A/N:

Last chapter guys… Oh wow this is terrifying. XD Sorry if it seems a bit rushed but, I couldn't wait to share this with you guys. You're my inspiration XD Cheesy, but true.

(Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned in this entire story, they all belong to their respective owners. I only own Talia, Flynn, Poppy and Jack. I don't really own R.J, just my interpretation of him XD)

*Talia's POV*

"Dot… please, this is really getting ridiculous now."

We were in the bathroom around the back of the café, me sitting on a stool while Dot was raking a brush through my hair after plastering my face in a bunch of coloured junk. Okay, I guess I didn't look that bad, but I didn't usually have time for make-up so it just felt a little weird. Jeez my eyes look huge. Okay so she made me look good, but there was no way she was going to get these waves out of my hair without a fight. Ow! Okay, she was fighting…

"Beauty is pain, and if you actually took care of yourself every once in a while."

"I do take care of myself, thank you very much. I just don't have time for a full on beauty regime if you haven't noticed." I chuckled, trying to make a positive out of this, "And is this really necessary?"

I didn't just mean this attempt at a make-over. I meant the big party that was going on just outside. Yeah, you know the story. Someone gets led, or in my case dragged, into a building and the next thing you know there's a crowd-load of people and toons yelling out a 'surprise' at you. And before you can even take it in, you're yanked to the side to be made 'presentable'. But from what I did see, it looked like they'd managed to fit half the Town in here. Not to mention the few humans that I actually knew…

"Of course, it's not everyday you turn twenty-one."

"Technically I haven't left eighteen." I smirked, holding out the imprint on my wrist.

"Details, details;" she moved around to point her finger at me with determination, "You're having this party and you're going to have fun and you're going to look pretty. Got it?"

I arched an eyebrow challengingly, "Or you're going to make me jump off the Tower with an umbrella again?"

For a moment, she stayed perfectly still, but a look that was a cross between a childish pout and a jokey smile, "It's no fun if you enjoy it…"

At that I had to laugh, "Is that the point of this party?"

"Come on, kid, what's so bad about them?"

"Nothing, really. It's just… I've always been a make-do-with-what-you-have kind of person, and parties are something that I've never had to make to with. Plus, I don't like having people going out of their way for me, it just feels weird."

She rolled her eyes, "Ever heard of tough love?"

"I'm starting to get a feel for it…"

"Good." She nodded pointedly, suddenly grabbing the seat of the stool and forcing it to spin.

The room turned into a whirl of colours and shapes and I gripped onto the seat for support. What the heck was she doing now? I don't know but my head was starting to spin along with the room and I swear there were spirals forming in my eyes. When the room finally stopped, I had to glare at the floor for a moment or two just to collect myself. And then I noticed that instead of my previous jacket and jeans, I was now in a white off-the-shoulder T-shirt tucked into a sky blue skater-skirt. A skirt, really? Well, it didn't look bad in fact it was a really pretty outfit, but I wasn't a skirt person. Maybe. It was nice I guess…

"My best work yet." Dot nodded, "Now get out there and have fun, got it?"

I rolled my eyes and tousled her ears, "Yes, Ma'am."

Upon leaving, I found that I was right about half the Town being there. They were practically filling the building as well as into the playground outside too. It was incredible, if slightly intimidating. But I'd been ordered to have fun, so it was just finding a place to start. Although right now my main priority was trying not to geek out at the amount of characters I recognised here. Let me tell you it's so difficult resisting the urge to walk up to Dexter and ask in a high-pitched voice 'Ooohh what does this button do?' or yell 'Rabbit season!' behind Daffy… I think I did very well so far of biting my tongue.

Betty had her hands full laying out tray after tray of food and the entire room was decorated to extreme. Flynn and Poppy were having a blast with some other toons around the place. It all looked so well planned out and organised. Since when were the Warner's this thought out? Well I guess when they put their minds to something, they didn't mess around. Speaking of which, there were the trio now, standing in wait with a smug look on their faces.

