I let out a quiet, peaceful sigh as sunlight peeked through the blinds and hit my face with as much mischievousness an inanimate ball of heated gas floating in space could muster. I rolled over, hugging my bladed friend close as I cracked open my left eye just the tiniest bit. Marco was slowly making a move to sit up, his hair an utter disaster of wild clumps going in different directions.
"Morning, dude…" The Safe Kid mumbled out before yawning. I hummed, though it sounded more like a groan. I shifted so I could more easily watch my friend sit up and tussle his hair, trying to smooth it out. When that failed, he just huffed and threw his arms to the side.
"So, what's the plan for today, Caleb?" He asked me, giving me a glance as he rubbed his eyes.
I yawned and shrugged simultaneously. "Don't know. But we got so much free time ahead of us, so I say just… whatever we want."
"That is a pleasant idea, Caleb", Gladius agreed quietly, wiggling to try and free himself. I let up on the hug, and he gently glided away. I let out a disappointed whine, but didn't do much else to complain as I moved to sit up.
Marco quietly chuckled as a knock came to our room's door. "Oi, are you three awake yet?" Amy called from the otherside. "The Doctor said he wants us to meet out front of the hotel. So hurry up and get ready!" I heard her walk away, followed by a couple other sets of footsteps down the hall.
"I call first dibs on the shower, Diaz", I called out making my way out of bed and over to the dresser. I pulled out my day clothes, and with all of that collected, I stepped into the bathroom.
I sat on the toilet, waiting for the water to warm up. As the mirror began to fog up, I let the thought of what we were going to do today swirl around inside my brain. I was so hard on thinking, I didn't even realise I stepped into the warm shower water until my whole body got damp. Shaking my head, I focused on cleaning my body first and foremost. After that was done, I shut the water off, dried off, got dressed, and exited into the main room. Marco had his clothes in hand, and we both silently nodded as he walked in to get washed.
Hey, no one has had a chance to shower since joining, and Doctor Who never told us where the TARDIS' bathroom was. So we were gonna take any chance we got to get clean.
As Marco used the shower, I looked myself over using the mirror that was hanging from inside the closet door. When we all met up at the hotel last night, Star made the conscious decision to fix up all of our clothes, mainly mine. Me and Gladius have been going on this chaotic adventure for almost a month to two months at this point, so my clothes had taken a hard hit.
As I looked over the fixed stitching and stainless fabric, Gladius hovered up next to me.
"Crazy to think we still aren't home…" He said sadly. "And before you start getting worried that we spend too much time in each universe, we are getting closer. It's just… the jumps aren't as large as I would like."
I hummed. "It's all good, Gladdy. I'm not worried we won't make it back, I just hope it's not gonna be that much longer. I miss Rainbow. I called her mom once, and I kinda want to call her that again. It felt right." My expression fell as sadness reflected in my eyes. "I miss her, Virus and Katania so much…"
"And they miss you two, Caleb…" The sword hugged the side of my head, and I leaned into the embrace. In the mirror, I watched as Marco stepped out, clean, clothed and ready for the day. He gave my reflection a look, silently asking if I was okay.
"I'm good, Marco, don't worry…" I said, not breaking out of the sword's embrace. "Just thinking. Dry made me realise how long this adventure has been going on, and it's just making me homesick. Even though I was only there for three days."
The Safe Kid walked forward and rested a gentle hand on my shoulder. "We'll get you home soon, Caleb. I promise."
I smiled at my friend through the reflection, and with that we were off. Heading out of the room (Marco making sure to lock the door behind him) and down the hall, he soon made our way outside where all the others were waiting. Well, except Galacta. He was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey guys!" I cheerily exclaimed. "Where's Galacta at?"
Most of the group pointed at the top of the building behind me, and so I followed to see our angelic knight ally chilling atop the entrance, watching over the city.
"Okay, that's cool." I faced the group again. "So, what's the main plan? You said you had something, Doc?"
"Well, if what you said is true", the time traveller began, "Then I say we just split off and do whatever. I wanted us all together just so we know what we're doing."
"Because you want us all back together for lunch?" Blossom inquired.
The Doctor snapped and pointed at her. "Right you are, Blossom! So, let's all enjoy our time here. Amy, Rory, I want to check out that technology store we saw yesterday. Maybe it could have something to help back home…" With that, the Ponds and Doctor walked off.
The rest of us didn't stick around for that much longer. Ralph took Vanellope, Hilda, Twig, Ruby and Iris back to the Arcade; Zomboss dragged Izzy and a very reluctant Merida off to do some experiments away from the town; Star and Marco waited around for a moment before tagging along with the Powerpuffs to explore the more suburban area of the city; Jenny, Steve and Majima wanted to go and check out the fair, and Barranco and Dave tagged along as they left.
