you can just waltz in, wreck my equipment and plan, and leave?!” The crazed scientist demanded.

“Yeah, we do think”, Majima spat cockily.

“After that stunt you pulled, I don’t know why you didn’t think of it”, Ralph added.

Zomboss grit what little teeth he had. “You’ll regret this! Charge!” The massive group of Zombies all marched forward, roaring with their undead might. My side did the same, all of us letting out roars of fury as we charged forward.

“Let the Battle of Zombopolis begin!” a man with a microphone and eggnog coloured suit suddenly said, materialising to my left. Both sides came to a screeching halt, so much so you could hear the record scratch, and we all looked at the man in confusion, bafflement, shock, or a combination of all three. He looked over his shoulder with the face of a caught criminal.

“What the…” Star mumbled out, her mouth agape as she held a finger up.

“Just roll with it”, Zomboss groaned, “He just kind of shows up to these kinds of things.”

I shared looks with the rest of the gang, and we all shrugged. Then, the battle was back on, as both my side and Zomboss’ side clashed.

~X~

The battle was explosive and fierce. Jenny, Ralph and Galacta took on tackling the Gargantuars, including the one Zomboss was riding, while the rest of us dealt with all the rest. Steve, Majima, Star and Marco were fairing the best, using their skills in ways that cleared out Zombies at a time. Twig, Alfur and Maple had ganged up, the deerfox running around wildly as the Wasabi Whip let out a torrent of lashes, many of the Zombies reduced to soot and ash. Vanellope was glitching about, Hilda with her, as they distracted Zombies into small groups that were easily taken out by either Steve’s TNT, Majima’s bat swings, or Star’s Narwhal Blasts.

That left me and Gladius, and the two of us were handling things fairly well. As I wielded the sword, I took out any Zombies that walked a bit too close, but it was becoming more of a challenge. I was getting overwhelmed as more Zombies surrounded me.

“C’mon, Caleb!” Gladius cheered, “Don’t give up now!”

“I’m trying!” I cried, “But I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up! There’s too many!”

“Just keep going!” Gladius once again cheered. I steeled my nerves and continued to defend myself, and I began to notice the diminishing Zombie numbers. Despite all odds, we were coming out on top. That was when I took a direct Sprint Tackle from an All-Star, and I felt all the oxygen leave my body. I was sent flying through the air, my grip on Gladius completely gone, and crashed onto a nearby bench. I felt pain course through my body as I attempted to sit up, my back feeling like it had shattered to pieces. I opened my eyes a bit to see the All-Star that tackled me, wearing purple football gear, marched up to me with an extremely harsh glare. Gladius swiftly moved in front of him, but was simply swatted out of the way. I tried to back away, but the pain forced me to stop. That was when Majima performed a spinning kick that sent the All-Star’s head flying. The body limply flopped onto the ground.

“You good, kid?” Majima asked as he held off two Zombies effortlessly with his bat.

“I’m… Good…” I said very slowly and weakly. Majima shot me a slight sympathetic look before he went back to bashing Zombies. I did my best to stand onto my two feet, with Gladius helping me when he recovered. I used him as a crutch as the battle slowly began to wind down. Most of the Zombies began to run away as Ralph dealt a final uppercut to the Gargantuar Zomboss was on, knocking it out cold. As Zomboss recovered, we all walked over to him, Star and Galacta helping me. When Zomboss looked up, he flinched as he took in our fierce glares.

“Uhhhhhh… oops?” He said innocently with a small shrug.

Jenny fumed while Majima growled, slapping his bat in his open palm.

Zomboss gulped fearfully, and I limped closer. “Zomboss, just admit it. You lost.”

Zomboss looked up at me, then sighed. “Fine. After that, I’m not risking it.” He stood up and walked away with his head down. As the rest of my friends all left it at that and walked away, I remained and watched as Zomboss walked back into the large building. I looked down at Gladius, and the sword nodded. I left him behind as I followed after Zomboss. It was hard in my state, but I was always able to quickly recover from most injuries, so I was able to keep up with the Zombie leader until I had followed him to one room I’d never thought I’d see.

His office.

I quietly slipped in before the door closed, and Zomboss growled.

“Why are you following me?” He asked, his voice monotone.

“I just want to talk”, I said, “And apologise. We aren’t supposed to be here.”

Zomboss didn’t move.

“Me and Gladius accidentally opened a portal, and it sent us… to a lot of different places…”

This got his attention. “What do you mean?”

I sighed. “No point dancing around it. I’m from a different universe. So is Gladius, Ralph, Jenny, all of my friends. Me and Gladius are just trying to get back home.”

Zomboss had finally faced me, and his face was painted with curiosity and intrigue. “Tell me more…”

I kind of shut down. “It’s… hard to explain, really. But that’s why I wanted to talk.”

Zomboss darted his eyes downward.”You want me to come with you…” He gave me a flat look. “No. Not after that humiliating defeat.” He walked over to his desk, sat in his large chair, and spun it around so he was facing to the window.

I looked down. “I was just hoping to have my favourite villain ever tag along.”

“What?” Zomboss spun back around to face me.

“Back in my world”, I began, “You’re just a fictional character. The big bad final boss of one of my favourite games. And when I got the comics based on your games, I… I kind of started to look up to you. Because of your determination.”

Zomboss looked at me with wide eyes. “Wow, I… I didn’t expect that…” He then gave me a light glare. “But what makes you think I’d come with you?”

“You’d get a break”, I said, “After me and Gladius get back home, we can send you right back here, and not a second would have passed. You could be gone for years, and nothing will be broken by the time you get back.”

Zomboss leaned back in his chair in thought. “I’d finally get a break from the endless idiocy…”

“And, if you come with us, you could finally get some victories under your belt”, I added.

Zomboss hummed. “But what if I actually get attached to you whelps? I have an image to keep up.”

“That’s just with us. No one else needs to know.”

Silence. The room fell into silence as Zomboss thought over what I said. He then chuckled. “You mystify me, boy. Having the heart to talk to me after all that I did, and offer this? It’s idiotic. But… I have to admire it. You have the perseverance.”

“I learned from the best”, I said with a small smile. Zomboss’ own smile felt, and I could see a glint of happiness in his eyes.

“Alright, I’ll come with you”, he said, springing up from his seat. “I just need to pack some things. Go tell your friends to wait.” I nodded and walked off, unable to run because of my injury. I retraced my steps through the hallways of the building, passing zombie-filled room after zombie-filled room. And after a bit, I finally made it back outside. The gang were standing out front of the building, and as I approached they turned to me.

“There you are”, Ralph said in relief, “Gladius wouldn’t tell us where you ran off to. I was about to treat him like a nail…” The wrecker glared at the sword, who flinched and sheepishly laughed.

Maple climbed back onto my shoulder as Vanellope, Hilda and Twig came to my side. “What were you doing anyway, Glasses?” Vanellope asked. “Needed to use the bathroom before we left?”

“No”, I said, shaking my head. “I was just adding a new member for our rag-tag group.”

Marco instantly realised what I meant. “You did not just tell Zomboss about this.”

“I did”, I said. This was met with everyone voicing their protests. “I trust him. Plus, he’s smart enough to know not to pull any funny business.”

“He’s right, I am”, Zomboss spoke up, walking up to my side. He only had with him a simple handbag, and pulled out a cookie with pink frosting. “This whole prospect of exploring the multiverse is too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.” He took a bite of the cookie.

“Yeah, I get that”, Jenny said in a sarcastic tone. She then glared at the Zombie leader. “But how can we trust you? And why would we let you come with us after what you did to me and Majima?”

Zomboss looked her over, shot a look at Majima, then looked back at Jenny. “I suppose the first thing I should do is apologise. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for trying to turn the two of you into mindless slaves. Since I get to be a different person around you all, I can show a bit of compassion.”

Majima grunted. “Sure, whatever.”

Zomboss gave him a weird look. “What did he say?” He whispered to me.

I pat his shoulder. “Gladius will help you with that.” I gestured to the blade, and the two of us swapped places. I looked the group over with a smile.

“Alright gang”, I began, “After this moment on, Zomboss is with us whether you like it or not. This whole adventure has all of us breaking the rules of the multiverse, so we aren’t really in the same boat to deny Zomboss. I was taught to try and give others a second chance, and what’s a better way than outside of the world that has mandatory rules set up.”

Everyone sans Galacta and Zomboss grumbled in reluctant agreement.

“Exactly. So let’s welcome Zomboss like we did with Galacta. Is that cool?”

Again, nods of agreement. I smiled as Gladius floated over back next to me and bowed.

“Ready to get going, my boy?” He asked.

“You bet.” I took hold of his handle and spun around. Gladius adjusted me slightly till I was facing the right direction, and I slashed him at the empty air. A portal opened instantly, and I faced my friends.

“You ready, guys?” I asked.

Ralph nodded with a grunt.

Vanellope, Hilda and Twig cheered.

Jenny shot Zomboss a glance, then looked at me and smiled.

Steve saluted.

Majima let out a giggle.

Alfur nodded from his perch on Hilda’s beret.

Star and Marco fist-bumped.

Galacta walked up to my side.

Maple happily flailed his whip in the air.

And finally, Zomboss smiled at me. “Time to see what all of this has in store…”

I smiled and jumped into the portal, followed shortly by all the others.

~X~

And so concludes the Plants Vs Zombies arc. Yes, Zomboss has joined the gang. Why? Because of the fact he’s a villain, scientist, and just genuinely hilarious. I just felt he added to the group in the planning stages of this story.

Also, I'd just love to say thank you. 500 hits is a massive milestone for me, and I couldn't be happier.

Up Next: The gang find themselves in a city at the heart of Mexico, and become involved in a love triangle

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

This trip through the portal was… odd, to say the least. Zomboss had somehow found a way to transform his pod into a small cube so it could fit in his handbag, and he was currently riding in it. But what made the whole scene truly strange was the fact Zomboss was playing Blackjack with Majima and Steve, the three of them dealing cards completely unfazed. I was sitting on Jenny’s back with Maple on my shoulder, and I watched the scene completely baffled. I shared a look with the plant, who mirrored my expression, then we both looked back to the card game.

“Are you guys serious?” I asked.

“Hey, don’t fault me for being smart and packing up some entertainment”, Zomboss shot back, “If this whole trip has times where we got nothing going on, might as well be productive.”

“Yeah!” Majima cheered, “I like this guy already!”

“Even after what he did to us?” Jenny remarked in a salty tone.

Majima shrugged. “Meh, I have to deal with a lot of shit back at Kamurocho. Heck, being part of the Tojo means I get away with a lot of crap.” He finished with a sinister smile.

Steve cocked an eyebrow at him. “Tojo, what the heck is that?”

“Ah, just the Yakuza family I’m part of”, Majima said nonchalantly with a hand wave, “I’m head of my own family, and started the construction of Kamurocho Hills to boost the Tojo’s control on the city. Plus, it gives me free range over Purgatory.”

That made me shoot the eyepatched man a look of horrified shock. “YOU’RE A YAKUZA?!”

“What the heck is that?” Ralph asked, who had Vanellope, Hilda, Twig and Alfur on his back.

“It’s basically the Japanese Mafia”, I explained.

“WHAT?!” Everyone shouted in shock. They all gaped at Majima, who just scoffed and crossed his arms.

“So what? We just let a batshit insane Zombie scientist join us, so I don’t get why you’re all shocked.” He spat. We all fell silent at his point. He was right, which both frustrated and stumped me.

We all fell into a conflicted silence as we continued through the portal until Zomboss spoke up. “Look, Majima is part of the Yakuza. Big deal. We’re all here now.”

“And don’t forget you let me join”, Galacta brought up.

“He’s got a point”, Vanellope said flatly, jabbing a thumb at him.

I sighed. “Yeah, whatever. I was just shocked.” I looked at Majima in curiosity. “So… what did you do when you were a full-time member of the Tojo?”

Majima looked at me silently for a moment, then quickly glanced at the children. “Well, nothing that’s good for the kids, that’s for sure.” He let out a laugh, which made us all look at him flatly, but we all jumped when a loud boom echoed around us. A white energy wave travelled up the portal from behind us and shot into the light in front.

“Caleb, what was that?” Star asked, cruising Cloudy over as Marco looked around for some sort of answer.

“I don’t know-”

“OH NO!” Gladius suddenly interrupted me. “That was a rift settling!”

“What the heck does that mean?” Jenny asked.

“TURBULENCE! WE NEED TO MOVE, NOW!” He screeched. We all looked down the portal behind us, and sure enough we could see the portal fragmenting and shifting in a wave. And it was coming right at us.

“HOLY SHIT!” Majima screamed. Galacta quickly made his way over to Ralph and helped the wrecker increase speed as the girls, deerfox and efl all held on for dear life. Jenny supercharged her boosters, and I hugged Maple close as the robot held onto my legs tightly. Zomboss dropped his cards and quickly made his way to the pod’s console, grabbing hold of a lever and pushing it forward as far as it could go. Star used her wand to blast out a jet of fire to rocket her cloud summon forward, Marco hugging her tightly. Gladius quickly blasted to the front of the group.

“Gladius, what the heck is happening?” Steve cried.

“Portals like this behave like magma and lava”, the sword exclaimed, “Occasionally small rifts open and close as the universes shift, like when lava bubbles because of trapped air. Sometimes, though, a large rift opens and closes, forcing whole portals to shift and bend. If we don’t reach the end of this portal, the quake will send all of us across the whole multiverse.”

“Well that’s reassuring!” Zomboss spat. I felt my anxieties spike, and I turned around to see if we were at least somewhat safe. While we had a good distance from the upcoming quake, but it was just that bit quicker, so it was gaining.

“Guys, can we pick up the pace please?!” I said through clenched teeth.

“I’m trying here!” Jenny spat at me in anger. Another loud boom echoed around us, and it almost knocked Zomboss and Star together.

“This is crazy!” Alfur complained, “We have to be near the end soon!”

I mentally wished the same thing, and it was actually met as we came up to a blinding white light.

“Everyone! Brace!” I cried. Everyone in charge of flying gave it one last blast of speed, and we were all swallowed into the light.

~X~

We left the portal, barreling through the air towards a large tree. We all screamed as we collided with its branches, each of us flopping onto the ground at different times. I was the first one, followed by Gladius, Ralph, Majima, Steve, Jenny, Star, Marco, Vanellope and Hilda crashed together, Twig, who nearly crushed Alfur, Galacta, and finally Zomboss.

“Everyone, sound off…” I called out in a dazed tone. I was met with groans from the others. Slowly, I sat back up, rubbing my head.

“That was such a shit landing”, Majima bluntly stated, throwing his arms in the air as he laid on his back. “I swear one of those branches went up my fucking nose.”

“MMMMMMMM!!!” We all heard a voice scream out, muffled. We all faced Steve, whose head was buried right in the ground. He was obviously trying to free himself, but his blocky build made that difficult. Jenny and Galacta quickly recovered and rushed to help him, and while they did that, I looked to Star and Ralph. The princess was in an awkward pose, an upside down sitting position with her legs open at an acute angle. Ralph was just full on face planting, not moving a muscle.

“You two good?” I asked them, pulling Gladius out of the ground next to me.

“I’m fine”, she said with a groan, “Marco, you good bestie?” The hispanic boy, who was sitting on one of the tree’s exposed roots and panting heavily, shot her a thumbs up.

Ralph just let out a muffled groan.

I hummed at the sight and rose to my feet, Gladius helping me. I started to take in the surroundings, and it started to make my heart flutter. We were in a desert, the occasional cactus or tree amongst the empty lands and rocks. The whole place was bathed in the orange glow of the sunset, but that wasn’t what was most striking. Close by, down the hill, surrounded by a river, was a city. It was a large city, layered almost like a cake, with a church at the very top. At the backside was a large stadium, its pointed bowl giving the city the vague appearance of a ship.

The only way into the city was a bridge over the river at the base of the hill. At the city’s entrance was an arch with a name.

San Ángel

“No way…” I said in silent shock. Suddenly, completely out of instinct, I let out what could be called a poor man’s fangirl scream. This made me freeze and turn around slowly to the others. They all were giving me looks of confusion, having stopped what they were doing. I blushed in embarrassment.

“Uhhhhh…” I said, shrinking into myself and nervously laughing.

“What the heck was that about, Glasses?” Vanellope pressed, suddenly glitching right in front of me.

“I usually only hear K-Pop fans scream like that”, Majima joked with his arms crossed. Zomboss gave him a side glance, then rolled his eyes, reattaching his head onto his body.

“I’m assuming you recognise this place?” Steve asked, finally freed from the ground. He had walked up next to me, brushing off any dirt.

“I do…” I said, trying to reign in my excitement. I then cleared my throat and stood confidently in front of the others. “This is San Ángel, main location of my second favourite movie of all time, The Book Of Life.”

Ralph, who had finally stood back up, cocked an eyebrow at me. “Really?” He paused, then shot me a suspicious look. “Are you sure you don’t have control over the portals?”

“100% positive, Ralph”, I said with complete honesty, “We’ve just been really lucky.”

“I might have a better explanation”, Gladius spoke up. “Caleb’s memories and emotions subtly affect our destinations with how my portals work, where they try to prioritise worlds he knows unless one is right in the way. Most likely, this world is far closer to The Capital than others we could have ended up at.”

Jenny hummed in thought as Majima pulled out a cigarette and started to smoke. “So, what happens in the movie?” The robot girl asked.

“That would take time to explain…”, I said, “But the short version is two gods bet on which of two friends would marry their one friend.”

“That’s fucked up”, Majima bluntly said, puasing his smoke.

“I’m with Majima, that kinda screwed up”, Marco added.

“It does sound like it is, but the three friends knew each other for a long time, and it was kinda obvious”, I explained, “But the big thing is this movie has a time skip, the main characters going from kids to adults. And I’m a bit worried we came before that…”

“Well, let’s go see!” Star happily announced. She walked ahead and grabbed my hand, pulling me along down the hill to the gates of the city. I looked over my shoulder back to the others, and they quickly chased after the two of us. Star almost passed under the arch before I wiggled out of her grasp and ran in front of her. She stopped dead in her tracks, only for the rest of the gang to tumble into the back of her, knocking the princess to the ground.

“Ow”, she uttered in a bored tone, face planting right on the bridge. She quickly recovered, and the whole gang looked at me.

“Okay, look”, I started, “This place is a bit… different, so just act casual. No magic, no guns, and no crafting.” I received nods from everyone, although Majima seemed to be a bit annoyed about my rules. I faced the sword. “Gladius?”

“Of course, Caleb”, he said. Instantly, he sheathed himself down the back of my shirt, and I led us through the streets.

I then turned to Galacta. “You should hide out, too.”

“I will”, the knight nodded, “But I’ll still be nearby.” He flew up into the air, and proceeded to circle above like a vulture. I shot him a thumbs up,and took the lead of the group, heading into the city. Despite being a large city, it felt deserted, not a single person around. There was only the occasional street lamp.

“Where is everyone?” Steve asked. “Was this place abandoned before we showed up?”

“No… It’s because something is happening…” I said, shifting my eyes around. As we continued through the empty streets, we soon came to a plaza of sorts. There was a large statue in the centre depicting a fierce man riding a horse. In front of the statue to our right, there was a crowd of people around a group of four. The four consisted of three men of varying sizes wearing red and white mariachi uniforms, while the fourth member caught my attention the most. He wore a black matador uniform adorned with golden skull metals and golden lining. His legs were red with black shoes. Some of his edges stuck out with hard spirals, making him seem very distinct against everyone else. He was completed with a curled pompadour with a short ponytail in the back.

“Who the heck is that, kid?” Ralph whispered to me when he nudged me a bit, nodding at the man that stood out.

“That is Manolo Sanchez”, I whispered back, “One of the main characters, and one of the boys that is part of the bet of the gods.”

“Well I can see why”, Star said in a dreamy way. We all gave her a weird look as she leaned more and more against Marco as her face was stuck in a lovestruck grin. Zomboss was quick to snap his fingers in front of her face, snapping her out of her trance.

“Sorry to tell ya’, Butterfly”, Zomboss said, “But based on what Caleb said, it seems this guy is taken.”

“And way too old for you!” Gladius whispered angrily. Star just pouted and crossed her arms in return.

“So, what’s the plan?” Jenny asked.

“Well, if what’s going on is right…” I trailed off and just mouthed a countdown starting at three, and when I finished and pointed at Manolo, a man very similar to him, only with a green uniform and red skull medals, grabbed Manolo by the ear and dragged him off.

“Papa, I was on my way!” I heard Manolo whine. I looked over my shoulder at the others and nodded at the musician, and we all followed after him. I looked up to the sky, and I saw Galacta flying above, heading ahead to the stadium. The rest of us all fell into the crowd, following them towards the same structure.

“I’m kinda surprised no one’s noticed us yet”, Hilda whispered, “Considering we aren’t… wood.”

“Why is that?” Vanellope asked quietly. “Why does everyone look like rejected Pinocchios?”

“It’s because this is just a story for one world”, I explained. “Everyone’s a wooden figure for it, kinda like when you play with action figures or dolls.”

“Weird”, Ralph bluntly said. We continued along our way in silence, still none of the other people around us paying us any mind. It did make me feel a bit odd, but I just brushed off the feeling. So we continued to follow the crowd, and we soon were within the stands. We all quietly made our way to the back most bleachers, and as we took our seats, Star magiced up all of us binoculars. Sans Jenny, because robot, and Galacta Knight, who was actually resting on the bowl above us. However, as I looked around the whole stadium, I caught sight of something that made my heart stop.

“Galacta!” I hastily whispered up at him, “Get down here, now!”

He looked down at me for a moment before obliging, the others all giving me odd looks. “What the heck is wrong, Glasses?” Vanellope asked.

“That”, I said, carefully nodding towards who I saw. There were two beings resting on the edge of the bowl, watching over the whole stadium. Despite the distance, I could make out one was a woman with white skin wearing a red dress and large brimmed hat adorned with golden flowers, while the other was a man with black skin, black wings, and glowing green eyes.

“Who the heck is that?” Jenny whispered to me, her gaze not leaving the two mysterious figures.

“La Muerte and Xibalba”, I whispered back, “Two of the three gods that watch over this world. La Muerte rules The Land of The Remembered, while Xibalba rules The Land of The Forgotten.”

“Are they the ones that made that bet you told us about?” Hilda asked fearfully.

“Yep”, I said back bluntly. The young adventurer gulped in fear.

“Should we be worried about them?” Galacta asked in a low tone, clearly prepared to obliterate the two rulers if things took a turn.

“No!” I whispered, snapping my head at him. “They’re part of The Council. If anything happens to them, all hell will break loose…”

“Then we just stay out of their way”, Gladius said. “We all follow Caleb’s lead when it comes to this, since he watched the movie. We got lucky in Star and Marco’s world, so we play it safe now.”

“Wow, I didn’t hear that before”, Majima spat sarcastically. I shot him such a fierce glare it actually made him do a double take, before he just scoffed and rolled his eyes, facing the centre of the stadium silently. I adjusted my shirt and did the same, Galacta putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. We all then gave out full attention to the centre of the arena as a man wearing a blue soldier’s uniform adorned with medals stepped into the sunlight. This made the crowd erupt into a thunderous cheer.

“Who the heck is that?” Vanellope asked in a strained tone, covering her ears.

“Joaquin”, I said. “The town’s hero, Manolo’s best friend, and the one Xibalba picked for the bet.”

“Let me guess, he has an ego the size of Jupiter?” Jenny asked in a dejected tone, slumping into her seat with her arms crossed. I gave her a cringe, then made a “so-so” motion with my hand, making the robot sigh. “Of course…”

I slowly looked away from her, unsure what else to say, and decided to watch Joaquin. He rode on a horse, standing up straight and strong as he signed four sombreros and tossed them back to their four original owners. He then circled back around to the VIP box and made an impossible leap up into it. I saw he greeted a hunched over man with a brown general’s uniform, and took a seat in the chair on the far left of the box, leaving a chair vacant between the two of them. The whole stadium then fell silent as they watched a woman make her way to the exact place, her face hidden behind a paper fan.

She wore a long red dress with a sort of pattern at the bottom that just barely touched the ground. Her torso and chest were covered with a white shirt that had a piece of cloth attached that draped over her shoulders. Her hair was styled in a ponytail, the long lock of curled hair nearly going as far down as her dress. The whole stadium stayed eerily silent as the woman took her seat between Joaquin and the hunched general. She said something to the town hero after lowering her fan, revealing her large, brown eyes to the world. This made the stadium explode.

“What’s her deal, Claeb?” Marco asked me.

“That’s Maria”, I said. “Daughter of the town’s general, the girl that’s the target of the two god’s bet, and all around badass.”

Majima smirked and eyed her. “You don’t say…”

“Ooooo, do you think she knows how to sword fight?” Star said hopefully. I was about to answer when I was cut off by loud music. I looked down and saw the three mariachi from earlier playing their instruments, followed by a determined Manolo, who had a red bull fighter’s cape resting on his shoulder. When he made it to the centre, he grabbed it and whipped it off,an audible whip crack sounding off as he did so.

“I would like to dedicate this corrida to Miss Maria Posada”, he announced. I used my binoculars to see Maria respond with a bit of a sour look, so I looked back to Manolo. “Welcome home, senorita.” The sound of pounding on a door made us all face a flimsy excuse for a door break down, showing the culprit to be a bull covered in metal spiked armour on its head and horns.

“What kind of bull is that?!” Alfur exclaimed in an utterly flabbergasted tone. The three mariachi members all ran off in fear, jumping behind one of the red wooden barriers that circled the ring. Manolo spoke to the bull in Spanish, and dodged as the beast charged at him. The crowd let out varying volumes of cheers and threw roses at him. He grabbed one of the flowers and held it up to Maria, a bright smile on his face.

“I gotta say, he’s good”, Majima said as the musician did a flawless backflip over the bull, catching the rose in his mouth. “He’s got some skill. Maybe he’d be willing to help with Kamurocho Hills.”

“Yeah, no”, Steve deadpanned. “I think you can handle it with what you got, Goro” The Yakuza grumbled bitterly, and we all turned our attention back to the bull fight, watching in pure amazement as Manolo guided the bull’s horns into the dirt to write out Maria’s name in cursive.

“Wow”, Ralph said. “That was really cool.”

“He’s insane”, Jenny said with a shake of her head, though she had a sweet smile on her face too. I beamed down at him as the crowd went wild, many of the audience members dancing as Manolo soaked in all the praise. I felt my smile fall, however, as he walked over to his father and took the sword he was offered.

“What’s he doing?” Hilda asked.

I hissed. “See, his dad wants him to be the best bull fighter. That includes… finishing the bull.”

“You’re serious”, Steve said in shock as the others all silently stared at the scene, their eyes all bugging out.

Majima nodded. “It’s fucked up, but it’s how they do things.”

I nodded sadly, but felt my smile return (and heard the others all breath sighs of relief) when Manolo spun the sword and stabbed it into the ground.

