Honestly, using the TARDIS to travel from one universe to the next didn't feel real. And it was all because of how much more relaxing it was. There wasn't the echoing, head ringing chorus of voices, the almost dizzying colours, and the potential for all of us to just be sent spiralling at the slightest twitch.

But instead, I was chilling on a bean bag chair in the time machine's library, reading a book as Gladius lazed next to me. At a nearby table, Ralph, Rory, Manolo and Steve were having a deep, as Rory called it, "Guy Talk". I smiled as I passed the four men a glance, then returned to my book. It was nice, having what was akin to an RV on the road.

Elsewhere in the room, Merida and Izzy were looking over a shelf of books on all sorts of cuisines from around the world. I cocked an eyebrow at them in curiosity, but didn't do much else as Merry picked out a book and left the room with the Psycho Hose Beast right behind her. I quietly hummed, returning to my book.

A little while after, The four men left to do whatever they were talking about, leaving me and Gladius all on our own. I sighed with content as I melted into the bean bag even more, making my sword companion shift just a bit. He hummed, readjusting so he was on my chest.

"How are you doing, Caleb?" He asked.

I shrugged, careful as to not disturb him. "I'm fine. But the constant danger is really starting to get to me. Flowey, the feral Rabbids, El Macho, Mor'du, Daleks, dinosaurs, a super-weapon cyborg, and Dry bowser all just back to back. It's getting a bit much."

"I agree, my boy. I wish we could end up somewhere nice, so we can get our much needed break."

"If there is one more kaiju or supervillain bent on killing us, I swear…"

"I'll be staying optimistic", Gladius affirmed. "I have a good feeling about this next world."

I gave him a questioning look. "How can you be so sure?"

The sword shrugged. "Just a gut feeling. Although I did feel this very, very subtle warmth when we opened the portal. Reminded me of a beach."

I hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe opening more portals will help you start to actually know ahead of time where it goes?"

"I'd like that. It would help us a lot for the future."

I smiled, and for the next while I had just silently returned to my book. It was calming, and such a nice moment.

At least, until I heard a screaming Zomboss running by the closed door. Cocking my eyebrow, I walked over and opened the door, and was greeted with the sight of a frantic Zomboss rolling on the ground, trying to extinguish his on-fire lab coat. Hilda, Twig and Alfur were frantically trying to help, but to little avail. Looking to the right, I saw Majima and Izzy snickering around the corner, and exacerbated Merida hiding her face.

Business as usual, then.

I shrugged and walked out the library, heading down the hall towards the kitchen. I dodged around Amy and Jenny as they chatted, and stepped over Flowey and Maple until I finally made it to my destination.

Vanellope, Ruby and Iris were the ones already there, the three of them sitting at the counter and sipping on glasses of juice.

"Hey girls!" I greeted, shuffling into the main part of the room.

"'Sup, Glasses!" Vanellope cheekily greeted back. I rolled my eyes with a smile as Gladius hovered over the trio.

"So, what are your thoughts on this trip?" Gladius asked the two Gloomsville residents.

Ruby shrugged. "It's been fine. A lot more dangerous than when Misery is having an especially bout of bad luck, but otherwise it's been fun. Meeting all of you was a big highlight."

"I'm the same!" Iris cheered. "I got to meet Izzy, Vanellope, Hilda… and all the places! It's all been so colourful!" Her single eye sparkled like the night sky.

Ruby giggled. "Yes, that is right Iris."

"Well, I've been on this adventure the longest with Stinkbrain", Vanellope began. "And I have a lot to say. But I'll save it till after we get you two chumps home." She smirked between me and the sword.

I snorted while Gladius huffed. "Well, hopefully that'll be soon. As much as this trip has been wonderful, I miss home. Plus, the longer we're gone, the more Rainbow will worry."

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Gladdy", I reassured. "Mainly because I feel like we're almost there."

"How can you be so sure about that, Glasses?"

