A/N: Welcome to this week's edition of "Starting a New Chapter!" Today, we're taking it to the skies and meeting/fighting none other than Miss Hilda Berg (who by the way is one of my favorite bosses next to Djimmi the Great)! How's that encounter gonna go? Stay "tooned"!

Note: I apologize for not having posted in a while, with work and family things going on, they've taken more priority in my life, but I'm back on a schedule now. Should be around every Wednesday or Thrusday going forward. Thank y'all for your kind words and patience.

Now on with the show!

(Lexie's P.O.V)

It had been a hot second since we left the Fly Trap. As we headed to the next debtor (whose name seemed to be based off the infamous Hindenburg blimp from World War II), we walked through the forest to see a large observatory with a telescope sticking out of it.

"Whoa…" I mused. "As much as I loved astronomy growing up, I don't think I've ever seen an observatory before."

"Yeah, you should see Matt when he's learning about space." Liam chuckled. "His eyes grow big and he gets excited, hoping to see if Mario is hopping from different planets."

I chuckled. Ah, Matt…such a sweet child. So curious, innocent and sweet. I hope he's doing okay back in New York.

"Who's Mario?" Mugman asked. "Is he a friend of yours?"

Liam and I looked at each other and then back at Mugman.

"Erm, technically he's a fictional character in our world." I explained. "It's kinda hard to explain without giving ya a time paradox heart-attack, but he's somewhat of an icon."

Liam pondered over before replying "Well, let me ask you this; you know you're in a storybook right?"

The boys nodded.

"Well, this Mario guy has some stories of his own in books as well. He's super popular in our world. And we tell his story through different ways like picture shows."

I raised an eyebrow at Liam saying Mario has his own set of "books". Other than Super Mario Adventures I hadn't heard of any Mario 'books'.

But, for the sake of the boys' understanding, it was best to keep it simple.

"Uh, so who's the last person we're looking for again?"

"Uh, Hilda Berg. She's a tough fighter who takes the battle to the skies." Cuphead answered. "And in order for us to fight her, we'll need a set of wings."

(Liam's P.O.V)

Lex and I were walking with the Cups on the way to Hilda's place, just getting caught up to speed on stuff.

I thought it was cute how Mugman was absolutely enthralled by hearing about my relationship with Lex, while Cuphead often gagged in disgust. Heh, typical little kids; if only Cuphead knew what it was like to get older. He won't be so grossed out when he has someone special of his own.

But I was surprised to hear that Lexie had been here before with Audrey, Josh, and the Evans. She never told me about it, but when I think about her reaction in the car to Natty reading the book, I could understand why she didn't.

"Wow, that is a crazy story. I never imagined you were transported with Audrey and her pals to this world." I commented.

"It was pretty surprising to find out, especially since they were on a wild goose chase." Cuphead stated. "They were separated in different areas and had crazy encounters."

"Not only that but the concept of a scribbler." I added.

"Yep, this has been going on for a while seeing people come and go." Mugman chimed in.

"So, what's the deal with that?" Lex asked. "Must be...y'know...traumatizing to have to repeat the same experience over and over again."

"Not really. It's kinda hard to explain but we look at it as a reset." Cuphead mentioned.

"Yeah, the story stays the same, it's the people that are different." Mugman chimed in.

Lex arched an eyebrow in confusion as she replied, "Uh...okay?"

From the way they explained it, it sounded like someone gave her a complicated explanation, while they understood it perfectly. Just hearing that made my head spin.

"Sorry, I know it's a bit confusing." Cuphead apologized.

Lex seemed to brush it off as she replied, "It's okay. It's one of those 'way too complicated' situations."

"No worries." Mugman smiled. Looking at the parchment paper, he announced "Okay, we're looking for Hilda Berg next."

"Sweet!" I beamed. "So where is she?

"In the sky." Cuphead replied, pointing upwards. "We'll need a way to get up there."

"Hmmm…" Lex trailed off. "I wonder if…"

I saw her take out her sketchbook and was about to draw airplanes in her sketchbook when Mugman replied.

"Oh, no need for that. Give us a second."

Lexie looked very surprised when he said that. How were they supposed to get to the battle with Hilda? "Oh, okay."

The two of them headed into the observatory that was close by. It seemed to take an eternity for them to get situated…whatever they were trying to do.

