The first thing I felt when I awoke was shifting. From the size, it was obvious it was Ralph heading out of the tent. I didn't let it stir me enough, as I just cuddled up in my blanket deeper. I screwed my eyes shut and pretended to be asleep, and I heard Marco scoff next to me.

"Oh shush, Diaz", Zomboss hissed from the open tent seal. "If Caleb wants to sleep, let him sleep."

A sigh. "Yeah, you're right." Marco shuffled out of the tent carefully, leaving me as the only occupant. I let out a happy sigh as I buried my face into my pillow, my hand feeling around for Gladius' scabbard. I didn't find him, but I did find the puppet I bought the night before.

Good enough, I thought to myself. I cuddled up with the wooden toy, a smile forming on my face as I let the outside world drift into silence. It was so peaceful and pure, just me and my dream world.

But no dream was there. I was too awake to enjoy one.

I let out a tired sigh and completely hid my head under the blanket to keep any shred of sunlight out. I even snagged Marco's pillow and put it over my head to drown out any shred of noise. I let out a happy sigh as I was sucked into complete darkness and silence…

Only to be kicked awake from a familiar wing pressing into my side.

"What do you want, Gladius?" I groaned, not moving an inch.

"It's almost noon, Caleb", the sword chided. "Everyone slept in, but I'll be damned if you sleep past lunch."

I cursed under my breath, and Gladius jabbed me. "Shush. Everyone is already up and about, so it's time for you…", He grabbed my ankle, "To get up!" He began to pull on my leg, with zero success. I growled and kicked my leg, the sound of Gladius screaming as he was launched out of the tent, making me smile. It grew when I heard my friends' shocked cries.

"Gladius!?" "What the hell?!" "Man, that brat has some legs!" "Oh heavens!" "Yeesh, sorry about that dude!" "Caleb's being stubborn, huh?"

I tuned out the rest of what was said, and released another happy sigh. But before I even finished the sigh, the blanket was ripped off and I was hoisted up and out of the tent. I gave my captor, Galacta, a very angry look. But he just shrugged, Flowey laughing next to him.

"I honestly didn't think you would have it in ya'!" The flower said, beginning to laugh again. I gave Galacta a look, and the knight rolled his eyes and pointed behind me. I turned around and saw Ralph, Jenny, Majima, Star, Marco, Barranco and Dave all trying and failing to free Gladius, who was embedded deep into a tree trunk.

I sheepishly chuckled as I scratched the back of my head. Off to the side, Izzy, Steve and Zomboss watched the whole proceeding with varying expressions, then looked at me as one and waved me over. I cleared my throat and joined them, holding onto the bear puppet the whole time.

"Hey guys!" I said happily. I gestured to my stuck companion. "Sorry about that. I just… wasn't feeling like getting up at all. Too cosy."

Zomboss rolled his eyes. "That's surprising. You don't seem like the tenting kind of person."

"Oh, I'm not", I said. The three stared at me in shock. "I'm fine with it, but if we could stay at a hotel or in a trailer, I'd take that any day."

Izzy snorted. "Even if they're crappy summer camp cabins?" I nodded, making her laugh.

"Well, if this means anything, but I'm with you", Steve added with a nod. "I'm someone who always sleeps on a bed, so not having one is weird."

Zomboss shot him a glare. "What are you talking about, Steven? You always place the confounded bed down and hog half the tent!"

He chuckled sheepishly and looked away in shame, Zomboss grumbling under his breath. But our musings were cut off when our friends that were freeing the sword all cried out. They all toppled over one another as Gladius was finally freed, correcting himself in the air and dusting himself off.

"Never again", he said aloud as he dusted wood chips off his blade. "From now on I will be waking you", she shot an accusatory wing at me, "with my telekinesis."

"Still can't believe you forgot you had that!" Buttercup called out, all the girls together in a little group off to the side.

I snorted and Gladius sighed. "I haven't had to use it all that recently, so sue me!"

"We'll think about it!" Iris joked back.

Gladius grumbled as he hovered to my side, poking me in the side. I laughed, and he huffed in frustration.

Izzy giggled and Steve and Zomboss chuckled, making the sword quietly seethe. I smiled and pat Gladius' hilt gently, trying to calm him down.

"It could've been worse, Gladdy", I said sweetly. "Could've been worse."

It was then that the tree Gladius was stuck in earlier fell over, earning everyone's attention. As we all stared, the sword slowly turned to deliver the closest to a withering glare he could muster. I chuckled sheepishly and looked away, only for all the joy energy to instantly drain out of me at the sight of Merida leaving the words. She looked extremely distressed, if the slight bags under her eyes were any indication.