I shrugged at the racer. "Just feels right, I don't know."

"Fair."

We all jumped when Rory suddenly rushed into the room, looking at us with wide eyes.

"Guys, The Doctor wants us together", he muttered, out of breath. "He said we're almost out of the tunnel.

I perked up and immediately dashed out, slipping past Mr.Pond with ease and running as fast as I could to the centre room. When I arrived, everyone, sans us from the kitchen, were there watching Doctor Who dance around the main console in giddiness.

I slid between Jenny and Marco, Gladius quickly hovering above me as we all continued to watch the almost hypnotic dance.

"So… How close are we to our destination, Doc?" Steve finally said.

"Almost there", the bow-tie wearing man said happily. "This portal is messing with the scans, but it can at least point out the exit. A few more minutes, gang!"

Vanellope let out an over dramatic groan, earning a laugh from Ralph as she flopped backwards on his shoulder. Amy and Rory shared a look, and simultaneously sighed with a shake of their head.

I cocked an eyebrow at the silent exchange, then turned my attention to Zomboss as he walked by. His right sleeve was somewhat burnt from the fire earlier, but otherwise he was okay. He looked over the screens, and hummed.

"You all might want to buckle up", he said aloud. "We're gonna be there in a few seconds."

Just then, there was a violent tremor that shook the whole ship, and I was sent flying as the TARDIS jerked sharply. Dry Bowser reached up and caught me as the Powerpuff Girls quickly tried to use their strength to level us out.

But that wasn't needed, as there was a second sharp bump, then everything stilled. Zomboss and The Doctor shared a look, then looked at a single screen.

"We're here!" Who exclaimed. "Not sure where, but we've landed."

I wiggled myself out of Dry Bowser's grasp and made my way over to the main doors of the TARDIS. When I reached out and grabbed the knobs, I looked over my shoulder, meeting my friends' eyes. They were all a bit shaken by the rough landing, but otherwise were all silently encouraging me to open the door.

I nodded, and with a deep breath, faced the double doors and swung them open.

~X~

As soon as I stepped out of the blue box, my face was hit with a calm, salty ocean breeze. I had to blink at the unexpected smell, walking a bit further ahead, the sound of crashing waves hitting my ears.

"Careful, Caleb!" Gladius suddenly shouts. He grips onto my shoulder, stopping me from tumbling down a cliff into some very reckless waters below. Looking down, I let my eyes widen as I gulp fearfully.

"Yikes. Thanks Gladius."

"Don't mention it, Caleb." Gladius carefully pulled me away from the ledge. After he seemed happy with the distance, he let go of me so I could look around more freely.

We were at the edge of a forest, the TARDIS landing smack dab in the centre of a clearing away from the trees. There was this almost sort of softness to the colours, but unlike Hilda's world and the autumn vibes it gave off, this place gave off a summer vibe. The sun was bright, but it was comfortably warm. Humming to myself as I took in the sights, the others all left the Time Machine slowly but surely.

Ralph stretched as Dry came up next to him, looking out to the ocean. "You know, this reminds me a lot of home. Mainly New Super 2's third world."

While everyone gives him a look of confusion, I nod in understanding as the crashing of the waves calm for a moment.

"So what's the plan now?" Hilda asked, Twig rubbing against her leg.

Maple scaled up and perched himself on my shoulder as I pursed my lips. "I guess the best idea right now is follow the cliff that way", I pointed to the right, and hopefully we find something. Unless any of us that can fly are able to head up and get a view?"

Galacta was the quickest to react, shooting up into the sky. We all craned our necks to watch as he did a scan of the surroundings, before coming back down.

"It appears there's a city of sorts at the end of this landmass", the knight explained, pointing the same direction I did. "It's decently sized, and surrounded by a beach. Hopefully it's welcoming."

I shrugged, jostling the Wasabi Whip a bit. "It's worth just checking out."

