A/N: The Catflower Queen lives! Really sorry about how long it took to get this chapter out... Please enjoy it, and stay tuned for an important announcement at the end!

Chapter 41: Is This Goodbye?

A few days later…

Things finally seemed to be going back to normal. Laura reawakened the day after Relatia left on her little "vacation" and, after another day of observation under the watchful and worried eyes of the Wigglytuff Guild, she was finally allowed to return to Sharpedo Bluff. Seeing Laura conscious and healthy—and seeing her remain that way for longer than twenty-four hours—finally assured Drowzee and Cresselia that she was out of danger and their presence at the guild was no longer necessary. The two decided it was time to leave Treasure Town and get back to their own lives—a decision which was initially met with much protestation by Marill and Azurill. Surprisingly, Cresselia offered Drowzee a Lunar Wing, just like the one she'd given to Laura and Paula after leaving Team Rainbow, before heading back to do her duties. The two had apparently formed a friendship based on their mutual ability to traverse dreams during all the excitement, and Cresselia urged Drowzee to keep in contact and update her on his travels. Drowzee agreed, a wide smile on his face, and extracted a similar promise from her before setting off.

Mason and Paula didn't share the others' optimism about Laura's status, however. Though Laura might be awake now, neither Mason nor Paula felt convinced that she was completely recovered. So they forced Laura to spend another two days resting back at home on Sharpedo Bluff. By the time they finally let her go on an exploration—if you could really call it that, considering that it was just to the Oran Forest and the objective was to find a Caterpie who had gotten lost… only to end up being located about three steps away from the entrance. Furthermore, Mason had insisted on going with them (claiming that it was "extra protection" in case "for some reason something cataclysmic happened to turn all the Oran Berry trees into Oren Berry trees and you eat some on accident") despite not actually being a member of Team Rainbow—Laura's prolonged periods of silence had turned from being due her natural demeanor to being a blatant act of defiance. That, and she had seemed preoccupied by something ever since she woke up to find that her goddess had vanished with promises to return after some sightseeing.

After the trio had returned from their little "excursion" into the Oran Forest and Laura's demeanor didn't seem to show any improvements, Paula finally broke down and asked "Okay, Laura, what's wrong?"

Laura looked up from where she and Mason were sorting out the berries they had picked up to make sure none were rotten (and, in Mason's case, making sure that there weren't actually Oren Berries mixed in for some reason) and tilted her head at her friend, confusion clear in her eyes.

"I know we've been a bit overprotective of you these past few days," she continued, to her credit sounding apologetic, "but even so, you've seemed really preoccupied lately. What's on your mind?"

"Oh…" Laura said, biting her lip and looking slightly nervous. "I've just been thinking over something and, well…" She hesitated a moment more, as if trying to decide how much to reveal to her friends, before suddenly nodding to herself and getting a determined look on her face. "There's something I need to talk to Relatia about when she returns."

Mason and Paula furrowed their brows in worry, but before they had the chance to ask her for an explanation, a familiar voice suddenly echoed in the cavern.

"Well! It looks like I have excellent timing, then!"

In a flash of bright light, the goddess of time and space appeared before them in all her glory. With a mischievous smirk on her face, she continued, "But of course, given who I am… it's only natural!" Then she winked and knelt down, throwing her arms open wide. Her two servants grinned at the invitation for a hug and hurried towards her to accept it.

"Welcome back, Mis-I mean, Relatia," Mason said. "How was your trip?"

"Oh, it was simply wonderful!" Relatia exclaimed joyfully as she relinquished her hold on him and Laura. "I always forget how gorgeous this world is… the legenderies are certainly doing well at their jobs!" She suddenly turned towards Laura. "I had a little talk with Dialga and Palkia about the way they treated you… they send both their apologies, and their love."

Laura blinked in surprise, but before she could comment Paula suddenly cried out, "Wait a minute, you went to see Dialga and Palkia?! But I thought you were just going to go see the Spir-ah… I m-mean the… uh… some of the spectacular sights our world has to offer."

Relatia gave Paula a warm smile filled with gratitude for correcting her slip in such a manner that would keep the secret of the Time Gears safe from Laura and explained, "The legendary pokémon are an integral part of your world, and since the last time I stepped foot here was… gosh, it must be almost a thousand years ago now? Anyways… since it has been so long since I last saw them, I figured that paying a small visit now was the least I could do to show them the respect they deserve. I didn't get to see all of them, though," she finished with a pout.