"Merida?" I called, dashing over to her. Everyone else showed a similar level of concern, all joining me in greeting. "What happened, did something go wrong?"

She cringed. "Remember that cake the witch gave me?"

We all nodded.

"Wellllll…" She looked behind her. "These people will help us, Mum."

I was horribly confused, till recognition flashed in my eyes. I watched as a black bear twice the size of her came from the bushes with a confused look on its face.

"Merida…" Jenny squeaked out. "Is that…"

Merida nodded sadly. "It's my mum…"

Majima' a jaw dropped. "OKAY, WHAT THE FU-"

~X~

"So, let me get this straight", I began after we all calmed down. It had taken a few minutes to make the whole group clam up after Majima cursed, but soon we were all set up on chairs. Me and my friends were all in a semicircle in front of Merida, as her mum turned bear sat next to her in befuddlement.

Majima, Steve, The Powerpuff Girls and Barranco seemed especially on edge, as those with weapons had them in their grasp and visible as a sort of threat, and the trio of superhero sisters glared at the bear harshly (though Bubbles' glare was noticeably loftier than her sisters').

"Your mom… is a bear now…" I finished slowly.

Merida nodded miserably, and the bear glared at her. "It… It's been a rough morning…"

Star walked over to Merida's bear mom and looked her up and down. "Were you hoping I could turn her back?"

Merida nodded rapidly. "Please! This is… with what happened with Mor'du, Dun Broch doesn't like bears all too much…"

Star beamed. "You got it Merry!" The archer gave her a weird look, but at the sight of Butterfly's wand glowing, we all scrambled away. Except Merida's mom, who looked at the wand in confused fear.

"BEARY BEAR NO MORE BLAST!" Star shouted. An explosion of purple and pink coated the entire field, small stars giggling as they scattered about.

"Star, some warning next time would be nice!" Barranco screamed. We all poked our heads from behind the largest tent (Star's, obviously), and saw the Mewni Princess sprawled out on the ground, frozen in her previous pose with a look of shock. Completely untouched was an equally shocked bear, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Well that was fucking shit", Majima spat, swatting away a giggling star with his bat.

Ralph walked up and eyed the bear with an inquisitive look. "Maybe this isn't the sort of magic that you can fix, Star…"

Said princess suddenly shot up into a standing position. "WHAT?! No, but… magic… I should…" she trailed off and began to walk off, her eye twitching. She stumbled into her tent, and a rage filled scream broke out from inside.

"What's her deal?" Jenny asked Marco, pointing at the tent.

"This has happened before", he answered with a shrug. He held up his right arm and silently pointed at it.

"Yikes", was all the teenage robot said back.

Me, Gladius and Merida approached the horribly confused bear, and I smiled at her sheepishly. Gladius bowed his head. "I am really sorry about this, my queen. This is… not how I expected my dad to go…"

The bear gave her daughter a very hard, long look, gesturing to me and the flying sword as if asking "How long have they been here?!"

"I'd say two days, almost three", I answered her silent question. "We've been… helping Merida…"

Gladius nodded. "It is true, milady. We are but humble travellers, and Dun Broch was the next destination we happened to come across."

The bear huffed, levelling the sword with a glare.

"It is the truth, m'lady", Gladius fired back. "We have seen all manner of fantastical and impossible, and we were sure Star's own magic could help you."

Merida looked down a bit in sadness. "So… what are we going to do now?"

I looked to the side in thought, trying to come up with some sort of answer. As my eyes wandered towards the woods that surrounded us, my mind thought back to yesterday. The introductions the lords' sons, the games, Merida's defiance, our encounter at the odd rock formation, us meeting the witch-

I froze as the memory flashed in my head. Of course. She made the spell, she should have an answer!

"We gotta go and find the witch!" I whispered to myself, snapping my fingers in revelation. Merida looked over at me in confusion, and I quickly rushed to her side and whispered into her ear. "The witch from yesterday. If we find her and talk to her, then maybe she'll give us an answer to your predicament."

The princess' eyes flashed with hope. "You're right! Caleb, thank you. That's just what we need."

"Only issue is finding her again…" I mumbled. "The wisps guided us last time… maybe they'll show up again?"

"They always guide ye' to where ye' need to go…" Merida muttered back. "So maybe…" She trailed off when she noticed something behind me, and I could see the joy practically glow from her eyes. Turning around, I saw a will-o'-the-wisp in the exact spot where it was yesterday, beckoning us to follow.

I shared a look with Merida, and we both silently nodded. We both went to snag our companions (who have been in a quiet discussion this whole time, despite one of them still trapped as a bear), and quietly made our way through the forest after the wisps.