"What do we do about the TARDIS, though?" Amy asked, jabbing a thumb at the box. "I get we usually leave it behind wherever we go, but we're in an entirely different world. What if someone takes it?"

The Doctor gazed at his beloved ship in worry, only for Star to snap her fingers. Pulling out her wand, she aimed it at the box.

"Teeny Tiny Techno Blast!" She called out, a beam of baby blue light shooting out and bathing the TARDIS. We all watched in surprise as the tall box shrunk down till it was small enough to fit in one's pocket, which I assumed was the idea. Once the spell was done, Star twirled her wand and blew on it like a fired revolver.

The Doctor scrambled down onto his hands and knees, picking up the now tiny Time Machine with ease. "What… Star, what did you do?" The man looked over his shoulder at the Mewman, who just shrugged.

"Magic can do some crazy things, Doc."

The Doctor looked just about ready to retort, but after a few seconds of silence, he just sighed. "Yeah, I suppose that's it." He stood back up and put his ship in his coat pocket. He gave me an unsure thumbs up, and I nodded. I quickly spun on a single foot and began marching towards the direction of this mysterious city, Gladius close to my side as the others all walked/hovered at their own pace.

It was a fairly quiet walk along the cliff side, the occasional cries of seagulls ringing above as the few clouds that hung in the sky slowly moved along. It was honestly far too peaceful, especially after everything we just went through. But I'd take any 'too good to be true' situation over the alternative of another Dry Bowser, Flowey or Galacta Knight situation. I briefly passed a glance at Dry at the thought, seeing the skeleton walking on his own a distance away from the group.

I frowned a bit at the sight, but knew why he was like that. Hopefully wherever we were would help everyone relax, and Dry could actually mingle with the others. I faced forward again, and just barely the city Galacta saw slowly came into view. It was a decently sized town, resting at the end of a sandy peninsula. The very end had a sloped hill, a lighthouse standing tall at the top. As I gave the city a longer look, memories sparked in my head.

We all stopped at a cliff that overlooked the whole thing, all silently taking in the sight.

"Hey, Jenny?" I heard Bubbles ask. "Can you maybe check to see if there's a sign anywhere."

The teenage robot squinted as she scanned across the city before us, then hummed.

"This place is called Beach City, apparently", She explained. "There is a hotel we can use, and a lot of different stores."

"So it's a resort town?" Ralph questioned.

"If it is, that'd be really nice."

"But how can we be so sure this place is 100% safe?" Barranco asked.

At that, everyone slowly turned to give me a blank look. I shrunk in a bit at the stares, but decided it would be best I just answered.

"Yes, I know where we are. Yes, it is safe… for the most part."

Everyone sans Dry Bowser and Galacta groaned.

"Seriously?!" Izzy cried in anguish.

I opened my mouth to try and reassure the others, only for a thought to cross my mind. Quick as a flash, I looked at the date my phone showed, and let my brain do a bit of thinking.

"Yes!" I cheered. Everyone gave me a confused look, so I elaborated. "Okay, so, this place", I gestured at Beach City, "is the setting of a show called Steven Universe. We don't need to worry about anything at this point of time, because we're a few days before the first episode of the series! So no danger. No world ending disasters. No hostile takeovers." I beamed. "We finally get to have our vacation!"

"Oh thank fuck!" Majima groaned out in relief. He rubbed his hands over his face. "I think if we had to fight something, like a 50 foot sea monster or whatever, I'd blow my own brains out."

"I'm with ya' on that, Goro", Izzy said, leaning onto Merida. The princess didn't look too pleased being used as a post, but didn't move to stop the Psycho Hose Beast.

I laughed at the blunt attitude, and headed towards the main road that headed into the city. "Well, c'mon! We've got a lot to do, so let's focus on getting settled!" I gestured for them to follow, and as one they all marched after me, smiles across all their faces.

