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 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 grimmly 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 centre 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~