“Killing the bull is wrong!” He shouted. The audience all let out gasps, and we watched as the bull charged once more, only for Manolo to let the cape drape the animal’s eyes so it would ram into one of the barriers. It sent a shockwave that launched a good chunk of the audience off their seats. This was quickly followed by a bunch of booing, which just angered my friends.

“Jeez, these people all suck major dooty”, Vanellope said, crossing her arms.

“And you wonder why I don’t like humans”, Zomboss grumbled. I only watched the whole scene in silent sadness as people threw all manner of junk at the poor man. It reached his peak when someone threw his guitar at him, knocking him unconscious.

“Who the heck did that?!” Hilda shouted as she and the others all shot out of their seats. But I just held out my arms to stop them before anything drastic happened.

“We should just go guys”, I said. I stood up and began to follow the crowd out, with the others following closely behind and galacta returning to the skies. All I could do was look at Manolo in sadness. As we all filed out of the stadium, I headed off to the side.

“Kid, what are you doing?” Ralph asked.

“You guys go on ahead”, I said. “I want to chat with Manolo when he’s done.”

They all shared unsure glances with each other, but all nodded and continued. All except Zomboss.

“Well, I would like to meet this Manolo”, he said in a somewhat dignified tone, “Mainly because you shouldn’t be unsupervised.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not a baby, Zomboss.”

“You never know”, he said. I quietly chuckled and leaned up against the wall, making small talk with the Zombie ruler for the next while.

~X~

Me, Zomboss and Gladius remained by the entrance to the stadium for what felt like a few hours. The sky was beginning to turn dark as some clouds danced around the sky. Zomboss let out a sigh as the sun began to set.

“I’m surprised how long this guy is taking…” The Zombie leader said. “You’d think he’d be done moping by now.”

He was instantly met with my elbow jabbing him in the side. “You got to be nicer, Zomboss”, I said bitterly, “Especially since you’re stuck with us now.”

He let out a groan, rubbing a hand where I jabbed him. “Fine, fine. Just as long as you promise not to hit me that hard.” He hissed. “My body isn’t as durable as other Zombies.”

I nodded, and we both returned to our occasional conversations. It wasn’t that much longer, however, when Manolo walked out of the stadium, with the three mariachi from earlier following him. None of them noticed the two of us, but that just let us see Manolo’s dejected, defeated look.

“What’s going on with him?” Gladius whispered, wiggling just a bit so he could look over my shoulder.

“Daddy issues”, I whispered back.

Zomboss scoffed, “Of course. When is it not ever that?” The zombie leader began to walk up to the bullfighter, so I quickly rushed up and grabbed his shoulder. He faced me with an annoyed look, and I shook my head. Slowly, I left Zomboss, leaving him to sigh, and walked up to Manolo.

One of the mariachi, the largest of the three, was the first to notice me. “Oh, hey, Manolo! Looks like you got some fans!”

The bullfighter turned around and faced me, which made me lock up. I stiffly waved at him as Zomboss came up to my side.

“Wait, fans?” Manolo asked, shooting his friends a sceptical look, before looking back at us. “Is that why you two are still here?” He said in a harsh tone, giving us both a cold look.

“Yeesh, someone’s grumpy.” Zomboss whispered.

“I just…”, I began, ignoring Zomboss. “I just really wanted to congratulate you.” I paused.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I honestly was really worried you’d… kill the bull. But you didn’t!”

Manolo sighed, but still gave me a weak smile. “Thanks. So, what’s your name? I don’t remember seeing you around town.”

“My name is Caleb!” I said proudly. I then gestured to the zombie. “And this is Zomboss. He can have a bit of an ego, but he’s smart.” Zomboss let out a whine.

“Nice to meet you, Caleb”, Manolo said with a light chuckle. “You probably already know me, but this is Pepe, Pancho and Pablo.”

Pepe, the largest of the mariachi, suddenly bolted to me and began to shake my hand violently. His enthusiasm rivalled Star. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, buddy!”

When he let me go, I let out a laugh. “Yeah, it’s nice to be here. Me and my friends all are on a journey to try and get me home, and we stopped here just in time for your bullfight. I say we got lucky.”

Manolo’s smile faltered a bit. “Well,it’s nice you liked it.”

“All my friends did. Heck, I had to stop my buddies Ralph and Jenny from running around when everyone was booing you.”

This made the musician cock an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yep. A lot of them are used to doing the right thing, so I did expect it”, I shrugged.

Manolo hummed. “Well, there’s not much going on right now, so how about you come with us?”

Zomboss gave him a look. “Really? You’d be fine with that? But we just met.”

Manolo shrugged, and I jabbed Zomboss once again with an elbow. He kept his mouth closed as he groaned. I sweetly smiled at Manolo as he gave me a weird look, but he just shook his head and began to walk away, followed closely by me, Zomboss, and his three band members. It was a quiet walk, only the sound of our steps hitting the road and Pancho playing his trumpet to fill the void of silence. I looked over at Manolo, and felt my heart ache as he looked down at the ground sadly.

“Hey, Manolo, is everything okay?” I asked.

He looked off to the side a bit. “No…”

“I can’t believe the General invited the whole town!” Pepe suddenly said, “Except for you, Manolo…”

“Sorry bro”, Pablo said as he somehow lugged his guitarron over his shoulder.

“He even invited us”, Pancho added, pausing his trumpet play. “And he hates us.”

Me and Zomboss shared a look. “I’m guessing there’s bad blood between you two?” I asked the bullfighter innocently.

“Maria’s father. He never…Because I wasn’t a hero like Joaquin, he barely gave me the time of day. Now I’ve lost Maria to him…”

I gave him a sad look, but stumbled when Pepe hopped in front of us. We all continued walking as he draped an arm over Manolo’s shoulders.

“Okay, okay, listen, listen”, he started, “All we got to do is play the right song, and trust me, everything will turn around in the space of four bars.”

“We’ve already been to four bars! Twice!” Pancho added, only to slam right into a lamppost. Both me and Zomboss cringed, and I heard Gladius hiss quietly in sympathy.

“Hold it! I know exactly what to play!” Pepe whistled, and the three mariachi members huddled together. I shared a look with Manolo, gesturing at his friends, but was only answered with a shake of the head. Manolo turned to leave, only for Pepe to reach his arm out and pull the musician into the group huddle. When me and Zomboss both took a step back, we met the same fate. I couldn’t really remember what the plan was, but I was suddenly watching Pancho play a tiny piano on top of Pepe, who was beatboxing, as Pablo acted at the chair. The song? A horrible rendition of Biz Markie’s song Just a Friend. I shared a look of utter bafflement, something Zomboss mirrored. Manolo looked more unconvinced if anything. Pancho was suddenly silenced when a flower pot came from a window above and fell right into his mouth.

Me and Zomboss looked up at the window and saw a pig smile victoriously, then disappear. “Wow, that totally captivated her”, Manolo deadpanned.

“I don’t get it, that one always works”, Pepe said in bewilderment as he and Pablo shared a look.

“Even on my wife”, Pancho added, making his eldest brother give him a look of shock.

“Wait, you’re married?” Pablo asked. Before the trumpet player could respond, the largest member suddenly had a flash of genius in his eyes.

“Oooo, I got it! Follow my lead.”

Me, Zomboss and Manolo all gave him a flat look.

Suddenly,Pepe went off as he sang his heart out, doing twirls as his two brothers provided background music. It was actually really good, to the point me and Manolo kind of started to get into it. Zomboss, however, just grunted and crossed his arms. However, the song was cut short when another flower pot was tossed out of the window and landed right on his head.

Manolo chuckled at his friend’s misery. “Very romantic, Pepe.”

He recovered very quickly, and all three mariachi stood in front of us. “Hey, that’s all I got, man.” Pepe admitted. This made a smile explode onto Pablo’s face.

“Okay, my turn.” He began to count down in Spanish, the other two slowly raising their instruments…

Only for Pablo to be crushed by a flower pot with a cactus in it.

Me and Zomboss both jumped at the sudden action, my heart rate skyrocketing as Pablo’s instrument was knocked away.

“That girl is way out of your league, bro!” Pancho said.

“Hey, let’s eat”, Pablo said from within the pot. The three of them then let out a mariachi cry as they ran into a nearby bar. Manolo watched them go, sighing as he looked up to the lit bedroom the pots came from. The balcony’s door was closed, and as me and Zomboss joined his side, the light went off.

“So, now what?” Zomboss asked. The bullfighter, without saying a word, grabbed his guitar from his back. He held it out in front of him, reading the message carved into the side, and began to tune the strings. Once it was tuned, he let out a sigh and began to pay it, singing a gentle song when he made it under the balcony. I grabbed Zomboss by the arm and dragged him out of the way as Maria opened the balcony’s door and walked out, looking down with a small smile.

“I’ll admit, this song is pretty nice”, the zombie leader admitted as Manolo walked out under the moonlight. I looked around at the surroundings, as people and animals began to form a small audience. However, when I saw La Muerte and Xibalba on different roofs, I grabbed Zomboss and pulled him out of their view. The trio of mariachi poked their heads out from the bar, and I watched as they joined Manolo, stacking up on top of each other and using their sombreros as a makeshift staircase. Manolo and Maria got so close to sharing a kiss, but it was stopped when the general’s daughter put a finger to the musician’s lips.

“Did you think it would be that easy?” She asked sweetly. Suddenly, the stack toppled, and Manolo was crushed by each of his friends. After Pepe rolled off of him, he stumbled around dizzily as Pancho’s trumpet rested on his head.

“I-I kind of did…” Manolo said in a dazed tone, before falling to the ground. Maria, who had caught the guitar before Manolo fell, let out a laugh and ran inside. Me and Zomboss quickly rushed to the bullfighter’s aid, helping him to his feet.

“Manolo, that was amazing!” I cried.

“Thank you”, he said back, still dazed.

Zomboss sighed and rolled his eyes, only to be kicked aside when Pepe quickly rushed over and grabbed Manolo by his shoulders. I was forced away as the mariachi pushed Manolo to the front door, and me and Zomboss both bolted to stop him, only for the door to swing open and reveal Joaquin kneeling and holding a ring up to Maria. Everyone else in the building faced the musician, some softly gasping, and one girl even fainted. Pepe held up his arms and zipped away, leaving a dazed Manolo to stumble up to his heroic friend, drunkenly putting an arm over his shoulders.

“What’d I miss?” Manolo asked no one in particular. I watched the whole scene play out silently, Zomboss carefully pulling out a camera. I gave him a harsh look, and he put it away. I then heard the quiet sound of a throat clearing, and I looked to my shoulder. There was Alfur, pointing towards the back of the crowd, so I took Zomboss’ arm and led him to the back, where the rest of the gang was.

“Nice of you two to finally join us”, Majima remarked quietly in a slimy tone.

“What the heck took you two so long?” Jenny said as she wrapped around each of us and pulled us close.

“Hey, don’t look at me”, Zomboss shot back. “Caleb wanted to meet another one of his heroes, and it had us partake in one of the worst musicals I’ve ever seen.”

I hummed as I was set on Ralph’s shoulder, which gave me a good view of the whole scene play out. Manolo and Joaquin had devolved into a childish slap fight. That’s when one of the other soldiers tossed Joaquin a sword, and Pepe tossed Manolo… his guitar. Manolo made a face and looked at his friend.

“What, you wanted a banjo?” The mariachi asked obliviously.

Joaquin and the other soldiers began to laugh. “What are you gonna do? I’m so scared.”

Manolo strummed his guitar. “I’m gonna teach you some manners.” Both men did a flashy move and clashed their weapons together, only to almost clash with Maria. She easily knocked the weapons out of her friend’s hands, with Manolo catching his guitar and Maria catching Joaquin’s sword.

“Did I mention I also studied fencing?” She said matter-of-factly.

The heroic Spaniard gave a cold look. “Fine, we’ll settle this later.”

“Anytime, anyplace”, Manolo spat back, Maria putting a hand on him to hold him back.

She groaned. “Really, guys?”

“It’s like I’m back at home watching my soap operas”, Zomboss whispered to Steve.

“You’ll have to hook me up with some DVD’s”, the crafter whispered back. I harshly shushed the two of them as Joaquin began to leave.

“No, Joaquin!” One of the other soldiers cried. “What if the bandidos come?”

This was promptly answered with a loud boom that shook the whole building. A back door was suddenly flung open, and two kids scrambled in. “The bandidos are coming!!!!” He screamed. This sent the whole building into a panic, so Ralph took the lead to get us all out. We all exited out the front door as Manolo, Maria and General Posada ran to the front of the city.

“Manolo, wait!” I said, jumping off of Ralph’s shoulder and running after them.

“Caleb, wait!” Hilda called. Galacta, who was hidden in the middle of our group, shot forward. He quickly picked me up and flew into the sky.

“What?!” I said in shock. I looked over my shoulder to the knight. “No, Galacta, put me down, we need to help.”

“Not this time, Caleb”, he said. “You said it yourself, we can’t get involved without messing with the stories. And if this place has Council members, then we need to lay low.”

I sighed, but nodded sadly nonetheless. “Fine”, I said in a defeated tone.

Galacta turned around and took me back to the group, but I couldn’t help but feel ill for abandoning Manolo. Sure, I knew how this movie would end, but a part of me wanted to help.

Maybe it was just because I was fangirling.

~X~

Yep, next up is none other than The Book Of Life, a movie I feel like is criminally underrated. Amazing characters, perfect soundtrack, and some of the most unique visuals in any movie I’ve seen.

Up next: Manolo gets roped in with Caleb’s adventure when a dirty trick traps the two of them, Gladius and Zomboss in the afterlife.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

We were currently outside of the city, opposite the end of the tree, with our camp set up along the edge of the water. I sat on the river edge, looking over the calm water as Gladius and Maple rested on either side of me. I was still bummed out about earlier, but I knew Galacta was right, so I just rolled with it despite my resistance. I let out a sigh and flopped onto my back, starling the two beings beside me as I stared into the fading night sky.

“Something bothering you, Caleb?” Gladius asked me.

I let out an overdramatic groan. “Just bummed I couldn’t help Manolo and Maria out earlier. I get that I couldn't, but it just felt wrong leaving them.”

Gladius let out a hum. “I understand that, Caleb. But we both agreed it was best we don’t get involved.”

“That kinda went out the window after Vanellope knocked me out of that tree…” I mumbled. Gladius looked down a bit, seemingly thinking of something. I just continued to stare into the calm orange sky. That was when a pair of green hands suddenly grabbed my shoulders and forced me to my feet. I was spun around to face Zomboss, who dusted me off with a flat look.

“The whole reason I decided to tag along”, he mumbled, “Was because I wanted to escape my failure I called a life for a while. If the kid that convinced me to make that choice becomes all moppy for the rest of the trip, I’ll see it as a waste.”

I gave him a weird look, but before I could say anything, Gladius floated up next to us. “I felt like you needed to get out there, so I talked with Zomboss, and we decided to take you on a walk.”

“Exactly”, Zomboss affirmed. He also leaned in closer. “It’s also because I can tell the others are still pretty apprehensive about me, and I’m worried they’ll punch me in my pancreas or something if you’re not around.”

“Wait, really?” I said quietly. “Is that why you stuck with me after Manolo’s match?”

Zomboss looked off to the side. “Yes.”

I sighed. “Zomboss, the others aren’t going to do anything to you. They aren’t like that.”

“What about XJ9 and Goro?” He mentioned.

I flinched. “Good point.”

“I do agree with Zomboss, my boy”, Gladius brought up. “I think the others still need time to adjust to the Zombie overlord being with us.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re both right. I just sort of guessed things would be simpler, considering Galacta and all.”

“Everyone is different”, Gladius stated. “Besides, Galacta wanted to try and move past who he was forced to be. Zomboss, though…” He trailed off, looking at the Thanatology expert.

“I’m still being my usual self”, he said proudly, “My position wasn’t earned by being nice. I’m just going easy on you all.”

“Sure, you keep telling yourself that, Zomboss”, I said with an eye roll. “Let’s just go.” I began to walk away, following the curve of the river. Zomboss and Gladius quickly caught up with me, while Maple chose to stay at the camp. I looked up to the sky as we walked, still a few clouds from when it rained earlier.

“So, what do you think of all of this so far, Zomboss?” Gladius asked.

The Zombie Scientist hummed in thought. “Aside from my paranoia about the others, I like it. The potential for new plans to dominate the Plants is endless.” He rubbed his hands together and laughed maniacally, earning a weirded out look from me.

“You have issues”, I said bluntly. Zomboss’ whole demeanour fell and he slumped a bit, giving me an unamused look. I just shrugged. “But you do you.”

Zomboss put one hand on his hip and pinched where the bridge of his nose would be with his other. “Remind me why I joined you all again?”

I just laughed and pat Zomboss on the back, and returned my attention to the surrounding desert. That was when I noticed someone slumped over at the base of the lone tree outside of the town. I gave the others a look, and when Gladius sheathed himself down the back of my shirt, me and Zomboss ran to the mysterious person. As we got closer, I began to make out that the person was Manolo.

“Manolo? What’s wrong?” I called as we approached. He looked up, and I could see how dead his eyes were.

“Caleb”, he said as he straightened himself out, “What are you doing here?”

“My friends set up a camp on the other end of the town’s river”, I explained, “And I was feeling down that I couldn’t help you, Maria and her dad out when the bandits attacked, so Zomboss thought a walk would be the best way for me to clear my head.”

Zomboss then gave Manolo a questioning look, as we both could tell that the mention of Maria’s name seemed to trigger something. “Is… everything alright, Sanchez?” The Zombie asked.

Manolo looked away, his breathing quick and sharp. “After Joaquin walked Maria home, I went and told her to meet me here at dawn. When we were both together, I tried to propose to her. But then a snake showed up, she pushed me away, and it bit her…” He fell silent. Me and Zomboss both shared a look, and I faced Manolo again as Zomboss took a few steps back.

“Manolo… I’m… I’m so sorry”, I said, walking up to his side. “That… it isn’t fair…”

Manolo sighed, and this was what made Zomboss walk forward. “If it makes you feel better, Sanchez, I can safely say Maria is alive in some way.”

Manolo shot him a cold look, and I gave him a completely flabbergasted look.

“No, seriously, listen to me”, he said sternly. “If you keep your loved ones alive here by remembering them, I could track the memory and bring her back.” He suddenly whipped out some sort of device and began to walk around the tree, a faint beeping hitting my ears.

“What the…?” Manolo whispered, his sadness slowly melting into confusion. He seemed entranced with the very strange device in Zomboss’ hand, and things only got worse when Zomboss just casually popped off one arm and used it to hold the other, which still gripped the device, up high in an attempt to get a better signal. I paled and faced Manolo, who was giving me an unreadable expression.

“Who are you?” He asked.

I gulped and shot Zomboss a look, who had froze with a look of realisation. I gave a weak, sheepish chuckle as I faced the bullfighter again. “It’s… something that’ll be hard to believe…” I took a deep breath. “But, I think it’s best.”

So for the next hour, I explained to Manolo everything about who Me and Zomboss were. I told him about the other worlds, how they all work differently, and how everyone plays their parts. But I left out one important detail. That Manolo’s whole world was just a movie.

After I finished explaining everything to Manolo, I could tell all the information was a lot to take in. He let out a long breath as his eye remained wide open, staring at the ground in disbelief. He then looked up at me.

“And all of this is true?” He asked me in disbelief.

I nodded slowly. “If you need any more proof, well, just ask Gladius.” Right on cue. Gladius removed himself from the back of my shirt and hovered in front of Manolo, making the young man jump back a bit in shock.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, good sir”, Gladius said in a sophisticated voice and with a bow. I let out a quiet chuckle, and that made Manolo relax a bit.

“Wow… I didn’t think…” He was at a complete loss for words. He looked back over at Zomboss, who was becoming more frustrated with his gadget. “So you guys are the real deal, huh?”

“You know it!” Zomboss shouted, not taking his eyes off his device. As he continued to fiddle with it, walking behind the tree, Manolo turned back to me.

“Well, after everything that’s happened in my life, this was probably the strangest”, he admitted, giving me a confused look.

“Yeah, things can go in weird ways, huh?” I said with a sad smile. I could feel that the once somewhat happy atmosphere was melting back to the one of sadness. “I’ll go get Zomboss. You should get some time alone.” Me and Gladius left the musician alone as we looped around the thick trunk to find Zomboss angrily smacking his gadget against the wood.

“Ahhhhh!!! This stupid thing just won’t work!” He complained, tossing it on the ground. “Something here is creating too much interference, and it’s driving me crazy!”

“Zomboss, relax”, I said calmly, “Everything will be fine. Let’s just go, okay?” The Zombie scientist grumbled, but then nodded. He reached down to pick his device back up, only for the world to almost darken and a soft green light to glow from behind the tree. Me and Zomboss both shared a look, and quickly rushed around to see what was happening. Xibalba had suddenly appeared, and towered over Manolo. Zomboss made a quiet, fearful squeak as Xibalba’s red skull pupils stared down at Manolo, filling me with dread.

“So this is Xibalba?” Gladius asked in a near silent whisper. “I can see why you didn’t want us to be spotted at the stadium yesterday. I can feel his power.”

I shot him a hard look, and the sword shut up instantly. I then returned my attention to Manolo, and saw as he looked down at the guitar in his hands.

“With all my heart”, he said confidently.

“Done”, the tar-black god said. He snapped his fingers, and a purple snake with a head at each end of his body, looped around Manolo’s legs, and bit his ankles. He jolted for a moment, before he fainted onto the ground. As soon as our friend hit the ground, Xibalba and the snake vanished. Instantly, Gladius rushed to check our friend over.

“Gladius, wait!” I called. But as soon as Gladius touched Manolo with a wing, a green bolt of electricity shot through all three of us. We all convulsed as my muscles tightened in pain. Then, after a few moments of my whole body being engulfed in fire, I blacked out. But it only lasted a moment, as I quickly snapped back awake.

The ground was now green grass, yet we were next to the exact tree. I looked down at my hands, and my heart (if i was still there) skipped a beat. I was nothing but bones. This made me snap my head to Zomboss, who had suffered the same fate. While he still wore his white lab coat, black pants and black shoes, his green skin was all gone. I was definitely shocked to see his massive head without the veins, which he seemed to agree with.

“This is so weeeeerrrrriiiiid…” I said, hanging onto the word. I looked at Gladius, and he was luckily still the same. I then looked at Manolo, and the musician slowly came to his feet, quickly snapping his head at us.

“What the-”, the bullfighter did a double take, “Guys, how did you get here?”

“Honestly, I don’t know”, I said, crossing my arms. “Gladius just touched your unconscious body, we got electrocuted, and we were suddenly here.”

Manolo cringed. “Doesn’t that mean you’re… dead?”

I felt my brain crash for a moment. “I’m already undead”, Zomboss said bluntly as he adjusted his large skull, “But this is just ridiculous.” Gladius shook his hilt and sighed. He then smacked the zombie(?) on the back of his skull. I rolled my eyes, but Manolo remained silent. I looked at him, only for my eyes to catch what he was looking at. Atop the hill we were on, we could overlook a massive city of vibrant colours. Large hot air balloons with the appearance of Sugar Skulls drifted up into the dark void sky as golden petals and multi-coloured bits of confetti rained down. Thousands of skeletons, all looking similar to the three of us, walking across shifting stone bridges that curved around the many towering buildings.

“What the heck is this place?” Zomboss asked, still nursing his sore spot.

His question was answered when a man with a beard and blue uniform, riding a skeleton horse, floated up on a balloon to us. “Welcome to The Land Of The Remembered!” He announced happily.

“I made it…” Manolo said quietly, making me shoot him a side glance before giving my attention back to the uniformed man.

“And on the Day Of The Dead no less”, the man said, pulling out a notepad.

“Where… where is…” Manolo began, only to be cut off by the man.

“You may be a little disoriented at first, don’t try to take it all in at once.” He began to flip through the notepad. “Let’s see, start with your name.”

“Maria Posada!” Manolo suddenly said in excitement. Zomboss smacked a hand on his face.

“Really”, the man said. He looked through the papers, which were filled to the brim with names. “Parents and their crazy baby names. And there’s… No Maria Posada on my list.”

“No, no. I’m looking for Maria Posada”, Manolo corrected. “My name is Manolo Sanchez.”

The man let out a gasp. “Another Sanchez. Man, that family just keeps growing.” He plucked the feather from his hat and scribbled his name down.

“My family!” Manolo said, giving me a large smile. “They can help us find Maria.” He faced the man again. “C-Can you take us to them.”

“Of course, my fine young man”, the man said, “Just need to get the names of your friends first.”

“Oh, right”, the bullfight did his best to pull in his excitement, “This is Edgar George… Zamora.” Zomboss shook his head in disbelief at Sanchez. “Caleb… Fernandez.” I felt my heart skip a beat at the F sound. “And… Gladius…” The sword bowed at his name being called. The man scribbled all our names down, giving Gladius an odd look, before beaming as he put the feather pen and notepad away. “Now, let’s go and reunite a young couple!” He grabbed Manolo’s hand, and the bullfighter grabbed mine, and I grabbed Zomboss’ hand. The man pulled all of us onto the horse, and he went straight down the hill, screaming and flailing his arms comically. Once we reached the bottom, the road levelled out..

“This is incredible!” Gladius cheered as he flew in line with us, arcing over from our left to our right.

“I’m stuck living with a bunch of Disco loving loons, so everyday of my life has loud music and bright lights”, Zomboss said in a tired tone, “But even I have to admit, this is pretty impressive.”

“I couldn’t even imagine a place like this could exist!” Manolo said. He looked over his shoulder and saw we were both giving him a flat look, and he chuckled sheepishly. Soon after, our guide stopped the horse, and we looked over the edge of the bridge to see a parade slowly cruising below.

“This is your stop”, our guide said. Manolo leaned over the edge with a massive smile. “Get in there!” The man suddenly smacked Manolo on his back, sending him falling. I quickly grabbed him, but was just pulled along, falling with him. I held on for dear life as I heard Gladius and Zomboss cry out my name, Manolo wrapping an arm around me as he grabbed a rope and swung onto the first float. I landed on my face and let out a muffled groan. The bullfighter quickly helped me to my feet, and I shook the dizziness out of my head.

“You okay, Caleb?” Manolo asked.

“Yeah, I’m good”, I said weakly, letting out a cough. I began to look around, taking in the view from on top of the float. “What is this about?”

Manolo began to look around as well, and I saw his eyes flash with remembrance. A large man, almost as big as Ralph, suddenly swung past us at blazing speeds, performed a flip, and landed right next to us. He towered over us with a massively proud smile.

“Of course”, Manolo said in realisation, “The amazing Carmelo Sanchez!” My friend seemed ecstatic as he met one of his famous relatives. I gave the hulking bullfighter a mildly curious look.

“Yes!” Carmello announced proudly, “I was famous for fighting bulls, without a cape! Capes are for cowards!” He did a spit shot off his float.

“Can you help us find Maria Posada?” Manolo asked, myself giving Carmelo a quiet, pleading look.