"They seem to be taking a bit." I stated. "I don't want to rush them, but we're kinda on a deadline."

Lex just gave a shrug as she replied, "I'm sure they know what they're doing, Lee. They've done this before, I don't know how many times."

I still felt a bit uncertain, but like she said, they've done this before, so I guess I should trust the process.

Just then, a hatch opened at the top of the observatory and from it, two planes flew at great speed. Both of us hit the ground as they passed by us, as we heard the cups cry out in just pure joy.

"WHOOOOOO!"

"Wheeeeee!"

"Whoa!" I exclaimed as we looked up. "That was crazy!"

Lexie looked up and she was amazed by the planes. "Whoa! So cool!" She beamed.

As we got up, the two landed their planes and turned off their engines. Once they stopped, the boys hopped out and were now wearing goggles and a scarf, each with their signature colors.

"Sooo what do ya think?!" Cuphead asked, posing in his new attire.

"Our good friend lended these to take battles to the skies!" Mugman chimed in.

"That's so amazing!" Lexie beamed.

"Sweet!" I added. However, a thought came to me. "But how is Lexie supposed to write from down here?"

"Simple; she flies with us." Cuphead replied. "Audrey did the same with us. Don't worry it's perfectly safe."

"Really? Sweet!" Lexie smiled for a bit until it turned into a concerned frown. "But erm...how am I gonna fit in your cockpit?"

"Oh, just sit in the seat and there should be plenty of room for your legs." Mugman explained.

Lex nodded in understanding as she stepped into the cockpit of Cuphead's plane.

Mugman could tell I wanted to join in too, just in case Lex needed help.

"Say, Liam, you can ride with me. That way you can keep an eye on Miss Lexie."

"Okay, that works. I hope it's not too much trouble." I mentioned.

"No worries. It's nice to have another in for the ride." Mugman smiled.

With that being cleared up, I sat in the cockpit with Mugman and got settled. I had to admit, it was surprisingly roomy for my legs and upper body, especially since this plane was made for little kids.

I guess this was cartoon logic striking again.

Once Lex got settled, Cuphead called out, "Alright! Contact!"

"Radar looks all clear! Ready for take off!" Mugman claimed, as both placed their goggles on. They handed us a pair and now I felt like a real pilot. Well, sorta, since Mugman was the one flying the plane.

"Man, it's been so long since I've flown on a plane...man that's cool!" Lexie mused, putting her goggles on.

"Ok but you better hold on tight! We fly fast!" Mugman warned us.

"Got it!" Lexie replied, putting on her seatbelt.

"Alright! Let's go!" Cuphead claimed.

They turned the ignition key and the plane began to start up. The blade moved at a rapid pace and then, the plane began to move. It started off slow, eventually increasing in speed and before we knew it, we were high in the sky.

Wow, you could see all of Inkwell from here!

We were flying up in the air to see Hilda Berg, who appeared to be chilling out on a cloud. She didn't seem like a threat…right?

"Okay, there she is!" Mugman piped up.

"Hilda Berg!" Cuphead announced.

I began having a bad feeling. We just got through a few debtors, some were tougher than others, and I was not sure how this one was going to go with Hilda.

"Whoo boy this might be rough." I breathed heavily.

"I'll say…" Lex replied nervously.

"Alright! Let's do this!" Mugman confidently replied. I had to admit, for a meek, younger brother, he was really confident.

Hilda must've heard the sound of the motors as we approached her, cause she started to wake up.

"Huh? What? Well, what do we got here? Cute little tea cups!"

Cuphead rolled his eyes in annoyance. "C'mon Hilda ya know the drill!" He then pulled up the parchment that the Devil gave him and held it up to her. "Also, 'little teacups'? Really?"

"Sorry, it's what came to mind and sorry I don't owe that overgrown throw rug nothing!" She snapped. "You want my contract, you'll have to fight for it!

"Miss Hilda please!" Mugman begged. "We don't wanna fight but you're not leaving us much choice!"

"Oh jeez, this is getting ugly…" Lex muttered.

"Hang on, Miss Lexie! You too Liam!" Mugman called, as he adjusted his weapons.

"I'm holding on for dear life!" I called, holding the sides of the plane. Lord, please let me live through this. I have so much to live for!