"Oh?" Mason asked. "That's surprising… why not?"

Relatia's pout deepened—rather adorably, truth be told—and she explained, "Well, some of them I simply couldn't find… and others outright refused to see me!" Mason and Laura were stunned, but refrained from commenting. After a few moments, Relatia dropped her pout and sighed. "I guess they're just upset it took me this long to come back," she mused before getting an odd expression on her face. "Unless it's because…" she trailed off with a frown, and turned measuring eyes toward Laura.

Laura squirmed slightly under her gaze, but Relatia just gave her a comforting smile and shook her head.

"So, um… what are your plans now?" Paula asked.

Relatia thought it over for a moment. "Hm… I suppose I should probably head home soon."

Paula blinked in shock. "Huh? You're leaving already? You're not even going to take time to rest from your trip?"

Relatia shrugged. "There's no real reason for me to stay any longer," she explained. "The balance between time and space is equal again, and it feels as if it's going to stay like that for the foreseeable future. Besides, if something does happen, the barrier preventing my travel here is more or less gone now. It will be easy for me to pop over and fix things if I have to. Also… as much as I like visiting and helping out here, the Pokéworld isn't my home; that's on Earth, and I need to get back to my duties there."

Paula nodded. "I guess that makes sense."

Relatia gave her a benevolent smile and then turned towards Laura again. "But before that… what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked.

"Oh…" Laura said softly, seeming slightly taken aback at being put on the spot like that. "Um…" she hesitated a moment before coming to a decision. "How about I tell you tomorrow on the beach? If that's all right?"

"Of course, Laura!" she assured before stretching her arms above her head and yawning. "We'll go down there in the morning and talk. Until then… good night, everyone!"

With that, the goddess lay down to sleep, and Mason face-palmed at her antics.

"Uh… I hope you don't mind the extra company tonight, girls," he said with a sigh.

"No… it's fine," Paula and Laura both replied, giving identical sighs of their own.

The next day the quartet headed into town bright and early so as to avoid the incredulous stares Relatia was sure to get if there had been a lot of pokémon out and about. Not that she would have cared, but Mason wanted to avoid the dozens of explanations that would inevitably become necessary if more people found out that while it was true that Relatia was radiant and awe-inspiring, she could also be very… strange. In any case, the plan worked and the small party quickly reached the crossroads, where Paula split off for the Wigglytuff Guild to pick up some jobs and do some swaps. The earliness did have one drawback, though—it made Paula so early that she had a bit of a wait at the entrance before Diglett and Loudred even made it to their posts for the day. Then, once they finally let her enter, she had to wait for Croagunk to prep his Swap Cauldron. She wasn't alone in her quest for swaps, though.

"Good morning, Paula!" Bidoof greeted cheerily as he joined her in waiting for the Swap Shop to officially open for the day. But upon noticing that she was alone, he cocked his head in confusion. "Huh? Where's Laura?"

"Oh, hey Bidoof!" Paula greeted back. "Laura's at the beach with Mason and Relatia. She said she needed to talk with her about something."

Biddof seemed surprised at the information. "Golly! Relatia came back already? When did that happen?"

"Last night," Paula replied. "But she's not staying for much longer; she said she has to go back to Earth soon to get back to her duties there."

Bidoof nodded. "I see… It's a shame she's leaving so soon, but I reckon that's a pretty good reason to return, yup yup!"

"Why Bidoof, I had no idea you were that fond of the goddess, Meh heh heh…" Croagunk teased as he finally approached the counter and offered Paula the day's list of items being offered for swaps. "Are you planning to ask Laura how you can convert?"

"Wh-what?! N-No!" Bidoof protested, sounding flustered, much to Croagunk's amusement. "It's just that… oof… well, Laura was either unconscious or busy for most of Relatia's visit… not to mention that she forgot a good chunk of it… so they didn't really get to spend a lot of time together. I reckon Laura's going to miss her goddess a lot when she leaves."

