Chapter 9: Farewells and Unexpected Encounters

Captain EO's POV

As soon as we got back to the ship, Natalie explained to me and the crew that she could no longer continue going on these missions with us, and that she was needed elsewhere. This kind of disappointed me a little bit, because I really liked her and I thought that she was one of the best space cadets that I've had in long time.

After she finished explaining her situation to me, I asked her, "Are you sure you can't come with us?"

She answered with a sad smile, "As cool and amazing as it would be, I'm afraid I'd miss home too much."

I understood her situation, and I didn't want to be the one to come between her and her family, but I knew I was gonna miss her.

I said to her, "But still, you were a great space cadet."

Natalie said shaking her head, "Oh, I couldn't have been that good."

Ody said to her in a surprised tone, "Are you kidding? Give yourself a little credit, kid."

Idy said, " Yeah! You were amazing!"

Hooter chimed in, saying, "Top noch!"

She smiled and said,

"Thanks guys, you all were great too. I couldn't have pulled it off if it wasn't for you guys, especially you captain."

We all smiled in response.

Hooter said, "We're really going to miss you, Cadet Natalie!"

Everyone else said, "Yeah, we're really going to miss you." As they all pulled into a group hug.

Natalie said to them, "I'm going to miss you guys too."

She added as she looked to Fuzzball, "Especially you, Fuzzball."

He then gave her a little kiss on the cheek, causing her to giggle in response. I smiled at her for a moment as Major Domo moved towards her and said with a salute,

"I wish you nothing but the best out there, Cadet Natalie."

She smiled and said, "Thank you, Major Domo. And I wish the same for you and the rest of the crew." He nodded in response.

I then said to them, "We'd better get going. Everyone back to the ship."

They all said, "Yes, sir!"

Idy, Ody, and Fuzzball said, "Bye!"

Major Domo said, "Goodbye, Natalie!"

Hooter said, "Take care!" As they walked back to the ship and got in.

I was about to go walk in and join them until Natalie said, "Oh, captain wait! I almost forgot."

She pulled out these two walkie-talkies out of the pockets of her belt, and said as she handed one of them to me,

"I actually have these two walkie-talkies. So in case if there's any trouble, you'll be able to call me, and I'll be there in a flash."

I smiled at her and said, hugging her, "Thanks, Natalie. I'm really gonna miss you."

She said while hugging me back, "I'm gonna miss you too, captain."

I asked her as we both pulled out of the hug, "Will I ever see you again?"

She answered with a nod, "I'm sure we will. Perhaps our paths will cross again someday on Earth or maybe in another galaxy."

I said while I still had my hands on her shoulders, "I sure hope so, because girl, you're now another part of me."

And I leaned in close to her, and I gently placed a small kiss on her cheek. When I looked back at her, she had a sheepish grin as her whole face blushed a bright red, causing me to smile warmly and giggle at her in response.

I then snapped back into reality as I looked back to the ship, and said to my friend,

"I should get going."

I finally said to her while I ran back to the ship, "Goodbye, Natalie!"

I heard Natalie shout back to me, "Goodbye, Captain EO! Good luck to you out there in the universe!"

I shouted back to her as I opened the door, "You too!"

And with that, I walked inside the ship, closed the door, and began to fly the ship off of the planet, with Natalie and I waving by to each other through the window as the crew and I finally took off to another galaxy.

I knew I was going to miss her and what she's done for me and my crew, but at the same time, I had hope. I had hope for the future, and who knows? Maybe our paths would cross again someday. You never know.

Natalie's POV

Saying goodbye to Captain EO and the crew was bittersweet. I felt bad that I couldn't continue on anymore missions with them and that I had to say goodbye, but I knew that I would miss home too much and I was needed back there anyway. While going on this mission was pretty hard, it was also a lot of fun, especially with getting to meet Captain EO. While I was with him, it also felt like I was actually getting to hang out and work with apart of Michael Jackson. He was one of my greatest heroes and just the thought of being able to see him and work with him felt surreal. I was sad to see this adventure go, but I really hoped that I made him proud.

As I watched the ship fly away into another universe, I said to myself with a sad sigh,

"Well, it was fun while it lasted."

And without another moment to spare, I prepared myself and the magic crystal to teleport back to Disneyland. As I started to think about the happiest thoughts, suddenly, something happened!

The glow of my necklace went out as I noticed a sandstorm blowing all over the planet. Sand and dust started blowing all towards me and I screamed and shouted with dismay,

"No! Not now!"

As I found myself getting caught in the center of this sandy and dusty tornado, causing me to cover my eyes trying to avoid getting anything in them.

As I prepared myself for the worst, all of a sudden, I heard this familiar voice say with a small laugh,

"Great job, Natalie! I knew you had it in you!"

I raised my brow in confusion as I saw this small white glow appear in front of me. As the tornado continued to circle around me, I started to hear music and I heard the white glow sing;

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything you're heart desires
Will come to you

I removed my hands from my eyes as I stared in awe as I was starting to recognize that voice. I ask the glow with a raised brow

"Captain EO?"

I noticed the glow was starting to get bigger and the tornado started to ease down as I heard the glow continue to sing;

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme

While the tornado started to fade out, the glow continued to get bigger and bigger until it grew into the size of a person as it finally sang;

When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

And the sandstorm had died out and the glow in front of me turned into the spirit of a man.

My eyes grew open and I let out a small gasp in shock as I finally saw who the man was. He was wearing all white and had a black armband around his right arm. He also had long black hair and fairly light skin than he did when he was younger, and he also had this angelic glow around him.

He looked down at me with a warm smile as I realized who it was. It wasn't just any man, and it wasn't even Captain EO for that matter. It was a spirit. It was the spirit of Michael Jackson.