With a slight skip, I made my way down the hill, Gladius by my side and Maple on my shoulder, and entered the calming ocean side city. I was a bit faster than my friends, so I was a good distance ahead of them when I finally reached the centre of the city. I stood in front of the statue of who I presumed was the founder, and began to scan the buildings and signs that surrounded me.

I couldn't spot the hotel Jenny mentioned, but I did see plenty of people. Almost all of them were giving me weird looks, but I couldn't care less as I focused on the goal at the forefront of my mind.

That was, until the tag team of Vanellope and Hilda joined up with me, alongside the deerfox and elf. Vanellope glitched onto my left shoulder, Hilda scaled onto my right (Maple moved on top of my head so she could), and they both joined in with the hotel search.

"The married goons are heading to the hotel to book us rooms", Vanellope suddenly said. I paused, looking at her in intrigue.

"Then what are you two doing?"

"Trying to find the arcade", the racer explained. "Jenny said there was one, and I need to see what it has!"

"It's by the boardwalk!" I exclaimed happily. "It's basically the most iconic spot in the town." Both girls hopped off my shoulders, and I led our merry band of misfits over to the beach. Most people we walked by gave us odd looks, although there was this very pale kid with a small tuft of hair that stared at us vacantly.

I chose to ignore that and continued on my way, eventually reaching a wooden dock. Storefronts faced out towards the ocean, the open entrances inviting and friendly. The beach itself was peaceful and still, only the minor waves of the water reaching out and receding against the sand.

Vanellope looked down the storefronts, and perked up when she saw the arcade. "There it is! C'mon, Hilda!" The candy president dashed away, the adventurer giving chase with a giggle. Twig pranced after them, although Alfur stuck behind as he hopped up and used me as a makeshift climbing wall so he could hop onto Gladius' hilt.

Maple, now that my shoulder was free, moved back to his spot.

"So, what's first on the agenda, Caleb?" Gladius asked me.

I hummed and pursed my lips. "I say we just relax for now. We haven't been to a beach at all this trip, and I've been dying to laze under the sun. Let's go."

The sword nodded, and with all the tension within me released, I made my way towards the beach. The sand crunched underneath my shoes, and the sea breeze whipped my messy mop of hair around. As I took a deep breath, the slowly growing sound of stomping hit my ears. Looking to the left, I could spot Dry Bowser coming towards me, although he was dressed like he jumped out of a 1950's crime drama. Flowey was untouched, resting on the back of the undead king's shell.

"What's with the getup, Dry?" I asked in confusion.

The skeleton huffed as he stuffed his gloved hands in his pockets. "Star blasted me with her disguise spell so I didn't stir up a panic for being, you know, an eight foot tall fire breathing undead turtle dragon."

"And I decided to tag along because I haven't been around many oceans", the flower explained. "Plus, Dry needed some company, and I was the only one who could be discreet enough."

Gladius snorted. "Yes, because a talking flower is far more subtle than a human being."

"Says the flying, talking sword." Flowey rose and eyebrow in cheekiness, making said sword stumble over his words.

I smiled and turned back around, taking a seat on the soft sand to watch the scenic view. Dry Bowser sat next to me, some embers from inside being kicked up and sent into the air.

"So, how are you doing, Dry?" I asked carefully, shooting him a concerned look. "I noticed you were a bit… separated from the group on the way here."

Dry shrugged. "I just need time to adjust, that's all. I'm not used to being with such a big group of people. On the few occasions when I am, I'm not this… involved. It's a weird feeling."

Gladius nodded. "Understandable. I'm sure Majima was the same, just took quicker to adjust because our party was so much smaller then."

That piqued Flowey's interest. "Who was with you, at first?"

"It started with Ralph and Vanellope, then Jenny, then Steve", I explained. "Then it was Majima. You can ask the others when they joined this whole adventure."

"It's fascinating to me that you roped so many starkly different people in with all of this." Dry looked out to the horizon, the fire in his eyes dimming a bit. "It might seem cliche, but I find it admirable. Impressive, really, especially considering you were able to get me, Flowey, Zomboss, Galacta and Majima in on this."