Paula was about to nod in agreement, but then, from across the room, she heard Chatot say, in an unusually serious tone, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Paula was taken aback. "W-well… why wouldn't she?" she responded, sounding worried. "I mean… given how much Relatia means to Laura… it would make sense that when Relatia leaves, she'll feel…" Paula trailed off as Chatot gave a small, sad sigh and came closer to the Swap Shop.

"Not if Laura goes with her," he said once he reached them.

That gave everyone a pause. "H-Hey hey! What are you talking about, Chatot?" Corphish demanded, scurrying over himself. "Why would Laura…?"

Chatot sighed again. "Given that Laura is the Rainbow Child and, therefore, extremely important to Relatia… don't it make more sense for the goddess to take Laura back to Earth?" he asked, his tone resigned, yet soft—as if he was trying to gently prepare them for what he viewed to be the inevitable. "Remember: we've been told multiple times the Rainbow Child is supposed to be in the human world."

The guild's head of intelligence let that reminder hang in the air, where it was met with a few moments of stunned silence before Dugtrio reluctantly said "That… that is a good point…"

"…Hey, Dad?" Diglett, who had burrowed his way back up from his sentry post after hearing all the commotion, suddenly asked with a disturbed look on his face, "You don't think Relatia would take Laura away without letting her say goodbye first… do you?"

There was a beat of dead silence and stillness, and then, without a word, Paula bolted desperately for the ladder and Wigglytuff yelled "No! We can't let friendly-friend Relatia do that! We have to go stop her!" before rushing after her.

Everyone flinched at the sudden noise and motion before Chatot, after a brief moment of warring with himself over between what he thought was the correct course of action and the action that he wanted to take, decided to go with what he wanted and flapped his wings, ordering "Squawk! Don't just stand around, everyone! You've just received an order from the Guildmaster!" before rushing after his partner at top speed.

The others shouted out "Y-YEAH!" before quickly following suit.

Meanwhile on the beach…

"…So, yeah. What, um… what do you think?" Laura finished nervously before glancing at her mistress who was sitting, legs crossed, on the boulder in front of her. The goddess of time and space had a thoughtful look on her face.

"You've thought a lot about this, huh?" she asked, stroking her chin.

Laura nodded timidly, and Relatia sighed. "…I just don't know. Yes, you would have Mason," she inclined her head toward the golden-eyed celebi floating nearby with a shocked, yet hopeful, expression on his face, "but despite his strength, I'm just not sure if—"

She was cut off when she heard a desperate voice cry out, "LAURA, WAIT!"

Relatia turned in surprise to see Paula running up the shoreline towards her. She skidded to a halt, panting from the exertion, and, breathless, implored, "Please! You can't go!"

Laura's eyes widened and she hurried over to help her partner. "Paula, what—?"

But her question was cut off by a cacophony of voices desperately screaming and she turned to see the members of the Wigglytuff Guild quickly approaching as well. As they got closer, she could make out the individual voices and pleas:

"Oh my gosh, Laura, please don't go!"

"Yes, please stay with us!"

"Don't leave! We'd miss you too much!"

"Please, Miss Relatia, let her stay!"

Laura seemed mildly stunned by the professions, which clearly indicated to the young treecko just how much she meant to her friends, and joyful tears began to build in her eyes. She turned back to Relatia, whose mouth was opened slightly with surprise, and, upon catching the woman's eyes, gave her a grin.

"See?" Laura said, wiping away her joyful tears. "It's not just Mason. I'll have all of them too. And… and Drowzee, and Cresselia… and everyone in Treasure Town, and…"

Relatia leaned her head on her hand and smiled. "…Yes, I understand now," she said gently, a mysterious smile on her face. "I've decided; I'll allow it."

Laura's eyes brightened and she leapt at her goddess, wrapping her arms around her and joyously chanting "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou…."

Relatia giggled, returning the hug, and Mason flew circles around them in his excitement. "Seriously?! You're… you're really going to allow it?!"

Relatia laughed joyously again, plucking him from the air and pulling him into their hug, making the trio glow brightly. "Of course, silly!" she said. "It's the first time Laura's ever made a request like this for herself… and since there's obviously no issue of safety when she'll be surrounded by so many people who care so deeply about her… how could I not allow it?"

She pulled away. "Besides, this will give me even more opportunities to visit this wonderful world!"

"Yes, please do!" Laura agreed. "And if you ever need me for anything on Earth… well, you know where to find me!"