I suddenly heard some random voice shout out:

"GOOD DAY FOR A SWELL BATTLE! AND BEGIN!"

Okay, that was freaky. Cool, yet freaky.

Lexie took out her book and sighed. "Let's hope I don't get air sick doing this..."

"Don't worry. We got this." Cuphead mentioned, giving her a thumbs up.

Lexie began writing down the battle as it was happening. However, I could tell the poor gal was trying her best not to puke. I remember her telling me whenever she's in the car and is reading something, it makes her motion sick. I just hope she copes with this okay.

The battle was going INSANE! Like the lady was throwing tornados, mini blimps that kinda reminded me of the Bullet Bills in Super Mario Brothers. But the only difference was they were coming from her, not Bowser.

At some point we get to the transformations of different constellations and I gotta say, I'm impressed. Matt is a huge fan of astronomy and stargazing. I got him a telescope and we both would spend hours looking at the starry sky. Though, he's hoping to see Mario jump from planet to planet. I think he's played Super Mario Galaxy more than I thought.

"Whoa!" Lex exclaimed while nearly dodging a headbutt from the flying bull.

"You okay?! Her constellations can pack a punch!" Cuphead called.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Those are seriously cool!" She beamed in reply, giving Cuphead a quick thumbs up.

"Yeah! I mean, the bull is pretty cool when she's not wanting to charge at ya." I muttered.

At some point the bull suddenly turned into a pair of twin women spinning around in a circle. It puzzled me at first until I remembered that was the sign for the Gemini.

"Ah, so her powers are connected with astrology…interesting." I thought to myself.

They suddenly sang a quick melody and summoned this sphere thing and it spewed fire in a clockwise direction.

Cuphead did an impressive barrel roll to dodge, and while it was cool, I looked over and saw it was causing Lex to get nauseous. She looked very green and dizzy.

"Oh crap…" She groaned, holding her hand to her mouth.

"Sorry! I promise we're just about done!" Cuphead assured her. "Just hang in there a bit longer!"

"Okay okay...I got ya." Lexie gulped.

"Liam! You doing okay?" Mugman asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. A bit dizzy but good." I replied, holding the sides of my head, praying the world would stop spinning for like two seconds.

Apparently Hilda got the same idea, grasping her head and just going nuts, flailing her arms and legs everywhere in squiggly lines.

"Uhhh... MA'AM! YOU DOING OKAY?!" Lexie called out. I know we were fighting her, but we wanted to make sure she was ok.

"Wait, she can't give up like that…" Cuphead trailed off. "I'm going in for a closer look."

"Cuphead! It might be a trap!" Mugman cried out.

Once Lex and Cuphead got close enough, Hilda suddenly curved her body and transformed into a huge…crescent moon? As weird as that was, we were feeling uneasy from the way she was sneering at us.

"Oh...crap." Lexie gulped.

"Uh, that does not look good." I shuddered.

"Brace yourselves, everyone!" Mugman cried.

The boys waste no time shooting at Hilda, firing everything they had at her. There was a moment were we had to dodged the lasers from...UFOs?

"Hold the phone!" Lexie exclaimed. "Y'all got aliens here?!"

"Yeah, Inkwell can be an odd place." Mugman shrugged.

"I mean no offense but you guys met the literal Devil! This place is bizarre!" I chimed in.

"No argument there." Cups muttered.

We finally finished the fight...and Lexie was about to puke.

"I think we're done…" Lexie groaned, retching. "Now, does anyone have a barf bag?"

" I think so…" Cuphead replied, shuffling through his glove compartment. Here I got it."

He handed her the bag and she just threw up in it. I'll spare you the details, but gotta say, that plane ride did a number on her.

Once she was done, she closed up the bag and groaned, "Thanks…"

"Oooohh, that can't be pretty." I winced.

"You okay, Miss Lexie?!" Mugman called as we landed on the ground. Lexie wobbled as she got out, and held her stomach with her arm.

"Yeah I'm fine. All those loop de loops while writing it down was giving me motion sickness." She groaned. "I definitely shouldn't have had breakfast before coming here."

"Yeah sorry, Lex. Flights like these are not smooth but hey you're alive." Cuphead claimed, as he hopped out of the plane.

"Heh, amen to that." She nodded.