That left me, Gladius, Alfur, Galacta, Maple, Flowey and Dry Bowser as a small group.
"So, what's the first thing you guys want to do?" I asked. Maple climbed up onto my shoulder, and Flowey returned to his spot on Dry's back. The skeleton was in his disguise from yesterday, while Galacta (who had yet to come down from his perch) was not disguised at all.
"Will you be joining us, Galacta?" Gladius called up to the knight.
He looked down at us with his piercing magenta eyes. "I would, but I fear my appearance would disturb locals."
"They were pretty chill with Gladius yesterday", Flowey said, pointing at said sword with a vine. "So I'm pretty sure this place is accustomed to the weird."
Galacta hummed. "Very well then." He hovered down to us gracefully. "So, where would you like to go first? We have the whole day ahead of us."
"I'd like to check out the lighthouse", Dry Bowser said firmly. "Yesterday, while I was taking a walk before bed, I noticed there was something behind the cliff beyond the partial fence that was set up at the end of the beach." He looked over at the visible structure that rested on the sloped hill. "It looked like… a hand?"
"Maybe there's a temple over there?" Gladius inquired.
Alfur's eyes sparkled, his ears perking up as he stood on Gladius' hilt. "Oh my, that would be wonderful! A temple designed to worship a god from another universe. That would make all the other elves jealous!"
I chose to stay quiet at that moment, which didn't go unnoticed from the others. They all gave me a suspicious look, but I just made the motion of zipping my mouth shut. They could figure this out themselves.
"Alright, looks like we're climbing a hill!" Flowey announced sardonically. I snorted and followed after Dry Bowser as he took the lead. Galacta trailed behind me, giving very subtle side glances at any civilians we passed. While none of them said anything, they would give our party odd looks, either of worry or curiosity.
Dry bowser grumbled, the inside of his mouth beginning to glow a faint blue. "If they keep staring like this I'm gonna snap, I swear."
"Keep together, Dry", Galacta said calmly. "If we make a scene, it'll cause chaos."
The skeletal turtle dragon grumbled and crossed his arms, the glow from his mouth not going away, yet not growing more intense.
"If he blows a gasket, someone's becoming ash…" Gladius mumbled into my ear.
I nodded grimly, only to stop when Dry snapped his gaze over his shoulder. "I heard that! Although that is the idea…" He hummed. "Maybe torching half the town will make them stop."
I winced at the thought, but didn't say anything else as we all continued on our way. The rest of the walk was fairly calm, aside from Dry Bowser getting more irritated the more people stared. Luckily, we were able to get away from it all and start to scale up the grassy side. The lighthouse stood tall above the whole city, a stark tower a beacon against the sky.
As the slope tapered out as we reached the top, I let my eyes wander down towards the beach below. Sure enough, I could see the remnants of what looked to be a chain link fence lying in the sand on the left side (which was the one we happened to be closer to). I hummed quietly as we reached the peak, Dry quickly stomping over the cliff behind the lighthouse. The rest of us joined him, and we all leaned over the white wood fence that was in place.
Just like I thought, there was what looked to be a massive carving in the cliff side, resembling that of a woman with six arms sitting on the sand. It was worn from age, with two of the arms gone. One of the hands on the right side, oddly, had a strange gem-like pad on it, accompanying a washer, dryer and in use clothesline.
"Okay, I expected a temple", Dry said, "Not this."
"It appears there's a sort of home in the statue's lap", Gladius said in a curious tone. Looking down, craning my neck a bit so I could get a better look. Yes, there was what looked to be a wooden cabin on the statue's lap, but it was hard to say what it looked like because I could only see part of the roof.
"Wanna loop around and try and get a better look?" I offered, jabbing a thumb back down the hill.
Dry Bowser leaned over the edge, then looked at me. "Let's." He took the lead again as we all headed down the hill. It wasn't nearly as bad, and we were much quicker to circle around, pass by a donut shop, and make our way to the end of the peninsula. We carefully snuck up closer to where the strange structure rested. We kept a distance away as we gazed at it from the side.
Yep, nothing much changed coming down here. Aside from the fact the statue's face seemingly had eight eyes. The wooden cabin was more of a luxury summer home, with two stories, a raised deck, and plenty of windows.
The blinds were closed, however, so we couldn't see inside.
"Probably some wack-job who got lucky or a retired millionaire", Flowey spat in a jealous tone.
