Regular Show and its characters belong to J.G. Quintel.

For the first time in what felt like the ages, the bird awoke naturally, allowing his eyes to slowly open and expose his surroundings. A smirk landed on his face, and he shifted around on his bed while pondering whether or not to return to sleep, eventually forcing himself up to sit on the edge of his mattress. Why was he smiling..? Mordecai took the troublesome pocket watch off its place on the nightstand, next to the massive library book that rest on the side-table as well. The contraption gave a 'click,' opening to reveal a new, and quite shiny azure shard beneath the glass.

It has the numbers '10,' '11,' and '12' all neatly printed in silver digits. The fragment appeared to be no more or less than a fourth of the watch's entirety, as much was to be expected, the avian's presumptions were that these newly gained features would be the same, if not, greatly similar to the previous ones; although, this new blue piece was blank, as opposed to the preceding piece's doily-like design. Just blue accompanied by numbers appeared on this shard, and this caused questions to arise. It wasn't until now that he had realized it, feeling quite foolish for not having thoroughly remained in the night before. This only led him to assume that he perhaps hadn't quite accomplished everything that he needed to. Maybe, he missed something else that needed to be done; something that would've returned the pattern that had been there before. And why only numbers eleven through twelve? Nine would certainly have its place within that quarter, wouldn't it? Or possibly, nine lay on the line between the third and fourth. Either way, after having looked over his results, he was definitely less satisfied than he had anticipated.

A sigh was all he could bring himself to let out. Regardless to how much he could be missing, it was certain he was taking some steps in the right direction, towards fixing everything; or at least, most of it... Could it really be possible to fix everything? Maybe the real question was if he willing to do what it would take to fix everything. Mordecai put the watch under his pillow once more, concealing it from vision out of worry and suspicion. It occurred to him some time ago that while he wasn't sure exactly what this thing was capable of or even used for, someone would undeniably be out for it one way or another. He wasn't all too concerned about it being stolen, the blue jay being the only one to know about it after all. Wasn't he? Nor was he concerned about his ignorance on the subject, glancing over at the hefty book. The bird should get around to reading it... but not now. Now, he wanted to take leisure in the activities that he had gone without in the past few stressful days. First, a long relaxing shower, then he'd move onto a plentiful breakfast, which the smell of drafted through the house and caused the avian to salivate uncontrollably.

The digital clock that hid behind the book attracted his attention, and while it read '9:14,' the time on his arm was the real concern here. '5:14:03,' '5:14:02,' '5:14:01,' '5:14:00,' '5:13:59.' The bird cringed at watching the time slowly drop. As mesmerizing as it was, it essentially overpowered his interest with a supernatural feel that caused him nothing but to feel uncomfortable. It was too odd for him to be perfectly okay with, as was expected of really anyone put in that disposition. Though, what it really came down to in his state of mentality, was that he only had five days left before who-knows-what unfolded. He had managed one of what appeared to be four parts, so mathematically, he should only have to use three of those five days. Then again, it had taken him two attempts in order to obtain the single one he currently possessed. This only led to the worry that accomplishing this would require six days, double than that of three. In which case, he didn't have enough time.

Perhaps if he had a greater understanding of what he was actually doing... Mordecai turned to eye the book, giving a few second thoughts before coming to a consensus.

"No." He decided firmly. Today was going to be a day for him, in commemoration for his efforts paying off as much as they had; his few steps towards this all being over.

Mordecai crossed over the hall to the bathroom, inhaling a bit more of the food's voluptuous scent before closing himself in the room. He turned to face the mirror without even thinking, finding that the space on the wall was empty. The blue jay looked at his hand with question; the appendage completely healed as if it had the dream. Of course, the mirrors absence disproved that thought without question, and the bird couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. How many people had even known of incident in the bathroom? It wasn't as if he had done his best to conceal his hand when it was injured either. What about Benson? Knowing the gumball machine, Mordecai would be the one paying for it all in the end, in both money he didn't have, and an ears worth of reprimanding lectures. Oh well.

On went the water, ringing through the silence that occupied the room. It almost frustrated the bird, as much as he wanted to be able to take a good look at himself. Hopefully the bags under his eyes were in the process of fading already, the extensive sleep provided by the night before leaving him with plenty of energy. He felt great. Today would be a great day, he could feel it. The male set his down within reaching distance of the shower, then hopping in behind the curtain to feel the warm cascade of rain upon his body. Mordecai slid down to tub floor, maybe nodding off a little as the liquid warmed his body, and he became engulfed in the waters soothing lullaby.

