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 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 instantly 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~