"Whatever", Dry said flatly. "We saw it, so now let's go and hang out somewhere. I'd like to see what that donut shop has to offer…"
I snorted and nodded, leading the way back to the destination in all our minds. Quietly, I heard Galacta mumble a faint "I would like to try a donut… maybe they have some with glaze…"
I had to keep myself from falling to the ground in laughter.
~X~
When lunch rolled around, my party had grouped back up with the whole gang on the boardwalk. There weren't many restaurants in the city, so our only option was a quaint place that was at the beach front…
A pizza place.
Ralph and Dry moved some tables outside together so we could sit as one party. Amy, Rory, and Steve were the ones that headed inside to order our food (the poor staff were gonna faint at the large order), which left me sandwiched between Majima and Maria.
"So, there's some temple at the end of the beach?" Jenny asked Dry, who was still sipping on the coffee he bought from the donut shop.
The skeleton nodded. "Yep. Not sure what its deal is, or what it's there. But it definitely was here longer than the city."
"I did feel a sort of magic when we were near…" Gladius said absentmindedly as he floated above our table. "Perhaps there's more to this world we don't know about…"
Instantly, for the second time since we've been here, everyone looked at me expectantly. I let out a tired sigh, but didn't fight it.
"It's because what makes this world special are gemstone people from another planet. They make themselves physical bodies made of light, and can create weapons from the same gems."
"Fascinating", Galacta said in genuine intrigue.
"The temple is home to the main three gems who fought in a revolution against their creators, who were a bunch of conquestors bent on controlling the universe. But after the revolution, they gave up on Earth and never returned."
"So, what, they built themselves a lovely villa at the entrance?" Majima said in confusion. "That seems stupid."
"It was actually for a boy. See, years after the war, the leader of the revolution fell in love with a human, Greg Universe, and they had a kid together. He's the one that lives in the house, because he doesn't have full access or understanding of his mom's powers."
"Let me guess", Star started slowly. "When she had the kid, she had to give up her body, and that confused the others that lived in the temple."
"Exactly, Star."
"What's the kid's name?" Manolo asked.
"Steven."
Flowey scoffed from on top of Hilda's head. "Of course that's his name. Every show nowadays is only named after the main character."
"Well, it's better than calling the show 'Rock People From Space'", Vanellope joked, earning a hushed bout of laughter from everyone else.
"Who are the others that live in the temple?" Jenny asked me after she calmed down.
"Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst. The three that the revolution leader, Rose Quartz, treated like family. They were really confused when Steven was born, I remember this one flashback episode. Otherwise, they've been chill with him and raised him like a son."
Maria hummed thoughtfully. "I'm glad he still gets to have his mother figure. Three of them! I only had my Papa all my life. Same with Manolo, and Joaquin didn't have anyone!"
"At least, he did until he got that medal", Manolo said almost wistfully. "Still can't believe La Muerte and Xibalba would have us be part of some powerful, cosmic wager because they were bored."
Ralph let out a laugh as he shook his head. "I'll say, that will always be so crazy to hear."
"Pretty normal for me", The Doctor said as he took a sip of a bottle of water. "I've seen gods and goddesses do ridiculous things because they were bored, angry, or just curious." He paused for a moment, looking to the sky vacantly. "A lot of the people I've met have called me a god. And once, I really pushed things too far…"
"Ooooooo, what did ya' do?" Majima leaned forward, clearly invested.
The Doctor looked a bit uncomfortable, but luckily just then our three friends exited the shop with pizza and drinks in hand.
"What are you guys talking about?" Rory asked as Amy and Steve sat on either side of him, the five large pizzas set at the centre of the tables.
"The Doc was about to tell us a time he pushed being a god too far… whatever that means…" Marco said in an unsure tone.
Amy and Rory looked at Doctor Who in confusion, and the man let out a sigh as he began. "It was during my previous regeneration, not long after I was told of my end. I travelled to a Mars colony sometime in the future. I met with the crew there at the time, but things took a turn when we found out the water from Mars' icecaps, the same water that they used in the base, had this sort of lifeform akin to a zombie virus." Zomboss perked up.
"And, what, you saved the day?" Amy said.
"That's the thing… What happened in that colony was a fixed point in time. Everyone was supposed to die that day, but spurred by what I was told earlier, I changed that and saved the captain and two of her crew."
Amy and Rory shared a horrified look at that, but then looked back to The Doctor.
"The captain, Adelaide, killed herself in her own home so time wouldn't collapse… and I just kept going, trying to run from the end."
A sombre air of dread and horror washed over all of us, and Dry Bowser himself looked especially grief stricken.
"Wait…", Hilda said, looking horrified. "So she was supposed to die, you said 'I am a Time Lord', tried to change history, and that blew up in your face?"