After a bit of walking, we eventually made it back to the witch's hut. But I could tell something was… off, about it. It felt hollow, like it was abandoned years ago.

"I don't like this…" I said in worry. Merida took a deep breath and marched forward, swinging open the door…

Into an empty room.

Merida and I looked around the space with wide eyes. "No…" She fearfully whispered. She shut the door and opened it again. The room remained the same, so she did it again, and again, and again. Every time, the room was unchanged, only a cauldron in the middle.

I took a step forward, unknowingly tripping over a thread of string. The bell ran, and this tipped a basket over on a shelf on the opposite end of the room. The four of us all watched as a ball rolled down the shelf to another one, knocking a wooden bear on wheels down it. It hit the top of a shovel, and the tool fell down, sending a knife flying through the air. It cut a bit of string that was holding a small potion over the cauldron, and nearly cleaved my skull in two. Rather, it embedded into the door a few millimetres from my head.

"OH MY GOD!" I cried out, scrambling away. Merida's mom looked horrified, and Gladius frantically flew about.

"That evil, lying wretch!" The sword yelled. He flew around the room, searching for the witch, but all stopped when a green cloud of smoke and matching glow came from the large pot. Me and Merida shared a glance, and carefully we approached. Merida's mom was close behind, and Gladius returned to my side.

Before anyone said anything, a ghostly image of the witch's head emerged from the cauldron. "Welcome to the Crafty Carver", she began, "Home of bear themed carvings and novelties. I am completely out of stock at this time. But, if you'd like to inquire about portraits or wedding cake toppers, pour vial one into the cauldron." I looked the the fives vials sitting atop a stool next to the pot.

"If you'd like the menu in Gaelic, vial two." I shared a look with Merida as the witch's message continued. "If you're that red-haired lass, vial three." Merida gasped and I did a double take, the princess quickly grabbing the middle vial and pouring its contents in.

The vision faded and a new one, exactly the same as the last one. "Princess, I'm off to the Wickerman Festival in Stornoway and won't be back till spring." I baulked at that news drop, and Merida looked like she was going to faint. "There's one bit I forgot to tell you about the spell. By the second sunrise, your spell will be permanent-" Merida gasped, Gladius sputtered, Merida's mom let out a confused and concerned cry, and I covered my hands over my mouth to stop a scream "-unless you remember these words."

The glow from the cauldron suddenly became red as the witch gained a more angry expression. "Fate be changed, look inside, mend the bond torn by pride." The glow went back to normal.

"Fate be changed… mend the bond", Merida repeated, "What does that mean?" She looked at me, hoping to get an answer. I could only shrug as Gladius sighed.

"One more time", the witch said, repeating the phrase again. After the glow returned to normal, the witch bid farewell and vanished.

"No. No! Where'd you go?!" Merida, desperate for answers, began to pour all the potions into the cauldron at once, which only made things worse.

"Merida, No!" Gladius pleaded. "Don't! That'll only-" But he was cut off when the pot began to glow a very dangerous about of light, the witch's messages all flashing constantly.

"Everyone out now!" I cried. I grabbed the princess' hand and ran out of the hut, Gladius and the bear right behind us. We ran a good distance away, and a loud explosion could be heard, the shockwave nearly knocking me off my feet.

After a few moments to let things calm down, the sun high in the sky, I looked to Merida.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

She shook her head. "I don't… I don't know. 'Mend the bond'… what does that mean? How can that help us? I just…" She gave me a sad look. "Ye' can go back to your friends… I don't want you dragged into this…"

"As if!" I cried, startling the other three. "I was there with you when the witch gave you that cake. Neither of us knew this", I gestured to the bear, "would happen. So no matter what, I'm at fault too. I'm helping you with this. Both of us are. Right, Gladius?"

The sword nodded. "Of course. This isn't a sort of fate anyone should suffer. So I will offer all the help I can."

Merida spun back to face me, and she looked close to tears. Before I could react, she hugged me, her slightly taller height allowing her to pick me up a bit. "Thank you…"

"Any time, Merida", I said calmly with a smile. Over her shoulder, I could the queen's eyes widen a bit, then shot me a kind look.

Merida broke off the hug and wiped her eyes. "Sorry. Just… a lot is happening right now." She looked at her mom with a determined look. "We'll figure this out, mum. I promise."

The bear nodded, but her ears perked up just then. She looked to the right, and we all followed her gaze to see another wisp. More appeared to form another line deeper into the forest, and I could see it was in the direction of a distant, ominous and foggy mountain.

"We'll, we ain't gonna solve our problem just standing here", i said in a joking tone. "Let's follow the world's second best navigator."