"So…" Yakko smirked, "Having a good time?"

"Meh, it's alright." I shrugged, but the smile I was wearing gave me away big time, "Okay you've really gone all out here!"

"Not bad for something you were so scared of." Dot nodded pointedly.

"I wasn't scared I was… Never mind. How did you even managed to do all of this?"

Wakko shrugged, "We know people."

"We got the best party planner we could." Yakko stated, "At short notice…"

"Hi there!"

"Whoa! Uh-hi!"

I instinctively took a step back from the flash of pink that had jumped out of nowhere to greet me, but was instantly hoisted back by my hand being grabbed into an enthusiastic handshake. For a second in the daze I looked down and saw that my hand was pinned between a pair of… hooves? Making a double-take at my company, I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from making a squeak of surprise. Because what was giving me a hand/hoof shake was a pink furred creature with a wild mane of pink curls and tail to match with bright blue eyes. In short; my party planner was a pony. This was new.

"Hi." I tried again, hand numb as it was released, "Uh…"

I didn't watch the show, I'd only caught glimpses of it when Poppy had it on TV. But the pony didn't seem to pick up on this and continued grinning welcomingly, if a little excitably, "So you're Talia huh? Happy Birthday! I knew you must be the birthday girl because I know everyone else here and the candles on the cake hadn't been blown out yet so I'm putting two and two together and that makes you! But if you don't like math then I can use a different metaphor. Oh! How about I'm mixing cookie with the cream and you're the desert! Or maybe you don't like cookies, pfft that's silly! Who doesn't like cookies? By the way, I'm Pinkie Pie! How's the party so far?"

Wow she was a fast talker. I think I got most of it, "Yeah, it's great. Thanks for putting all of this together I mean… I really didn't expect it."

She nudged me playfully with a hoof, "Don't be a silly-filly! And your friends insisted on the best and that's sure what they got! Oh I gotta go, somepony around here needs to keep an eye on those party-games! By the way, your sister is so sweet! She brought her own party hat! Ha, that's brilliant!"

You know what… I think I might just give this show a proper watch, "Okay, well, thanks again."

"No problem!" she beamed as she trotted off into the crowd.

For a second, I stood there in a mild daze at what just happened before turning abck to the Warner's, "You asked a pony for party help?"

"What can I say?" Dot sighed dramatically, "It took so long to organise your transformation, even the greatest of planners needed a back-up plan."

"Wow, thanks a lot." I smirked.

"I'd hold off on the thanks if I were you." I turned to see a familiarly irritable grey squirrel making her way towards us, "Knowing these three there's always some jab in the rib."

The three put on the pretence of being insulted, and I couldn't help but secretively agree with her. Buy from what I've seen so far, I didn't want to doubt them. After all, I know that this wasn't the quiet and peaceful day I planned but, I was still having an awesome time, "Maybe, but I'm learning to give them the benefit of the doubt."

She rolled her eyes, "Your choice, I guess anything's better than where we were a week ago."

"Always the optimist." Yakko quipped.

"Always the smart-mouth." She shot back, "Anyway's, have a good one, kid, I gotta head back to those cakes before the little vultures nab them all."

"Fair enough." I laughed.

"But hey, it's good to see you perking up a little, ya look a heck of a lot better without a sad-sack on your back."

Not really sure where that came from, but I could sort of see a compliment in there somewhere. She didn't like compliments or gratitude, so instead I just nodded my thanks and she took her leave. I looked back at the Warner's with mock warning, "If she's right and you've got something else planned, I'm serious about you being dead."

They rolled their eyes. What did I expect? "Of course you are." Yakko said sardonically.

I was suddenly distracted by someone tapping me on the shoulder. Turning around, I saw, to my surprise, Jack. He looked sheepish to say the least. I prayed that the Warner's weren't going to leave me alone with him, but in the time it took me to make a double-take, they'd bolted. Great… Just great. Jack glanced me over and smiled a little.