“La Muerte can help you”, the champion bullfighter claimed. “She helps everyone.” Suddenly, he held up a finger. “Hold on.” He leaped upwards as a bull pinata swung up from behind him, slamming into Manolo and launching him towards the next float. I was unlucky enough to have just then grabbed the musician’s arm, so I flew through the air with him until faceplanting once again. I was frustrated that Manolo had landed on his two feet, but I didn’t say anything as he helped me to my feet. I looked up and saw what looked like a thin man in a conquistador uniform, swords replacing his right arm and left leg on the upper mast, and an eyepatch over the same eye as Majima

“The great Jorge Sanchez!” Manolo declared.

Jorge quickly popped another pinata bull, happily declaring “At your service!”

I gave him a weird look.

“I was famous for fighting bulls with only one arm and one leg”, Jorge continued, “Arms and legs are for cowards!” He leaped down and landed right in front of us, twirling as he hit the ground. “You are Manolo, the one who plays the guitar.”

“Yeah, that’s me”, Manolo said in a calm tone.

“You know, when I was younger”, Manolo’s great uncle began, “I’ve always dreamt of singing in the opera.”

“You did?”

“But what stopped you?” I asked.

He and Manolo shared a knowing look, and with their movements synced, both said “Music is not work fit for a Sanchez bullfighter.” This got a chuckle out of all of us.

“The same story”, Jorge said.

“They crushed our dreams. Hilarious”, Manolo affirmed. I felt a sickness start to well up inside of me, but it was cut off instantly when we were catapulted into the air, courtesy of Carmello using a bit of the deck we were on. As our flight came to a standstill, a little skeleton bird pecked me on the cheek before we both fell straight down onto the next float. I somehow landed on my feet, while Manolo was the one to eat it. As I helped my musically talented friend to his feet, he gasped.

“Of course!” He exclaimed, “It’s Luis ‘El Super Macho’ Sanchez!” Another skeleton, wearing a uniform very similar to Manolo, with a large sombrero and thick moustache to complete the look, stood before us.

“I was famous for fighting three bulls at once!” We both ducked as the three bull pinatas surrounding us charged forward, with Luis spinning around, blade in hand, to halt their progress. “One bull is for cowards!” The pinatas shot out confetti.

“Grandpa”, Manolo said, giving Luis a big hug, “It’s me, Manolo.”

“Manolo? I’m so happy to see you”, Luis said. He then swiftly slapped him, making me jump. “Why you disgrace the family name?! Playing the guitar? You couldn’t finish one bull?!” He took a step back. “You are a clown.”

I suddenly heard a random horn honk, and looked over to see… a clown. He obviously didn’t like what Luis said, if his shocked face was anything to go by.

“Sorry Cousin Chucho”, Luis said quickly. He then gave Manolo a big smile, and gave his shoulder a friendly punch. “Welcome home, mijo. Your mother will be very happy to see you.” The two of them turned to look at the next float, and I followed suit. It looked like a large cake, with a balloon of a heart with wings hovering above.

“Mama…” Manolo said in a whisper, running ahead to see her. I hung back to give them time together, but this only gave Luis a chance to ask me some questions.

“Who are you?” He asked.

“A friend of Manolo’s”, I explained. “Honestly, I don’t know how I got here…”

“Well, La Muerte should be able to help”, the undead Sanchez said. I gave him a smile before running to catch up with Manolo. When I finally reached the top of the float, no one was there. I ran over to the other side and looked down, seeing Manolo mingling with his family. Including Luis, somehow getting there before me.

“Manolo!” I shouted down. He looked up at me and smiled, and I smiled back, taking a step down to meet him.

Only to whiff the step and tumble down.

I grunted in pain as I crashed on each step, the universe taking its sweet time with me until I slid right to Manolo’s feet. My vision spun as I tried to get my bearings together.

“Always watch before you walk, kids”, I said in a delirious voice to no one in particular. Manolo helped me back to my feet, and I shook my head, snapping back to reality.

“Manolo, who’s this?” A shorter skeleton in a vibrant, multicoloured dress and with a white streak in her hair asked. Others around us looked on in curiosity.

“Mama, this is my friend Caleb”, the musician explained. “Caleb, this is my mama, Carmen.”

I did a gentle curtsy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you madame.”

Carmen smiled. “Please sweetheart, you can just call me Carmen.” She then gave Manolo a questioning look. “How is he here?”

“I can answer that, Carmen”, I interjected. “See, ! saw Manolo get bitten by a snake, and me and two rushed over to help him. As soon as I touched him, though, we got zapped with green lightning, and woke up here.” This instantly made my heart stop. “On no! We left Gladius and… Edgar. “ I had to stop myself from blurting out Zomboss.

Manolo grumbled something quietly in Spanish, looked back towards the bridge and me and him were shoved off, only for him to nudge my shoulder. I looked at what he was looking at, and saw a frustrated Gladius following a Zomboss who looked to be dehydrated in a desert, clawing his way up to us. Once he came to our feet, he let out a long and loud, over dramatic cry.

“Finally, we made it!” He bellowed. “It was so hard trying to catch up with you, constantly jumping from float to float.” Then, comically, he instantly recovered from his near death exhaustion, standing upright and adjusting his lab coat.

Gladius grumbled. “He would not stop whining and complaining. Kept on begging me to carry him.” This was met with a fierce growl from the undead scientist, and a laugh from me. Manolo himself let out a chuckle and shook his head, only stopping when his mom stepped forward to properly greet us.

“It’s really nice to meet you three”, Carmen said in a sweet tone. I smiled at her, Zomboss grunted and gave a nod, and Gladius bowed. She then took Manolo by the arm and turned him around, and we all looked up to see an extravagant palace that looked like a twisting golden tree, with the branches forming the outlines of hearts.
Everyone on the float gave off their cries of awe and fascination, which only became louder when the grand doors opened. The palace was almost dream-like inside, with segmented, floating bridges. Carefully me, Zomboss and Gladius followed behind the Sanchez’s, listening to the occasional conversation and trying not to fall off the bridge. Zomboss nearly fell off once, and it took both me and Gladius to keep him from plummeting down into the endless white abyss below.

He stayed very close to me after that.

Soon we all entered into a very elegant dining room, with many tables filled with food. The largest of the tables lined up with a beautiful stained glass window, a chair facing it. I looked around to the other members, and I saw Carmello rush over to one of the buffet tables, hungirly bringing in way too much food and went to eat an apple, only for Jorge to steal it with his sword arm. I felt Zomboss nudge me, and I looked at him. He pointed at the chair that was across the table, and I saw what looked to be black feathers gently glided down to the floor. My breathing hitched, and I ducked down behind one of the tables, grabbing Zomboss and Gladius and dragging them down with me. All three of us peeked over the edge of the table we hid behind, and watched as Manolo made his way to the table and bowed, awaiting La Muerte to help him.

“No one can help you, boy…” said a deep voice, pitch black suddenly revealing themselves. The chair spun around and in the seat sat Xibalba, who had a gleeful look in his eyes. “The Land Of The Remembered, has a new ruler!”

This made all of the Sanchez’s gasp in shock, while I cringed. Luis took off his hat and walked forward carefully. “But, La Muerte would never give up her domain to you.”

Xibalba let out a nasty burp and began to pick his teeth. “She lost a bet.”

“Ah. She would do that…” Luis said, which got murmurs and slight nods of agreement from the others. I shared a look with Zomboss, and then turned back to the scene. It all played out like you would expect, from Xibalba manipulating things so he could win the bet. Manolo, after finding out the truth, rightfully lashed out, which only made the god angrier. After knocking Manolo away, he announced his leave and flew away, leaving behind a shocked family, frustrated Manolo, and a worried Zomboss.

“Wait, so is there no way for us to get back?” Zomboss asked fearfully. I gulped, but chose to remain silent as I began to work out a plan of some kind. As all of this happened, I noticed Manolo, Carmen and Luis run out of the room. Before the rest of the family could follow, me, Zomboss and Gladius rushed after them.

“Manolo!” I called at him as we caught up. He paused his run and turned around to face the three of us. “Where the heck are you three going?”

“We’ve got to get to La Muerte”, he explained, “She’s our ticket out back home.”

“So you three are going to what is most likely certain death, no plan?” Zomboss snipped.

“Hey, you’ve got a problem with my grandson!” Luis yelled in an angry tone, rearing his arm up to glock Zomboss right in the jaw. I, luckily, stepped between the two of them, while Carmen held the older man back.

“Relax. We just want to get out of here, too”, I said, “Edgar here is just more… perceptive. This could be dangerous, so you’ll need a plan.”

Manolo hummed in thought. “We’ll think of something when we get to The Cave Of Souls. We don’t have a lot of time.”

I nodded confidently, while Zomboss grumbled and Gladius sighed. We then followed the Sanchez’s out of the palace, a trio of skeleton horses already there waiting for us. Me and Manolo hopped on one, Carmen took the second, and Luis took the third. Zomboss seemed apprehensive, though.

“I’m not really a big fan of riding animals…” He said in an attempted confident tone. I gave him a flat look, but Mr.”El Super Macho” clearly wasn’t gonna deal with it, as he grabbed Zomboss by his coat collar and forced him onto the horse.

“Better hold on, Edgar!” Luis cheered, “This will get bumpy!” He suddenly shot forward down the stone bridge, catching the rest of us off guard.

“Grandpa, wait!” Manolo cried. He whipped the horse’s reins, and the two of us, Carmen on her horse, and Gladius, who flew after us. I turned around and waved to the rest of the Sanchez family, who cheered us on. When they became too small to make out, I faced forward again, hugging Manolo tightly so I didn’t fall off our transport.

~X~

It was a long trek through a vast desert, but eventually we made it to a towering stone structure covered in decorative carvings. We all stared up to what I assumed the top was, and I could already feel my muscles screaming in pain just at the sight of it.

“Oh,this isn’t gonna be fun, is it?” Zomboss whined.

“For once, I’m with him”, Luis said in an unhappy tone.

“C’mon you two”, Carmen said, pushing them forward to the tower. Manolo groaned and followed suit, and I was about to do the same, only to feel something nudge my shoulder. I turned to see Gladius hovering next to me, and he spun around so he was blade up. I instantly knew what he meant, so I grabbed hold of his handle, and he took off into the sky. I slowly rose upwards, waving sweetly at all my friends who all shot me flabbergasted and frustrated looks. Gladius chuckled as we kept rising upwards at a slightly faster rate than the others, and no surprise, me and the flying sword were the first to reach the top. I leaned over the edge and watched as the others all slowly climbed up the cliff face. Once they reached the edge, I helped them all up one by one, Zomboss collapsing onto the ground as soon as he was over.

“I never want… to do that… again…” He strained out.

“My arthritis is acting up…” Luis complained.

“It would have been nice if you offered us a lift…” Manolo growled, shooting me a harsh look.

“Not my fault. Gladius hates transporting others”, I explained, shooting a thumb at the sword. He let out a sheepish chuckle as everyone glared at him, and I sighed and shook my head. I turned around and looked to what was in the distance, which appeared to be a large stone skull. A staircase went up into the mouth, an ominous green glow coming from deep within.

“There it is… The Cave Of Souls…” Manolo said as he stood next to me, facing the cave.

“Can we just go in and get this over with?” Zomboss snapped impatiently, “I’m kinda done with… all of this.”

“Then let’s go!” Luis cheered. He ran ahead, only for a wall to suddenly shoot up and completely wreck him. His whole body was blown apart, and all that was left was his head.

“You are not worthy”, the cave bellowed.

Luis’ head bounced a bit before stopping “My arthritis. It’s gone!”

“Grandpa!” Manolo shouted. Carmen went to pick up her father-in-law’s head, only to gasp when a crack shot under her. The musician was quick to run over and push his mom out of the way, and I quickly joined her as the ground Manolo stood on sunk down.

“Face the labyrinth”, the cave ordered, “And earn the right to be judged.”

Before our very eyes, Manolo was trapped right inside a rolling ball maze. We all watched with bated breath as Manolo ducked and dodged as the mast tiled and spun, rolling the large boulders around the skull shaped maze. At one point, the maze tilted the side we were on way up, completely blocking our view.

“Quick, lift me up!” Luis shouted. Carmen, doing the best she could, tossed the head up into the hair. “I see him!” he shouted, only to shout right after “Where’d he go?” When he came back down, Carmen caught him, then tossed him up again. “Uh oh…”

All our faces quickly shifted to worry. “What? What’s happening?!” Carmen asked when she caught Luis’ head again.

“Don’t worry honey, he’s doing fine”, he reassured. Mrs.Sanchez tossed him again, and he yelled “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!” This did not reassure me. The maze then tilted to show us Manolo running into a corner, the three boulders closing in. Then, using the moves he used in his bullfight, dodge rolled past on a boulder, then slid on his knees into the middle of all three, keeping himself safe as they all collided harmlessly against each other.

“Ay, that was so beautiful…” Luis said, choking up. We watched as Manolo climbed on top of one of the boulders, making the maze return to solid ground.

“You have earned the right to be judged”, the entrance to the cave bellowed in a powerful voice, the eyes glowing red. It rose from the ground, holding within its hands a massive sword that it rose over itself. “But be warned, no mortal has ever passed.”

“Ay, ay, ay!” Luis cried in shock. Me and Carmen silently gaped at the size of the blade, and Gladius let out a fearful squeak.

“I can’t watch!” Zomboss said, covering his eyes. The stone giant let out a roar as it swung down, and just when Carmen cried her son’s name, the blade crashed on Manolo…

…and completely shattered, leaving the bullfighter unharmed.

“Manolo Sanchez”, the giant bellowed, “Your heart is pure and courageous. You and yours may enter.” It then returned to its original state, some teeth in the lower jaw collapsing to let us use the stairs. Carmen was extremely quick to rush to her son’s side.

“Ay, mijo!” She said thankfully, hugging him. She then broke the hug to slap him, scold him with a “Don’t do that again!”, and go right back to hugging. As they had their moment, Zomboss looked over the cave.

“So, are we supposed to expect more island sized monsters to get in our way?” He asked, carefully putting a foot on the first step.

“I hope not…” Carmen growled as she released her hug. Luis looked up to the face of the cave and gulped.

“We can only hope…” Gladius whispered.

“Well, whatever it could be, can’t be worse than this”, I said hopefully, “Right.”

Manolo looked at me silently for a moment, then up the stairs into the glowing light. “Stay behind me, just in case…” And so we all followed him into the light, my mind praying we run into something safe soon.

~X~

Now then, let’s address the elephant in the room…

“Wow Caleb, it took you a whole month to finally release this chapter.”

Yes, I am kicking myself for leaving you all high and dry with this chapter, but both life and my other creative endeavour (art) took over, and thus it slowed my motivation to write. But after getting encouragement from my friends' ideas in the Total Drama Writers Discord Server (a group of amazing fanfiction writers), I got the drive back.

Consider this your Christmas gift.

Up next: Manolo accepts to challenge his greatest fear before all of San Angel is left to ruin.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

The Cave Of Souls, as luck would have it, wasn’t lying. It was a cave. A dark, damp, hollow, lifeless, empty cave. Fog clouded the floor as we all carefully walked past stalagmites and the occasional puddle. It was eerily silent, with only the sound of our footsteps and dripping water to fill the void.

Manolo took the lead of the group, with me and Carmen (Still carrying Luis’ head), then Gladius and Zomboss, the skeleton zombie constantly looking around in fear. The sword sighed at our friend’s over exaggerated fear, but I couldn’t help but giggle.

“This is a cave?” Luis said in what seemed like disappointment.

“That doesn’t mean I’m any less scared!” Zomboss whined, “I feel so vulnerable…”

“Both of you, show some respect”, Manolo whispered, pulling out both of his swords. I stayed close to him as I felt a new presence behind us. I turned around, and saw a glowing orange light swerving through the fog.

“That… was…”, an excitable voice echoed around us, “Awesome, man!” Suddenly, a large man made of some orange wax and with a white, cloud-like beard suddenly popped in front of us, beaming like a child on christmas. “Look, giant boulders were like boom, boom, boom!” The man began to act out as a book next to him bobbed around, seemingly emoting in its own way. “And then you were like shoomp, shoomp, shoomp, shoomp, shoomp!” We all looked up at him in a mix of confusion and shock. “And then the cave guardian, he came in; He was like ‘I’m gonna judge you with this giant sword.’”

“Um, excuse me?” Manolo said, letting out a chuckle.

“And then you… you… you got through”, the being ended, giving off a tone of whimsical disbelief. He looked at us, as if expecting an answer to his non-question.

“Excuse me, sir?” Manolo said firmly, gaining the man’s full attention. “We’re looking for La Muerte?”

“La Muerte!” The book hovered in front of him and opened, the man’s happy expression fell very suddenly. “Sorry you missed her, Manolo.”

This erected a surprised look from everyone but me. “Wait, you know who I am?” The bullfighter asked in a shocked tone.

“Oh, we know everyone”, The man said sassily, “We know Carmen, Luis, and Puddle.” He pointed at Manolo’s family members, then to a random puddle of water on the ground. “How you doing, Puddle?”

Carmen silently gave him a confused look, Luis voiced his confusion, and Manolo played along in an unsure tone. Meanwhile, Zomboss, having pulled me to the back of the group, faced me with a flat look and did a spinning motion with his finger. I forced myself to not burst out laughing, but I did squeak out a snort. This made the large man give me a very slight look of suspicion, which had me and Zomboss instantly shut up. I could swear he winked at me, but maybe it was just my imagination.

“It’s all here in the Book of Life!” He paused for a moment. “Wait, where are my manners?” He raised his arms wide, and the ground below us began to shift. “Come on in, y’all!”

Suddenly, the ground beneath us rose up, and I finally realized we were on a skull shaped platform. Gladius quickly looked around while Zomboss let out a girlish scream and grabbed hold of my arm in fear. We were surrounded by a dense cloud for a few seconds before the platform stopped in the exact opposite of where we were. Brightly lit candles stood tall on any spot that was available, with eight waterfalls just in front of them around us in a circle.

“Welcome to the Cave of Souls!” The man shouted triumphantly, “Mi casa es su casa.”

We all took in the beautiful sights, Carman letting out a gasp of wonder. Luis, meanwhile, remarked “Now, this is a cave!”, which earned what I assumed was an eye roll from Gladius.

“You see all these candles?” The man continued, “Each one is a life, and I’m your humble, yet strikingly handsome, Candle Maker!” The Candle Maker’s voice echoed off the walls of the cave as he proudly (and humbly) announced his name. There was an awkward silence as we all shared looks, the Book of Life rapidly opening and closing itself so it could clap at its friend. Gladius joined in shortly after, only much slower. The Candle Maker looked down at us with the biggest smile, but our dumbfounded faces still remained silent.

“I don’t get it”, Luis said.

“Wait wait, I didn’t do the thing”, Candle Maker said as he rolled his shoulders, “I got to do the thing. Watch this.” He clapped his hands together in a mighty clap, and a bright light began to peek out between his fingers. All the candles around us suddenly shined much brighter, and began to start floating in circles around us in an impressive display of beauty.

“Amazing, huh?” Candle Maker proudly announced. “This is our work. This is what we do!” He looked over to a couple of the candles. “Look. That group, that’s your town. And there, that’s Maria”, he magically pulled a candle with its flame burning bright into his left hand. “And next to her, Manolo”, He reached out and grabbed a candle of the same height, only the flame was out, sending a chill up my spine despite the warmth around me.

“One aflame with life”, Candle Maker let Maria’s go back with the others, “The other”, he made a poof sound and reduced Manolo’s to ash, “kaput.”

I looked over at Manolo and saw how his face fell, and I shared a sad look with Carmen at the bullfighter's downtrodden mood.

“You see”, Candle Maker explained, the Book opening to a certain page. “As long as someone alive remembers you, you get to live in the Land of the Remembered.” However, at the flip to the next page, the Candle Maker became panicked. “Santa Gordita!”

“What is it?” Manolo asked.

“Chakal is on the march. With him comes the end of your town, and there will be no one left to remember you.”

Me and Gladius gasped while Carmen quietly muttered “We would all be forgotten…”

“What?! Nuh uh”, Zomboss barked in defiance, “I’m the mad genius here, I’ll be the one to commit genocide!” His furious scowl suddenly shifted to a look of embarrassment when he faced all of us. I had slapped a hand on my forehead, Gladius buried his jewel in his wings, and the others all gave him a mixed look of disbelief and confusion. The Zombie leader cleared his throat. “Hypothetically, of course.”

Manolo just shook his head and faced the god before us. “Please, Candle Maker, come on, help me go back.”

Candle Maker was still giving Zomboss a very concerned look, but when I cleared my throat, he snapped out and focused on Manolo again. “Can’t do that Manolo”, he said sadly. The Book then nudged him on the shoulder and flipped to a different page. The Candle Maker looked down, and suddenly exclaimed “Santa Chihuahua!” in utter shock. He then faced us again. “Okay, okay, look guys, the Book of Life, it holds everyone’s story, but the pages on Manolo’s life…” He paused so he could squeeze out a chuckle, “they’re blank.”

Manolo let out a gasp as a smile began to form on my face.

“You didn’t live the life that was written for you. You were writing your own story!” Candle Maker finished in giddy excitement before adding with his mind being blown.

“That’s good?” Luis asked us.

“I’d say yes”, I answered with a smile.

“So this means you’ll help me find La Muerte?”

The Candle Maker looked down at us. “Well, I’m not supposed to interfere, but I may be able to bend the rules, just a little. After all, it is the Day of the Dead. Right, Book?” He fistbumbed the Book, a smile once again plastered on his face. He waved his hands and the platform moved over to one of the waterfalls, the candles returning to their original spots. The rushing flow of liquid opened to reveal a large stone door.

“Come on, let’s do this.” Candle Maker snapped his fingers and the stone door opened to reveal… another wall of water. “I’ll take you to La Muerte.”

“I’m going alone”, Manolo said in gruff determination.

“Alone?” Luis said, jumping into his grandson’s hands.

“Hold on, now-“ Candle Maker tried to interject.

“Fine. I’m going alone too.”

“Can I get a word in-”

“Right next to you.”

“This isn’t very smart-“ Zomboss almost added.

“Actually-“ Candle Maker said in worry.

“We should go”, Carmen said.

“We? No, it’s much too dangerous for a lady!” Her father-in-law barked, but Mrs.Sanchez was already dashing to the falls.

“No retreat…” Manolo chanted.

“Now, hold on!” Candle Maker tried one last time.

“No surrender!” Manolo charged with a fist held out in front of him, following right after his mother.

“Guys, no!” I cried.

“Good heavens!” Gladius cried right after.

The three of them dove into the water, and the rest of us on the platform all rushed to the edge of the platform and looked down.

“I tried to warn them.” Candle Maker said with a shrug, looking over the rest of us. The Book dove down after them to catch their fall. The cloud bearded god then faced me and my two friends. “At least you two waited.”

“Yeah, we aren’t ones to make death-defying choices like that”, I said sheepishly, earning a playful scoff from Gladius and an unconvinced hum from Zomboss. Candle Maker, after letting out a chuckle, used his magic to levitate me and Zomboss next to him, and the four of us all cruised down to catch up with the others, who were all luckily caught by the Book. The cloudy beard god set me and Zomboss down with others, and Gladius joined my side as Candle Maker let out a kind-hearted laugh.

“You Sanchezes need look before you go jumping into magic waterfalls”, Candle Maker joked while I helped Manolo to his feet, “What if you jump into the wrong one? You might end up in Tijuana.” The Book set us all down onto the ground, and I began to look around.

“I think I died there”, Luis said in response to the god’s joke.

I did a half-laugh that died quickly as I returned to taking in the sights. As the Candle Maker said, we were in the Land of the Forgotten. It was a very dreary, literally dead place. Ash rained from the sky and coated any flat surfaces, large stalagmites and stalactites stuck out of the ground, walls and ceiling at all angles possible. In the distance were large chains that seemingly served no purpose other than to make this place feel even more like a prison. It didn’t help there wasn’t a single drop of colour anywhere, just endless shades of grey.

The inhabitants of this realm were the same skeletons from the Land of the Remembered, only the pure white skeletons were now inky black, their extravagant patterns now just a dull green glow. I watched as one of these skeletons, clearly miserable with his existence, disintegrated into ash, adding to what caked the ground. Zomboss made an audible gulp noise.

“You poor things”, Carmen said in sadness, holding her hands to her heart as she looked upon the miserable masses.

“And that’s gonna happen to us if we don’t hurry”, Manolo explained.

“Well, let’s go”, I said, “The longer we wait, the closer Chakal gets. Come on, gang!” I ran ahead, Gladius and Zomboss quick to chase after me. The others all followed closely behind as we ran through the ash covered wasteland, Candle Maker’s body giving off a nice glow that added a bit of warmth to such a cold, dead land.

Soon enough, we arrived at a large lava lake, our path continuing a bridge that spiralled up to a structure that resembled a two headed snake with curled fangs. A green glow left out of the mouths of the snake heads and eyes, filling me with tension. Manolo put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, but it didn’t do much.

“There it is”, Candle Maker announced, “Xibalba’s Castle.” I watched as Manolo (still carrying the head of his grandfather) and his mother ran ahead, and when Zomboss gave me a stern look that had worry behind it, I steeled my nerves and charged forward. It was a long run up the spiral ramp, but eventually we made it to the top, and standing on a pedestal that was opposite us was La Muerte herself, her vibrant red dress clearly visible.

Manolo was the fastest of us as he ran towards her calling her name. This caught her attention, making her turn to face us. When her eyes landed on Manolo, she let out a gasp.

“Manolo?” She began, “But, how did you get here?”

“I had some help”, he said, looking over the whole group. I looked down, hoping she wouldn’t recognize me, while Zomboss looked her over.

“Hmmm… Not going to lie, she’s a looker”, he remarked to me in a whisper.

“Zomboss!” Both me and Gladius silently hissed at him. He raised his hands up defensively.

I was so distracted, I was spooked when La Muerte snapped her fingers and gave Luis his whole body back.

“Great…”, he groaned, “My arthritis is back.”

I walked up to him and smiled at him, something he returned gratefully. I then noticed Manolo begin to walk up to the golden rose goddess, the flames in his eyes burning fiercely with anger.

“I know about the wager”, he said, “Xibalba cheated.”

“He did what?!” La Muerte growled, her fingers flexing with rage.

“Yeah! With a two-headed snake!”

This was just too much for La Muerte, as she began to shake as her anger hit critical mass. The ground itself even began to rumble, which made Zomboss start to freak out.

“You might want to cover your ears right now”, Candle Maker suggested. None of us refused, and we all covered our ears as the golden rose goddess’ candles atop her sombrero burned brighter than the sun.

“XIBALBA!!!!!!!!!” She shrieked, the light coming from her blinding. It was so intense it must’ve engulfed the whole realm. After not even a second, the light vanished, and Xibalba rose from the ground in front of her holding two chalices in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

“Yes, my dear?” He asked, in an almost gloating tone. He let out a gasp, however, when he saw all of us, dropping the chalices and bottle in regret. “Oh…”

“You bisbegotten son of a leper’s donkey!” La Muerte snarled as she got right into his face, “You cheated! AGAIN!”