Merida snorted and the queen let out a laugh the best her bear body could manage. At that, we all followed after the wisps towards the mountain. The sun remained high above, and as we walked, those of us that could talk, well, talked. All along the twisted, overgrown path.

~X~

After what felt like hours of walking, we seemed to reach our destination. It was a very foggy, very dead forest. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, giving the whole area the atmosphere of grief, sorrow and death. It sent a chill up my spine.

"This place…" Gladius mumbled, hovering above Merida's mom (she told me her name was Elinor on the walk). "There's something wrong. Dark magic, tainted memories, and spilt blood…"

"Never be a tour guide, Gladdy" I squeaked out as I clutched Merida's arm for protection. "Because that is the last thing you ever say in a place like this."

"It's called honesty, boy…" the sword growled. Elinor let out an annoyed huff and swatted at the sword, knocking him a distance away.

Merida wiggled her arm out of my grasp so she could hold my hand instead. "We'll, there has to be a reason the wisps are leading us here. They always…" The princess trailed off when the final wisp disappeared and the fog magically cleared, revealing a very old stone archway that definitely looked worse for wear.

As we walked under it, I saw a variety of stone buildings all partially collapsed or just straight up rubble, the haunting skeletons of ships scattered about the rocky landscape. It was like we left Dun Broch and entered a freaking horror movie.

"I hate this", I said flatly. "I hate this so much."

"Ye' and me both, Caleb…" Merida mumbled, taking in the sights around her. We walked up what once seemed to be stone stairs that lead up to a ruined building, what left of the walls so low I couldn't tell what it once was.

"I don't understand why those blasted spirits would lead us here", Gladius complained. He used his telekinesis to pick up a rock and toss it at one of the boat frames. "This place has long been abandoned. This won't help us…"

"Gladius", I hissed, Merida shooting him a harsh glare. He shrunk down a bit and looked away in embarrassment. Merida rolled her eyes and looked ahead again, curiosity taking over as she gazed at the ruins at the edge of the cliff.

"Well, there has to be something-" Merida was cut off when she stepped on a loose patch of ground, the spot ripping apart and sending me and her down. We tumbled down a pile of rubble and landed on the ground at the base.

We both groaned, but quickly recovered. Elinor, looking down at us, whined in concern.

"We're fine, Mum!" Merida called up. Gladius flew through after us and started looking me over.

With a sigh, he bowed his handle with his wings resting on my shoulders. "Next time, I'm going to do a structural check."

"Noted", I said, coughing as dust tickled my throat. After that, I joined Merida's side again as she began to look around the space.

To our left, just barely avoiding the pile, were four stone chairs on a raised part of the floor. Thrones, I thought to myself. There wasn't really anything else of note except a wreck carving in front of us. I nudged the princess lightly and nodded at it, getting a nod in return. As we got closer to it, I could see it depicted four men, but the rightmost one was separated from the others because of how the carving was cracked.

"You suppose this could have been the kingdom in that story you were telling me?" Merida asked out loud. Elinor let out a fearful noise in response as we looked over the four thrones.

We then came up to the carving, and Merida counted four brothers. The one that was broken off was supposedly the oldest.

"Something about this is rubbing me the wrong way…" I suddenly said breathlessly. "If this is the kingdom from your mom's story, about the one that fell… if it's in this state", I gestured my arms out and spun, "Then something worse than a rogue prince would have caused it."

"Aye, you're right…" Merida said, leaning towards the carving. When she rested her hand on it, she gasped and jolted back, eyes wide. I looked at her in concern, but she ignored me and continued to speak.

"The spell… It's happened before." Her tone was filled with dread and realisation. I suddenly became very aware of the long forgotten bones that were scattered about as the picture began to fully form in my head. "Strength of ten men… Fate be changed… Changed his fate…" The princess looked up at her mother turned bear, and it clicked in both our heads.

"Oh… oh my god…" I whispered in pure terror.

"The prince… he became…" Merida said as it all fell into place. But she paused, and we both turned around to stare into the inky darkness. And to our pure horror, there was another black bear, one covered with scars and weapons in his mangled body.

A true monster.

"Mor'du…" We said together.

Elinor roared, which set Mor'du off. He roared, bloodlust clear in his eyes, which in turn set Gladius off.

"The two of you, get back!" He barked, flying between us and the beast. "I'll hold him off!"

Merida and I nodded and rushed to the pile, desperately trying to scale it as Gladius and Mor'du ignited into a vicious battle. Looking over my shoulder, I watched as the sword lifted some of the larger pieces of rubble and started to use them as makeshift boxing gloves, batting the bear away. Merida, wanting to contribute something, fired a few arrows. Only a couple actually pierced Mor'du's skin, the rest bouncing off and clattering on the floor.

