AN: Here it is. The crazy week has finally reached its end. I have conflicting feelings about this story, and it's far from being the best of my works for several reasons… yet, I'm happy I've managed to bring it forward after a long hiatus and reach this moment. If you're reading this, I really hope that the chapters got at least a smile out of you. If they didn't, that's my fault and I'll do my best to not repeat the same errors in the future. Thanks for reading!

Day Seven

Finale

SATURDAY

Adopt-a-thought Saturday! Truly one of the happiest days of the month at Foster's. And today, for the current inhabitants of the mansion, this was even truer.

The front garden of Foster's was full. As if, full to its maximum size, thanks to the vast number of both visitors and imaginary friends that were present. No one had expected this many visitors and everyone had to work hard to make sure everyone was properly greeted. Luckily their struggles, as could be seen right now, had not been in vain.

Something that was hard to believe for Mac. The little kid was currently staring at the scene from the curb out of Foster's, right in front of the entrance cage, with wide eyes. He was so shocked that he didn't even notice the arrival of Goo, who immediately saluted, "Oh, hi, Mac!"

Mac did not answer, and Goo had to shake his shoulder to get his attention. "Hellooo, earth calls Mac! What's up?"

"Goo!" Mac was flabbergasted by the calm demeanour of the girl. "Look!"

"What? I don't see anything strange. It's Adopt-a-thought Saturday anyway," Goo said.

"But there's, like, double- no, quadruple the usual number of visitors!"

"Well, duh!" Goo raised an eyebrow. "There're more imaginary friends to adopt, silly!"

Mac wasn't satisfied by her explanation. He had been sure that he would have seen more imaginary friends coming to Foster's today after his experience of the previous days luck-wise, and he was reluctant to change his idea. He shook his head before giving up on the discussion. "Let's just go. I want to see through this…"

Goo shrugged and accompanied him right into the garden. Mac was immediately hit by the fact that most of the imaginary friends greeting the potential adopters were themed. Powerpuff-based characters were entertaining people all around him, and were being quite good at doing so.

A woman weirdly dressed in a lab coat was curiously inspecting the Amoeba Boys. She poked at them with what looked like a super-sized needle, yet the amoebas didn't seem to mind. On the contrary: every sample the woman got from them earned a series of chuckles from the imaginary friends. "Hey, stop the tickling!" Bossman protested, but the woman continued unperturbed, much to the amusement of the little girl that was witnessing the scene. "I like them, mom!"

Mac looked away, still unconvinced, but his eyes fell on yet another scene while he and Goo walked. A Mojo Jojo was speaking with a high tone to a boy around his age. Mojo's gestures were particularly efficient in helping his explanations, though a little exaggerated, but the boy was smiling all along and clapping his hands… or rubbing them, plotting who knows what.

Before Mac could try to ignore them, the Mojo Jojo turned towards him, and the boy immediately recognized the imaginary friend as the one Mojo Jojo he had got to know. Mac expected a nod at most, but instead the Mojo Jojo gave him a thumbs-up and grinned, taking him aback.

Astonished, Mac shook his head, but in every direction he chose to look at there was another example of people, imaginary and not, having the time of their lives. First, he saw a Princess Morebucks talking to a girl who looked quite self-important with her pompous attire, apparently giving advices on her clothing which the girl seemed to be interested in. A little away from them Duchess was expressing her dismay in seeing a potential adopter brought away from her, but every Powerpuff-themed imaginary friend ignored her. The few non-themed ones did the same, but were probably as disappointed as her.

Near one of the buffet tables, Fuzzy Lumpkins was narrating tales to a group of three kids, who looked quite entrapped by his story. Right behind him, the imaginary versions of Ms. Keane and Ms. Bellum were discussing with a group of mothers who looked quite interested by imaginary friends who could babysit as well in case of need, while the Mayor was busy trying to get his hat back from the sons and daughters of said mothers.

A group of kids sat under one of the trees planted in the garden, their eyes fixed on the show going on above: Him was moving from branch to branch, doing all type of acrobatics while using his pinchers skilfully to get a hold of every support he could find. The kids cried in excitement everytime Him completed a somersault and vehemently asked for a bis, which Him had yet to say no to.