What was there to do today? Work, of course, but what else? The blue jay was still a little unsure about his standing with Skips at the moment after the unconventional outburst that occurred on that visit, but maybe he never would be sure. That is, he would never fully understand what it was, what he felt. In his mind, he pictured the yeti's life as waking up, doing work, going to bed, and finally waking back up at the start of the day. How torturous that would be, and how much determination and mental stamina it would require before you finally snap. This was the first the bird had ever heard of it from Skips, or even in general. Had he even told anyone else other than the blue jay? It really wasn't as if he had done it willfully; having been caught up in the moment, but it also seemed like something a person would keep to themselves. But, if everyone else woke up without remembering a thing, it's not as if anyone would fully believe him anyhow.

"Man, Skips. How long have you been living like this..?" Mordecai muttered to himself, knowing nobody would be around to hear him. The yeti had been around longer than anyone else at the park, having been here from the very start, as well as a good chunk of time before. How much regret must have formed over all those years, regret of the decision he had made to be immortal, ageless, and was it even worth it? It was no wonder the yeti was so emotionless and dry, what was there truly anything to be happy about? He had seen it all already; there was nothing to be surprised about. All this trouble to be concocted in the park, he'd already fixed hundreds of times before. Did a birthday really mean anything after you've lost track of the days, after you've lived a lot longer than age?

As mind-bending as it was, the bird couldn't help but get caught up as the lump in his throat grew. Skips had always been there for everyone, doing everything he could to make other people's lives pleasurable, while he lives in this eternal hell where life's nothing but an endless rerun. Mordecai wanted to tell the others, see if they knew about the yeti's pain already, especially Benson, but, he knew it wasn't his place to tell. And if it was as Skips had said, that green shard nullified the effects of this 'reset button' that was apparently being constantly pressed. The bird felt horrible, praying he wouldn't have to face the choice of taking it away from him, and if he did, would he even be able to muster the strength to do so?

The droplets of water pattered against the bird, droplets sticking to his feathers and embedding themselves into his barbs. He retrieved some shampoo from a side sill in the wall of the tub, and poured a fair amount into his hand, then lathering his head and body, and the fresh citrus scent permeated through the air. The smell had been encountered many times before, in terms of whenever he took a shower, so the scent no longer arose any reaction within him as it may have when he first bought the stuff; it had become normality.

His scrubbing slowed as he began to drift back into thought. When would be a good time to get a good look at that book, and where to begin? It seemed so massive... Oh, and Margaret. He'd have to find the time to check in on her today, wouldn't he? No, they had a date today, didn't they? She said she'd call with more detail, so hopefully he hadn't missed anything. Quite the early bird she'd have to be to have already called today. Regardless, the blue jay wanted to land the call himself, not just try and communicate over broken messages, to hear her voice on the other end. Things had barely just started, and yet, he felt that they were going so well already. Though, at the same time, his relationship with Rigby only seemed to grow distanced. As him and the robin grew closer, the raccoon drifted off further and further in the background.

It slowly grew clearer that he needed to make his choice quickly, that he could only have one. It came down between his friendship with Rigby, and this romantic interaction with Margaret. And then there were all those second thoughts that he tried to keep locked at the back of his head... The two choices could always swap, couldn't they? Possibly... romantic interaction with Rigby, while also maintaining a stable friendship with the robin- but didn't he just say he could only have one? The blue jay doubted that Margaret and him would remain friends after they broke up- of course, only if such a thing occurred. He caught himself over thinking things again, returning to his scrubbing until all the suds had been washed from his body.

Mordecai turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower and onto the rug, grabbing his towel and blanketing it around himself. The blue jay exited the bathroom, not at all concerned with wrapping the cloth around his waist, seeing as how he was bare most the time anyhow. The cool air from outside surrounded him, and steam flowed out from the doorway and drifted along the ceiling. Mordecai walked across his room, and opened the curtains to gaze outside while drying himself off. It looked very similar to how he had left it the day before, no drastic changes such as being buried alive in snow. If anything, the few noticeable changes were perhaps a few more sprouting plants here and there. The tree buds were blooming, leading the bird to think of the mass amount of troublesome pollen that must be floating around out there.