When we reached the top of the pile, Elinor reached out to us. We tried to reach back, but Gladius being thrown back into the pile nudged it ever so slightly out of her reach. Mor'du took this as his chance, and he made a beeline right to us, clawing up the pile, snarling all the way.

"NO!" Gladius screamed. He shot up to us and lifted us both up and out of the hole, right onto Elinor's back. He faced the queen. "RUN!"

She didn't need to be told twice, especially after Mor'du burst from the hole with the intent to spill blood. Gladius toppled one part of the wall onto him, and I clung to Merida as we heard his pained roars in the distance. Gladius led us away from the ruined kingdom. The fog thicker as we gained more and more distance, only for everything to stop when Elinor collided with something.

"OW!" I heard Ralph cry. I gasped when I opened my eyes, completely dumbfounded when I saw we were back at camp, all my friends looking at us in shock.

"GUYS!" I cried, jumping off of Elinor and rushing to hug the nearest body. It so happened to be Maria, who looked over the four of us in shock.

"What the heck happened?" She asked.

I let out a shuddering breath as Merida stood firmly on solid ground. Elinor helped Ralph to his feet, and the princess took a deep breath.

"Nothing good."

And thus Merida told everyone about all that happened, from us visiting the witch's hut, the wisps leading us to the ruined kingdom, and the revelations about Mor'du. Expressions of fear, worry, anger and sadness flashed over everyone's faces, but regardless how they felt, we all shared one, common thought: Save Elinor before it was too late.

"But how are we supposed to do that?" Hilda asked in concern. "Star's magic didn't work!" Said Mewman winced, then frowned.

"The tapestry", Merida said. "We need to mend the tapestry, and everything will go back to normal." She faced her mom. "The only problem is…"

"You're dad has a thing against bears", Steve spoke up. "Considering a ten foot tall demon is walking about, I don't blame him."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Flowey added.

I remained silent, only to perk up when I thought of a crazy idea. "Gang!" I barked. Everyone turned to face me. "Get packed up! We're going to do some breaking and entering!"

Majima let out a cheer and rushed to the tents, everyone else not far behind. That left just me with Gladius, Merida and Elinor.

"Are you sure about this, Caleb?" The sword asked in worry. The queen let out a worried whine.

I looked at the queen, and met her concerned gaze with my own determined one. "It's not right to leave you like this. So we are helping, no matter what ypu say." I faced Merida. "You are with me, got it?"

She nodded. "Ye' got it, ye' wee devil."

I smiled and rushed to the tents. "Tonight, we've got a castle to raid!"

~X~

I poked my head out from behind a large boulder, the castle of Dun Broch just a few metres away. Under the shroud of the night, the warm glow of the torches were all we had to see the guards marching about on the battlements. I was with Gladius (who was in his scabbard strapped to my body), Merida and Elinor. We eyed the castle in anticipation, waiting for our signal.

"When's Majima gonna to… you know…" Merida whispered to me.

I gave her a quick glance, then pulled out my walkie-talkie. "Majima, where are you at?"

There was a distant sound of clanging metal, and most of the guards ran off. "You're welcome!" A cheery voice answered back before the device shut off.

"I guess that was it", I said calmly with a quick shrug. With our window of opportunity, Merida led us through. Elinor seemed apprehensive, but eventually she was coaxed along. We slipped through the fairly empty courtyard, ducking into the darkness when a group of guards walked by. When they were gone, we navigated through the empty hallways until we reached just outside the grand hall. We could hear a lot of angry shouting, which made me cringe, and the princess and queen share a worried look.

Merida opened the door ever so slightly, and both me and her looked to see the three clans and Merida's dad in a brawl, throwing weapons and firing arrows at each other from behind makeshift wooden barricades. It was all about who would marry Merida, and when Merida's dad said no one was fit for her hand, Dingwall declared war, making everyone unleash battle cries.

"They're gonna murder each other", Merida said frantically, "You've got to stop them before it's too late!" She looked at her mother, and both of us had a look of dumbfounded shock plastered on our faces.

"Merida, are you forgetting your mom is a bear???" I hissed, gesturing a hand at the animal. "She goes out there and she'll be dead on the spot."

"I know, I know", she continued frantically. "But how do we get you through there and up to the tapestry with the lot of them boiling over like that?"

"Well, I hoped Majima's distraction would have worked…" I snarled.

"These are four lughead brutes that are leaders", Gladius explained, "Their egos are so inflated that even if someone were to say something was happening, they would brush it off." Gladius leaned a bit so he could look at the queen. "No offence towards your husband, of course. Just stating the facts."

