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. Majim 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, to all my fans here, I'd like to say that this story is cross-posted on Ao3 (Archive Of Our Own)! I'm in the process of adding more images to that version of the story for some more substance, so you can check it out if you want to! (Try to leave a Kudos if you can)
Also 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~