“I did no such thing!” The tar demon spat in his defence. It didn’t work, as the goddess just pulled out his snake and forced it back into a staff. Xibalba let out a sheepish chuckle as he took it back. “Oh, that. It has a mind of its own… or two.”

“That is unforgivable!” La Muerte drifted away, back turned.

“Oh, please, I never sent that snake to Maria, and I never gave that medal to Joaquin.” Xibalba nearly lost his grip on his staff at that little slip of the tongue.

Zomboss did a quiet laugh. “Someone sucks at being a villain.” I nodded in agreement as La Muerte began to chew Xibalba out to give Joaquin the medal. After La Muerte quickly said to Manolo what the medal did, he looked at me for clarity.

I sneakily walked up to him and whispered into his ear “It’s probably why Chakal is on his way to San Angel…” This made his pupils dilate as he cleared his throat quietly.

Xibalba giggled nervously, only to receive a nasty slap from the goddess. Carmen asked if she could have a lift, so La Muerte magically lifted her up to the cheater, and the Sanchez gave him a one-two-three combo. She thanked the goddess and shot Xibalba one last angry look before being set down.

“Uh, can I get a slap, too?” Candle Maker asked, holding up one of his large hands. I gave him an unimpressed look.

“My son did not deserve this!” Carmen barked.

“Come on, I-I have to go back”, Manolo pleaded.

La Muerte let out a small sigh and looked at Xibalba. “It’s only fair.”

The tar demon just let out a groan and looked away. When the goddess gave him a more stern look, he just turned fully turned away, using a wing to block her from sight.

La Muerte just pushed the wing down and began to gentle caress it. “Please, Balby?”

“Balby?” We all said at the same time. Well, except Zomboss, who just let out a quiet giggle.

“Oh yeah, those two used to share a room together a lot”, I whispered with a shit-eating grin. Gladius bonked him on the head.

“No, never”, Xibalba grumbled.

“You better do this!” The golden rose goddess growled through her teeth.

“No.”

Manolo, always quick on his feet, smiled as an idea came to mind. “Hey, how about a wager?”

This got both realm ruler’s attention. “A wager?” They asked together.

“If I win, you give me my life back”, Manolo said with determination.

“You have nothing I want”, Xibalba said.

“But I do”, La Muerte added, raising her hand. “If you win, Xibalba, you can rule both realms.”

“You name the task, anything you want”, Manolo said, “And I will beat you.”

Xibalba hummed.

“What, are you afraid you might lose?”

Candle Maker bobbed up next to him. “What you doing, kid?”

I walked up next to him. “You sure about this, Manolo? This is really risky…”

“I’m sure”, he said back. I gave him a half smile and nodded, looking back up to Xibalba with him.

“Do we have a deal?” The bullfighter asked.

“We have a deal”, Xibalba said. I could hear the malice rise in his voice as his eyes locked onto my friend. “Now, tell me boy, what keeps you up at night? What eats at you from the inside? What, do tell, is your worst fear?” The red skull he had for pupils stared straight at Manolo, his mouth filling with jagged teeth. Manolo stood strong. “Got it.”

Xibalba snapped his fingers, and we were all gone in a flash of light.

~X~

I blinked my eyes, trying to gather my bearings. Me, Gladius and Zomboss were in a massive arena back in the Land of the Remembered. All the stands were filled with people letting out endless cheers, and I could feel my nerves begin to fray. I looked to my right and saw we were with the rest of the Sanchezes, all of them looking down into the arena fearfully. Carmen eas the first to face us, and quickly rushed over.

“Are you boys alright?” She asked.

“We’re fine, Carmen”, I reassured her, “Kinda used to that at this point.”

“Well I’m not”, Zomboss whined, his eyes spinning. “…which way is north again?”

“Ignore him.”

Suddenly, a bright flash blinked in and out of the main ground of the stadium, and the three of us looked down to see Manolo standing in the dead centre of its all. Zomboss shook the dizziness out of his head and looked down at the bullfighter.

“Manolo Sanchez!” Xibalba announced loudly, standing on a lonely platform with the other two gods. “You will have to defeat every bull the Sanchez family ever finished!”

Door surrounding Manolo on all sides opened up simultaneously, several large, skeletal bulls entering the light.

“That would be thousands!” Luis exclaimed in shock. The other Sanchez shared similar reactions, while I resisted to just scream.

“All! At! Once!” Xibalba continued. “If you complete this task, you will live again. And if you fail, you will be forgotten… forever!”

I could feel my heart beating a thousand miles a minute as all the bulls began to charge around my friend in circles. He was proving himself so far, as he dodged every bull that made a move directly at him flawlessly.

“You can do it!” Carmelo cheered.

“You got this, Manolo!” Gladius proudly yelled.

“Turn these bulls into minced meat, Sanchez!” Zomboss screamed.

Manolo was holding his own for a good bit, but he quickly was getting overwhelmed. The bulls were becoming more relentless, starting to knock him around painfully.

“Manolo, get out of there!” Jorge cried out. But, sadly, the cry did nothing to help Manolo, who was endlessly being tossed and turned.

“Manolo!” I shrieked.

Just then, a bright beam of light came down behind us, and I looked to see Carlos, Manolo’s dad, had arrived. I hissed sympathetically. Carmen quickly rushed over and embraced her husband.

“Manolo, your father is here!” Candle Maker called.

“Chakal and his men are at the gates of San Angel!” Carlos shouted.

“We don’t have the time for this!” Zomboss snarled. He reached into his lab coat and pulled out his imp powered heat ray, his eyes glued to the massive herd of bulls. “I’m going to get this over with NOW!”

I grabbed his arm that was holding onto the heat ray. “Zomboss, no! You do that, and we are in so much trouble!” I hissed. He gave me an ugly stink eye, but I wouldn’t back down. However, out of the corner of my eye, I could see all the bulls start to group together, disappearing into a thick cloud of dust. I could faintly make out miscellaneous bones swirling around, and it was clear they were collecting together to form a giant.

When the dust settled, a massive bull was left towering over Manolo, its horns large enough to level a house in a single swing. It let out a loud roar, blowing the hats off of anyone who was in front of it. As the roar ended, everything fell silent. Zomboss’ mouth was agape, and slowly he put his heat ray away.

“What are we supposed to do?” He asked me in a tense whisper.

“We let Manolo face his fear”, I said. Zomboss looked at me with a side glance, then looked back to the battle at hand.

We all waited on baited breath to see who would naked the first move. Manolo whipped his cape to try and have the bull charge, but a wall of fire suddenly came out of nowhere and surrounded the two of them, shrinking Manolo’s space. He didn’t back down, however, and stood his ground. This was immediately met with him being slammed by one of the beast’s horns and thrown into the stone wall. I breathed a sigh of relief when he missed the fire.

“Get up and fight like a Sanchez!” Luis scolded. Suddenly, Manolo’s great grandmother emerged in the same way Carlos did, knitting away innocently as she sat on the wall. “Mama, what are you doing here?”

“Eh, cholesterol”, she said nonchalantly. Me and Zomboss shared a weirded-out look as Manolo slowly rose to his feet. I looked back to the bullfight. Manolo went back past the wall of fire and stared the bull down. It charged again, only this time the bullfighter used his size to his advantage and dove under the bull. It charged right into the wall, but the force the bull created ended up sending Manolo flying. He crashed onto the ground hard, his swords and guitar landing a few feet away from him.

“The beast is out!” Cheered Luis.

“Time to finish this”, Carmelo said, slamming a clenched fist into his other hand’s palm.

Gripping his side, Manolo made his way over to his sword and reached out for it, only to pause before he grabbed it. He looked up to all of us, and I nodded at him to do the right thing. He gave me a smile, and reached down to grab his guitar. This was met with shouts of distaste from everyone but me, Gladius, Carmen and Jorge. The bull finally recovered, and as it backed into the flames, fire formed all on top of its body.

Manolo began to strum his guitar, but the bull slammed him with one of his horns again. Manolo landed on the ground with a loud thud, but he didn’t give up. As the bull waited for Manolo to make his move, the musician just began to play a song. One of regret, sorrow, and apology. I could feel myself tear up as Manolo sung, apologising to all the bulls that his family has wrong, the crowd remained silent. The bull charged at him, but stopped just short when Manolo said those faithful words “I am sorry”.

The beast raised one of its legs, ready to smash Manolo into oblivion, but the song’s calming melody made the pull reconsider. As Manolo continued, he fell onto one knee, and the bull did the same as all the flames extinguished. I could see Xibalba’s jaw drop far in shock, something that Zomboss smirked at when I pointed it out to him. We both shared a chuckle, but I could tell Manolo’s song was getting to him because of the tears flowing from his eyes.

Manolo walked up to the bull as he ended the song, and when he put his hand on the animal’s chin, it became thousands of golden flower petals, all of them spiralling into the sky.

The bulls were finally at peace.

The whole crowd erupted into excited, happy cheers as the Sanchezes all ran down to congratulate him. Carmelo was kind enough to pick me and Zomboss down with him, and we all rushed in to congratulate him. He and his dad made up, he shared hugs with all his family, and shot me a thumbs up. I graciously returned it, a massive smile on my face.

“In accordance with the ancient rules…” Candle Maker began loudly, holding hands with La Muerte and Xibalba as they finished together, “We give you life.”

“Be careful up there, mijo”, Carmen said.

Manolo gave her a quick nod, and he was soon taken up into a bright light, more golden petals circling him as he was made human again. Me and Zomboss shared a look, wondering how we were supposed to get back, when Manolo suddenly grabbed our hands and pulled us up with him before anyone could say a thing.

We were suddenly launched upwards, Manolo delivering a fierce uppercut on Chakal. He landed safely on the ground, his eyes glaring at the bandit king. I landed shortly after on both my feet, Gladius right by my side. Zomboss, meanwhile… ate dirt as he face planted. But he quickly recovered and stood strong with us. All four of us stared up at the monster before us as he gawked at us.

“What?!” He said, dumbfounded. Everyone else around us shared similar reactions, but I just shook off that feeling.

“Manolo?” Maria said in disbelief as she lay on the ground. Manolo walked over and held out a hand. Maria carefully took his a hand, only for Manolo to twirl her around and give her a passionate kiss. Zomboss buried his face in his hand, and I tried not to laugh at everyone’s reactions. Gladius just sighed.

Chakal growled, only to be cut off when Manolo held up a finger, still kissing Maria. I shared and awkward look with Zomboss, both of us clearly thinking the same thing… Get a room, you two!

After what felt like too long, Manolo finally stopped his kiss and let Maria go, having her stand next to him. He then looked behind him and tossed Joaquin his guitar.

“Hold this for me, amigo”, the musician said. He gave his best friend a smile before facing the bandit king. “So, my father tells me you hate bullfighters.”

“I hate everybody”, Chakal retorted, spitting off to the side while his men behind him laughed and pumped themselves up.

Manolo unsheathed both his swords. “Alright, let’s do this.”

The bandit king let out a laugh, slamming a fist into his open palm. “You and what army?”

Manolo stood strong, glaring at him as Joaquin, Maria, myself and Zomboss all stood by his side. Suddenly, several beams of blue light started erupting from the ground, and Manolo’s family began to emerge, the fire of battle burning brightly in their eyes. The bandits were left speechless, while the residents took a few seconds before erupting into cheers.

“It’s the Day of the Dead, Manolo!” La Muerte called out. She stood on top of one of the church’s towers alongside Xibalba and Candle Maker.

“And on our day”, Xibalaba added, “We have a certain amount of…”

“Leeway”, La Muerte finished.

“Good luck!” Candle Maker called.

“Thank you!” Manolo yelled up to them. Everyone got into battle poses, while Zomboss shot me a side glance. I nodded down at his labcoat, which his hand was sticking into again. I held up my wait to tell him to wait, just as Jenny came to my side.

“Nice to see you three are back”, she harshly whispered. I gave her a sad look, and her scowl turned into a gentle smile. “Good to have you back.” I smiled back, brighter than ever.

“No retreat?” Maria began, holding her sword above.

“No surrender!” Joaquin and Manolo finished. After that, the battle was on. Everyone charged at the bandits, but when I saw all my friends off to the side taking on their own group, I ran over to join them. Zomboss, having pulled out his heat ray, Gladius and Jenny followed close behind.

~X~

The battle that the gang was taking part in was, in short, pure chaos. Twig was running around while Maple rode him, the Wasabi Whip flailing around wildly. Ralph was tackling seven bandits at once, not breaking a sweat. Majima was bashing a few bandit’s heads in with his bat, cackling like a maniac all the while. Vanellope was tripping up some bandits, constantly glitching around them while Hilda tripped them up. Alfur remained on top of her hat, writing into his notebook while screaming with concern. Star was swamping a small group, blasting them with all she had. Steve, decked out in a full set of diamond armour, was catapulting bandits away with pistons. Galacta Knight was barely putting in any effort, yet the bandits around him were terrified. Marco, finally, was running circles around a trio of bandits, before sliding into the middle of their group and spin kicking all of them.

Just before Majima could get jumped by another bandit, I ran up, Gladius in hand, and slashed the assailant away. Majima looked over his shoulder and gave me his iconic smirk.

“Nice of you, the butter knife and the jackass to join us”, Majima joked with a hint of annoyance.

“Sorry”, I said, fending off a bandit before Majima bashed him with his bat. “Something happened that dragged the three of us into the Land of the Remembered with him. But we’re back now, so let’s finish this!”

“YES!!!!” Zomboss cackled. Me and Majima looked over at him to see him going to town with his heat ray, the weapon blasting out a concentrated flame, as he chased a few bandits that were screaming in terror. I just had to laugh at the site, before heading off to take on some bandits on my own. It honestly wasn’t that hard, as the bandits barely put up any fight. I looked around at the whole battle, and I smiled as I saw my friends teaming up and trampling everything in sight.

“Yo, kid!” Ralph called, “I need some assistance!”

“On my way Ralph!” I called back. I ran towards him, seeing him being dog piled by a horde of the invading criminals. I leaped into action and joined the dog pile, fishing for Ralph’s hand. Once I grabbed hold of it, we tag teamed the bandits by Ralph getting pulled out thanks to the extra strength of Gladius’ telekinesis, and then the two of us began to spin around like tops. The whole horde was smacked away, many knocking over other bandits, some getting juggled by the rest of the gang. It wasn’t even kind of fair.

After a good few minutes of endless, cartoony violence, we all stood triumphantly over a pile of defeated, groaning bandits.

“Now that was fun!” Majima cheered. A shaky bandit hand rose up next to him, so he used his bat to smash it back down.

“We should probably see if Chakal is still standing-” Steve was cut off when a loud explosion, sounding like a deep bell gong. We all shared concerned looks and rushed to the front of the church, but all we saw was Joaquin and Maria helping Manolo out of the rubble as all the bandits fled. I watched as Maria pulled the Medal of Everlasting Life from his back.

Vanellope was about to walk forward when I stopped her. “What, Glasses? Why did you…” she tailed off when she saw who I was looking at. The three realm rulers.

“We should go”, I said, “I feel like we got lucky.”

“I’m with Caleb”, Jenny agreed, “With those three here, we can’t stay.”

A feeling of melancholy passed over all of us, but we all did the right thing and left.

We all took the long way out of town to get back to camp, trying our best to not potentially attract the three gods. Maple rode on my shoulder all the way, and he rubbed up against my cheek in an attempt to cheer me up. But I couldn’t really feel any happiness. Not being able to say goodbye to a friend is the worst feeling you could go through.

It took two hours, but eventually we made it back to our camp, and Star used her magic to pack it all up. We then decided that we’d leave where we came from, so we all marched to the tree. But as we approached, I saw two figures standing underneath its shade. As we got closer, I could make out it was Manolo and Maria. I instantly switched to a run, and I quickly approached them.

“Manolo, what the heck?” I cried, all the others following after me. “What are you and Maria doing here?”

“Well, we just had one heck of an adventure together”, the musician said happily, “Why not one more?”

Maria suddenly got into my face. “So you’re the kid Manolo told me about after our wedding. I have to say, it’s really nice to meet you. Thank you for helping Manolo.”

“Hey, I helped too!” Zomboss spoke up. He shoved his way past the others to my side. “Doctor Edgar George Zomboss, m’lady.” Zomboss bowed, which made everyone force themselves not to laugh. He shot them all a furious look, but that just made things worse, as they all burst out laughing.

I smiled and looked back at the two lovers. “Yep, this is the crew.” I then realised something. “Wait Manolo, how much did you tell her?”

Manolo paused his guitar playing and hissed. “…Everything you did.”

“And I almost didn’t buy it!” Maria said with a sweet smile, “But seeing you all together… well, I have to believe it now.”

“Ah…” I said. I paused for a moment, and then it clicked for me. “Wait, both of you want to join us?”

The others all stopped abruptly as Manolo spoke. “Yeah. After everything where I died and came back to life, I wanted to take Maria on a trip she wouldn’t ever forget.”

I looked at Gladius. “What do you think, buddy?”

Gladius pondered for a moment, then shrugged. “Why not. The more the merrier.”

Maria smirked confidently while Manolo stuck his guitar on his back. “Then it’s official”, I said with a sparkle in my eye, “Welcome aboard the crew!”

“Nice!” Manolo exclaimed. He and Maria held hands, and I grabbed a hold of Gladius. He adjusted himself so I’d open the portal in the right direction, and I slashed the air. A portal opened instantly, and I faced the others.

“Ready to get going, gang?” I asked.

I received nods, smiles, or both.

Filled with joy, I jumped into the portal, ready for the next step of our adventure….

~X~

And there we have it folks! Chapter 32 is done, and the Book Of Life arc is over!

Now, why did I take so long for this chapter? Computer died permanently, so I’m writing this from my new IPad Pro.

Second, I’d like to shout out my friend Tenno. During the time writing this, he was forced into the hospital because of a house fire. He’s all good now, but I want to say that he is such an amazing friend, and I wouldn’t have finished this chapter if it wasn’t for the love he showed this scroll of endless text. Thank you, Tenno, for everything. Hope you like this chapter in particular!

Up next: The gang finds themselves in a place where you fight to be famous… but everyone are teenagers and it’s on national TV

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

This trip through the spiralling tunnel of colours, despite the addition of both Manolo and Maria (who were both riding on Cloudy with Star and Marco), was actually pretty chill. It was fairly quiet amongst all of us. No insults, no playfully banter, just the noise of the portal and the memories flashing in each segment. I breathed a sigh of relief as I could finally get a break-

“Is it just me…”, Steve (who was gliding on his own with his Elytra) brought up, snapping me out of my thoughts, “Or does it feel like this is just a bit… too easy…”

“Yeah”, Majima, who was riding with Zombossin the cockpit, added. “Normally shit hits the fan pretty quick…”

“We all start tumbling…” Hilda adds, sitting next to Vanellope on Ralph’s back.

“And then we crash”, Jenny groaned.

I thought about it for a moment, looking around at my friends. “You guys are right, but maybe we’re just lucky this time. Our trips through these things don’t always have to end in disaster.”

I heard mumbles from the others, but Manolo and Maria looked over at me with questioning looks. “What should we worry about, exactly?” The musician asked.

“Well…”, Gladius, who was cruising next to me, Jenny and Maple, pondered, “There’s a lot, but it mainly is like sailing across the sea. Rough waters, storms, losing your way… just stuff like that.”

Maria’s face twisted into an unsure look. “A part of me is starting to regret this…”

“It’s okay, Maria”, I said happily, “We’ve all made it this far, so there isn’t anything to worry about.”

“That’s right!” Zomboss shouted out proudly, earning an eye roll from Majima. “With me around, there is nothing to worry about…” Zomboss trailed off when one of the lights on his console started beeping. “Wait, I’m picking something up…”

“What is it?” Marco asked.

“It looks like some sort of EMP blast…” The Zombie started pressing different buttons, looking for the cause.

Jenny suddenly shuddered, and I looked down at her in concern. “Are you okay, Jenny?”

“I’m f-fine”, she said, her voice glitching a little. She shuddered again, and this actually shut down one of her booster jets.

“Gladius, what is happening?!” Alfur cried.

“Oh lord, I remember!” He screamed. “This is because of a dying star that’s escaped a universe! Brace yourselves!”

Just then, a powerful blast came up from behind us, forcing us forward at crazy speeds and into a jumbled ball. I dug my way through the pile and poked my head out, only to see us barreling towards the exit.

“Just once…” I whined. “JUST ONCE!”

~X~

We were spat out of the other end, all of us screaming as we fell, heading straight down. As I tumbled, Gladius quickly made his way next to me and forced himself into my grasp, and I was quick to use my free hand to save Steve and Majima while Maple jumped onto my shoulder. Galacta Knight quickly rescued Manolo, Maria and Zomboss, and Ralph hugged all the others close as he plummeted like a meteorite. We all chased after him as he crashed through the roof of a warehouse, landing on a pile of mattresses. Ralph was quick to recover, letting Vanellope, Hilda, Twig, Alfur, Star, Marco and Jenny all go, and the rest of us all landed and rushed to their aid.

I quickly helped Jenny up, and she let out a shaky sigh. “You okay, Jenny?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m better now”, she said, giving me a reassuring smile. I smiled back, and looked over the others. Everyone was in one piece. Although Zomboss seemed distracted.

“Has anyone seen my cockpit?” He asked.

We all said “No” simultaneously, and Zomboss let out a frustrated sigh. He pulled out what looked like car keys and hit the lock button. A car beep echoed high above us, and we all looked up to see the pod falling right down at us.

“Duck and cover!!!” Steve screamed.

“Shit!” Majima swore as he grabbed Hilda and dove behind some miscellaneous crates. We all did the same just as the pod crashed down, ripping through the mattresses and kicking up tons of dust and feathers. We all coughed, fanning the dust away from our faces, but when that didn’t do anything, Jenny just revealed her fan blades and blew everything out of the building. We all looked at the crashed pod, and while it was unharmed, the mattresses were completely shredded, and there was a small crater in the floor. Zomboss carefully walked over and pressed the lock button again. The pod innocently made a lock sound, so Zomboss pressed a different button on the clicker, making the pod fold up into a storable size. As he put that away, the others began to shuffle through some of the nearby open boxes.

Majima pulled out some empty mascot costumes, Steve pulled out some fake swords, Ralph found a clacker board, and Twig sniffed out some uniforms that had a Staff tag on them. Manolo and Maria looked into their nearest box and pulled out a guitar from a box full of instruments.

“What is this place?” Maria asked, spinning around to face the rest of us while Manolo compared his guitar with the one he found.

“We must be in a movie lot”, I deduced, “Which explains all the props and costumes.” I looked up at the hole we left in the roof. “This must be a storage place.”

Vanellope darted her head around rapidly, finally locking her sights on a door. “Well, let’s go check this place out! I want to see if they have anything for racing movies here!” She dashed over to the door, the rest of us running after her to keep her from potentially, accidentally getting security involved. She swung the door open, but I quickly grabbed hold of her and pulled her out of the doorway before anyone could see her. “What the heck, Glasses?!”

“Vanellope, we could be trespassing!” I hissed at her. She crossed her arms and pouted, not really wanting to admit I had a point. However, the near dead silence outside made me think otherwise. Carefully, we all slowly walked through the door and into the fresh air. Luckily, the door opened to a small alleyway between the warehouse we were in and another one. I looked to my right down the outdoor corridor, and walked to the end of the alley. I poked my head out, and it was silent. We all walked out into the open, and found it strange how there wasn’t anyone around. I put Vanellope down, who just glitched onto Ralph’s shoulder.

“Where the heck is everyone?” Ralph asked.

“I don’t know…” I said. I spun around and looked up, seeing a tall artificial mountain towering over us. “Holy crap…”

The others all turned around and looked up at the peak, all of them dumbfounded. “What the heck is this place?” Manolo asked.

“Well, this is the future for you two, for starters”, Gladius started, “But…” He soared high above and spun around a bit before coming back down. “…Okay, I was going to say we were in an abandoned movie lot, but it appears there’s someone driving a white tram to the front gate, where a group of people seem to be waiting.”

“Well, let’s go see what all the hubbub is about”, Steve said. He was the first one to start walking towards the entrance, the rest of us following close behind. It was a bit of a trek, but soon we reached the entrance as the group of people boarded the tram, and the driver took them into the movie lot. We all hid behind some nearby bushes as they drove by. One of the passengers, a large boy with blonde hair, turned around.

“Izzy, run!” He called out. Still standing at the entrance was a slender girl with chaotic orange hair whistling innocently at the gate. The boy lightly hit his hand on his forehead. “I mean Kaleidoscope.”

This actually got Izzy’s (Or was it actually Kaleidoscope?) attention. “No one leaves Escope behind!” She pounded her chest like she was Tarzan, and dashed after the vehicle, did a triple flip, and landed into the seat next to the boy. I motioned for the others to follow carefully after them.

“Welcome to the set of Total. Drama. Action!” The driver happily announced, pointing at a camera that was held by a crew member, who was riding his own cart to keep in line with him. “This season’s hottest reality show will be shot here: on an abandoned film lot!”

One of the passengers, a blonde girl with a blue bandana, gasped happily. “Does this mean we’re going to be in the movies?”

“No”, the driver, who I could tell was the host, said, “It means you’re gonna be on TV. And don’t interrupt me!” He leaned in, holding his finger under her nose. “Ever!” He flicked the poor girl’s nose.

“Oops, sorry.” The girl said as they drove off. The others went to follow, but I stopped them by holding a hand up.

“What’s wrong, kid?” Ralph asked.

I let out a sigh. “I don’t know anything about this place except one: We are in the cartoon Total Drama, an animated reality show. The contestants? Hormonal teenagers…” We all subconsciously shivered, something most of the others were confused about.

“So? What’s the big deal?” Majima asked as he lit his lighter to fire up a cigarette. “We got a bunch of shithead teenagers running around, so what? Considering everything we’ve dealt with, I’d rather deal with a spoiled bitch crying how jackass #675 dumped her for a goth crybaby rather than an endless army of magical, rainbow pissing unicorns.” We all gave him shocked looks. He just scoffed back. “Jeez, all of you need to grow a pair…”

“Right…” I continued as the yakuza took a puff. I shook my head and continued my train of thought. “Look, biggest take away is that these kids are volatile, there are cameras everywhere, and-”

“There’s cameras everywhere?” Majima said in sudden realisation. He slowly moved his one visible eye to one that was pointing right at us. Majima sheepishly put the cigarette down and carefully stomped it out as we all carefully backed away.

“What are we supposed to do?” Jenny whispered, none of us taking our eyes off the camera as it stared back.

“We get back to the warehouse”, I whispered back. As quietly and quickly as we could, we made our way back to the warehouse we crashed into. Luckily, there still wasn’t anyone around or in it, so we slipped back in without drawing any attention. We then decided to set up our base “camp” in the back, as far away from the doors as possible. Ralph, Jenny, Steve, Majima, Manolo and Maria all tag teamed carrying boxes and other props to keep us hidden from any cameras, which was what me and the others were most concerned about.