Elinor huffed and nodded her head sadly. But then she perked up and grunted with an idea, pointing a claw at Merida. Her face glowed with realisation, and nodded. She opened the door oh so carefully, and walked out right into the middle of the chaos. It promptly died down, just as the other three of us snuck around carefully, pressed against the wall.

Silently as we snuck by, I watched as Merida addressed everyone, passing a very brief glance at us. As the lords demanded answers, I jumped at her powerful shout, watching the scene before me with wide eyes. Merida began to deliver a powerful speech (with some help from her mom) that helped calm down the angered crowd. The few times someone would look back at us, Elinor would freeze like a stuffed bear while I clinged to her back with wide eyes.

But I felt my heart soar when I saw the now laughing and happy crowd leave the grand hall, leaving only the four of us behind. Merida shut the door and rushed over to us in excitement.

"Merida!" I cried with joy, ploughing into her and hugging her. "That was amazing!" I looked into her eyes with awe. "You definitely are one hell of a princess."

She scoffed and lightly nudged my shoulder, returning the hug. "Couldn't have done it without you there, that's for sure." She broke off the hug, turned to her mom, and beamed up at her. Elinor got a sombre glint of nostalgia in her eyes, and brought a paw to the princess' cheek. She hugged the furry arm, forgetting the world for only a moment, before snapping back to reality.

"The tapestry!"

At that, we all made a mad dash to the room with the decorated fabric, and apron seeing how the slash separated the queen from her family, it made my stomach churn.

"Mend the bond… Mend the bond." Merida mumbled as she examined the tear. "Stitch it up. This'll change you back." She turned to her mom, who was listening intently. "We just need needle and thread!"

Elinor pointed a claw up, and shuffled over to a small chest with a bowl of fruit on it. She moved the bowl and opened the chest… only for her inner bear to take over just. She abandoned her mission to focus solely on the food.

"Uhhhh… Merida?" I called in worry. The princess looked over.

"No. Please, not now." She walked over to her mom, hoping to get her back on track. The bear, eyes lacking that spark of humanity, walked over to us while sniffing. She was still docile, which was nice, but the sound of Merida's dad walking by outside the room shut us up.

The bear growled, but Merida stopped her as the steps continued down the hall. I peeked through the door's small window, and rapidly pointed at the tapestry. Merida immediately went to work, trying to talk it down so we could flee. But everything came crashing down when a cry of agony was heard.

"ELINOR!!!"

I yelped as the sound of slamming doors down the hall came closer and closer, and thus making me more and more panicked. And when The warrior king was right outside our room, I ducked away behind a desk. From my spot, I watched as everything fell apart, from Merida's dad coming in, Elinor unleashing her full bear and knocking him unconscious, accidentally clawing at Merida, snapping back to normal and running away.

I watched, utterly horrified, as Merida's dad left the room and locked the door.

"No dad!" Merida pleaded as the door was locked. "Just listen to me! Listen! You can't! It's your wife Elinor!" But it all fell on deaf ears as he walked away, intent on killing the bear he thought killed his wife.

Merida took a few steps back, breaking down into frantic breathing, but me stepping out of my hiding place calmed her down just a bit. As fast as I could, I clicked on my walkie-talkie.

"Guys! We have a serious problem here!" I barked, voice cracking a bit.

"Kid, what the heck happened?!" Ralph called back.

Before I could answer, Merida ripped the device from my hand. "My dad saw my mum. He thinks she killed herself, and he won't listen to me!"

"He locked us in the room with the tapestry!" I roared, slamming my body against the sealed door, before looking around the room for an escape. "So we need some backup. Galacta, you and the Powerpuffs need to find Elinor! Don't let the king or the lords kill her!"

"On it!" Blossom cried out. The device went to static, so I snatched it from Merida and stuffed it back into my pocket.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?!" Gladius cried, trying and failing to squeeze through the door's tiny window.

Merida ran over and grabbed a stool. "Out of the way!" We both dashed aside as she charged and through the stool with all her might. But all that happened was it breaking to pieces when it hit the wood.

"No…" she muttered, quickly rushing over and grabbing the fire prod next to the fireplace. She desperately began to smack the door, but nothing was happening.

"Wait! Try this!" I grabbed the prod from her and shoved it into the side of the door with the handle, hoping to crowbar it open. Merida and Gladius joined in, all of us giving it our all. But the door proved unstoppable, as all that happened was the prod bending, making it useless.

In complete desperation, Merida ran over to the far too small windows and smashed on, reaching through as if hoping she could fit. When that failed, we could only watch helplessly as the king led everyone after Elinor, their torches like flaming eyes in the dark night storm.