"Hey, you look-" he checked himself, "I mean happy birthday."

"Thanks." I shrugged, "Enjoying yourself?"

"I won't deny it, it's great seeing everyone together. You know, after everything that's happened."

"Yeah, yeah it is." I agreed, "You okay?"

He'd suddenly gone a little pale and jittery, "Yeah, it's just, I feel terrible about him getting away again. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"What was it supposed to be like?" I asked, good old paranoia kicking in again…

"It's not fair on you or anyone else for this to keep happening."

"I know that. And if you know a way to stop in then by all means do it."

"What're you saying, Talia?"

"Nothing, I just…"

"You just think that I might have something to do with him escaping." He clarified, tiredly, "Talia, I promise you that I had nothing to do with that."

I didn't know if I should believe him or not. I mean there was this little feeling at the back of my mind that told me it was a possibility. But at the same time he'd gotten over R.J's control, there was nothing he could do to control him anymore. He looked so genuine, so hurt at the idea and desperate to prove me wrong. Did I really think he had something to do with this? My thoughts were interrupted by him pushing something into my hands. A present? Seriously?

I opened it out of politeness, but this wasn't going to distract me from the subject at hand here. Wait what the hell? Inside the box, was a needle. A syringe to be exact, filled with bright blue liquid. I almost dropped the thing. Was he serious? I gave this to him! Why hadn't he used it yet? Isn't that what he wanted? I snapped the lid shut and looked at him questioningly.

"But…"

"I want to prove to you that you can trust me. I promised that I would stick around, and I will. Just like I promise that I had nothing to do with R.J."

"I can't take this."

"Keep it, and then when you feel that you can trust me, you can choose what you want to do with it."

"Jack-"

He cut me off with a chuckle, "Will you for once in your life stop arguing with me? I'm putting my foot down on this."

Him being assertive was something new, and I had to smirk a little at that but not maliciously, "You're serious on this?"

"I am. You can trust me, Talia." He smiled, "Now how about giving your paranoia a back seat and actually enjoying yourself?"

I arched an eyebrow at him. I wasn't sure what he was trying to achieve with this, but I appreciated the gesture. I knew what this meant to him and I couldn't let him keep this up for long. But I had to respect his choice for now. I shook my head at him.

"You're more stubborn than me, you know that?"

He sniggered taking me by surprise by giving a swift peck on my cheek before turning to leave, "At least you're admitting you're stubborn."

My cheeks heated involuntarily and I cursed myself for it. Oh you know what, I wasn't even going to waste my time thinking on this. He was right, I should be enjoying myself. And so, I turned to take in the room once more. The faces smiling, laughing, and just… peace. Yeah… I guess I needed this. We all did.

*3rd person POV* these are mostly just little scenes from the party to make sure that everyone gets covered

Brain glared at the little green humanoid, "You really think you have what it takes to take over the world? I must argue."

"Pfft! Zim laughs at your attempts you puny Earth-rodent!"

Pinky cackled and looked at the oddly shaded green dog, "I get this all the time! Narf!"

"Narf… Ha! Narf!" GIR snickered and nodded excitable, "Masta loud!"

Flynn rolled his eyes and turned back to his newfound friends, "How long before world conquest battle breaks out?"

"Like we'd let it get that far." Dani scoffed, "Although I think Dib would have a freak out before hand."

He sniggered, "Look like we're going to have to keep on eye out for them."

"Maybe later. But for now," Dani shivered a little, being swallowed by a pair of white rings and transforming into her ghost-self. She beamed with her neon eyes and took to the air, "Race you to the snacks!"

"Cheat!"

From the other side of the room, Poppy was laughing at Wakko as he managed to shove an entire burger down his throat. Dot scowled at him while their brother just simply patted Wakko's head affectionately. The little pink dog shifted uneasily and Poppy assured him that this was perfectly normal. Courage begged to disagree, but he figured that there was no point in arguing. Poppy felt as though she could happily stay here. It was fun and by the looks of it Flynn was actually having a good time for once. This was a good place to be, she figured. She didn't want to leave.