Relatia smiled again and stood up, brushing the dirt from her dress. She walked straight over to Wigglytuff and, to the surprise of everyone but Mason and Laura, clasped his hands. "I want to thank you for your hospitality over the past few days," she told him earnestly, "and for everything you've done for my precious Rainbow Child. I know that you'll continue to look after her to the best of your abilities."

Then she let go of him and turned towards Paula, leaning down on one knee and placing a hand on the Electric-type's head. "Thank you especially, Paula. Know that Team Rainbow has my blessings."

She stood up again and turned toward her servants, who looked at her expectantly. "My precious Children… take good care of each other," she ordered.

"Of course, Relatia," the two replied, nodding their heads firmly.

With that, Relatia stepped towards the ocean and, with a snap of her fingers, opened up a dimensional hole. "I look forward to our next meeting!" she said cheerily before stepping into the swirling blue vortex. It closed behind her with an audible "SNAP!"

Laura and Mason kept their gazes locked on the spot even after all traces of their goddess and her power disappeared, only to swivel their heads in the direction of the Wigglytuff Guild and Paula when Loudred asked "UH… What just HAPPENED?"

Laura couldn't help but giggle at his confused tone, which caused him to become extremely ticked off. "NO! I'm being SERIOUS!" he shouted. "What the heck was THAT about?!"

Mason raised a brow. "Isn't it obvious? We were saying good bye to our goddess."

"B-but…" Paula stammered out, before blinking. "But Laura… you… you didn't go with her?"

Laura cocked her head. "Why would I do that?" she asked in bafflement.

"Because of… tradition?" Chatot said slowly, still trying to reconcile what had just happened with his previous assumptions of how things should have gone. "Earth is typically the Rainbow Child's home, is it not?"

Laura crossed her arms and glanced off to the side for a moment, a peculiar look in her eyes, before shrugging and turning back to him. "Maybe," she admitted. "But… this world is my home."

The others were stunned by the sudden confession, but then a warm glow of happiness began to fill their hearts. Before they had a chance to express those sentiments, however, Laura whirled around and grabbed her partner's hand. "Now come on, Paula!" she demanded, dragging the pikachu towards the crossroads. "We've got a lot of exploring to do! Since I passed your little 'test' with the Oran Forest, we can start making up for lost time now, right?"

A huge grin broke out on Wigglytuff's face. "That's the spirit, Laura!" he exclaimed happily, all thoughts of what had almost been a teary farewell on the beach abruptly vanishing. "Come one, everyone! Let's go explore! YOOM-TAH!"

"YEAH!" Everyone cheered widely.

They all began making their way back towards the guild when Wigglytuff abruptly stopped and smacked his forehead. "Oh! Wait a minute!" he exclaimed, causing the others to stop and look back at him with confusion. "Mason! There's an important question I forgot to ask."

"Yeah? What is it?" Mason asked, spinning around to face him.

"I've been wondering… why are your and Laura's titles the 'Golden Child' and 'Rainbow Child'?"

Everyone froze, jaws dropped, and stared incredulously at Wigglytuff.

Mason, who had almost fallen out of the air in shock, managed to splutter out "S-Seriously? Isn't it obvious?"

"Um… No…?" Wigglytuff muttered, still trying to puzzle it out.

Mason face-palmed before giving out a weary sigh. "It's because of our eye color," he explained, spelling it out slowly as if he was talking to a small child.

"Oh oh? Really?!" Wigglytuff double-checked in excitement, oblivious to the still-incredulous stares he was receiving. "I thought it was because of your amazing personalities!"

Mason did actually drop out of the sky upon hearing that answer before joining everyone in groaning at Wigglytuff's usual antics. Well… everyone but Laura, that is. Instead, Laura smiled wryly and shook her head in amusement.

"Yeah," she thought. "This is definitely where I belong."

A/N: Okay! For those of you following Missing Scenes, you already know that there's a poll up regarding my story First Impressions. For those of you who don't know, this poll is to determine the fate of the story. It's still up, so please check it out!

Also, I've made an askblog on tumblr for my stories. The link is on my profile page, so please check that out too! So far I've only had one question for it, and, let me tell you, my characters are just itching to let their voices be heard!

There's only two more chapters left before part 1 of The World's Treasure is through, so please stay tuned!