Tossing the dampened towel carelessly onto his bed as often occurred; the male raced downstairs and swung himself off the banister for a quick lead into the kitchen. Pops could be found at the counter preparing the mornings meal while Skips sat at the table and looked over a newspaper. The bird couldn't help but feel a tad bit awkward around the yeti, remembering the argument once more, but he took no fear in sitting at the table alongside him.

"Good morning." The blue jay said aloud to the others.

"Oh, good morning, Mordecai!" Pops welcomed gleefully, turning his head to greet the male with a smile. Skips just gave a grunt without looking up from the paper, though, this was as he had always said 'good morning,' and was to be expected. "Did you sleep well?" The lolliman asked.

"Yeah, better than I have in quite a while." The blue jay replied with a chuckle, giving a few stretches.

"Must've," the yeti added. "You've missed a few breakfasts lately."

"I know. So glad I have time for a genuine meal this morning." Mordecai said, tapping on the table with his fingers, "Benson not here yet?" He questioned, to which Skips answered a grunt 'no.'

"I do wonder what's keeping him." Pops said, cracking a few eggs, and dropping them into the frying pan where they began to sizzle. "This time is rather tardy for him."

The trio remained quiet. Almost anticipating the gumball machine to walk in at that very moment, rather, it only gave way to an awkward silence. What was there to talk about..? Mordecai was undeniably the one must uncomfortable with the situation, being the only one without something to distract him, so he decided to try and keep the conversation alive.

"Hey, where's Doug?" The blue jay asked, looking around as if he expected to find the otter hiding somewhere within the kitchen.

"Oh, he's still resting in the foyer." The lolliman said.

"On the couch in the living room," Skips translated upon noticing the avian's look of confusion. Mordecai let out a laugh before scooting away from the table and walking into the adjacent room to take a look for himself.

Not that he had doubted anyone, but what he had been told was true, coming to find the mammal in a deep sleep on the couch. A blanket was messily draped across him, about to fall off the male's small frame and onto the floor. Mordecai put no thought into readjusting the fabric to properly cover the smaller male's body, somewhat concerned as to what else to do in this situation. The otter looked so peaceful in his sleep, dare he say... cute, so he wasn't sure if waking him up would be the appropriate action. Of course, he didn't want the mammal to miss breakfast with the rest of the crew, but he could always grab some leftovers later. Sigh, what to do.

The front door opened, nearly giving the bird a heart-attack as well as completely ruining the little 'moment' he was having. In walked a rather frustrating-looking gumball machine, but that was just typical Benson for ya'. The machine walked right past the bird, not even sparing a glance, and walking into the kitchen with his clipboard tightly gripped in his hand. Mordecai decided to tag along, and followed his boss into the kitchen to join the others.

Benson took a seat at the table beside Skips, and across from the seat which Mordecai had sat in, setting his clipboard down on the table and rubbing at the temples on his glass head.

"Sorry for being late you guys," he said in an apologetic but also irritated tone. "Traffic was horrendous this morning, I'm sure I nearly broke the horn to my car from honking at all those idiots who need to stay off the road." Negativity spread throughout the room quickly, but it seemed that the blue jay was the only one to feel it. Pops remained as happy as always, while Skips showed no sign of emotion... as always. "I'm actually impressed you're already up." Benson said, looking at the blue jay with a raised brow.

"Slept really well, I guess." The bird explained, taking back his seat across from the gumball machine. The yeti closed up the newspaper, and held it out to the metallic male who gladly took it and began to look over it. Pops brought over some mugs, and poured them full of coffee, distributing them among the three males.

"I saw Doug appears to be doing the same. You best not be keeping him up at night, he certainly works more t-"

"I get it, Benson. I think he's just tired." Mordecai interrupted.

"Anyways," the gumball machine began, setting the newspaper down on the wooden table and letting out a deep exhale of pent-up stress; almost contaminating the air with pessimism. "I guess now's as good a time to tell you two as ever." The gumball machine stated, gesturing towards the yeti and blue jay. "Pops, I assume you've already been informed?" To which the lolliman gave a small and shameful nod without even turning to face the others or speak a word.

"What is it, Benson?" Skips asked in his gruff voice.

"From where we're standing now, it looks as if the park will be closing soon." Mordecai spat out a bit of his coffee onto the table, choking on the molten liquid as it singed his throat and tongue. Benson glared at him, wiping a bit of the coffee off his face with a nearby napkin. "Lovely."

"What do you mean 'closing'?"

"... I mean closing. What part of that don't you understand?"

"But why-?"

"We've had this discussion before already; I'm not going to waste my time in restating what you failed to pay attention to the first time." The gumball machine lectured, handing a few napkins to the bird so that he could wipe up the mess he created.