"MUM!!!" Merida cried, reaching out fruitlessly. "No…" Her voice quickly became heartbroken whispers. "No… Mum…" The princess silently began to weep, quickly pulling me into an embrace as tears flowed from her eyes.

"I'm… I'm sorry Merida…" I said, tears threatening to spill from my own eyes. I just buried my face into her shoulder. "This all fell apart. I'm sorry. This isn't fair…"

"Uh… guys?" Gladius whispered. We both looked up at him miserably, and when he pointed at the window, we moved our gazes there.

At the site of Zomboss in his pod, we gasped. "You two need to stand back!" He barked. The front of the pod opened to reveal a rocket of his design, the ZPG. "This'll be a big blast, and I don't want either of you hurt!"

We cried out in shock, scrambling away as the rocket was fired, colliding with the wall and blowing the whole window to smithereens. As the dust settled, I felt relieved as the pod's other occupants, Maria and Manolo, jumped into the room and began looking us over.

"Oh my god, I'm so glad you're both okay!" Maria said, pulling me into my third hug of the night.

Manolo, wincing a bit at the scratch on Merida's arm, nodded. "We don't have much time. We need to fix all of this now."

"Then get the tapestry and get in now!" Zomboss ordered. "Galacta just called and told me Elinor is moving to that Stonehenge-like structure. She'll be cornered there! The others are moving out to assist her!"

We all nodded, and together the four of us forced the fabric from the wall and quickly folded it up. I made sure to snag the needle and thread from the chest, and with everything together, we joined Zomboss on his pod and were off. Down below, I watched as Steve rode Angus across the bridge with Hilda and Vanellope, Twig close behind.

As the pod dashed ahead, Merida made quick work of the tear on the tapestry, the thing looking good as new in seconds. "We just need to get this to Mum." She said breathlessly.

Zomboss nodded, and picked up speed. As we soared over the forest, I could see the torches of the search party in the opening with the stones.

"Land just outside, Zomboss", I said. "We don't need to cause more panic."

Zomboss darted the pod into the trees, and all of us sans him jumped out. Joined by the others, we all watched as Merida dashed off to stop the confrontation.

"I hope this works…" I whispered. But things fell into a deathly silence amongst us as we watched a lumbering black blob circle the stones to an opening in the crowd.

"KId… what is that?" Ralph whispered.

"It's Mor'du", I squeaked, my breathing becoming erratic. "He'll kill everyone. No."

"No…" Izzy hissed.

Steve pulled out his sword. "Not on our watch." He, Ralph, Majima, star and Jenny all dashed around to intercept him, but the chaos was too much to stop. Merida's dad, at the sight of the bear, ordered everyone to try and kill it, but it proved too powerful. He swatted everyone away, even the king himself, and I could only watch in silent horror.

Then, being the fearless idiot she was, Merida fired a few arrows into Mor'du, but they did little to stop him. The bear let out a vicious growl and smacked her away, leaving her unarmed as he set his sights on only her.

"MERIDA NO!" I screamed. With a burst of adrenaline and my friend's pleads falling on deaf ears, I charged forward with Gladius tightly in my grasp. As Mor'du lunged, teeth glaring in the torchlight, I appeared in front of him and smashed the blade into the bear's jaw. There was a burst of light, the sound of a cracking bone, and the massive bear flying through the air. He crashed into the ground, down but not out.

I spun around to Merida and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?!" I yelled.

"I'm fine", she sputtered, "Just what was that?!"

Before I could answer, Mor'du was back up and rampaging all over again, quickly reaching us. I cried out in pain as he smashed his paw into my chest, sending me flying a distance away. Merida called my name, but soon joined me with an equally powerful kick. I groaned in pain as I faintly watched the bear approach us, snarling all the way.

I closed my eyes…

And heard ropes snapping.

Looking to the side, I watched as Elinor broke free from her binds and rushed at Mor'du, locking herself into a brutal brawl with the beast. But Elinor was losing to her far larger opponent, no matter how much she put into it. The Beast pinned the queen to the ground, fangs bared when…

"EVERYONE DUCK!"

I screamed as Ralph, having ripped one of the large stones out of the ground, swung it like a bat at Mor'du. The long gone prince couldn't react in time, and was sent flying into another stone. I gawked at my friend as the others with him emerged from the shadow, dark glares all directed at the monstrous bear.

"You are so dead!" Jenny screamed, transforming her hands into large spiked fists.

The wrecker cracked his knuckles. "You kick the nest, you anger the hornets."

Steve loaded his crossbow and aimed it at the bear. "Move an inch, I dare you."

Majima swung his bat around with one hand, holding a pistol with the other. "All of this, and for what? So you can fucking die?"

"You crossed a line, fuzzball…" Star snarled, her wand glowing dangerously.