After a quick nod in reply, Cuphead announced. "Alright let's head to Hilda."

"Okay." She replied.

Once that was settled, we rushed over when we saw Hilda beaten on the ground. She was a bit banged up, and shook off the dizziness.

"Hey, sorry about that." Lexie sadly apologized. "We didn't wanna fight but we had no choice. I hope you understand."

Hilda got up, dusted her dress and smiled. "Hey, it's okay. I know you guys are doing your job. Guess I didn't want to give my contract over like that, but you proved it so hear ya go."

She handed Mugman her rolled up contract and he beamed with delight

"Wow! Thanks Miss Hilda! You okay?"

"I'll live." She sheepishly smiled.

"You sure?" Lex asked in concern. "You took quite a beating back there."

Hilda gave Lex a smile as she replied,

"Trust me, Sunspot. I have faced worse."

We were definitely confused. Where on earth did the nickname 'Sunspot' come from?

"Sunspot"?" Lexie repeated, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry. It's a new nickname I gave ya." She explained. It's like a spot of the sun landed on you since you're so cheery and bright where you go."

"Awww thanks…" Lexie blushed.

"No problem. When you see Audrey tell her I said hi, okay?" Hilda asked.

"Absolutely! By the way...did you give her a nickname too? Just curious.."

"Oh, I did. I called her Starlight." She replied.

"Aww that's cute! By the way, LOVE your transformations! The bull one was pretty cool!" Lex commented.

"Aww, thanks! I know it can be intimidating at times, but it's really cool!" Hilda blushed.

"I loved astronomy growing up so space was an obsession of mine" Lex reminisced.

I approached Lexie and began rubbing her back. I did that because I was partly worried about her puking in the bag. I know she can handle things, but that was a bit much to handle, especially after a big breakfast.

"You okay, Lex? I know that was a lot." I mentioned.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a bit better now." Lex replied, smiling at me. "I just wish I knew a good spot to grab a Ginger ale."

"Maybe we can ask the frog brothers if hey have something." Mugman suggested. "I know we just saw them but it wouldn't hurt to ask."

"Maybe." Lex replied.

"Well, gotta say, Hilda. You put up one heck of a fight." I smiled.

"So did you, Greenie." She smiled.

I was a bit surprised and confused on what she called me.

"I'm sorry, Greenie?" I repeated.

"You're wearing a green shirt, so I figured greenie would be nice." Hilda explained.

That made Lexie snicker a bit.

"'Greenie'...how cute." Lexie giggled. "Reminds me of Bowser calling Luigi that."

"Greeeeat." I muttered, rolling my eyes. Not the nickname I was hoping to be called, but it could have been a lot weirder. But I think the boys liked it since both of them giggled.

Cuphead then gave a confused look as he asked, "And Bowser and Luigi are...?"

"More characters from the Mario books we told you about." Lexie answered. "I'll explain later."

"Yeah, it's a very long story." I chimed in.

"Well, if you ask me, this Bowser guy doesn't sound nice but the Luigi fella does." Mugman mentioned.

"I mean, Bowser is the villain constantly hitting on the princess sooooo...yeah." Lexie commented with a shrug.

"Wow, that's crazy." Cuphead said.

"Yeah, but at the end of the day...not much different from me and Auds." Lexie sighed, looking a bit stressed.

Gosh, I could not even imagine what she went through when she first came here. I know the journey has ups and downs, but it sounded like it wasn't a pleasant time, especially with creeps like Dice hanging around.

Mugman saw her worried expression and gently held her hand. "Don't worry, Miss Lexie. We'll make sure Dice is far away from you."

"Yeah, like another planet or galaxy." I mentioned.

Lexie perked up as she giggled again, "Oh, that I would LOVE to see!"

We all had a good laugh for a good while. It felt good to let it out for a little while, even if we were on a time crunch. Eventually, we said our goodbyes to Hilda and moved on to the next boss.

His name was…Cagney I think? Gotta say, tough bosses, but pretty strange names.

Eh, I'll live.

A/N: Heh heh looks like I didn't take the ride very well. I mean, what can you say when you read and ride a car at the same time? It tends to take a toll on your stomach (for some weird reason). Now we're gonna be dealing with Cagney next...what will come of that? Stay "tooned" for the next chapter of "Starting a New Chapter"!