As the girls, Twig and Marco set up our sleeping arrangements, me, Zomboss, Maple, Alfur, Galacta Knight and Gladius all brainstormed what we could do.

“Anyone have any ideas?” I asked. I was met with frustrated silence.
“I’ll take that as a no.”

Alfur, resting on Gladius’ hilt, hummed in thought. “Maybe there’s some way to disable the cameras?”

Maple began to nod rapidly in excitement, only for Gladius to dash that solution. “No. If we shut the cameras down, it’ll raise too much suspicion, and the crew will investigate. We need a way to tamper with them that doesn’t raise any red flags.”

Zomboss hummed, peeking through an opening in the wall of boxes at a camera. It wasn’t facing us, and didn’t move at all for the past hour. I watched as Zomboss reached into one of the boxes and pulled out a blonde wig. I could see the gears turning in his eyes as he used his super genius status to his advantage.

“It seems you have thought of something, Zomboss?” Galacta inquired.

“Yes”, he said, “But it’ll need some setup. And…” He shivered. “And… I need some… he… help.”

Galacta and myself shot him with flat looks.

“Look, I know how we can solve our problem”, he continued.

“So what do we do?”

“Basically, I need to hack into that camera, and I should be able to access them all. Two problems: I need a satellite dish installed and aimed at the nearest cell tower, and I’ll need some help plugging in this USB”, he held up the pocket sized storage device, “into the main computer that runs all the cameras. All of that should let me get access, and I can erase any footage that would be compromising to us.”

I shot up with determination. “I’ll help you with the USB, Zomboss.”

The Zombie leader nodded. “Galacta, you and Gladius deal with the satellite. And take Alfur with you.”

Maple hopped up and looked up at Zomboss with puppy dog eyes. The expert in Thanatology gave an over dramatic sigh. “Fine, you can join me and Caleb, you useless weed…”

Maple bobbed happily, prancing over and climbing onto my shoulder. I gave him a smile and a pat, only for a red wig to be thrown into my face. I sputtered and look down at it, only for a black fedora to smack me in the face right after.

“We’re gonna need disguises to get by”, Zomboss said as he continued to dig through the box of costumes, “That way we can slip by like the crew that are around.”

I let out a frustrated breath, but I did as I was told. I put on everything Zomboss threw at me, and before long we were both dressed up like staff. I looked myself over, looked at Zomboss, and flashed him a thumbs up. He was dressed in a blue button up shirt and matching baseball cap, dark blue jeans, the blonde wig, and glasses (which had to be taped on because of his obvious lack of ears). He returned with less enthusiasm, but still was happy. Maple hopped onto my shoulder, and the three of us left our hideout just as Ralph and his group finished. Maria watched us walk by, doing a double as we passed her.

“What are you two doing?” She asked.

“Heading out to hack the cameras”, I told her, walking backwards for a bit before returning to the task at hand. Mister and Misses Sanchez were obviously super confused, so the others were obviously gonna have to sit them down and explain things.

When we got to the door, Zomboss put a finger to his lips, and both me and Maple mimicked a motion of zipping out lips shut. The Zombie scientist then slowly opened the door, but he only opened it the tiniest bit before we saw two staff standing at the end of the alley. They were facing away from us, but this really complicated things. Zomboss carefully shut the door with a worried look.

“What are we going to do?” I asked as quietly as I could.

“I’m thinking!” He hissed at me. The both of us stood there though for a moment, before I noticed Maple was gone. “Where’s Maple?”

Zomboss was just about to shoot out a theory when we heard two loud bangs. We both shared a look and went outside, only to see Maple dragging the two staff away from prying eyes and behind a dumpster. We both stared at him with flabbergasted expressions, only for Maple to beam up at me, pull out a good length of rope from the trash, and curl it up around himself. He used his whip to point at himself, then extinguished the flame and completely camouflaged as a standard bunch of rope.

Both me and Edgar could barely comprehend what happened.

“Did he just…” I said in a cracked voice.

“But I just…” Zomboss said exactly the same way.

We both just decided to just drop it and move on. I picked up the disguised Maple, and the three of us went on our way.

~X~

The movie lot was a lot bigger than I realised. It was taking a long time to try and find wherever all the cameras connected together. It was exhausting, but we had to do this. As we wandered around, we’d hear occasional loud stomps, roars, and screaming. The two of us were completely confused, but when we reached a beach set, we saw what was with all the loud noises first hand.

All the contestants were running at us, while being chased by a 15 story tall monster. None of them seemed to really notice we were right in their path, but the two of us instantly went to run away. The contestants eventually lined up with us, and it didn’t take long for our presence to be noticed.

“What’s up with you two?” A boy with a green mohawk and skull shirt asked, breathing heavily because of all this cardio.

“New… employees”, Zomboss lied, “Just got a bit lost is all!”

“Whatever!” The girl with straight black hair and maroon top snapped. “As long as you two don’t get in my way, then I won’t need to throw you into the gutter!”

“Seriously Heather!” The goth girl spat. “You already make our lives hell, you don’t need to bully the interns too!”

“Can it, weird goth girl!!!” Heather spat back.

Me and Zomboss both shared blank, wide-eyed looks before the blonde boy from before ran up next to us. “Hey, my name’s Owen!”

“Caleb”, I said, readjusting the ‘rope’ that was in my hand.

“George”, Zomboss said, gripping onto the lid of his hat tightly.

The monster chasing us let out another fierce roar, which made me wince. It was then I noticed two of the contestants, the girl with the blonde ponytail and blue sweater and the bot with pink unbuttoned shirt and cowboy hat, were locking lips and making out on one of the many beach towels.

“Uhm, I don’t think this is the kind of action Chris had in mind”, the mohawk kid said, jabbing a thumb at the hormonal lovebirds.

“This is insane!” Zomboss screeched, “How is this legal at all?!”

“You white and… uh… green boy”, the girl with black ponytail and shirt with apple logo said, “Really shoulda watched the first season.”

“Definitely wishing I did now!!!” I cried as my flight reflexes kicked into overdrive, my legs bolting ahead of the group. I took a sharp turn away from the group. No one else followed but Zomboss, and the monster stayed locked onto the larger group, filling us with relief. We both took massive breaths, finally able to relax.

“I… regret… all… of… this!” Zomboss growled through laboured breaths.

“I… agree”, I said, hand against a wall as I tried not to puke. “If this… becomes… the norm… We are… so screwed!”

“Let’s just… get going…” I nodded in agreement, and the two of us continued on our way with our nerves frayed. We walked along just the two of us for a bit, before we came across a bouncy castle next to two trailers. I was about to ignore it when I saw Heather, the blonde couple, the blue bandana girl and Izzy all in there.

“What the heck?” I said out loud. I walked over to them, holding the bundle of rope close. “What are you guys all doing here?”

Heather scoffed, whipping her hair. “What do you think?”

I leaned back a bit cocking an eyebrow at her. Zomboss walked up to my side and tapped my shoulder. I looked at him and he made a motion towards a nearby tent.

“Well, I have to go, so enjoy the rest of the challenge!” I shouted as we dashed off. We slowed to a walk as we finally approached the tent with screens that showed all that the cameras saw, which oddly seemed to focus on the monster that was chasing the rest of the contestants. Sadly, someone was blocking the way. It was a very large, muscular man with a chef's hat, wearing a full body motion capture suit. He overdramatically stomped in place, and I quickly realised he was the one controlling the monster.

We both ducked away. “So, what do we do?” I asked quietly.

Zomboss rubbed his hand on his chin in thought. “Hmmmmmm…..” He pondered. Then he came to an idea. “We wait”

I shot him bugged-out eyes. “WHAT????” I hissed.

“Look, we can’t do much else to a guy like him without Majima, Jenny or Ralph”, Zomboss hissed back, “So we either blow our cover, or we wait for everyone to head to sleep.”

I stared at him silently for a moment, thinking over what he said. I looked down at Maple, who was looking up at me through the rope. I sighed, and was about to nod when I saw something. I looked over to the right and saw another crew member head inside a small building, and for a brief moment I could see a bunch of screens.

“I don’t think this tent is it, George”, I whispered. He gave me a weird look as I walked towards the building. I carefully opened the door a crack, and the three of us peeked inside.

It was what we were looking for. A collection of monitors rested together (far more than the amount in the tent), showing everywhere across the movie lot. I shot Zomboss a quiet thumbs up, and I closed the door. We walked casually over and hid around the corner, waiting for the one crew member to leave. It didn’t take long till he did, and we both slipped in as stealthily as we could.

I closed the door behind us, and as soon as it clicked closed, Maple jumped out of the rope and landed on the floor.

“Maple, keep watch”, Zomboss said, “Caleb, help me out with this.”

I nodded and joined his side as Maple scurried over to the screens, eyeing all of them carefully. Zomboss then pulled out the USB and plugged it into the main PC tower, quickly beginning to mash away at the main keyboard. One of the screens, one that for some reason showed the very room we were in, turned black with green text. As Zomboss typed, more text began to show up.

Not taking his eyes off the screen, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie, handing it to me. “Caleb, contact the team setting up the satellite.”

I nodded and clicked the on button, making the speaker crackle to life. “Hey guys, can you hear me?”

There was a moment of silence, then… “We can hear you loud and clear, boy boy”, Gladius responded, “The dish is nearly set up, Galacta just spent some time camouflaging it so as to not raise suspicion.”

“That’s good”, George said, “Now, I need you to try and line the antennae with the building we are in. Do any of you have any sort of way of tracking us?”

There was some shuffling heard, and the pocket radio blinked to life again. “I did catch you two head into one of the warehouses”, I heard Galacta said, “So you want me to point the device there?”

“Yes!” Zomboss suddenly said, making me jump a bit. “I’m nearly done on my end. Once you guys aim it, have Alfur crawl inside the opening at the base. The on button is in there.”

“Why there of all places?” Said elf asked.

“When you live with a bunch of zombies that love to touch everything, you need to take precautions…”

There was a pause. “Touché.” The walkie-talkie clicked off, and I passed it back to Zomboss. He stuffed it back into his pocket and returned to typing out commands.

“Caleb, try to unplug a cord from that camera and plug it in here”, the scientist said, pointing at the camera, then the PC tower. I nodded and did as I was told, pulling a chair up and unplugging the camera. I carefully pulled just enough of the cord and plugged it into the tower, and just then the screen with the commands swapped colours. “We’re in!”

I watched intensely as Zomboss worked away, typing out endless strings of text for minutes on end. I was beginning to worry we were gonna get caught, but just as that thought entered my head, Zomboss slammed the enter key, and everything went back to normal. He quickly pulled the USB out, and I was quick to fix up the camera. Maple quickly went back and rewrapped himself in the rope, and we left the room as fast as possible.

As we ran through the movie lot, Zomboss spoke up. “Once we get back, I can set up our own makeshift system like there’s, all the cameras accessible.”

“Nice!” I cheered. Maple quickly let their whip out for a moment, twirling his whip around. However, we all froze when we saw the host himself, the name Chris coming back into my memory because of what Duncan said earlier, walking towards us.

Zomboss shoved the USB into my hand and pushed out of sight. “Get this back to the others. I’ll distract this guy.”

I gave him a determined nod. “Catch you later?”

Zomboss nodded back, and I ran off, Maple cradled in my arm. I held onto the USM tightly as I dashed through the movie lot, avoiding all crew, cameras and contestants that crossed my path. Soon enough, I reached the warehouse, and quickly opened it. I stepped into the familiarity and closed the door behind me, quickly ducking into the base.

It was almost like the forts I’d make with blankets and pillows, only much larger. There were multicoloured cloths hanging above, star and heart lamps to provide lighting, and large bean bags scattered about. I saw, at the back side of the base, was a wall of older TVs, with Gladius and Galacta adding the finishing touches. I quickly shared my disguise and rushed to the screens, taking a seat in the old office chair they found.

“Caleb, what’s going on?” Jenny asked as I rolled closer. I leaned down and looked over the very dust PC tower that was set up.

“Zomboss had to go and distract the host”, I said, not looking away from my task, “But he was able to hack into the cameras, so I’m gonna try and find him.”

This caught all the attention of the others, who all formed a crowd behind me, curiously watching as I began to get everything set up. I quickly plugged in the USB, turned on the tower, and waited for everything to boot up. One by one, the screens blinked to life, the soft hum of the static filling my ears. The screens began to reflect the ones inside the main security room. I quickly scanned them all over, and soon saw Zomboss carrying around some camera equipment. I quickly reached over and snagged the walkie-talkie from Galacta and clicked it on.

“Zomboss, what the heck happened?” I asked into the speaker.

I watched as Zomboss reached into his pocket and pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Yeah… things got out of hand. Chris, being such an idiot, though I was one of his actual interns, so now I’m being forced to perform manual labour.”

I heard someone snort behind me, but I ignored it and focused on my friend. “Well, I got the USB plugged in, and I can see you on the cameras.”

The Zombie overlord and began to look around, and when he locked eyes on to the camera, he waved. “Once I’m done with all this busy work, I’ll head back to base, erase any compromising footage, and help get some better stuff set up there. Until then, I’m signing off.” I could see him flick off his device and continue on his way, so I did the same, letting out a sigh as I leaned back in the chair.

“Well, I’m glad things are running smoothly”, Steve said in a happy tone.

Majima let out a gruff scoff. “Yeah, sure, whatever you said.”

The group dispersed at that, except Manolo and Maria, who both hung by closer to me. I looked at them, giving them a concerned look.

“What’s going on, you two?” I asked.

Manolo sighed. “We’re both just overwhelmed. All of this is a lot to take in…”

I nodded and spun the chair to face them. “Wanna talk about it?”

Maria then hummed. “It’s just… I guess knowing we are just so small compared to just… everything. We’ve talked a lot with the others while you and Zomboss were out, and it’s just so weird seeing and hearing all of the stuff they have at their homes, and how different they are from ours…”

“And this being our future”, Manolo added, gesturing at all around him, “Just shocks us. These electric boxes, the more advanced lights, the sounds… all of it is a lot to take in.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I totally get it. It was overwhelming when I ran into each of the others in their own worlds, but I had them by my side, so I had back up for when I was overwhelmed.”

Manolo gave a soft smile and nodded. “Yeah. Still, who knows how far we are from home…”

“You two will survive”, I said, a massive smile plastered on my face.

Maria brought me into a hug. “Yeah!” She let me go, then shot out of her chair. “I’m gonna go and talk with Jenny more. She’s honestly pretty cool.”

She walked off, leaving both me and Manolo by ourselves. So for the next few hours, me and him happily chatted, eventually being joined by Gladius. It was actually chill for once, and considering everything we went through so far, we all deserved it. Soon, after plenty of waiting, Zomboss had finally returned, carrying a small box. I watched with curiosity as he pulled out the type of microphone you’d normally see at a receptionist desk.

“I’ve hot wired this thing to only register through this earpiece”, he pulled out a Bluetooth earpiece and stuck it where his right ear would be. “This way, we can chat without needing to use those crummy radios.”

I nodded. “And those?” I pointed at the two speakers he brought with him.

“Better sound quality on your end”, he said flatly.

I hummed slightly, leaving Zomboss to do his work. He had explained he had to remain disguised as an intern, as crew were given their own trailers on the lot, so he had to go there after he finished setting all this up. Alfur, surprisingly, actually was willing to accompany the scientist during this time. While Hilda was sad to see her friend go, he promised her that he would return (Plus Zomboss was threatened to keep him safe courtesy of Jenny, Ralph and Majima).

After a few more hours, it was finally night. I was absolutely exhausted, so I didn’t spend much time waiting for the others to head to sleep, so I just bid them goodnight and was out like a light.

~X~

And so ends another part of this massive adventure.

If you couldn’t guess, this newest arc is set in the world of Canadian cartoon hit, Total Drama. Specifically, the second season Total Drama Action. Why did I choose this to be part of my story?

…

I am in a TD FanFiction server, and I wanted to have something TD related so they would read this (joke)

Anyway, thank you for making it this far! I missed saying this, but thank you so much for getting this story to 1100+ hits on Ao3! That means the world to me!

(Legit I was crying when I saw the number hit 1000, thank you so much)

Up next: More hyjinx at the Movie Lot, including some of our friends almost ruining a challenge.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I awoke with a start when I heard crazed, manic laughter. Blinking the tiredness out of my eyes, I sat up on from Ralph's chest and looked over to the TV screens, and saw Majima nearly falling out of his chair as he roared with laughter. I gave off a tired groan as everyone else sounded off. Ralph sat up and brushed a hand through his messy mop of hair, Vanellope and my sitting on his lap.

He had been like this all of yesterday. Due to our situation, we had all chosen to remain in the base while Zomboss and Alfur went, the Zombie overlord still under the guise of an intern. While Majima was enjoying the break, sitting in the office chair as he watched the teenagers fail horrendously during yesterday’s challenge, me, Star, Marco and Steve all watched with curiosity and intrigue. Doing this, I had learned all the contestant’s names, and got a grip on how they felt to each other. However, the one I was most interested in was Izzy, or as she was calling herself, Escope. She kept giving Zomboss weird looks whenever he would enter her field of view, which made me think she was going to pounce on him eventually.

I brushed off the feeling quickly, however, and just continued on with the day. But now Majima was still glued to those screens, and I was about to lose it if he kept up with his mind numbing laughter.

"Majima…" Ralph growled, shaking his head. I was snapped out of flashing back, and hopped off his lap with Vanellope in tow as he began to stand, Maria, Manolo and Jenny already grumpily stomping up to him.

"Majima, you better have a good excuse for you laughing like a hyena", Jenny threatened, "Otherwise you're in for a world of hurt."

The one-eyed yakuza just gave of a light-hearted scoff, spinning around in the office chair to face the others, who were all angrily glaring at him with their tired eyes.

"Well, sunshine", Majima said in a mock tone, "Since you so nicely asked, I'm watching our undead egghead trip over his own two feet." He let out a chuckle. "And boy, it's happening a lot."

"Oh, is that my name now?" Zomboss voice said through the speakers. The group of four all looked at the centre screen, and was met with a fierce scowl from the Zombie Overlord. Majima looked down and realised he had his hand on the microphone button.

"Shit…" Majima cursed.

"'Shit' is right, you one-eyed ignorant insect", Zomboss quietly spat, "If I wasn't doing this sociopath's dirty work I'd scream."

Majima just scoffed, only to be lifted out of the chair by the teenage robot. Maria quickly took his place.

"What the heck is Chris making you do?" She asked, pressing a finger on the microphone's stand. Majima was silently cursing up a storm as this happened, still held airborne like a cat.

Me and Vanellope just watched the whole ordeal from afar, eventually joined by a still very tired Gladius, Star, Marco, Hilda and Twig. Steve walked past all of us to join up with Ralph, who had finally made his way to the screens. I shot a glance over to my right, and made eye contact with Galacta Knight. He had his wings wrapped around him, a sleeping Maple resting on his head, his magenta eyes giving a dim glow. He looked at me and made a slight shrug, a motion I returned before focusing on the group crowded around the screens again.

"Look, Zomboss, I get you have a disguise to keep up", Ralph said in a scratchy voice, "But can't you wait till we're all at least up?"

"Wish I could, but Chris is a fickle man", Zomboss growled, "Oh, how I wish he was in my world. His brain would be too rotten, even for Zombies, but the thrill of hearing his terror filled screams would be so luxurious…" His eyes began to simply drift to the sky, which made us all share uncomfortable looks. Alfur, who was visible on his shoulder, cleared his throat, snapping the Zombie out of his trance

"Erm, right", He mumbled, snapping back to his senses. "Anyway, McLean needs stuff set up for this challenge as early as possible, because he's a psychopath who cares little for human life."

"Says the lunatic Zombie dictator", Majima said sarcastically.

Zomboss' face suddenly twisted into fury, and he threw his earpiece to the ground. He then pulled out an airborne and forced it right against the microphone, then pressed the button.

The loud scream of the horn blasted through the speakers, making all of us jump a good few inches above the ground, and come crashing down on the ground. As we all landed, Zomboss ceased the assault on our ears. We all slowly sat back up, groaning in pain.

"Just let me do what I need to do", Zomboss said sternly. Alfur looked into the camera with an apologetic expression, but before he could say anything, the camera turned off, and the screen became static. Maria, who climbed back into the chair, leaned forward and switched the TV off. She then slammed her head on the table with a thud. Manolo looked her over.

"You good honey?" He asked in a slightly delirious tone. He received a muffled noise and a thumbs up. "She's good." He called out.

I slowly rose back to a standing position, Gladius helping me. Vanellope just remained on her back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Star and Marco leaned against each other as literal stars danced around their heads. And Hilda tried to stand back up, only for her legs to give way and to flop onto Vanellope. Twig did recover, and hopped onto his owner's back, lightly sniffing her hair.

I just sighed and slowly began to make my way to the chair, ringing still prevalent in my ears. Manolo had finally coaxed Maria out of the chair, so I took her place and began to look over the other screens. It showed the movie lot was pretty quiet across the movie lot. Either the cameras showed nothing, interns (and a disguised Zomboss) moving props and equipment, or Chef chasing around some raccoons for stealing some of his ingredients. I tilted my head slightly as Star and Marco came up to both my sides, looking the screens over with me.

"So, who do you think is gonna get the boot next?" Star asked, smacking the side of her head like there was water in her ear.

"I'm going to guess that mohawk kid… Duncan", Marco said with crossed arms.

"Awwwww, not a fan of the bad boy, Safe Kid?" The princess asked sweetly.

Diaz just sighed. "No. He just reminds me of… Tom…"

"Right you are, brother", I added. The both of us shared a fist bump, with Star pouting off to the side.

"What about you, Caleb", Star said, trying to move on from our jab at her ex. "Who do you think is being kicked out today?"

I pondered for a moment. "I'd have to say Lindsay. She's not the brightest, so I feel like she'll hold her team back."

Both my friends shared a look, then looked to the screen that showed the interior of the girls trailer. Lindsay was sleeping soundly, before she rolled out of her bed and fell on the floor with a quiet thud. She didn't seem to care all to much, as she just climbed back up onto the top bunk she had claimed. The two Echo Creek residents shared a cringe.

"Guys, it's not nice to bet on this stuff", Ralph shot out, helping Maple back into the flower pot we found for him. "Especially if it's behind other people's backs."

I opened my mouth to say something, but Vanellope abruptly jumping up and down stopped me. "Aw, c'mon Stinkbrain, it's all part of the show! You never know who's gonna get the boot next, so you play Guess Who!"

Ralph cooked an eyebrow at her, not fully buying what she said. He looked at me with the same face, and I nodded. This finally seemed to calm him down, as he sighed, mumbled a "Fine, whatever", and walked off elsewhere into our little hideout.

I blinked for a moment, then turned back around to the screens. It was just then Chris pulled out a megaphone and held the button down, releasing a loud blare intended to wake the contestants.

What it also did was scare me so much with how sudden it was that I was knocked backwards, bringing both me and the chair down.

"All crew on set!" He barked into the megaphone, "Call time is 4 AM!"

Star and Marco both watched silently as I rose back up with the chair, fiercest glaring at the screen that plastered Chris' smug face.

"I hate it here…" I snarled.

~X~

After a few hours of nothing happening since Chris' sudden wake-up call (My time mainly spent doing random stuff with the others to pass the time), Chris had finally called all three contestants back together in front of their trailers. The girls and boys remained in their respective gender-centred groups, all of them looking at Chris, awaiting further instructions.

Meanwhile, I lounged in the office chair as everyone did other things. Except Gladius, Star, and Marco, who all sat in their own chairs watching the show play out with me.

"I'm excited ", Star said in giddy anticipation, "I honestly never would have guessed I'd be pumped to watch a reality shoe, but here we are!"

Marco let out a laugh. "Honestly, same. Kinda surprising with myself, too."

I shook my head. "I'm honestly not that excited for the show itself ", I said, "I more want to hope Zomboss is okay. Keep tabs on where he is and stuff."

Just then, the centremost screen blinked on again. Speak of the devil, I thought.

"Guys, I need some assistance", Zomboss said between heavy breaths, "This 'pretending to be an intern' stuff if actually really dangerous stuff. Alfur got locked in a warehouse, and I don't have the key. I need some help trying to snag it from Chris."

I blinked, then sighed. "Alright Zomboss, I'm coming. C'mon Gladius."

I hopped out of my chair. "Of course, Caleb." Gladius said. He hovered close to my side, only for someone to come up next to my right. It was Galacta Knight.

"I overheard you were off to rescue the elf", he said, "I wish to assist in this activity."

"Alright l", I said with a shrug, "The more the merrier."

The three of us left our little hideout, stepping out into the morning sun, the brisk breeze hitting my face. I took in a deep breath, only for someone to ram into me and throw me to the ground. I snapped my eyes and looked at the perpetrator. None other than Zomboss.

"Thank goodness!" He cried. He helped me back to my feet, panic in his eyes. "Alfur is fine, he just got knocked off my shoulder by another intern by accident."

"Which warehouse?" Gladius asked.

Zomboss pointed at a warehouse further down the way, and I carefully poked my head around the corner to see one of the buildings had a couple of interns out front.

"So we just scare the interns off and break the lock", I said.

"Not that simple", Zomboss explained, "This whole place has cameras everywhere because of the show, but because Duncan is actually a Juvie kid, the warehouses have alarms that sound off if the key isn't used on the side door or garage door."

"So where are the keys?" Galacta Knight asked.

"Chris always has them on hand."

"And Chris?" I asked.

He pointed to the top of the towering artificial mountain. "He's up there, waiting for the contestants. That's where the challenge is going on, but Chris said no interns are allowed up there. Kills the budget because of editing or something…"

Galacta hummed. "Perhaps we should try and see if we can help Alfur out some other way. Going to grab the keys is too risky."

"Yeah…" I said in thought. "But in case nothing else works, we go for his keys."

I was met with a strange silence, so I looked back at the others. They were all giving me suspicious looks.

"Oh you know what I mean!" I scolded them quietly. I grabbed hold of Gladius' handle, and I shot into the sky with Galacta while Zomboss ran off to distract the other interns. Me and Galacta landed on top of the warehouse, and just as I feared, there wasn't a single window.

"Oh dear, what are we supposed to do?" Gladius asked in a worried tone, "If we trigger any of the alarms, it could alter this whole world drastically."

"How drastically are we suggesting, Gladius?" The knight asked in curiosity.

"No clue. Nothing like that had ever happened."

I gulped fearfully as those very scary thoughts filled my head, but I was snapped out of it when I heard loud grunting. I turned my head to the base of the mountain, and I saw both teams, all the members carrying equipment like cameras and spotlights up the hill. This was when I got an idea.

"We need those keys", I said.

Gladius made a noise of shock, while Galacta just blankly stared at me.

"It's the best chance we got. And if we get spotted on the cameras, Zomboss can just hack them to erase any evidence. We need to do this."

Gladius remained silent, but when Galacta Knight nodded, he nodded too. I smiled at that, then grabbed hold of the blade's handle. However, before we both took off, I noticed something was going below us with the interns.

"Wait, you two want to quit?" Zomboss asked in shock.