"You said 'bankruptcy' last time, why is it 'closing' now?"

"Same reasons," Benson stated, sliding the newspaper across the table to the avian. "I'm telling you now so you can begin searching for your replacement job. I've been doing the same as well, but it might be a little more effective to you and Skips since you both live in the park."

"Can you not ask Mr. Maellard to reconsider things?" Skips asked, taking a sip of his coffee and remaining as cool and collected as ever.

"I'm afraid not. You know how difficult it is to talk to that man." The gumball machine explained, "And I doubt he'd ever take my side on a situation of this proportion."

"I guess..." Mordecai muttered, throwing away the dirtied napkins with a skillful toss into the bin. "What'll happen to the house?"

"As much as he wants to keep living here, he thinks it's best if he moves elsewhere and sells the parks land in its entirety..."

"Who's he selling the park to?" The blue jay asked curiously.

"Well, I'm not sure to whom exactly," said the gumball machine. "But I do know it'll be used for an amusement park..? I'm still not entirely sure though." The word struck Mordecai again, and so once more, coffee spouted from his mouth, splattering over the table again, less of it appearing to get on Benson this time, thankfully. The gumball machine just gave an intensified glare of almost disbelief, and scooted the whole pile of napkins in the bird's direction in exaggeration.

"Is it for that other amusement park further into the city?" Mordecai asked loudly in surprise, the others just giving him a confused look as to why the sudden shock.

"I don't know. I wasn't even aware that there already was an amusement park here in the city."

"Yeah, that's where Rigby works now!"

"Ah, so you've been skipping work to go have fun at an amusement park with Rigby?"

"NO!" Mordecai yelled, his sudden outburst shocking both the other males at the table, who looked at him now with wide eyes. "How dare you even say that so insensitively, that I'm 'skipping to go have fun,' when I'm really over there trying desperately to get my damn best friend back! Could you lighten up a little? I already have enough stress as it is without you verbally attacking me every time we see each other!" He finished, slamming his fist down on the table with a loud bang.

The awkward silence ensued once more as both Skips and Benson remained frozen like statues, the bird giving a few angry huffs for breath, all this to only be stopped by Pops. The lolliman brought over several plates with a hefty amount of breakfast piled high on each of them, and handling them out much like he did the coffee.

"Breakfast is ready!" The old man squealed happily, everyone just giving him an odd look as to his unexpected reaction. He acted as if he hadn't heard a word of the argument, as if it never happened. How he was able to overlook seemingly all negativity in the world, no one would ever know. "Shall I go and fetch Doug?"

"Might as well." Benson said, the lolliman then skipping happily into the other room and leaving the bunch to themselves. Mordecai didn't really know what to do in this situation other than refrain from looking up from his breakfast. It was such the bright idea to take back his seat across from the gumball machine.

"Now's as good a time as ever I suppose..." The bird thought, sliding the newspaper out from underneath his plate to flip through the job offerings.

"Mordecai," Benson started, drawing the avian's attention, as well a little fear and hesitation, "I'm sorry." The bird could tell from the look on his face, one that was rarely ever shown, that he meant it, that it was sincere. It left the blue jay without words, and unable to respond, but the two knew the mutual forgiveness didn't require words. Skips gave a small grin from the corner of the bird's eyes, and the atmosphere grew intensely more friendly as time passed by, and conversations began to open up.

Pops reentered the room, a drowsy otter trailing along behind him.

"Good morning everyone," Doug said, rubbing at his sleepy eyes and trying to mat down his severe case of bed-head. They all gave their different variations of 'good morning' in return, the mammal scooting out a chair to take a seat next to Mordecai, his tail brushing up against the avian slightly. Pops brought over a plate for Doug, and himself, sitting next to Benson across from the otter.

"I hope you all enjoy the meal!" Pops said happily, everyone giving him reassuring grunts as they feasted on the tasteful food together, all of them wearing content smiles on their faces. The avian turned to look at the mammal beside him, who was taking a bit out of a crisp strip of bacon. The two exchanged a friendly smile before returning to their meals. Doug's smile reminded the bird a lot of Eileen's from yesterday at the coffee shop. How... plastic it was. Mordecai always felt like he was missing something that everyone else already knew, but just hadn't let him in on. Of course, he always had some secrets of his own... but maybe, those weren't even secrets either. Maybe people already knew them. Rigby... I wish you knew.