A lone father had found finally something to do as a Professor tried to talk with him and they ended up discussing cooking techniques instead of inventions, all while the son of said father was having the time of his life hanging out with a trio of Rowdyruff Boys. The four of them were picking on a group of Powerpuff Girls, who were however actually laughing at their attempts to annoy them, along with a fourth girl who seemed to know the previously-mentioned kid.

Even the most problematic imaginary friends had apparently found a possible match, as what looked like the classic convict who had just left prison (with or without the guards' consent) and his two children were entrapped by the sight of the Powerpunk Girls, while in another part of the garden a little girl was rummaging through her backpack, supposedly looking for some type of fashion design magazine, all while Sedusa waited for her to show the sources she used in a past debate.

Mac's attempt to find at least a worrying scene proved futile. It was, in fact, hard to finda lone imaginary friend looking for someone or waiting for a kid to get interested in him. He noticed, though, the general lack of non-themed imaginary friends, save for the few who were working cleaning and serving the visitors.

"Wilt!" Goo called as she sprinted away. Mac immediately followed suit and they reached the tall imaginary friend just as he was giving five children a series of inviting sweets. "Don't forget to thank the chef himself, Professor Utonium! …Even though I don't know what one… oh, hello guys!"

"Already getting into the run of things, huh, Wilt?" Goo said.

Wilt shrugged. "That's what I always do, but today is special. You and Mac have surely seen how everyone is basically happy right now around us, do you?"

"Yeah…" Mac admitted.

"Mr. Herriman has had something like thirty adoption requests during the first hour. We're all pretty sure that by the end of the day there won't be a single Powerpuff Girls based imaginary friend left at Foster's. But hey, I'll let him tell you – since I'm here, I'll bring you to the others. We're all watching from the background… we really don't want to accidentally do something bad and ruin the equilibrium here!"

Goo and Mac followed Wilt throughout the garden, passing beside bellowing evil geniuses and giggling bug-eyed kids, until they finally reached the area right in front of Foster's. A group of original imaginary friends sat on the porch and the stairs right below, and among them there were Eduardo and Coco.

"Hola, Señor Mac! Señora Goo!" Eduardo immediately said once he realized who was following Wilt. He and Coco stood up and went to meet them.

"So, how are you doing, Ed?" Mac asked. The boy was still throwing glances behind himself, towards the crowd of imaginary friends and visitors.

"I'd say great. Everyone's having an enjoyable time instead of wrecking things up. Even the villains!" Eduardo exclaimed.

"Which is a huge accomplishment by itself. Seeing the imaginary girls and boys alone tolerating each other is sure a breath-taking scene…" Wilt added.

"Hard to believe… Mmh. What about Bloo, have you seen him?" Mac tried to distract himself by asking for the blue blob.

"Cococo Cocooo…" Coco said.

"I'm not surprised. Bloo can be very stubborn when he wants, but it's his choice then. This Adopt-a-thought Saturday should be a blessing even for him," Mac commented.

"He's going to realize it soon enough… if I know Bloo a little, he will get bored and join us in half an hour at most," Wilt said, getting a chuckle out of both Coco and Mac.

"Ha… You know him very well," Mac confirmed. He looked again at the rest of the garden… and again, he saw nothing but happy faces. The boy whoever had yet to accept what his eyes were seeing, and his friends took notice of his

"I'm sorry, Mac, but is there something that's wrong?"

"Yeah! I mean, given what you've told me about this last week you should be celebrating! What's with all the seriousness, Mac? It's like you're going to miss someone out of all the new imaginary friends who might get adopted today!"

Goo's remark was innocent by itself – she had simply stated the first thought that crossed her mind.

Thus, she didn't understand why Mac suddenly blushed and turned away from her, all while Eduardo, Coco and Wilt tried their best not to laugh out loud.

"No, no! …Well, not only that. But really, guys!" Mac protested, glaring at the three imaginary friends. "I'm just… you know, we've been through a lot these last few days… can't imagine what you had to bear, living with all the newcomers… and I can't really fully believe what's happening right now. It's just too good."