"Yeah, dude", one of the interns said, "Sorry, but this job ain't cutting it. Catch ya' later!" The two interns then just up and left, which made Zomboss almost visibly snap. He began to gamble incomprehensible angry gibberish, tossing his blue cap onto the ground and stomping on it repeatedly. The three of us hovered down to his side.

"I can't believe this!" He shouted, "So I'm gonna be left to do more of this ridiculous busy work?!" He returned to his rage-fueled gibberish.

"Zomboss, don't worry, we'll be out of here soon", I said. The Zombie Overlord took some deep breaths.

"You're right. So, what's the plan?"

“We have to snag the key from Chris. There’s no way inside without tripping the alarm.”

This made the false intern’s eye twitch, then bury his face into his hands. “Of course.” He let out a sigh and shook his head. “Well, I’ll think of something. You three hang back while I scout out ahead.” He turned to dash away, but quickly spun around and faced me. “I think it would be a good idea if you got your intern disguise. Just in case.” At that, he ran off. I shared a quiet look with Galacta and Gladius, both of them showing different reactions. The sword shrugged, while the knight gave a flat look, not showing any clear emotion. I just slowly looked away from them and began to make my way back to our hideout.

~X~

It didn’t take too long till I was back into my disguise and back out. Galacta and Gladius were flying high above, keeping a careful watch on the whole plan. I eventually met with Zomboss at the base of the artificial mountain, and noticed he was looking up the path. I followed his gaze, and saw all the contestants, divided into their teams, partway ahead with their trailers. As I reached my friend, I let out a whistle.

“Quite the sight, huh?” I asked.

“More focused on the whining brats”, the Zombie admitted, “Trying to think how to wiggle around them. If we’re caught, everything will fall apart.”

I nodded. “So, you got a plan?”

Zomboss rested his fist under his chin in thought, humming as he pondered. Then, his eyes lit up as a massive smile filled his face. “That’s it!” He exclaimed, holding a finger up.

“Well?” I pressed.

He faced me. “I remember hearing from some other interns that there’s an elevator system in front of the cliff, out of the view of the cameras.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

“I don’t know, safety reasons or whatever”, Zomboss grumbled. He then shook his head rapidly and faced me again. “We’ll take that up. That way we don’t have to deal with the contestants.”

I nodded, and the two of us ran around the cliff into an area marked with a faded ‘Employees Only’ sign. We ran by some vacant trailers, Zomboss quietly explained that these were the intern trailers, and from the fairly poor quality of the trailers, I mentally slapped myself for not realising instantly. The employee-only area was like the rest of the movie lot, the gloom of abandonment hanging over, broken props scattered about, and multiple signs that said ‘Condemned’, ‘No Trespassing’, or ‘Closed Indefinitely’. It made me cringe, sad that these were the conditions the interns were trapped in. Especially because this is what Zomboss had to deal with, too. We turned a corner, and instantly came to the entrance of the elevator.

Only to be instantly greeted with an ‘Out Of Order’ sign on the chain link fence gate that stopped our advance.

“Are you…” Zomboss started, before ripping his hat off his and throwing it onto the ground and jumping on it repeatedly. I let out a groan as I shook my head.

“So, what’s the plan now?” I asked.

Zomboss continued to silently rant as he picked up his now dirty and flattened hat and put it back on his head. He then let out a long sigh. “It looks like we’ll have to sneak around those idiot teenagers…”

I shivered, thinking back to how cold I felt when Heather was snapping at me two days ago. “Greeeeeeaaaaaat…” I said in a quiet voice. This didn’t go unnoticed by Zomboss, who looked over his shoulder and shot me a look, completely aware of what I was referring to. I just weak smiled and gave him a thumbs up, and we both dashed back the way we came. As we finally made it to the finished side of the mountain, standing a few feet away, I saw that one of the teams was halfway up the hill with Owen pulling their trailer, while the other team were stuck at the bottom.

“So, how do we sneak around if we don’t have too much cover?” I asked, gesturing a hand at the lack of anything on the mountain.

Zomboss once again pondered, but this was when Gladius actually glided down and came to my side. “I was thinking Zomboss could take the path and distract Chris, while I fly Caleb up out of view on the other side of the metal scaffolding and out of view, so then that way he can snag the keys.”

Zomboss gave Gladius a wide-eyed look, while I beamed at him. “Gladius, that’s a great idea!”

“Yes, I admit”, Zomboss said with a hint of jealousy, “That’s a pretty good plan. Even if it means I’m forced to do more work, so be it…” He steeled himself and began the trek up the path, while Gladius took me around to the side opposite the entrance to the Employees Only area. I grabbed hold of his handle, and he began to slowly cruise upwards. I looked down for a brief moment before looking back up at my friend.

“I’m surprised you aren’t afraid of heights, Caleb”, a new voice suddenly asked. I felt my heart lodge in my throat as my grip weakened on the sword’s handle, but a pair of gloved hands kept me from falling. I looked down a bit to see it was none other than Galacta. I tightened my grip, and he let me go.

“Yeah…” I said, still slightly startled by his sudden entrance. “Trust me, I am terrified, just… kinda pales compared to what else we’ve faced.”

Galacta hummed as we neared the top. “I suppose that makes sense. Just don’t force yourself into treacherous situations if it means your nerves are frayed.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump that was forming in my throat. Soon, we had reached the top, so I quietly hopped over and snuck behind some boxes. Me and Gladius carefully peeked past them, and we could see there were two sets built, one for each team, and plenty of miscellaneous equipment. Chris and Chef stood by idly as they waited for the contestants to show up with their trailers. Well, idly might be a bit too generous. Chris lounged on a beach chair, drinking from a coconut while wearing some sick shades, and Chef, clipboard in hand, looked over the equipment.

“Hopefully Zomboss gets here soon…” I whispered. Gladius nodded in agreement, only for Owen’s team to reach the top. Izzy, who was riding on top of the trailer, hopped off, while a boy in a green shirt and black hair (I remembered his name was Trent), skidded to a stop next to the larger boy. Behind them, their three other teammates finally caught up. Owen crashed onto the ground, exhausted, and his teams let out cheers.

“We actually won!” A girl with glasses, brown hair done up in a ponytail, and pink pants shouted in joy. I remembered she was Beth, and I actually envied how cute she looked.

“Weeeeeeell”, Chris said in a condescending tone, “Nooooot exaaactly.”

“Pardon?”

“That was all only the first part of the challenge”, Chris said matter-of-factly to Beth, “Did I neglect to mention that?” He grabbed Beth’s wrists and lowered her arms to her side, killing the joyous mood of her team.

I let out a quiet hiss of sympathy as the host directed the winning team to one of the sets. It resembled a home, with a grandfather clock on the wall and an ornate purple couch against the pitch black window. The second set was a study, complete with a desk, file cabinet and brown couch.

I noticed some movement beside the winning team’s trailer, and looked to see a panting, sweating Zomboss duck behind it, just as the second team arrived without their trailer. They all went to the second set, Heather shooting a glare at the other team, and Trent sharing an awkward look with the goth girl, Gwen.

“It’s time to make a movie!” Chris happily announced to the camera in front of him, “And what we got here is the set for a tearjerker”, he held an arm out to the set Trent’s team had, “Starring: an elderly lady considering her long life.”

“Boring”, Trent groaned as he rolled his eyes.

“Uncultured heathen”, Gladius growled quietly.

“I can’t believe we don’t have a trailer”, said the kid that was a bit too much like Napoleon Dynamite, Harold, said dejectedly.

“We are so not going to be able to properly apply makeup without vanity lighting”, Heather sneered. It was just then I noticed she was completely bald, making me have to keep myself from laughing out loud. “This could spell disaster.” She turned to the large, muscular boy next to her. “Thanks, DJ.”

“You’ll be making a feature about a thug”, Chris continued, “Who tries to go straight, but can’t resist the lure of the street.”

“Yeah, it’s been done”, Gwen said flatly.

“Hey, what about lunch?” Heather asked, “We have been working for eight hours, and you are legally obligated by union rules to give us a meal break.”

“Oh yeah?” Chris shot back. “Who here is in the union?” He raised his hand, and no one else did, shooting Heather down there and then. “Yeah, I thought so.”

Chris walked between both sets as Chef came to his side, who was holding a large golden yellow envelope. “And now it’s time to choose an actor to perform a scene.” He turned to his right hand man. “Chef, give the teams their scenes.”

It was then I began to tune out what was happening, because Zomboss had finally joined the two of us behind the boxes. “Took you long enough.” I whispered.

“Well, sorry that my body wasn’t built for scaling over 1000 foot hills.” He snapped back. He then calmed down and looked over at Chris. “Now, I’ll wait till Chris is a bit closer to the edge of one of the sets, while you sneak behind and snag the keys. Got it?”

I nodded and slithered behind the artificial rooms, Gladius bolting down the edge of the hill, while Zomboss carefully scurried to another bunch of boxes at the opposite side of the area. Chris was standing by, his red megaphone from way earlier in his hand once again. I watched as Zomboss was able to Get close as Chris made the call for both teams to get set up. The false intern was able to get Chris’ attention, and that was my cue.

As quiet as a mouse, I creped up to Chris, the keys in my sight, and slowly reached out to them. Once my hand was close enough, I plucked them and dashed away quickly. I peered around the corner and shot him a thumbs up. Zomboss quickly apologised to Chris, who was clearly frustrated, and the Zombie overlord darted away back down the hill. Before anyone could notice I was there, Galacta quickly swept me up in his arms and we both shot down the hill out of the view of the cameras, Gladius close behind. We met back up with Zomboss at the bottom, and I handed the keys over to him.

“Thank you for the help”, he said, eyeing the keys with gleaming eyes. “I can’t think about any way to repay you!”

“No need, Zomboss”, I said with a smile, “We were just helping to rescue Alfur. Make sure he’s okay.” I shot him a serious look, and he nodded before running off. Galacta shot back into the sky and made his way back to the warehouse our base was in, and I chose to run after him, Gladius in tow.

~X~

After finally making it back to the base, the rest of the day went off without a hitch. After meeting back up with the others, Star instantly rushed over to me, giddily explaining all of the challenge that I wasn’t there to see. Marco, meanwhile, was trying to calm her down, explaining to me about what was going on with the others while I was gone.

While I was grateful to get me all up to speed with the show, I was more happy to hear that Manolo and Maria were slowly getting used to modern society. With the help of Jenny and Majima, they started to feel better about their surroundings. When I saw them next time, I shot them a smile and thumbs up, something Manolo happily returned.

After that, I joined back with the Echo Creek kids and the lunatic yakuza in watching the cameras, specifically the ones with the contestants. Although I did see Zomboss had saved Alfur, and the two of them were okay. I smiled at them, and returned my attention to the contestants. While Izzy and Duncan’s, the boy with the green mohawk, performances were excellent, they had their scripts swapped. Despite this, Duncan was somehow able to pull through and win his team the challenge overall, while it was clear Izzy was the one going home. After I had enough of the screens, I chose to hang out around the base for a bit, but when I saw everyone else was busy, I decided to just go and have a nap to catch up on the sleep I missed. I curled up on one of the piles of pillows, pulled a blanket over me, and was out like a light.

~X~

When I finally awoke, it was night, and was a good while after Izzy (unsurprisingly) got the boot. I was currently wrapped in a cosy blanket, sitting on the roof gazing at the Toronto skyline. Twig was resting on my lap, Hilda and Vanellope were reading a book together to my right, and Steve was taking in the sights with me on my left. It was quiet and peaceful, the brisk cold Canadian air hitting my face.

“You seem pretty content right now, Caleb”, Steve said.

I took a deep breath. “Yeah… We’ll, even if it’s not the real place, I grew up in Canada… It’s my home…”

Steve faced me with a slightly sad look, while Hilda and Vanny finally took notice of the conversation.

“I lived on the opposite side of the country, along the West Coast”, I continued, looking down with a sad smile. “I honestly wonder if anyone is looking for me at all…”

Steve shared a sad look with the girls. “I’m sure your parents are worried about you”, Hilda said.

That made my smile fall, and my expression darkened. “Doubtful”, I said quietly.

Steve gave me a concerned look. “Caleb, is everything okay-”

“I knew there was something going on!” A new voice suddenly spoke up. We all screamed and rolled back, Twig instantly recovering and getting into a defensive stance, growling at the sudden arrival. I looked at who had found us, and it was Izzy. She was looking down at me with a beaming, proud smile.

“What… Izzy- Escope, but… you-” I stammered, my mind crashing.

“You thought I was booted?” She said, getting down on a knee and holding a hand out to me. “That’s what you all thought. But Escope was the one who lost, not Izzy!” I carefully took her hand, and she helped me to my feet as the others recovered. “I knew something was up with those two interns on the first day. It was you and your buddy!”

“Is that why you kept giving George a weird glance any time you could?” Hilda asked, picking up a still growling Twig.

“Yep! I knew something was up, but I couldn’t do anything. Thought maybe you were supervillains or something.” Izzy walked up to my side and leaned against me. She was a good two inches taller than me, around the same height as Jenny. “But, looks like it’s just a group of amazing buddies.”

“Well… yeah…” Steve said, still recovering from the Izzy jumpscare. “We are-”

“Inter dimensional travellers?” Izzy casually mentioned. You could hear the record scratch as we all looked at her in complete shock.

“How the heck do you know?!” Vanellope angrily demanded.

“Have you seen your buddy George?” Izzy said with a smirk.

Vanellope looked off to the side with a flat look. “Good point…”

I Looked up at her. “So, this whole time you knew, and you snuck away to find us because…?”

“Becaaaaaause I want to join you, silly!” Izzy happily announced, “I want to sword fight with pirates on a flying boat, blast myself out of a cannon to the moon, go mystery hunting with a dog, and maybe battle a king crocodile who likes bananas. I want that thrill and danger!”

We all stared at Izzy in silent shock as she giddily cackled, her mouth filled with sharp teeth. “Uhhhhhh…” Hilda said.

“Can you let us just talk about this first, Izzy?” I asked, a large, fake smile on my face. She nodded eagerly, and I led the others a good distance away. We all huddled together. “So, what do you guys think?”

“I don’t know, Caleb…” Steve began, “She doesn’t seem to be that… stable, is what I would say.”

“Yeah”, Vanellope added, “Plus, we’ve already got so many for our little entourage. Especially after we just picked up Manolo and Maria.”

“I think we should take her with us”, Hilda said, “She knows what we are, and she seems really excited to go.” We all glanced at her, and she was just happily bobbing on the balls of her feet. She waved at us, and I waved back as we all huddled together.

“C’mon guys”, I said, “She found us out, and I don’t think it’ll be a good idea to leave her behind.”

Steve seemed hesitant, while Hilda beamed. Vanellope seemed split, but an encouraging look from Hilda, and Twig rubbing against her legs, made her look up at me and smile.

I smiled at the three of them, but then I turned to Steve. “What about you, Steve?”

The crafter looked over at Izzy, who was giving him large puppy dog eyes, and he finally relented. “Fine, she can stick with us.”

I beamed and ran up to the energetic redhead. “Izzy, welcome aboard!”

“YES!!! She screeched, picking me up into a tight hug. “I am so ready for an unforgettable adventure of danger, tension and love.”

“Yeah!” She put me down, and I grabbed the blanket I brought out with me. “Let’s go tell the others!” I dashed off. Izzy followed closely behind, the others calling out my name as they attempted to catch up.

~X~

And so ends the next part of Dreams Come True. Yep, Izzy, the Psycho Hose Beast of Total Drama will be joining the main group through the adventure. Fun fact: through initial planning, no TD characters at all would have a greater impact on the story, but because Izzy is so, in my eyes, fleshed out, I had to include her.

Also, this chapter is also my submission for the TDWriMonth Crossover Event (Mar 5th - 11th, 2023). I really wanted to get something out for it, so here it is!

Up next: With Chris, Chef and the contestants gone, the gang decide it’s the perfect time to leave. But a beast awakens, forcing a battle of titans…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

The next morning was surprisingly quiet. I was the first one to wake up, so I scanned around at all the others. All of them were asleep peacefully, which made me swell with happiness. As carefully as I could, I rose from my spot and carefully began to make my way to the screens at the other end of the room. I weaved around Ralph’s colossal mass, Steve’s bed, and Jenny lying face first into the softness. As I kept dodging my sleeping friends, I passed by a sleeping Izzy, who was quietly yipping like a dog while kicking the air. I shook my head, smirking as she rolled over onto her stomach. It wasn’t too hard to wiggle past the rest of my friends, and before I knew it I was sitting in that worn out office chair eyeing the screens.

The contestants had already begun the next challenge, which was being held inside another warehouse. From what I could tell, it was just a simple challenge of staying on a surfboard above a tank of water. It made me raise an eyebrow, but thinking back to the first challenge made me realise there had to be something else. And I immediately got my answer when a shark jumped out of the water and ate DJ’s swimming trunks off his person. He let out a girlish squeal, grabbing one of the seagulls that were thrown at him and used it to cover his… nether regions. He then ran off, Chef snapping at him as he did so. I let out a quiet chuckle, then began to scan the other screens for any view for Zomboss.

It was just then I heard the door to the warehouse we were in. This made the others stir a bit, and I turned to the entrance to our hideout to see Zomboss walking in, taking his hat off his head and tossing it aside. Alfur, who was on the Zombie overlord’s shoulder, hopped off and onto the desk.

“I’m assuming you’re done?” I asked him in a whisper.

“Yes”, Zomboss snarled, “My patience for Chris has run out.”

“He’s planning to take the remaining contestants to the previous place they held the show”, Alfur explained, “for the rest of the challenge later. So the two of us agreed that we were both just going to wait things out here.”

I nodded, but then noticed Zomboss had paused his changing to stare in shock at Izzy. “What is she doing here?” He asked, pointing a finger at the Psycho Hose Beast.

“Oh, yeah, she showed up last night”, I explained, “She found out about us pretty quickly. We all talked about it, and she’s now part of the crew.”

Zomboss let out a sigh. “Of course. But honestly, I should’ve expected as much. This group will always be growing, and I just got to get used to that.” He took off the blue button up and put his white lab coat back on. “Besides, the more meat I can hide behind, the better.”

I rolled my eyes as the scientist walked off to continue changing, leaving me and Alfur on our own. It was then Izzy made her presence known by walking up to my side, letting out a yawn.

“Your buddy finally got back?” She asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“Yep. He can be a bit rough, but he is chill”, I said.

“I am not!” I heard him shout back. I rolled my eyes a second time as Izzy let out a snort.

“I don’t believe we’ve been properly acquainted, my dear!” Alfur called up to the redhead. She looked down at the desk, looking around the surface to find the source of the voice.

“Who said that?” She said through squinted eyes. “Did the government bug me in my sleep?”

“No, that was Alfur”, I explained. “Here.” I showed her the tiny contract she had to sign to see him. She snagged a pen and messily signed, and instantly locked eyes with the tiny elf that stood before her.

“Huh”, she said in a surprised tone, “When you said elf, I was thinking something like what Santa has.”

“Elves come in all shapes and sizes, miss”, Alfur explained.

Izzy bowed, only to burst into a fit of giggles.

I smiled at the two bonding, and noticed the others were all finally waking up. I got out of the chair, Izzy instantly taking my place, and walked over to the robot and wrecker. Ralph was stretching as Jenny shook her head, and I smiled at them.

“So, you two ready to get going?” I asked them.

“Definitely”, Ralph said mid stretch, before ceasing and shaking the sleepiness out of him. “Starting to get antsy. Being cooped up in here for so long can really mess with you.”

“Same”, Jenny agreed, “I need to feel the fresh air passing through my wires and gears. You’d be surprised how much that destresses me.”

“Honestly, even though I’ve been running around with Zomboss”, I said, “Same. It’s just feels so claustrophobic in this movie lot, with all the cameras.” That made me realise something, so I turned and called out to Izzy. “Izzy, what is it like being part of two seasons of this show?”

This got the attention of the others, who all faced the redhead. “Well, it’s fun!” She said, spinning in her chair. Built as she slowed, her smile fell into a mixed look. “But, like you said, it’s really cramped. Even last season, where we had a whole island to explore, all the cameras made this feel like a cage. And Escope hates being caged!” She jumped up so she was standing in the chair. “That’s why I wanted to tag along with you all!”

Majima pulled out a cigarette and his lighter. “Well, I like your attitude, Isabelle-Chan.” He took a puff, earning a sound of disgust from Marco, who was next to him.

“I like that!” Vanellope cheered as Star gave her a piggyback ride. “You’ll love hanging out with us! Even if Stinkbrain can be a worry wart~” She shot Ralph a smug smile, which just earned her a sigh.

I let out a simple laugh. “You guys are all amazing.” I looked up at Gladius. “You ready to get going, too?”

“Most definitely”, he said.

“Well, we just got to wait”, Zomboss said as he walked out into view. He adjusted his coat’s collar and walked to the centre of the group. “This Could be our best chance. Because the contestants will be gone, I’ll just deactivate the cameras. All footage that could compromise us has been deleted.”

“Well, that’s great to hear”, Steve mentioned, “I am tired of constantly being watched. Reminds me of whenever an Enderman is nearby while I’m exploring…” He shivered at the thought.

“Well, I suppose there isn’t much left for us to do”, Galacta Knight brought up, “I suggest we all find something to pass the time.”

“Galacta’s right”, I said with a nod, “Let’s get a last bit more R&R before we jump to the next chaotic world.” I turned to Izzy. “And this is the last chance you get to say goodbye for now.”

“You got it, chief!” She said, giving me a salute. I beamed at her, and the gang all fanned out to do their own things. I went back to the screens, leaning against the office chair as Izzy scanned the TVs. Maple climbed up onto my shoulder, and I gave the Wasabi Whip a couple of head pats.

“Yo!” Izzy cried. “It’s the monster!”

I looked over at the screen she was pointing at, and saw the monster that chased us on the first day was deactivated in an empty warehouse. I hummed in acknowledgement, but I had this weird feeling. I squinted and leaned in a bit, and I noticed the thing was on. It seemed like some crew were running checkups on the thing. Even with that, I couldn’t stop this feeling that something was wrong. That’s when I noticed it.

The beast's eye was staring right at the camera.

It gave me chills, but I simply choked it up to the maintenance crew probably just testing the eye movements. I just shook my head and went to do something elsewhere. But that uncomfortable feeling wouldn’t leave, as my mind kept going to how the eyes were staring at me.

Why did I feel like that robot was alive?

~X~

As it turns out, we didn’t need to take too long till the contestants were gone. Not too long after they finished the whole bit with the surfboard, they were all taken to the front entrance of the movie lot, where they boarded a bus with Chris, Chef and some crew, and drove off. Me, Izzy, Maple and Gladius were all partially hidden on the roof of our warehouse, watching as the bus drove away.

The Psycho Hose Beast waved rapidly at the leaving vehicle. I shook my head with a laugh as Maple tilted his forehead in confusion.

“Honestly, I’m so glad I was able to convince the others to let you tag along”, I said, “You’ll bring your own special brand of chaos that’ll help lift our spirits big time.”

“Heck yeah!” Izzy cheered. She flailed her arms as she tumbled backwards into the hole we left in the ceiling. Completely by instinct, I reached my hand out and grabbed her.

“Excellent save, my boy!” Gladius cheered. Both he and Maple quickly helped me lift Izzy back up, and both me and her laid on our backs, panting heavily.

“Thanks for the save…” Izzy thanked, a wide smile on her face.

“No problem…” I said back, my expression one of shock.

“Can you two knock it off?!” A new voice hissed. All four of us looked at the hole to see Jenny was hovering in the middle, giving us a scolding look. “There’s still interns around! We can’t be too loud!” She stretched her arms over to us and wrapped one around each of our waists, making us both cross our arms and pout. “Don’t give me that.”

Maple hopped onto Gladius’ hilt, and the sword glided down after Jenny. When she touched down, she set us on our feet. Maple hopped onto my shoulder, and I shot Jenny an annoyed look. She just shook her head, sighed, and walked away. Because of the lack of much going on, and the lower staff in the movie lot, the whole gang had decided to pack up the base. Ralph was just putting the last of the boxes away, and soon it would have been like we weren’t there.

Zomboss, meanwhile, was standing off to the side. He had connected his PDA to the camera system before our setup of screens were all put away. Currently, he was clicking through to make sure we weren’t raising any alarms. After I gave up on trying to force Jenny to lose our battle of will, I walked over to him.

“Anything of note, Zomboss?” I asked.

“Well, it seems all the interns are going to take the night out with Chris gone, so we’ll be all alone here.”

“A perfect chance for us to bid this place farewell”, Gladius said, hovering to my side. “I don’t like that I can smell the hormones, sweat, and jealousy.”

“I’m worried that Heather girl will freeze us solid just by standing nearby”, Steve joked. This got a howling laugh out of Majima and Izzy, while everyone else just looked at him weirdly. I snorted at the joke, while Gladius sighed.

“The sooner we get out of here, the better”, Zomboss said, “I can tell everyone is getting cabin fever.”

“You think?!” Star screeched. I snapped my head at her, only to see her nervously chewing her wand.

“Same here, George”, I said, not taking my eyes off of the anxious princess.

Things after that quieted down, and we all went to do our own things. I sat down on a random chair, Maple snuggling up on my lap and Gladius hovering circles around me, as I idly watched the others do their things. It was honestly too quiet for me, to the point I started to get antsy. I let out a harsh breath through my nose, perched Maple onto my shoulder, and began to walk around.

“Something bothering you, Caleb?” Gladius asked.

“I just… hate the silence”, I explained, “All my life, I could never handle dead silence. Heck, even in my sleep I would need something constantly sounding off in the background, like a fan.”

“And the others with their snoring and stuff is enough for you?”

I nodded. “Yeah. But now, with everything put away, I am about to go crazy.”

“Don’t you have a music player and headphones?” Hilda asked. It seems my mood was starting to get the attention of the rest of the group.

“This trip wasn’t planned, so I couldn’t pack, remember?” I sassed back at her. She gave me a raised eyebrow, while some of the others did a double take to make sure I was still the same Caleb. I sighed. “Sorry. Just anxious and stressed.”

“Hey, kid, it’s all good”, Ralph reassured me, “We all have our ways to deal with that.”

“I could zap ya’ in a boombox”, Star offered.

“No, it’s cool, gang”, I said.

“You sure?” Manolo double checked.

I nodded, not really sure if I was being honest to myself. This made the others all share looks, but they relented and dropped it. I sighed and walked away, heading over to the farthest wall and leaned against it. I looked up at the hole in the roof, and saw that the sky was still a bright blue, but I could feel that it was getting closer to sunset. I sighed once again and just buried my anxieties, letting the time tick by.

~X~

Me, Gladius, Izzy and Majima all watched as the remaining interns all left out the front gates of the movie lot. The moon was rising, and the city was shining bright. As soon as the left one disappeared behind the wall, Izzy jumped out into the open.

“Coast is clear, Team Escope!” She called. The rest of us all walked out next to her, myself taking the lead.

“You know we never agreed on that name…” Majima growled.