The Doctor nodded stiffly as the air chilled just a bit. "It… It was not a moment I look back on fondly. I was so sucked up in trying to escape my inevitable death, to keep running and saving lives, that I went too far and nearly destroyed everything in the process…"
Amy gave him a long hard look, then rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Well, you learned. And everything is still fine back home, so don't let this haunt you, Doctor." She looked at the table. "Now I understand why you needed your 'assasination' to happen."
Majima laughed, reaching to grab a slice of ham & pineapple pizza. "This, I gotta hear!"
And so for the next two, three hours we all happily chatted and shared stories about our lives before we met, what had happened, so-and-so.
Some of the standout stories was Majima running a dump truck through the wall at a bathhouse in Kamurocho, Jenny getting into a fashion battle with the two right kids at her school, The Doctor spinning the tale of when he met Queen Victoria, and Izzy sharing her past experience during the first season of Total Drama.
There were plenty of laughs, smiles and playful shoves shared as we all mingled together. I passed a hidden glance at Dry Bowser, and he was definitely more relaxed than when we first showed up, which was perfect.
I smiled, taking a bite of my cheese pizza slice as the sun hung high in the sky, breaking through the clouds that tried to hide it with ease.
~X~
After lunch had concluded, I had decided to join Ralph. Vanellope and the other girls for their second round at the arcade. I was trying my best to beat Hilda at some generic light gun game, but she was shockingly (and scarily) good at it, nailing all the big score pools while I was so far behind with no hope of catching up.
After we finished our third round (Hilda won again, of course), I dropped my head in defeat, arms dangling limply at my sides.
"Damn", I muttered out. "How can you be this good at this, Hilda?" I gave my friend a baffled look, to which she just sheepishly smiled and scratched the back of her head.
"I don't know. Maybe it's just beginner's luck?"
"Ooooooorrrrrr…" Vanellope began cheekily, glitching up behind her friend and grabbing her shoulders. "You've got the blood of a sharpshooter in ya'!"
Ralph, who was leaning against the console, snorted. "That'd be something, huh? Hilda, friend to all that roam in and out of Torlberg, has a family heritage of brutal hunters."
I laughed when Hilda's face twisted into an over dramatic grimace. The nearby Twig cocked his head in confusion, eyeing his owner for some sort of explanation.
"Well-Uh-Guys… It's not-" Hilda stammered and stuttered. Maple, after climbing back onto my shoulder, giggled. Gladius and Alfur joined in, leaving her flushed in embarrassment.
"Ah, we're just teasing, Hilda", I said kindly with a swift flick of my hand. She visibly relaxed and let Vanellope drag her off elsewhere amongst the machines. Twig followed after them, still confused about what had happened. I let out a sigh, my laughter finally dying down, and I walked off to find the two Gloomsville residents. It didn't take long, as Iris was really into a game of… boot-leg/parody Pac-Man. She was shouting out joyously at every eaten dot, and cried in fear when the non-copyright infringement ghosts gave chase.
Ruby was watching her in awe next to her, but then turned to look at me. While the awe died down quickly, a beaming smile replaced it quickly.
"Hey Caleb!" The rag doll girl called out. Iris mumbled some sort of greeting, but didn't break her concentration on the game.
"Hey Ruby!" I greeted. I smirked at the back of Iris' head, then glanced back at Ruby. "She seems really into it, huh?"
Iris clearly fought back a scoff. Ruby didn't have as much control. "She's set on acing it and claiming the high score."
"If we aren't sticking around, I need to leave my mark!" The cyclops shouted, moving on to the next level.
"I don't think getting a big number on an easily replaceable machine is the way to do that, Iris…" Alfur said in an unsure tone, scratching his chin.
Gladius 'hmph'ed'. "I agree. This doesn't seem too impressive." The sword crossed his wings as the elf scribbled into his notebook.
"Vanellope told me it was", Iris weakly defended, actually breaking focus on the game for the slightest of moments. She snapped back when she lost one of her three lives. "She told me that getting the top score was an achievement worth celebrating! And while I know that's a bit much, the thought of jumping into a world I'll never see again but leaving an impossible to beat score in an arcade can't be passed up!"
I shared a dazed look with Ruby after that short rant, and the rag doll girl simply shrugged. "What's the harm in letting her have fun? Plus, it keeps us distracted till dinner."
I heaved out a heavy sigh, Maple pursing his mouth into a flat line. "Alright, sure. Just make sure she doesn't wreck this thing. Gamer rage is real, and the idea of any of you being one makes me lurch." Ruby gave me a confused look as I wandered elsewhere into the arcade, Gladius and his elf passenger in tow. Son, we came up onto a 'Test Your Strength' type game.