"I assure you Mac, this time there is no mistake, nor trick," a female voice replied. Mac, Goo, Coco, Wilt and Eduardo had not noticed that Frankie Foster and Mr. Herriman had joined them while they were still talking.

"Frankie!" Mac said. "How's it going? I mean, I don't want to ask… you know…"

"Yep, I know, and you don't have to worry," Frankie immediately said, making sure to mess his hair a little bit. "I'm good. Yesterday I reached my breaking point and said things that I shouldn't have said, but I'm over it."

"It was a distasteful spectacle, indeed, but it did have an effect… as we can all see," Mr. Herriman noted, gesturing with his hand towards the crowd. Everyone nodded their agreement… except for Mac, who failed to follow his reasoning.

"…What?"

"Miss Francis' reaction might have been excessive, Master Mac, but even I knew that the meaning behind her words had true foundations. After you left Foster's, I was asked by a group of imaginary friends to accompany them to her room: they wanted to ask for forgiveness personally to Miss Francis."

"Now, that was something I didn't expect… especially since there was a pair of imaginary lumpkins among them. But the point is, the fact that they came showed that they had understood. And this morning we suddenly found out it was far easier than we thought to prepare the garden for Adopt-a-thought Saturday. They helped us a lot and most of them did their best to not argue with whoever they didn't like," Frankie continued.

"I have witnessed a peculiar scene, Master Mac, where Master Cheese had been rampaging around the buffet tables early this afternoon. The imaginary friends inspired by the famous television cartoon ignored his presence to the point that the rascal became bored by the lack of attention and left the premises without further damage. Being able to tolerate Master Cheese until he loses interest is a rare virtue, as I'm sure you know well."

Mac's mouth had been left open for a good minute by now.

"This is all good," Frankie said, "but of course the best part is the high number of visitors and potential adopters that came to Foster's today!"

"The demand for the 'Powerpuff-Girls-themed' guests had been way higher than the rest of Foster's guests: my office is currently full of paperwork solely regarding the recent new arrivals and their potential adopters. I'm positive that we'll have at most ten imaginary friends left of the group I have mentioned, if not even less."

Mac looked at Wilt, who smiled and nodded, and eventually the boy couldn't help but smile himself. There was no reason to worry about right now: the new imaginary friends had learned their lesson and they were departing, either way. Maybe he would be missing having a court of blue-eyed imaginary girls ready to satisfy whatever he asked them to do… but that was beyond the point.

They had somehow survived the week, and now they were free.

Later that day, just as the firsts hints of the evening became noticeable, only a few visitors were left in the garden: the event had technically ended, and they were simply waiting for their turn to complete the tedious process Mr. Herriman required for every successful adoption. Some imaginary friends were still working, cleaning the litter and starting to pack up the various pieces of furniture and decorations that had been brought into the garden earlier.

More stunning than anything else was the utter lack of themed imaginary friends. The only one left was a lone Mojo Jojo, who was currently arguing with the little boy who was supposed to adopt him… even though the boy seemed to be rather amused by the chimpanzee's rant.

Frankie was looking over the situation from the front porch of Foster's, leaning over the wooden parapet. Officially she was there just to keep an eye on the imaginary friends' job in the garden, but a genius wasn't needed to understand that they were doing great without her orders. Thus, she was really just enjoying the sight of the empty garden and the lack of the noise she had grown accustomed to the previous week.

"So… they're gone?" Mac's voice said. Frankie didn't even turn to face him. "Yes, they are… just let the last few ones leave with their new families, and there won't be a single one left. Perfect score."

Mac nodded and simply leaned on the wall opposite of Frankie. "You know… it's funny, if I think about it. I've seen everything happen at Foster's and I used to think that the chaos here was unmatched… but this experience taught me that there are a lot of diverse levels of 'chaos', most of which I cannot even fathom."

"Indeed. Grandma told me she has had to deal with a situation similar to ours twice. One day she was happy with her parents and the imaginary friends, and the day after Foster's was full of imperial stormtroopers," Frankie said as she finally turned to look at him.