“Oh hush you”, Izzy playfully dismissed, “You like it, just admit it.” The one-eyed Yakuza rolled his visible eye and took out his lighter and box of cigarettes once again.

“I say we head to a more secluded part before we open the portal”, Gladius said, “Just so we don’t have to worry about any prying eyes.”

“Good call”, Zomboss agreed, “The city set is the best place. C’mon.” Zomboss used his PDA as a map as we all followed him through the dark lot. There were a couple lights on, but it was mainly the moon and Toronto that kept this place from being a black void. I ended up finding myself between Manolo, Maria and Izzy as we walked. Above me was Gladius, who kept constantly looking around as if he was worried something would pounce out of the darkness at any second.

“Everything okay, Gladius?” I asked, looking up at my friend.

“I don’t know…” He said, “Maybe I’m just paranoid. But after everything we’ve been through, you can’t be too sure.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why, but I just feel like something is going to happen…” Hilda said, hugging Twig close to her.

“The more you say it, the more likely it is to happen!” Zomboss hissed, looking over his shoulder with a glare. He faced forward again, eyeing his PDA carefully. “We should be fine here.”

I looked around and saw we were in the middle of the fake city set, the flat buildings surrounding us on both sides. I smiled up at Gladius. “Ready to get going?”

“You know it”, He answered with a nod. I grabbed a hold of his handle and held him high, ready to open the next portal. However, a loud thump made me freeze.

“What the heck was that?” Marco asked.

“Sounded like it came from over there”, Maria said, pointing towards the fake city to our right. I looked over and saw a large shadow moving slowly between the gaps in the mock buildings.

“Kid, I think you should open the portal”, Ralph said, nudging me as he kept his eyes locked onto the ambiguous blob. I nodded and was about to swing Gladius…

Only for some black tentacle to launch out from the blob and knock a building down.

“HOLY SHIT!!!” Majima screamed. He wretched me out of the way, forcefully enough that Gladius was knocked out of my grasp and crushed by the set.

“GLADIUS!!!” I screeched, reaching a hand out fruitlessly to my buried friend. I gave a harsh glare up to the cause, only for my whole body to freeze in fear.

It was the monster that Chris had sucked on the contestants on day one. The one that Chef was controlling with the motion capture suit.

I glared down at us with a fury that didn’t seem natural for a robot of its design.

“Hey there, babe!” Izzy said, waving up at the robot kaiju, “It’s been a while!”

“Isabelle, what the heck?!” Zomboss said in shock.

“Relax you guys”, she said nonchalantly, “Me and this guy go way-”

“LOOK OUT!” Star screamed. I quickly grabbed Izzy’s hand as the beast brought a clenched fist downward onto us. The ground ripped apart as me, Izzy, Zomboss, Majima, Hilda and Marco were kicked back one way, and the rest of the gang was kicked the other.

“What the heck was that about?!” Izzy cried. “I thought we were cool.”

“The stupid butter knife told us about this”, Majima groaned as he recovered, “worlds are alive, and if anything that it doesn’t recognize is in it, it’ll raise all hell to kill it. Which means we are all fucking dead.”

Jenny, from her group, shot up so she was eye level with the beast. “That’s how you want to do this, huh?!” She transformed her hands into large fists with spikes on the knuckles. “Then bring it-” She was silenced when the monster spun around and slammed her with its tail, launching her elsewhere into the movie lot.

“JENNY!” I yelled. The beast, having taken care of the immediate danger, reached into the rubble of the structure it knocked over, and pulled out Gladius. I tried to rush to his aid, but Majima and Marco held me back. The beast tossed my friend into its mouth, sealing him within.

“NO!!!” I cried. The monster turned to me, its fearsome eyes locked onto me.

“What do we do?!” Hilda asked, frozen in fear.

I was at a loss for words. I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Majima, Marco and Izzy defensively stood in front of me and Hilda, but even with this act of bravery, I could tell they were terrified. However, Zomboss walked in front of all of us.

“Majima”, he started, “Get the others out of here. Find some way to disable this pile of scrap.”

“And you’ll fucking stay behind to fight this thing!?” The yakuza sapt. “What are you gonna do, bite its toes?”

Zomboss pulled out a small cube that was the same colour as his skin. “I’m going in with some backup.” He looked to the others across the way. “You all go and get Jenny!” He dropped the box on the ground, and it began to blink and shake.

Before my eyes I watched as the tiny box opened, creating Zomboss’ pod. He casually climbed in and hit a button on the console…

And my eye bulged.

Before all of us, Zomboss’ pod grew in size rapidly, metal plates endlessly snapping out as a head began to form. Two antennae jut out of the sides and started to crackle with electricity as a hunched over brown torso expanded out. Two arms burst from the thing’s sides then slammed down onto the ground, causing the monster to take a few steps back. Two jean blue legs formed next, followed by black shoes, making the things height on par with the monster. A magenta-purple glass dome quickly covered Zomboss, and the massive robot let out a fierce, deep roar.

The Zombot was at full power, and its misshapen yellow eyes glared at the monster.

“What the actual fuck?!” Majima yelled as we all stared up at the two robots in shock.

“I’ll do what I can!” Zomboss’ voice sounded off from his mech’s mouth. “Just try to help me with this!”

The monster unleashed a furious roar and charged into the Zombot, pushing him backwards. My group all yelled in fright, running down another street as the monster slammed the Zombot against a building. The machine grunted and began to slam its fists against the beast’s head.

“How are we supposed to help Zomboss?!” Hilda asked as we ran.

“The tent! Chef was controlling the monster with a mocap suit near the contestant trailers!” I yelled. “We have to get there!”

I took the lead of the group as the two titan continued to brawl. The Zombot had finally pushed the beast off of itself, and delivered a fierce left hook that knocked the Bootleg Godzilla back. The mech then ripped one of the mock buildings and slammed it against Chris’ Behemoth like how wrestlers use chairs. The beast let out a pained screech and took a few steps back, before quickly recovering and making a mad dash towards us.

“We’ve got incoming!!!” Marco cried. I felt my heart begin to race as the beast got closer and closer, but the Zombot saved us by tackling it from the side, sending it a good distance away. Any of the lot that were it’s path was completely destroyed, fiery debris and charred rubble left in behind. The beast raised its head to stare down the Zombot, which was visible amongst the smoke and fire. The beast slammed its tail into the ground, causing more destruction, while the Zombot responded by stomping its feet.

The monster unleashed its loudest roar yet.

The Zombot shot back its own roar.

Then the two charged at each other.

The clash as they met in the middle shook the ground, nearly knocking me and Hilda off our feet. In response, Majima picked Hilda up and Izzy lifted me over her head.

“I’m not losing you two in such a once in a lifetime moment!” Izzy cheered. She then let out some sort of battle cry as she sped ahead of the others.

“Well, thanks anyway, Izzy!” I said in a stained tone, trying my best to actually be heard over the chaos. I turned back to watch as the movie lot’s most expensive prop gained the upper hand, pushing Zomboss’ greatest creation against a building. The Zombot responded by elbowing it in the neck, and then attempted to grab the beast’s head, but it fought back by shooting out a concentrated beam of flame that left its mark on some of the set. The Zombot and Monster spun around and tossed each other into different buildings, before the robot zombie quickly rushed over and socked the side of its head.

The Zombot tried to grab the monster’s head again, only for it to shoot out another beam of fire. In response, the Zombot intertwined both its hands and smashed the monster over the head, then quickly delivered a forward kick that knocked the beast down. The Zombot took a few steps back and roared, only to be pounced on by the monster. It began to charge up its fire breath again, but the Zombot acted quickly and grabbed a telephone pole. Before the fire could be unleashed, the mech stuffed the pole end into the monster’s mouth, forcing it to back off.

“Where the heck is the tent, Caleb?!” Marco barked as the Zombot shielded itself from a blast of the monster’s fire breath with one of the sets.

“I don’t remember!” I admitted in a strained and horrified tone, “The two goddamn kaiju are kind of distracting!”

“It’s this way!” Izzy shouted, pointing ahead.

“When in doubt, follow the crazy bitch”, Majima shouted.

The Psycho Hose Beast put me down, and we all kept running, none of us stopping even when the roars and explosions neared. But we did stop, however, when we all saw the Zombot get blasted by the beast’s fire breath and get hit down. I turned around to see the beast had a sadistic smile on its face, before it turned at us and began to charge at us again. Only this time, it barreled at us on all fours, twisting the surrounding set as it left craters in its wake.

“Guys… PICK UP THE PACE!!!!!” I screamed with all my might as we all turned and began to scream as we ran. The beast was gaining on us, though, and I feared for the worst. But just then, The other group came barreling through on the tram Chris used to give the contestants the tour on the first day.

“You guys better get in now!” Vanellope screamed while she was at the wheel. Ralph, Galacta, Manolo, Maria, Star, Steve, Maple, Twig and Alfur all sat in the seats behind, while Jenny was on top of the main vehicle with her jet boosters active. We did as we were told and all rushed into our seats. “JENNY, PUNCH IT!!!”

The teenage robot kicked on her boosters, and with Vanellope’s steering knowledge, we just barely missed the jaws of the towering beast. The Zombot had just recovered and grabbed the beast by the tail, dragging it back into a brawl.

Izzy wiggled her way to the front of the tram. “Vanellope! Head that way!” The redhead cried as we kept gaining distance. “The tent to control that thing is over there!”

The candy president looked over her shoulder briefly and made a sharp turn down a side street. Just when I thought we were out of the frying pan, the beast unleashed another blast of fire, this time it was strong enough to rip the fake buildings apart.

“Oh crap!” I cried.

“Shit!” Swore Majima.

“Sweet Mother Hubbard!” Ralph screamed.

“Vanny!” Hilda cried.

“On it!” The racer dodged the blast, but the whole city facade was crumbling around us.

“Building, building, BUILDING!” Maria shrieked as one of the structures came crashing down on us.

“I KNOW!” Vanellope did a sharp turn and dodged the structure, doing the same for every following one. After that was over, we were out. Vanellope blasted by a set of the moon landing, a Wild West town, and finally the cafeteria tent before we made it to the tent that controlled the monster. As everyone rushed out of the tram, I looked back over to the battling titans. They had ended up apart, and staring each other down once again. The monster let out a roar and charged once again, running right at the mech. In response, the Zombot ran at it, firing a barrage of missiles from its shoulders. The swarm of explosions bombarded the beast, but it kept running, levelling more of the movie lot in its wake. Once they were back together, the monster tackled the robot. But the Zombot kept its balance, and countered with a right hook that knocked the monster down.

“How the heck does this thing work?!” Steve cried as the team looked over the whole system.

Jenny looked over at the fight with me, and we both saw as the monster recovered quickly, tripping the Zombot with its tail so it could begin delivering punch after punch on Zomboss’ creation. “Guys, we got to help Zomboss!”

“How are we supposed to do that, jackass?!” Majima spat.

“Majima, cool it!” Manolo fired back. “We can’t leave him for dead!”

“Star, can’t you use some sort of spell to just blast that thing?” Maria asked in panic.

“Not without destroying half the movie lot!” She shouted. “I don’t know if I can control it so there isn’t a crater!”

As my friends continued to argue, Maple climbed onto my shoulder, and the two of us watched as the monster grabbed the Zombot by the back of the head and slammed it face first into several of the buildings.

That was when Ralph, Star and Jenny all dashed out of the tent and towards the battle. “What the?! Where are you guys going?!” I yelled.

“Being heroes, Kid!” Ralph called back. “Stay put!”

“Ralph, are you crazy?!” Vanellope screamed, dashing after him. I was quick to grab hold of her and hug her close. “Let go of me, Glasses!”

I didn’t respond. I just silently prayed those three would be all right.

~X~

The battle continued to rage on, with both of the titans trading endless blows, neither showing any signs of giving up. The crashes and explosions continued amongst all the fires that swallowed the sky in a dark orange hue. I was honestly shocked it was going on for so long.

I was currently busy with the gang that was at the tent trying to figure how to deal with the monster.

“No matter what I press, it doesn’t work!” I complained. “This thing is working on its own. There’s nothing we can do!”

“There has to be something”, Maria said, leaning in to assist. “Did you try… What did Jenny say it was… Oh, right! Did you try finding any files on the monster?”

“There’s nothing”, I said with a shake of my head as a fairly loud explosion sounded off.

Maria gave me a look that said it all: We were screwed. I looked back to the battle, just as the both titans fired powerful beams from their mouths. The monster gained the edge, as its beam overpowered the Zombot and knocked it down and back a bit.

“ZOMBOSS!” I cried as the others gasped. The beast quickly walked over and began to stomp on the mech, filling me with dread. I watched as it grabbed the mech and began to forcefully drag it across the lot, destroying all of the city set in its path. It then tossed the Zombot down, leaving it to groan as the monster walked on top of it, pinning it down with its foot. It grabbed the mech’s upper and lower jaw, charging up a devastating blast of fire.

“NO!!!” We all cried.

Just then, right when it seemed like all hope was lost, something hopped onto the back of the monster and forced its head up to the sky, breaking the smoke above. We all cheered as Zomboss just narrowly avoided death thanks to his saviour-

“Wait… IS THAT RALPH?!” Marco screamed. This made us stop cheering, and we all gasped again. Marco was right, the mysterious saviour was none other than Ralph, now super sized to be on par with the beast. He let out a rage fueled war cry as he kept the monster’s head craned upwards with one hand. After a minute, the beast used its tail to slam Ralph off onto the ground. But just when it was about to crunch the wrecker’s face with a powerful punch, the Zombot quickly recovered and grabbed the arm. Ralph did the same to the other arm, and our two giant allies tag teamed and dragged the monster through some more of the buildings.

The monster was able to free the arm Ralph was holding onto, and was going to slam the Zombot, but Ralph grabbed the arm again. However, this had doomed them both, as the awkward position Ralph was in had his foot force the monster’s head towards the mech, allowing it to shoot some fire out to force the Zombot off, then grabbed Ralph and threw him down to the ground. The wrecker recovered quickly, starting an altercation with the monster as the Zombot slowly recovered.

“C’mon you too…” I prayed.

The monster delivered a nasty uppercut to Ralph, then forced him into a building, kneeing him in the stomach. It then readied its tail to pierce through the wrecker, only for the Zombot to save him. It was wielding another telephone pole, this time with several large pieces of metal sticking out to form a rushed, makeshift battle axe. The Zombot kept hitting the monster as Ralph returned to normal size, quickly reduced by Jenny. Star flanked her side, and the three of them flew over to the rest of us. Ralph collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, as Jenny and Star watch the altercation in panic.

The Zombot was winning, to the point he was able to sweep the monster’s legs, knocking it onto its back. As the mech raised the makeshift axe over its head, the beast’s tail whacked the mech. This allowed it to recover, kick the Zombot away, and force it to keep its tail at bay with a hand. Zomboss was cornered.

“Guys, we got to do something!” Star cried.

“We’ve been trying!” Hilda cried, tears beginning to form. “But nothing is working!”

“This whole thing is bullshit!” Majima snarled. “I wish I could snap that fucking thing’s neck!”

“Oh, the two of us are so over!” Izzy added.

All I could do was remain silent as I looked over the whole system relentlessly, trying to find a solution.

“Well, if this is it”, Steve began as he pulled out a water bottle, “It was nice knowing you all.”

Realisation. “That’s it!” I shouted. Instantly I ripped the water bottle from Steve’s hand and began to dump its contents all over the computer system.

“Caleb, what the heck?!” Steve shouted in frustration. That’s when the computer system began to spark and go haywire, some of the screen blinking off as the whole system crashed and burned.

My face broke out into a massive smile, and when I turned back to the battle, I could see the beast glitch out for a moment before focusing back onto the Zombot, grabbing its free arm.

“That’s all we can do here!” I said.

I saw Jenny’s eyes flash for a moment. “No it’s not.” She ran ahead and forced her hands together, creating a massive magnifying glass above her head. “STAR! BLAST A LIGHTNING SPELL THROUGH HERE!!!”

The princess nodded and aimed her wand at the glass. “ZIP ZAPPY LASER OF LIGHTNING!!!”

A massive blast of electricity came from the wand, and it grew triple its size as it passed through the teenage robot’s gadget. When I saw Star was beginning to lose her footing, I rushed to her side and held her in place. The others all joined my side, and we all cried out as the electricity went straight to the makeshift axe, charging it up. Star stopped not a moment later, and once Jenny turned her hands back to normal, we all watched on baited breath for what would happen.

The Zombot, now with a charged axe, let out a fierce roar and wretched its arm free, slicing off the end of the beast’s tail. It let out a pained cry as sparks flew and oil erupted from the opening.

We all burst into cheers.

The beast went to deliver a right hook, only for the Zombot to grab the monster’s wrist and slice its whole arm off. The monster let out a shriek of pain as more oil erupted out with fire and loose scrap.

The Zombot tossed the arm aside and did the same to the other arm, making the beast stumble back as its pained shrieks grew louder.

The Zombot slashed the thing’s chest, ripping off some of its exterior shell, and a chunk of its endoskeleton.

The Zombot then sliced off the beast’s left leg, forcing it to the ground.

As the monster roared up at the Zombot, charging up another fire blast, the mech simply roared back. It held the axe high above its head, then brought it down on the monster’s neck. Oil, sparks, scrap and fire erupted everywhere as it squirmed in pain. The mech wretched the axe out and tossed it aside, grabbed its rival’s head with both hands, and began to pull. There was a sickening sound of cracking metal as the Zombot pulled with as much force as it could.

Then it ripped the head clean off.

Oil spilled everywhere as the Zombot held the decapitated head high above, thick wires limply swaying, roaring into the skies in victory.

The rest of us all exploded into cheers, quickly running to congratulate our friend. It didn’t take too long to get there, and when we did, Zomboss had just picked up the storable cube and stuffed it into his pockets. He was panting, his pupils were dilated, and he was shaking. Yet, despite it all, he was smiling.

I dashed right into him and hugged him tight. “Zomboss, that was incredible!!!”

He just wordlessly nodded and hugged back before being scooped up by the other, all of them cheering and giving off words of congratulations.

“I can’t believe it”, he began, “I actually won something. And it felt… good.” The Zombie overlord looked down at the others. “All of you… thank you. Genuinely.”

“Don’t mention it, Zomboss”, I said. Suddenly, I remembered something. My eyes bugged out as I spun around to the decapitated, dead monster. “Gladius!!!”

At the sound of his name, he shot out of where the head was, somehow completely clean, and rushed into a hug. I returned it instantly, tears of joy flowing from my eyes.

“I never want that to happen again”, the sword stated. He pulled back, and I beamed up at him.

“Omg, you guys!” Izzy cheered. “That was amazing! Definitely looking forward to this little trip with all of you!”

“I just hope we finally get a break”, Ralph said breathlessly, “We seriously need one.”

“Agreed”, I said, grabbing hold of Gladius. “Let’s-” I was cut off when the sound of distant sirens hit my ears.

“FUCK. The cops!” Majima swore.

Zomboss, in a state of panic, frantically flailed his PDA around. “And I forgot to shut the cameras off! They got everything!”

“Can’t you delete all the footage?!” Manolo shouted.

“It’ll take too long!”

“Then let’s just get out of here!” I cried. Maple jumped onto my shoulder as I quickly slashed Gladius at the open air, opening our portal. We all just forgo our pace and all rushed into the hole. Before she jumped in, Izzy bid farewell to her home, then jumped through with me, Maple and Gladius right behind her.

~X~

And so ends the Total Drama Arc, with such a bombastic and epic conclusion.

The main inspiration for the battle between the Zombot and TDA Monster (and Ralph for that little bit) was the two main battles that happened in Hong Kong in Godzilla VS Kong, mainly the final one with Mechagodzilla.

I did this because it felt like, throughout all the TD fanfictions I have read, not one did anything with the TDA Monster. I always wanted to see more, especially since the Monsterverse Godzilla showed how crazy things could get.

I seriously hope you all loved this chapter, this was one I was super excited to get to ever since I ended the Galacta arc.

Also, shoutout to my friend Sheep from the TDWriMonth Discord Server. They left to go and balance out their stuff irl, and did promise to return in the future. They are absolutely incredible, so if you're reading this Sheep, I hope everything is going well for you!

Up next: The gang get their much needed break in a gloomy place home to the happiest girl around.

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

We are all nothing more than ragdolls as we all spiralled through the portal. In our rush to escape the wrath of the police, we all just jumped in without a second thought. This made us lose all control. Even Galacta, Gladius and Jenny couldn’t straighten themselves out, so we were all completely helpless.

“We are so dead!” Zomboss cried.

“I am already tired of all of this!” Manolo yelled, “I just want a break!”

Izzy, contrasting against all of our frustration, worry and fear, was cackling madly as she performed and less midair cartwheels. “This is the best thing ever!!!”

“Of course you find this fun!” Ralph yelled. “But what else would I have to expect.”

“C’mon, Stinkbrain!” Vanellope suddenly shouted. “Live a little!” She shot by all of us, her and the Trolberg trio riding on Majima’s back like he was a surfboard. They all roared with laughter and joy as they all barreled down the way like a bullet.

“Kid!” Ralph attempted to straightened himself out, and once he did, began to make a swimming motion. “I’m coming!”

I shared a look with Gladius, and we both shrugged. He then readjusted himself, and I quickly grabbed hold. The others all followed after, pulling out wings or their main modes of transportation, and following after the yakuza and girls.

Luckily, they did get that far ahead. In fact, they were frozen in place, unable to move.

“Oh no!” Gladius cried. Before any of us could hit the brake, we were all frozen alongside them. Everything went to silence.

“Gladius, what the heck is happening!?” I shouted, my mouth and eyes unaffected by the freeze.

“Think of it like a forced stoplight”, he explained, “A universe is passing in front of us, so the tunnel forces all those inside to stop when they get to that point.”

“Well, this would have been nice to know… oh, I don’t know, AS SOON AS WE ALL JOINED YOU!?” Majima shouted in anger.

“All of you, relax”, Galacta Knight spoke, “Gladius confirmed from his explanation that this is only temporary, so we will be back on our way soon.” Maple, who rested on the knight’s back, made a noise of agreement. Just then, right in front of us, a large mass could be seen slowly moving past us. It was far too difficult to really tell what it actually was, but it was massive. Just as it was directly in front of us, it stopped, and we were all blinded by a sudden bright light.

“What the fuck?!” “Ahhhh!!!” “I’m blind!!!” “ACK!!!” “Sweet Mother Hubbard!” We all screamed in shock, only to be sucked into the light, finally being unfrozen.

~X~

We all were spat out of the tunnel and right into a small pond. I held my breath as my full view filled with water, and quickly rushed to the surface. I burst from the surface, taking a deep breath in as the moonlight from above filled the sky above. The others who all fell into the pond with me all followed, with Vanellope, Hilda, Twig, Alfur, Majima, Steve and Star all sputtering water out their mouths. The others, meanwhile, all had crashed just on the shore of the pond, with Izzy, Maria and Manolo all getting tangled in a dead looking tree, and Ralph, Jenny, Galacta, Gladius, Maple and Zomboss all crashed on the ground around it. Gladius had, once again, been embedded into the tree’s trunk.

“Oh c’mon!” The sword yelled indignantly, flailing his wings around in an attempt to free himself. “Why does this keep happening?!”

I climbed out of the water, hunching up as I felt the cold wind pass over me. Those who fell into the pond followed after as Izzy flipped out of the tree and pulled the sword free. “There you go, Glady!”

Gladius dusted himself off, and gave the redhead a slight bow. “Thank you, Isabelle.” Izzy gave an exaggerated salute.

I smiled at them, only to jump slightly when I felt a presence wrap around me. I looked over my shoulder to see Star, Marco and Majima had all huddled up with me, trying to beat the cold that was affecting them.

“Th-th-this suck!” Star shivered.

“I haaaate this”, Marco added.

“Grow up, you pussies”, Majima spat, “It’s not that bad.” He was met with a swift slap across the cheek, courtesy of Star.

I rolled my eyes with a slight smile, leaning in a bit more to the Echo Creek residents. We all, however, shouted in fright when a sudden gust of warm air nearly blasted us off our feet. I squinted to see Jenny had opened her chest into a heater, and aimed right at all of us who were in the pond. Sans Steve, who was left unaffected by the water.

“What the hell!” Majima yelled, being knocked off his feet as Jenny finished blasting us. He quickly stood back up, straightening his coat. Me, Star and Marco all gave him a smug smirk. “You saw nothing.”

Poor Twig’s fur pooped up, so Hilda was quick to help him flatten it back down.

I snorted as I flattened my hair, Gladius coming up to my side. I noticed he was looking upwards, seemingly in shock. “What the heck is up?”

“The moon”, he said flatly. We all looked at the sky with him, and all of us jumped when we saw the pale blue moon staring down at us. It was giving us a curious glance, obviously wondering about our sudden appearance.

“Well, I’m not gonna be able to sleep for weeks”, Steve said. The moon shot him a scolding look, and Vanellope stuck her tongue out at it. I, however, recognized the moon’s appearance immediately. Looking past the tree and up the hill, I could see we were at the tip of a very strange cliff, with the pond resting right at the tip. Up the hill of blue-ish green grass was a massive manor. There was an impossibly winding bridge that connected the two tallest parts. The tallest part of the manor had a window in the shape of a heart.

From the twisted architecture, the strange landscape, and the living moon, I felt my heart skip a beat. My eyes bulged as I stared up at the manor, not snapping out of my trance until Izzy and Majima waved their hands simultaneously in front of my face.

“Caleb”, Galacta called my name, “Are you alright?”

I shook my head, thoughts still abuzz. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“I’d stand back”, I heard Ralph whisper to Izzy, “This usually means he knows where we are.”

I started to breathe heavily through my nose, before taking a large breath to calm myself down. “Let’s just go.” I led the way as we scaled up the steep slope and slowly made our way to the towering mansion. Its purple walls and dark green roof, despite usually being associated with sickness and evil, gave off a warm and welcoming feeling here. We passed under a twisted, tangled tree with a small house inside a bird’s nest within its branches. Some of the gang looked up at it weirdly, but just shook off the feeling and continued to follow me. I led them to a small stone patio that went to the front door, and as I stood before it, I felt my whole body lock up.

“Kid?” Ralph said. “You good?”

I blinked. “Yeah, just overwhelmed, is all.”

“Here”, Galacta said, walking forward. “I’ll do it.” He reached up and pressed the doorbell. I quickly dashed back to the others while Galacta stood in front of the door, waiting for someone to answer. Soon enough the door opened.

“Oh, hello!” Said a sweet voice. Standing in the open doorway was a girl who looked no older than Hilda, her skin stark white like Jenny’s. She wore a black dress, red and yellow striped socks, and black buckle shoes. Her hair was a vibrant red, and on her face were a couple freckles above her nose and two rosy cheeks. Her massive, sparkling eyes looked over us all, and then back to Galacta Knight.

“Good day, madam”, Galacta said with a bow, “My friends and I are travellers from afar, and we were hoping you may let us in so we can gather our bearings and find a place to stay.”