All I could do was breath heavily, time standing still as my five friends stared the bear down. Behind, I heard my other friends all rush to my and Merida's aid, Gladius flying over to join the five.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, Mor'du let out a roar and charged.

And all hell broke loose.

I watched as my friends gave the bear all the anger that was pent up inside, delivering such a painful onslaught on him I couldn't help but wince. Ralph let out his inner bad guy, weapons of all kinds shot out from Jenny's body, Steve slashed viciously with twin diamond swords, Star unloaded any spell she had, and Majima… was just being himself.

It was terrifying, but also absolutely incredible. I watched as Merida rushed over to her mom with the tapestry, eyes watering as she draped the fabric over her.

An ear shattering crack brought my attention back to the brawl, and I witnessed as Ralph delivered a fatal blow onto Mor'du, launching him into the tallest of the stones. With a crack, the stone toppled and crushed the beast, silencing everything.

When the dust settled, the bear was buried.

Dead.

I let out a loud sigh of relief, flopping onto my back. "Oh my god, it's finally over!"

Galacta chuckled next to me, passing a glance to the princess and queen. "That it is, Caleb."

Star came over and flopped down next to me. "Can we go back to camp now? I need to sleep for, like, a week."

I snorted, Ralph walking over and picking me up. "Sure." I waved to Merida. "See ya' later Merida! We'll catch up later!"

Wordlessly but with a beaming smile, Merida waved back, with Elinor waving shortly after.

With a tired sigh, I curled up and fell asleep in Ralph's grasp, finally happy this madness was over.

~X~

It was currently around noon, two days after the defeat of Mor'du, and our camp was all packed up. I stretched as Jenny cleaned up the last of the trash, the sun shining down on us.

"So, how'd you guys think of Dun Broch?" I asked absentmindedly.

Ralph shrugged. "I don't know, the fresh air was nice." Vanellope snickered from her spot on his shoulder.

"I loved it!" Hilda cheered, jostling Alfur as he sat on her beret.

"Except for all the bear stuff", Ruby added. "That is definitely not something I want to have to repeat again." This got mumbles of agreement from the others.

Sans Flowey, who scoffed. "We're all travelling to worlds unknown. Expect this to happen a lot."

"What, like you?" Buttercup spat, smacking the Flowey in the back of the head.

Barranco snorted and Dave quietly laughed, earning them both a harsh glare from the living plant.

"I got to beat the shit out of a bear!" Majima cheered, wrapping a disgruntled Zomboss and Manolo into one-armed hugs. "It was the fucking best!"

"I got to meet a fellow redhead!" Izzy said happily. "She gets me, I like that."

"Well, maybe I could get to know ye' more?" A new voice said. We all turned our attention over to Merida, walking out of the woods with a bag over her shoulder and a new bow in hand.

"Hey Merida!" I greeted with a smile. Most of the others laughed as Izzy launched over to her side and dragged her closer. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and assume you're here because…" I looked at her expectantly.

She nodded. "Aye. I just… I want a change of pace."

"But didn't you and your mom just make up?" Maria asked, Steve nodding in confusion beside her.

"Yes, but she's still queen", the princess responded with a shrug. "We. Promised to be there for each other, but she can't forget her duties."

Star sighed in understanding as she gave Iris a piggy back ride. Marco winced at a memory, and pat her shoulder reassuringly.

I smiled up at her. "Regardless, you showed up just in time! We were gonna head on out, and adding a plus one to the team would be really nice."

Merida smiled and nodded. "Then let's get a move on! After what you all showed me, I'm expecting the impossible."

I chuckled. "Always do." I turned to my sword companion. "Ready to move on, buddy?"

"I most definitely am, my boy", Gladius responded with a bow.

Smiling, I grabbed hold of his handle, and after he pointed me in the right direction, I slashed the air. Almost immediately, a portal opened.

"Let's get going, gang!" I called out. "I'm starting to get a bit homesick!" This got everyone to quietly chuckle, and one by one we all jumped into the glowing gateway.

Merida hesitated, so I grabbed her hand, and both of us jumped in together.

~X~

Yes! That's another amazing chapter finally done and over with! Gosh, this whole arc has been massive. But I love that. My skills have improved so much, and I couldn't be happier. First arc past the halfway point is now done!

Now, I'd like to shout out my friend Astheworldcaves4. She finally released the first chapter of her own massive multiverse story, Where I Belong, on Ao3. I helped her juggle ideas around, so go and give that story as much love as you all have this one. It'd mean the world to not just her, but me too.

Up next: Caleb and Co find themselves face to face with an eccentric alien, his two human companions, and their Police Box time machine…

~Caleb~