"I'd rather not even picture that," Mac said while shuddering, a reaction that made the redhead let out a chuckle. "Eh, this morning she told me that the first time she had freaked out much like me yesterday. It was very hard for her and at one point she couldn't take it anymore… but after that, she bit the bullet and moved forward, and she managed to have the stormtroopers get along with the rebels."

"And I thought Madame Foster was cool…" Mac said. The secrets behind the figure of the short old woman continued to surprise him everytime he discovered a new one.

"The point is, she told me that since that day she had learned that, sometimes, you can't have everything in control despite whatever you do, and that you don't have to feel bad about it. You just have to push forward and, sooner or later, the results will come."

"And… you think this is true?"

"Given what happened between yesterday's afternoon and today, I'd say yes," Frankie confirmed, smiling. "It was a combination of bad choices from everyone that made life hard this week, but now we know how to take on whatever swarm of imaginary friends may invade Foster's!"

This time it was Mac's turn to chuckle. "Let's just hope that won't happen for a long-"

"MAC!"

Bloo's form suddenly flied between Frankie and Mac, landing on the wood with a thundering 'thud'.

"MAC!"

"Geez, Bloo, calm down, I'm here!"

"You won't believe it, Mac!" Bloo exclaimed, "You won't!"

Mac sighed. "Of course, I won't, unless you tell me…"

"But you won't! They've just made a huge announcement! I can't… Mac, Jack is back!"

…

"Jack who?"

"Samurai Jack, the show we used to watch together back at home!" Bloo exclaimed, "It's back! They're making a new final season!"

Suddenly, Mac realized the extent of what Bloo was telling him. "Wow… wow! I can't believe it!"

"Told ya'!"

"What do you know about it, Bloo? Tell me-… wait. Wait a second…"

Mac felt a pair of hands grab his shoulders and he was abruptly turned around, only to see Frankie's face five centimetres away from his. He didn't even have the time to start feeling awkward.

"Don't."

"Uhh… what?" Bloo asked, confused by Frankie's move, but the woman raised a hand to hush him to. "You too! Don't even think about it!"

But it was too late.

"HAHAHA! YOU FOOOOOLS!"

Bloo was even more confused… while the look on the faces of Frankie and Mac was one of pure terror. The three of them slowly whirled their heads to stare at the garden… and the huge imaginary friend who was looming over them.

"There is no escape from my rule… I am the shogun of sorrow, the master of darkness… and you will acknowledge the presence of me, Aku!"

The imaginary shape-shifting master of darkness was quite pleased with the display he was giving… he was a little less pleased when he suddenly felt something pointy stinging him from behind.

"Ow! OW! Hey, what gives?" Aku said as he turned his attention away from the bewildered Frankie, Mac and Bloo… "Oh… you."

"I won't let you flee from your destiny, Aku!" Samurai Jack bellowed as he continued to poke at Aku's body with a sword which seemed to be made of anything but metal and humanity's righteousness.

"You will? Then try come and capture me, Samurai!" Aku challenged before morphing into a… little owl, and retreating from the enraged samurai.

Once the two imaginary friends left, Frankie, Mac and Bloo finally got a sight of what was going on in the rest of the garden… and of course, it wasn't a scene they liked. There were dozens of samurais in white gis and pitch black demons fighting each other in mostly pathetic ways or busy in irate discussion duels, and they were mixed with all types of imaginary creatures, from ominous bounty hunters to particularly loud warriors with clear Scottish origins.

"…wow. That was unexpected," Bloo said. He was surprised, but not particularly preoccupied. "What do you think, Mac?"

…

"Mac?"

He turned around and found out that both Frankie and Mac had fallen and were now lying on the porch, looking at the ceiling.

"Oh…"

"I think I'm just going to lie here for a minute, just to make sure I'm not seeing things…" Mac spluttered.

From afar they could hear a scream, followed by the noise of a tree being uprooted.

"I'm afraid that's not the case… ugh," Frankie admitted. She closed her eyes and, for a minute, tried to empty her mind and calm herself down.

Okay, Frankie, here's the deal. It's happening again, but this time it's different… together, we can do this and there's no need to lose it. We just have to be smart and we'll get these new imaginary friends happy with their new home before you know it.

She made a long sigh, and finally she reopened her eyes.

Time to get to work.

THE END