Maple looked at it with a sparkle in his eye, and I laughed. "Want to give it a try, buddy?"
The Wasabi Whip nodded frantically, and I set him down on a stool that was just tall enough so the plant was level with the thing you punched. Maple made sure to extinguish his leaf before rearing his whip back and letting it snap back as hard as he could.
Obviously, Maple crushed it, getting the highest score the machine could allow.
Me, Gladius and Alfur cheered as the Wasabi Whip celebrated, but we all paused when one of the plushiest from the top rack (it looked like a weird bear-tiger hybrid) detached and fell to the ground. Curiously, I walked over and picked it up, hugging it close to my person.
Maple climbed back onto my shoulder, I beamed at him. "Nice work, Maple." I leaned my head against him, and he nuzzled affectionately back.
"So, what's next?" The elf inquired.
Subconsciously, I looked over at a nearby wall clock. It was only 3:30, so we had some more time before dinner.
"How about we just chill at the beach. I got a blanket we could use."
"Top notch idea, my boy", Gladius said happily. "I've been meaning to sunbathe ever since I learned about the concept thousands of years ago."
"Then let's go!" With a spring in my step, I led the way out of the arcade, heart bursting with joy.
~X~
The rest of the day was just as relaxing, with nothing of true note happening. Aside from an equally happy and sweet dinner with everyone relaxing together after a long day of a much needed break, I was once again in my shared room with Marco. Gladius was already in his scabbard, ready for sleep.
Plus, Maple had actually decided to sleep with me this time 'round, leaving Flowey, Dry and Galacta in their own room.
The Wasabi Whip watched me slip into my pyjamas as Diaz used the shower, a soft yet overconfident singing just barely noticeable from behind the closed door.
With a sigh, I climbed into bed, sinking into the mattress as I pulled the comforter over my body.
Maple hopped on and rested on me like a cat, while Gladius wiggled under the covers so I could hug him close. The plush Maple had won at the arcade sat on the nightstand, its goofy smile comforting as it watched the door out of the room.
"How much did you enjoy today, my boy?" Gladius whispered gently.
I sighed, kicking my legs so Maple was instead laying on my chest. "Wonderfully. After everything that we've been through, this was what we all needed to help just… blow off steam." A very pleased sigh escaped through my mouth. "Honestly, getting to do it with all of you guys means too much to me. I'm glad you're all here."
"Thanks, dude", Marco said, making his departure from the bathroom known. He shook his head, getting the last little stragglers of wetness from his hair out. "I never knew I'd be jumping universes outside of my own with a group of amazing, if a bit reckless, people. But here we are."
I snorted out a quiet laugh as the Safe Kid got into bed. "Careful, bro. Say something like that in front of Star and you won't be hearing the end of it!"
Marco laughed at that, but it quickly died down. He rolled over and gave me a disbelieving look. "You just called me bro."
I shrugged, turning my head so I could look at the ceiling. "You're a brother to me, Marco. Same with Barranco and Dave. Star, Vanellope, Hilda, Merida and Izzy are like sisters, Ralph and The Doc are like my fun-loving uncles, Zomboss and Galacta are mentors… everyone feels like family to me. You guys are family. You're all I got until we get back. After that… Well, I ain't ditching any of you. I'll probably try and convince Rainbow to let you all stay."
A tear rolled down my cheek as my throat tightened just a bit. "I love all of you guys. And I wouldn't trade any of you for the world. Because… you are my world…"
I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turning my head I saw Marco. He was out of bed and giving me such a kind and patient look.
"Trust me, Caleb. I feel the same way. I bet everyone does. We're all in this together, no matter what."
I sniffled and nodded, hugging Gladius closer as Maple shifted up a bit more and fell asleep on my chest.
Marco returned to his bed after shutting the lamp off, shooting me one last look that was so kind and caring to make all my tears dry up instantly.
"Goodnight, Caleb…" The Safe Kid whispered.
"'Night, Marco…" I mumbled out, sleep taking over my mind rapidly.
~X~
And there's a very fluffy and relaxing chapter done and dusted! I had a lot of fun writing this one, all because of the lovely character interactions that added to one of the aspects I've been working on since the start: Found Family.
I adore that trope, so of course I had to do it for this massive passion project. If you've read the two chapters of This Is Your Captain Crashing that I've released, then you know how important this little group of gremlins is to me!
But next up is the end of the arc, so enjoy the fluff while it lasts!
Up next: the gang decided to have a beach-exclusive day, but when a monster heads to the temple, they're forced to act…
~Caleb~