The new girl beamed at us. “Of course! Our door is always open!”

“Thank you.” The knight nodded at her as he led us all inside. The lobby was absolutely massive, with stairs that went upstairs on either side of the door, an upper balcony with a wall of paintings, and an extravagant chandelier above. Not too far away was a large fireplace with an armchair resting in front of it, so we all proceeded to make our way over. I sat down in front of the open fire, facing my back towards it, while both Echo Creek residents, the trio from Trolberg and the candy president all sat beside me to soak up the warmth.

The others all made their way over us, taking in the sights around them as the girl that let us in followed behind. She then weaved around the group and sat down in the large armchair.

“So, you guys are travellers?” She asked.

The gang all shared looks, each of them making their own unsure noises of agreement. With their resistance, I sighed. “Yes”, I said, “We had a bit of a messy landing in your pond, and we didn't know where else to go.”

The girl hummed, before beaming at me. “Well, you guys are all welcome to stay here for as long as you need. I’m sure my friends would love to hear about everywhere you have all been!”

“Wait, you live with other people here?” Steve asked.

“Yeah! This little corner of the world is where we all find our home”, the girl explained. She hopped off the chair and walked over to Jenny. “Skull boy would love to meet you, especially! He’s an inventor, so he could use some tips.”

This caught Zomboss’ attention. “Well, I am a scientist myself, so I’d like to meet this friend of yours.”

The girl smiled again. “By the way, my name is Ruby. It’s nice to meet you all!”

We all nodded at her and introduced ourselves, and at each name she would give us a wide smile and sparkling eyes. It was actually so adorable I could feel my heart ache.

“RUUUUUUUUBYYYYYYYY!!!” The voice of another girl screamed with joy. We all jumped as the new face came bounding in on springs on her shoes. We all watched as she bounced around, laughing her head off, until she took a tumble and crashed. We all winced as rolled on the ground till she reached us, only for her to hop back onto her feet and kick the springs off her shoes.

The girl was just a bit taller than Ruby, only she was a cyclops with a thin purple iris around her pupil. Her hair was jet black hair with a red rimmed bow on it. Her dress was similar to Ruby’s, only it had a red bit of fabric around the collar and three buttons. Her stockings were striped grey and red, and her shoes had a white bottom.

“Ruby!” The cyclops shouted in joy, “Who’re the new guys?”

Ruby giggled a bit at her friend’s excitement. She then faced us again. “Guys, this is my friend Iris!”

Iris rushed over to us and gave me a big hug. “Hi!”

I smiled and ruffled Iris’ hair, earning a giggle from the cyclops. “These guys are all travellers!” Ruby explained to her friend, “ And they needed a place to stay, so here they are!”

Iris, who had looked over at Ruby, looked up at me again with a massive grin. “You guys travel! Please tell me you’ve done crazy things, like jumping off a cliff or battling some sort of monster.” She jumped back and did a motion mimicking a stomping monster, even letting out a cute roar to punctuate her point.

I looked back to the others, especially Gladius, Ralph and Vanellope, and we flashed back to when Galacta Knight went on a rampage, our battle with Zomboss, the fight with Armagedroid, and our very recent tussle with the TDA Monster. I looked back down at Iris with a weak smile.

“Yeah”, I said, trying to keep my mood up. “But we’ve been through a lot, and could seriously go for a break. We can tell you everything we’ve done later.”

Iris nodded rapidly, zipping over to Izzy. “I can just tell you love jumping around.”

The Psycho Hose Beast gave off a head tilt. “Maaaaayyyyyyyybeeeeeee…”

“Let’s go to my room!” The daredevil grabbed the reality show contestant’s hand, leading her away. “You will love it!”

As we watched Iris take Izzy upstairs and around the corner, Ruby Smiled at us.

“I’ll take you guys to your rooms.”

~X~

I was currently walking down one of the hallways of the manor with Gladius and Alfur. The elf was resting on the sword’s hilt, scribbling into his notebook, as Gladius hovered next to me. My mind was thinking back to earlier, after everyone split up to explore the manor at their own pace. Ruby was just as sweet as I remembered, which made me all the more overwhelmed that I could actually talk to her.

“Something on your mind, Caleb?” Gladius asked. “You haven’t been so spaced out with the others when we ran into them.”

I shook my head. “Just… after all this time, I can actually meet Ruby…”

“I assume you know her?”

“More than anyone else here”, I said quietly, “She was the first thing in all of the media I remember watching.”

Gladius hummed in surprise, while Alfur looked up from his book. “So, this was the first show you ever watched?”

I nodded. “Yeah, so it’s a bit much being here. I was resisting the urge to not hug her, because I have always loved her and how her positivity helped me through the dark times.”

Gladius shot me an unreadable look, but he just let it slide as we continued to walk. We ended up hearing the sound of running coming at us, and we looked behind ourselves to see Izzy and Iris running by.

“Where are you two going?” I asked.

“We’re gonna go and fly around with Squig!” Iris cheered.

“I don’t know who that is”, Izzy added, “But Iris told me he can fly, and it’s not an aeroplane, so I’m chill!” The two daredevils both made a sharp turn, disappearing from sight.

“You don’t think they’ll get hurt, right?” Alfur asked in worry.

I waved off his concern. “Nah. Iris is pretty much made of titanium, and Izzy will find some way to flip out of danger. They’ll be fine.”

Alfur mumbled something, and the three of us continued down the hall. It was honestly pretty confusing, as the whole building was basically a winding maze. That’s what happens when you only ever see several unconnected rooms throughout the show. I felt like I was just going in circles. Just as I was about to scream in rage, I saw a black cat prance by. It was Ruby’s cat, Doom Kitty, the key around her neck swinging lightly.

“Hey, Doom”, I said. The cat looked over at me and sat down as I knelt down. “I’m still kinda new to finding my way around here.”

The kitten tilted her head at me, then nodded with a violin sound of agreement. I smiled and stood back up, following after the kitten as she led us down some stairs and through some more hallways till we made it back to the foyer. I gave Doom some pets, something she greatly appreciated, and she dashed off. I walked up towards the fireplace, where Majima was intently staring at something resting on the mantle, while Maple relaxed with Ruby on the armchair. Ruby looked up from the book she and the Wasabi Whip were reading, and waved at us.

“Hey Ruby!” I said happily as Gladius glided to the nearby bookshelf. I looked over at Goro. “What’s up with him?”

“I don’t know”, she admitted, “He’s just been staring at Mr.Buns for the last few minutes.”

“I swear this thing can teleport”, Majima spoke up, gaining our attention. “It was in my room, I turned my back, it’s gone, and now it’s ffffffffffffffff…” He looked at me, and I gave him a very harsh look. I told him quietly earlier to not swear at all while we are here. “…ffffffffffreaking me out, because as soon as I turned back, he was gone!” Majima hissed through clenched teeth, jabbing a finger right at the plushie’s face. I looked at Mr.Buns, the black stuffed rabbit with a white face and red nose, and he just flopped over. “And then I finally make my way here and he’s here.” Majima glared at the stuffed animal. “I’ve got my eye on you…”

The yakuza kept his eyes glued on the stuffed animal as he walked away. I watched him leave, but then after a bit I looked at Ruby and just shrugged. “Sorry about him”, I said, “He’s a bit of a handle. Usually Jenny and Ralph can keep him in check.”

Ruby just shrugged and shook her head. “It’s fine. A lot tends to happen around here, and I just tend to roll with it. There was this time a while back where I wanted to make a May Day celebration, and everyone thought I was either leaving, or that I was actually dying.”

I let out a laugh. “Oh wow, that must’ve been something when the truth came out.”

“Oh it was.” Ruby giggled at the memory. “But that is just from my life. You and your friends have seen so much!” She hopped off the chair and sat down on the floor in front of me. I looked down at her, smiled, and sat down, the fire basking us in the warm light.

“Well, where do I begin…” I said, pondering in thought. I smiled as Ruby leaned in more. “Oh, how about how I met Gladius?”

And so for the next hour or so, I told Ruby all the key moments of my adventure so far, from meeting those who joined me, the crazy, bombastic things we had to overcome, and all the close calls. The only thing I didn’t say was how we were travelling. That was for another time.

After I had finished explaining everything, I leaned back and looked at Ruby, who’s eyes were filled with wonder.

“Wow…” She said, “That’s amazing!”

“Yep! But that’s it for now.” Ruby nodded, and we both stood back up.

“I just, wow”, Ruby said in shock, a small smile on her face. “You guys have been through so much! I can see why you all need a break.”

I nodded. “Yeah, it can be a lot.” I stretched and let out a breath.

Ruby looked behind her. “Well, I should go to make sure your friends are doing okay. Catch you later!” The rag doll girl ran off, waving back at me as she left. I waved for a bit, then headed out the front door. Gladius, still with Alfur on his hilt, followed after me. I walked along the path till I made it to the pond, walking on top of a bridge that was on the side over a small opening. I leaned over the railing, looking up at the moon with a small smile.

“Something up, my boy?” Gladius asked.

I shook my head. “Nope. Just taking in the beauty.”

Gladius nodded and looked up at the stars with me.

“It is very beautiful”, Alfur said, closing his notebook. “It’s nice to finally get a break. I didn't know how many more near death scenarios I could take without any sort of grace period.”

“Same”, I added. I took a deep, relaxed breath. “I just needed this.”

Gladius put a wing over my shoulders. “We’ll get home soon, Caleb. I promise.”

I beamed at him and nodded, only to jump when a large mass flew right over us. Me and Gladius ducked, then looked up to see Izzy and Iris having the time of their lives as they rode on top of the flying, black and red giant caterpillar Squig. I watched as the flew around in such a loopy, random path, that it didn’t surprise me they crashed into the ground not too far from us.

“That was awesome!!!” Iris shouted in a delirious state.

“Yeah!” Izzy followed up with, jumping up only to drunkenly stumble right after. “I want to go again!”

I rolled my eyes and walked up to them. “Okay, you two. Let’s go get you to bed.”

Gladius gently coaxed Iris, while I led Izzy along. While we went back inside, Izzy dizzyingly said “Mommy, my train went swimming in the piano”, which made me let out a laugh. Regardless of what had happened, we were finally able to have our break.

This was going to be fun.

~X~

A bit of a shorter chapter, but here’s the next arc! Ruby Gloom! It’s my #1 childhood shows that even now, as a 21 year old, I still go back to watch. It was a staple of Treehouse for 2000’s Canadian kids, so of course I was going to include it.

I also want to say that I will be accepting all fanart for my story! I can be found at @caleb13frede on Tumblr, @carl14walker on Twitter, or Imagination (Caleb) #7013 on Discord. So pop me an @ if you have anything!

Up next: Caleb and the gang end up getting tangled into Ruby’s gloomy life, with bad luck, haywire robots, and amazing music for the next few days to come…

~Caleb~

Chapter Text

I let out a loud yawn as I finally woke up. I sat up in my bed, stretching my arms up. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, looking over to the nearby armchair. Gladius was stirring in his sleep, and I gave him a tired smile. Slowly, I crawled out of bed and put my shoes back on, before walking out the door into the hallway. Despite the architecture, the mood was light and happy, so I gave off a bright smile as I stretched again. As I did so, someone walked past me, and I opened an eye to see it was a small bat. He timidly walked down the hallway while wearing a purple scarf, carrying some sort of ribbon.

“Oh, good morning Scaredy!” I asked happily as I finished.

He stopped his progress to look up at me with his adorably massive eyes. He smiled up at me. “Oh, good morning, Caleb!”

I knelt down and so I wasn’t such a giant compared to him. “What’s with the wreath? Something special going on?”

The bat adjusted the decoration he was carrying. “Ummm… Yes. Iris suggested we have a party, and Ruby thought we could have a welcome party for you and your friends!” He ducked down. “If, uh, if that’s okay?”

I smiled sadly, but it was clearly missed by Scaredy. “I’d love that. Here.” I picked him up and rested him on my shoulder. “Let’s go together.” The bat made a noise of worry as he looked down to the ground, but then gave me a shaky smile and nodded. I smiled and walked down the hallway, making sure my friend didn’t fall.

Since heading back inside yesterday with a delirious Izzy and Iris, Ruby had gone and gave me a proper tour of the manor, and thanks to that I knew my way around a lot better. I also met all of her other friends, Scaredy Bat being one of them. It made me feel a lot better, and since I know this place inside out, I knew it would be exactly what we needed for a break.

I headed out into the foyer, and there were most of the manor’s residents walking about, setting up decorations. Iris was holding some rope, with a bunch of odd purple plants, and was being assisted by a short, black crow with a monocle and red bow tie, Poe.

I waved to both of them as Scaredy ran off to start helping with the set up. “Hey guys!”

Iris waved at me enthusiastically, while Poe flapped his little hands and flew onto my shoulder. “Good evening, my chap. What brings you out of bed?”

My smile fell and I looked out the massive window wall by the dining table, looking out to the night sky and full moon. “This place’s internal clock is really gonna mess with me…” I mumbled. I then shook my head and looked back at Poe with another smile. “Just ended up waking up. Scaredy ran by me and told me what was happening.”

Iris looked at the bat, who gave off a sheepish chuckle.

I waved off any chewing out Scaredy would have received. “It’s fine guys. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a welcome party held for me.”

This brought Iris’s attention back to me. “It’s not?” She let out a gasp. “Did someone throw you one in Gloomsville?”

I shook my head. “No…” I let out a sad sigh. “It’s actually because… well… long story short I was thrown one in the place I met Gladius, but an accident caused the two of us to be sent far away from there, so we’ve been trying to get back. Everyone else is just along for the ride, helping us…” I looked off sadly as thoughts of Rainbow’s, Lightness’, Darkness’ and Virus’ worried expressions entered my thoughts.

Poe let out a hum of sympathy, then patted my head. “Don’t worry, my boy. I’m sure you’ll get home soon. Take your time here to relax, you all clearly need it.”

“Yeah!” Iris suddenly shouted, startling a nearby Scaredy. “Gloomsville has so much going on, especially if you stick with me.” She proudly jabbed a thumb at herself. “Around me, there’s endless possibilities!”

I wiped my eyes as I could feel tears just barely start to form, and smiled brightly at the cyclops. “Yeah, you’re right! Me and Gladius will get home soon, just one step at a time.” I looked down at the plants that were on the ground beside her. “You guys actually want some help getting set up? I don’t mind lending a hand.”

Poe flew back onto the ground. “Splendid!”

I continued to smile as I helped Iris find some way to get her rope tied up above. As we all set up the decorations, I helped Poe and Scaredy with the ribbons and fake spiderwebs after Iris was situated. Things were running smoothly, and everything was nearly set up when Ruby stepped in carrying a large cake.

“Iris, the decorations look amazing!” The rag doll girl called out, looking the whole room over.

“Thanks, Ruby!” The cyclops said happily. “Had some help!” She gestured to me, and she gave me one of her iconic sweet smiles.

Scaredy made a noise of fear. “What are you looking at?” He asked one of the purple plant heads, which was smiling at him with a mouth full of sharp teeth. The bat looked away for a millisecond, and the plant snapped at him, making him toss the roller skate he was holding behind him.

“Everything is going exactly as planned”, Ruby remarked. The roller skate landed perfectly in front of her, which caused her to trip. This caused a massive domino effect, with the cake splatting on Iris, the plant head chomping down onto Scaredy, a hunk of cake hitting a nearby metal stand, the stand crashing onto of me, more cake splatting Poe, and the final bits landing on Ruby’s head and rump. I groaned as I looked around at the scene that suddenly shifted from happy to upsetting in seconds.

Poe licked some of the cake that was on his face. “Mmmm. Delicious, Ruby, as always.”

“Glad you can try and get some joy out of this…” I grumbled as I pushed the metal object off of me, slowly standing up.

A loud thump hit my ears, and I looked to see Iris had fallen to the floor. “Ow, ugh, I landed on a thorn!”

“LET ME OUT, IF YOU PLEASE!” Scaredy’s muffled voice sounded off from inside the plant head he was trapped in, stumbling around aimlessly.

“What happened?” Ruby asked no one in particular. “It’s almost as if-”

“Misery is everywhere all at once!” Iris finished, rubbing a hand on her sore bottom. A high pitched scream hit our ears, and we all looked to see who had entered.

Dressed in a blue dress and with a blue veil over her long black hair. He wore purple tinted glasses over her eyes. I sighed a breath of relief, finally recognizing her as Misery, the bad-luck magnet.

“Ruby?” The banshee called out in her dreary, saddened voice. “Is anyone there? It’s so bright, I can’t see a darned thing!” She wasn’t wrong, as a beam of sunlight shined down on her from… somewhere… as butterflies calmly flew around her. She left a trail of flowers in her wake as she walked forward.

“The sun is shining”, Misery continued. A bird appeared out of nowhere and landed on her head. “The birds are chirping. Yep, I’m miserable.”

I had finally freed Scaredy from the plants clutches, and once I set him down, I walked over to Ruby’s side. She knocked the candle that was on her head off, caught it, and put out the flame. “Hmmmm, odd.” She tossed the candle to the floor and started to ponder. “Today’s Friday, but maybe it’s not any Friday…”

“That doesn’t explain why I’m suddenly Mother Nature’s new best friend!” Misery chided as she joined up with the two of us.

I looked at the calendar that rested on the wall, and saw that the date was, in fact, the 13th of July. Friday the 13th. My flat expression twisted to an over exaggerated frown. “That’s not good. Friday the 13th, the day of bad luck.”

Misery tilted her head. “Wait… I remember my nana telling me a story about this date…” We listened to Misery spin a tale about how her ancestors, despite all being as unlucky as her, somehow had good fortune shiny upon them on this day, which only made me gulp in fear as she finished.

“I get it!” Ruby said in realisation, “Bad luck is normal for you Misery. So Friday the 13th is actually a good luck day for you!” Doom Kitty pranced on up to her owner, looking up in curiosity.

“Plus the full moon has been out all day”, Poe mentioned, looking up at the moon as she gave him a look. “Perhaps that amplifies the effect.” The moon blinked in confusion.

“It gives you a chance to experience a whole new side of life, Misery”, the ragdoll girl happily told her friend, “One that isn’t fraught with disaster.”

Poe let out a cry of shock, and he dashed out of the way as the chandelier above came crashing down. Me and Ruby both winced at the sound of shattering glass. “The rest of us will just have to stay on our toes.”

“Well, my friends aren’t gonna like this”, I said in a worried tone. “Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if this pushed Majima to do very violent things…”

Iris hissed, but then gave a sheepish smile. “Well, we could try and throw a party in honour of Misery.” She laughed awkwardly.

“I don’t like the sound of this”, Poe said, nose buried in a book he had pulled out. “Not one little bit!”

“Whatcha’ reading Poe?” The cyclops asked.

“‘Everything You Ever Needed To Know About Friday The 13th But We’re Afraid To Ask For A Good Reason. Says here smashed chandeliers are bad luck.” He let out a very loud, shocked gasp. “Full moons are even worse luck!”

Scaredy ran up next to him and looked over the passage the raven read, letting out his own gasp and simultaneously with Iris, and then fainted.

“Fainting nets Scaredy three years of bad luck”, Poe said as he read from the book. The poor bat gave him a flabbergasted look, then fainted again. “That’s six years!”

I let out a groan. “This is not going to be a good day, is it?” I looked to Ruby and Misery for an answer, only to get innocent whistling and a nod, respectfully. I groaned, only to jump when I heard a cry of shock from several people. A collection of footsteps then drew my attention to the walkway above, and I saw as all my friends came rushing over and looking over the edge.

“Guys, what the heck is happening?!” Vanellope asked, “There was a loud bang, and as we were all checking to see what happened, stuff just… happened!”

“It’s Friday the 13th!” Poe called out, poking out from behind his book, “So be prepared for a very unlucky day!”

Gladius, with Alfur resting on his hilt, sighed. “That isn’t good, is it?”

Jenny gave Misery a weird look. ‘What the heck is going on with you, Misery?”

“I’m lucky!!!” She cried in anguish, which made all of my group give her a weird look.

“Translation is we are all gonna have a bad day”, I said bluntly.

Majima growled, his grip tightening on the railing. His face then twisted into one of pure rage. “Oh you’ve got to be…” He paused when he saw everyone giving him a flat look, “kidding me.”

There was suddenly a loud creaking sound, and the group all looked at their feet. “I wasn’t the only one who heard that, right?” Star asked.

“Maybe you guys are just getting crazy like me!” Izzy announced obliviously. This was met with more creaking, and even the sound of cracking.

“Sweet Mother Hubbard”, Ralph mumbled. That was when the walkway finally gave way, all my friends letting out cried of shock as the floor below them collapsed and sent them down. A huge cloud of dust was kicked up, so I was quick to shield my eyes. Fanning the dust out of my face as I coughed, the cloud dissipated to reveal all my friends in a heap, all of them groaning in pain. The only ones not there were the two constantly hovering members Galacta and Gladius, who both looked down in shock.

Alfur, still on the living sword’s hilt, could only muster one thing. “Oh dear…”

~X~

An hour or two had passed since we had figured out what day it was, and everyone was trying to go about the day. I could hear crashing in the distance as I sat in the kitchen with Gladius, Vanellope, Hilda and Twig, doing our best to stay as lucky as possible. Vanny was drawing up some crudely done plans of how we could survive while Ruby stood atop a very tall ladder, taking a cake tin out of the cupboard. It was just then a pair of conjoined brothers, sharing a body 50/50, stepped through the door lugging a large amp behind them. The left brother, Len, had pale green skin with a round head and messy mop of black hair, while the right brother, Frank, had pale blue skin with a pear-shaped head and black pompadour.

I looked over and watched as the conjoined rockstars struggled to pull their amp through the doorway, which meant they were right under Ruby. My blood pressure shy-rocketed. After finally making it through the door, Len stopped pulling and gave his brother a sour look.

“Hey, how come I always have to do the heavy lifting?” Len complained.

“You know I can’t risk hurting my picking fingers, Len”, Frank explained. That seemed to be enough of an excuse for Len, as he nodded. The ‘picker’ looked up and smiled at Ruby. “Hey Ruby, whatcha’ up to?”

“I’m making a cake for Misery’s ‘Friday The 13th On A Full Moon Is Good Luck For You Party’”, she explained as she held the cake tin in her hands, “And I need this mash proof plastic cake tin.”

“Hey, and we can try our new songs at Misery’s party!” Frank happily said. “You wanna hear one?”

“I’d love to!”

“Heck yeah, bring on the rock!” Vanellope happily exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“I wouldn’t mind”, Hilda added, “Always wanted to listen to a live rock concert.” Twig barked happily beside her.

Both brothers smiled, and Len went back to pulling the amp. However, it ended up getting stuck in the ladder, which didn’t help my already high blood pressure.

“Uh, Frank”, Len said, giving the large speaker another good pull, “The amp won’t fit!”

“Then we’ll just play where the amp lies”, Frank said with a smile. The two brothers pulled the electric guitar that was on their back out and began to play, causing the whole room to shake. Ruby looked down at her friends with worry.

“Uh, guys”, she started to say, “It’s probably not a good idea to practise under a ladder. Some people believe it’s bad luck.”

This was instantly proven true as lightning suddenly flashed, and a bolt blasted through the window. Us at the table all gasped and ducked as the bolt shot right at the rockstars. They cried out and ducked as well, making the bolt bounce off the door at an upwards angle.

“Holy Luna!” I cried, running up to the brothers, “Are you two okay?” The other all joined me, each also looking on in worry.

“Yeah, I’m fine”, Frank said in relief, “That was lucky.”

“Yeah”, Len added, “I didn’t get zapped either, I’m lucky too!”

Frank smiled for a moment, only to realise something. “If that bolt didn’t zap, it didn’t zap me, and it didn’t zap any of you”, he pointed to us, and we all shook our heads, “who did it zap?”

His question was answered when a glob of melted plastic landed on my head, making me wince. We all looked up to see a fried Ruby, holding a melted cake tin, on top of a charred ladder.

“Now I know how Misery feels”, she said. “Oww.”

“Ruby, catch!” We all turned to see Misery had walked in from the open hallway, and watched as she tossed the fried ragdoll an umbrella. Ruby caught it and opened it, letting it catch her fall as the ladder turned to ash. She gently landed on the ground.

“Thanks Misery. Boy am I ever glad you're having good luck today.”

“That makes one of us”, the banshee said in a down tone. She then attempted to swat away the butterflies that circled her.

“Okay, note to self, close all windows”, Gladius said. He went over to do just that, only for another flash to occur and another bolt to hit him head on. We all looked at him silently as he groaned, stiff as a board. “Never mind.” He squeaked out.

~X~

The day was going horribly for all of us sans Misery. After what happened in the kitchen, Vanellope, Hilda and Twig chose to head elsewhere. That left me, who still had some of the melted cake tin on my head, and a still slightly frazzled Gladius on our own. Deciding that nothing was happening at the moment, we made our way to the foyer where most of the Gloomsville gave were. Behind a milkshake bar dressed like one that would work there was Skullboy, attempting to mix like a malt shop entrepreneur. Ruby was holding onto a cake she had just made, walking very carefully. Iris was holding onto a large shamrock, her eye reflecting her worry. And finally was Scaredy, who was running up to Skullboy’s bar.

“So what the heck are we supposed to do?” Gladius asked in a strained tone, shaking his feathered wing to hopefully lose the static charge he was feeling in it.

“I don’t know…” I said back, “This day has been… rough, to say the least.”

A bang drew our attention to Iris, who had slammed her foot into a ladder, then again, and then it fell on her foot, and then the metal decoration that fell on me earlier. I winced at each bang, my heart breaking seeing Iris in so much pain. I also saw the stool Scaredy sat on turned to dust, and the cake Ruby was holding collapsed layer by layer.

“Darn”, Ruby said, her face twisted in frustration. I gave her a sympathetic look as Misery walked in and sat at Skullboy’s bar. I headed over to Ruby while the banshee vented at the skeleton, and the ragdoll girl. Before I got a chance to say anything, however, Iris came bouncing by on her spring shoes.

“I’m gonna hang this four leaf garland for the party if it kills me”, she said as she bounced by.

“Iris, I wouldn’t say something-” I began, only to be cut off as the poor cyclops slammed into a plethora of decorations, and even some of the house’s own support, before flying high above and crashing into the chandelier above the table. Me, Ruby and Skullboy all looked up at her in worry as she was caught on a bit of her dress.

“No problem”, she said nonchalantly. Then she lowered slightly at the sound of ripping. “Problem!” Her dress finally tore, making the three of us on the ground gasp as she fell. We darted to catch her, only for more bad luck to hit as she just ended up landing on us with a loud thud. Iris brushed some hair off of her face. “Thanks guys.”

“Good heavens!” Gladius shouted. “Are you all alright?”

I grunted. “Yeah, I think we’re fine.”

Suddenly, Scaredy came running by while wearing a shower cap and with a towel around his waist, screaming like the house was flooding. Funnily enough, it was, as a wave of water came crashing into the foyer. We all yelled alongside the bat and got the hell out of there, the whole room filling with water.