Dreams Come True

Limitless Megalopolis

I awoke with a bright smile and a big stretch. Last night was so fun, and I looked wistfully at the ceiling. Maple stirred in his pot, while Gladius stretched and began to hover casually.

"Good morning, Caleb", the sword said happily. "Ready to tackle another day?"

"You know it, Gladdy!" I responded bombastically. Maple was startled awake by my outburst, shooting me a light glare. I sheepishly smiled as a form of apology, which only made the Wasabi Whip roll his eyes with a flat mouth and jump onto my bed. Surprisingly no dirt was kicked up.

Gladius waved me off to get ready, and I ran into the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes. I worked fast, showering and ruffling my hair, before stepping out into my bedroom. I posed proudly, only to falter when Maple suddenly jumped onto my head.

I shot the plant a light glare when he scurried onto my shoulder, but that glare melted when Maple began to nuzzle affectionately. I sighed and returned the affection.

While all of this was going on, Gladius was chuckling quietly. He hovered over to the room's light switch and clicked it on. I squinted at the sudden light, but my eyes quickly adjusted to it. With a deep breath, I headed out of my room into the hallway, Gladius glued to my side.

Only for my mood to immediately fall when I saw an absolutely exhausted Marco leaning against one of the tables. His eyes looked drained of their usual life, which set off all the alarms in my head.

"Marco?" I began quietly. "Are you okay?"

Diaz shook his head. "I don't think any of us are, bro. Last night, after you went to bed, Star got super curious and decided to watch our show. Till the season four finale."

My whole body went rigid as I tensed. "Oh gosh... are either of you okay?"

He shook his head again. "It really hit us hard. Everything involving Eclipsa, Meteora, and Toffee really messed with her. But our relationship is what really messed with us."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean by that?"

"We didn't like it", Marco admitted with 100% honesty. "Seeing us kiss, it made us uncomfortable. Star's more like a sister to me, but seeing us get together at the end... it didn't sit well with me or her. Like we were being forced into something we didn't want."

I gulped. "What about the others?"

"After me and Star broke our brains, everyone else was washed with this morbid curiosity, and took the box sets or single DVDs with their stories to see the full things. Around midnight, maybe 1 AM, we all met back in the Rec Room... and it was clear none of us were okay."

"Even after Manolo's speech yesterday all of that still got to you guys?"

Marco nodded. "It's one thing being told we should carve our own path. But seeing what's supposed to happen, all of it out of our control really changes things."

I looked at my friends sadly. "I get that, Marco. But it will be okay. Me, Gladius and Katania will help you guys get through this."

Diaz shrugged kind of weakly. "Hopefully. Everyone is still in bed if you're curious. It was a long night, I don't think any of us got to sleep till 3 AM."

My eyes widened. "Then why are you up?"

"Star is too", he jabbed a thumb at his bedroom door. "She woke up screaming, then banged her arm on the bed frame. So I offered to go and find some staff to see if they could get me some painkillers for her. She's... She's too freaked out to use her wand."

"I'm guessing you guys saw the episodes about the spells being alive?"

Diaz nodded, then yawned. "Alright, I'm gonna go and get Star her painkillers. Maybe this walk will help clear my head. See ya' dude."