I smiled. "It was the enticing idea to see more than what they thought was possible. Plus, everyone gets to just be themselves, outside of what they should expect. Like a sort of vacation."

"One hell of a vacation, I'll say", Flowey joked.

I laughed a bit, Dry Bowser humming in contempt. He kept his gaze locked at the horizon, the flames in his eye sockets flickering in what I assumed was thought.

"What are you most expecting to have happen when you two finally get home?" The skeleton gave me and Gladius a questioning look.

"Well, I know for a fact Rainbow will be watching us like a hawk for a long while", Gladius admitted with a sigh. "She's always been very overprotective."

"I'm just gonna be so happy to sleep in my own bed again", I sighed, thinking back to the room I claimed but only got to use for three days. "Heck, the hallway my room was in had a bunch of other unused rooms, so when we get back you guys will all have a place to stay."

Dry Bowser huffed out a laugh, Maple nuzzled the side of my head, and Flowey grinned.

"That sounds very nice, Caleb", Dry said with a slight smile. He slowly made a move to stand up, myself following his motions. "Now, I saw that candy kid drag Hilda with her into the arcade, and I want to check it out."

"Oh, I am destroying you in a match of air hockey!" I cheered. All of us made our way to the building, our spirits high and smiles bright.

~X~

I let out a quiet yawn as I sat down on the room I was sharing with Marco. Gladius was already in his scabbard while Marco used the shower. As I sat on the comfy bed, the sound of the shower faint behind the closed door, I felt my gaze subconsciously turn towards the window, eyeing the window outside. The moon was shining bright above, and I felt more at ease as I looked at it.

"Something bothering you, Caleb?" My bladed companion asked me.

I shook my head to empty it, and faced him. 'Yeah, everything is fine. Why?"

"I can tell by that look. You're remembering something. Reminiscing."

I looked back at the moon. "Did you know the moon cries?"

"It does?" Marco stepped out of the bathroom, in fresh pyjamas and slightly damp hair.

I nodded, not breaking focus on the celestial body. "My brother always said that shooting stars was the moon crying, and why we wish on them is because she wants us to be happy when the dark takes over."

"That's… that's very powerful Caleb." Gladius hovered up next to me and rested a wing on my shoulder. "You're brother must've been an amazing man."

I absentmindedly nodded in response.

"Maybe we could meet him one day", Marco said as he finished up his before bed routine.

I fell dead silent at that, but was able to force out a calm "Maybe" before curling up into bed, pulling the blankets over my face.

Gladius hummed in worry but didn't press as he wiggled under the covers with me. I heard Marco get into his own bed and turn out the lamp that rested between us. He mumbled a quiet "Good night", and was out almost instantly.

"Good night, Gladius…" I whispered, ignoring the turmoil that was slowly bubbling under the surface.

"Good night, my boy. Sleep well."

My eyes closed as the moon bathed my face in its pale glow. Giving me that bit of comfort so I didn't wake up screaming.

~X~

And that's the 60th chapter finished!!! Gosh, 60 chapters, can you believe it? Just last year this story had its passionate start and now it's only 40 away from completion! Wow, I'm gonna get really emotional…

Okay, but seriously, thank you all. Every last one of you, across the three platforms I've posted this story to, have made this whole journey worth it. Because of how heavy the last few chapters, the next few (this one and the next five) I can guarantee are going to be chill.

And now about this arc. Steven Universe. Yes, this is the next stop. I made sure it takes place before the first episode as I always thought that aside from the Corrupted Gems (which never directly attacked Beach City), the show's world was relatively peaceful until… I think Lapis was freed?

So yeah. Enjoy the beach arc!

Up next: the gang decide to take full advantage of this guaranteed break, and split off to enjoy some fun under the sun. But there's something suspicious about the fenced off part of the beach…

~Caleb~