Rita took another sip of her drink and realised that she had a pair of docile eyes looking at her, "What're you looking at, Einstein?"

"Whatcha thinkin' bout Rita? Huh?" Runt asked, tilting his head, "You thinking of leaving again, huh?"

She quirked her ears in thought, "Meh… I guess we can stick around a little longer, you saw what happened last time. They're hopeless without us around here."

"Yeah, definitely, definitely hopeless."

"You're getting soft, hosue-cat!"

Rita narrowed her eyes jokingly, "Look who's talking, Slappy, you're a world class babysitter now."

"At least I get paid!"

"No ya don't…"

"Hey, Talia!" Poppy called suddenly, "Applebloom has invited me over to the orchard to play sometime, can I go?"

"Uh, yeah sure," she smiled, "I'll need to talk to her family first but it sounds okay to me."

"Awesome!"

Flynn appeared at their side and looked at his older sister, "Heads up, when someone tells you not to touch the Cheshire Cat's tail, listen to them."

Talia tilted her head and eyed her brother from head to toe, mostly focussing on his light brown hair that now had altered somewhat, "Flynn, why do you have gold dust in your hair?"

He looked up and notived that the tips of his hair looked like they'd been dip-dyed in gold paint, "Uh… Sonic let me use one of his rings… He said it would wear out in a while."

Oh great, she thought while snickering. But she was suddenly distracted by someone tugging at her arms, "Come on, kiddo, cake time!"

"Seriously?"

"We don't mess around."

"I can tell…"

And tell she could, the cake was filled with twenty-one candles and enough frosting on there to give Eeyore a sugar-rush. All eyes on her, as much as she didn't feel comfortable with it, she was still grinning. She even caught sight of Bugs in the crowd. Jack gave her an encouraging nod, Dr. S and Nurse smiling onwards. Her siblings by her side and the Warner's beaming onwards, she felt happy. It was time for her to blow out the candles. And she guessed that it meant making a wish too.

One formed in her head, and she took a breath. She had all she wanted right here. No secrets, nothing stopping her and her family from having fun and just being safe for now, it seemed perfect. Jack was slowly gaining her trust, and she had all the support she could need. It was strange, being so secure and yet having something so evil out there lurking. But that didn't even bother her for some reason. Like she said before; she was ready for him. And if R.J ever dared show his face again… They were all ready. Ready, and together.

The air escaped her, and the flames blinked out. All for one and one for all times six… forever.

A/N:

I know it's a sappy ending and this story was in no way shape or form as good as the previous too, but this one was a struggle for me and I'm sorry for that. But I really do love all the support I've had over the stories from all of you amazing readers. Thanks to you guys, I've made some close friends, gained some real tips on writing and editing, and managed to experiment with some of the greatest characters of the 90's, the Warner's. I honestly never expected all of this to come from the very first Reality Check. Thank you all so much. XD

I'm sorry if you cameo request didn't make it in here, but I'm still keeping up the one-shots so keep an eye out and see if yours ends up in there. Also, to answer some of your questions… I don't know if I'm going to be making a Reality Check 4 or not. I will be making a collaboration with 'Kisa sohma cookie' and her characters from her story 'Insanity Breach'. Seriously, take a look at it, it's awesome XD So I guess you can count that as Reality Check 4, but as for a stand alone story, I really don't know.

But whatever happens, I want you all to know how grateful I am for all your support, and I really hope to hear more from you in my other fics. Gravity Falls, Invader Zim, Creepypasta, Animaniacs… and even a Big Four fanfic I'm planning… no matter what I write, I have you al to thank for it. Thank you all. You're the reason I do this. And in the words of the gang (mildly altered for you guys)

All for one and one for all, times infinity XD