I let out a loud yawn as I woke up, a smile on my face as I sat up. I felt refreshed and happier than ever, especially since I woke up to see Gladius cuddling into my chest and Maple sawing metaphorical logs while he rested in his flower pot.

Deciding to let them rest a little longer, I carefully set Gladius down so I could go and get ready. The memory of Kat telling me yesterday she had something planned played out in my head, so I decided to pick out a more appropriate change of clothes. I quickly had a shower and changed into a pair of black pants that were more of a cross between joggers and jeans, a short sleeve white shirt, and a zip up hoodie Rainbow got me while we were shopping a few days ago.

Now that I was all dressed, I quickly brushed my teeth and finished up in the bathroom, stepping out with a smile on my face and head held high. As soon as I scanned around the room, I was happy to see Gladius and Maple just starting to stir awake. I carefully walked over to them, and almost out of instinct the plant climbed onto my shoulder and the sword started to hover.

"Aaaaaaa… Good morning, Caleb", Gladius said sleepily, rubbing his jewel with his bet wing. "You got ready earlier than usual."

"I did?" I asked in surprise. Maple nudged me, and I looked over at my bedside clock. It read at a surprising 7 AM, which was a first for me since I showed up here. "Huh, guess I did. Oops."

"I'm just surprised you're this ready for the day", the sword said a bit louder as he stretched, "With it not even being at least eight. But I suppose you're just still adjusting."

I shook my head. "Nah, it's just because I wake up when I wake up. My body is a mystery that does its own thing whenever it wants."

Gladius snorted. "That's one way to put it."

Maple nuzzled my cheek as the three of us all left my bedroom into the hallway. It was fairly quiet, with a few of the others walking about with small smiles on their faces. It seemed the incident a few days ago had finally passed, which made my heart swell happily. Deep down, I knew that would haunt everyone when they'd go back home, but right now was all that mattered. And right now, everyone looked happy.

I stood aside so Izzy and Merida could walk past, the two redheads chatting as they headed down the hall. They disappeared around the corner, probably looking for something to do. I smiled as I watched them go, and headed down the opposite way towards the balcony.

We passed Maria and Manolo, who were both still groggy and making their way to the smaller mess hall; Ralph was acting as an impromptu jungle gym for Iris, Vanellope and Hilda as Twig raced around at his feet and Alfur scribbled into his notebook in the wrecker's hair; Majima was being followed by Barranco, Dave and Flowey, all three of them with a bright smile on their faces as they headed into the Rec Room.

Me and my companions continued on our way until I opened the door and walked out into the open air. I could see a halfway finished gateway arch off to the side, looking like a simpler and smaller version of the one in the Convergence Universe. Just the sight of it made a pang of heartbreak hit me, but I buried it and headed over to a table so I could take a seat.

After sitting down, I looked up towards the sky and started daydreaming as the clouds danced overhead. It was cloudier than usual, probably signalling rain was coming soon.

"Gladius… I don't remember if it ever did while we were here a few months back… but does it ever rain here?" I gave the sword a curious look.

He nodded. "Oh yes. Despite what one might think, this place still goes through typical weather cycles. Based on the clouds…", He looked up to the sky, "I'd say rain tomorrow at the earliest."

"Doesn't Rainbow's mood affect the weather, though?" I asked.

"Not necessarily. We all thought that for the longest time, but it turns out she only can during extreme bouts of emotional distress. Like when we finally made it back, for example."

I nodded. "Makes sense. I'm also glad she can, because changing the weather just from feeling something would put a lot of pressure on one person, goddess or no."

"She admitted the same thing all that while back when we figured it out", Gladius said as he laughed. "You two really are more alike than anyone expected."

I beamed at the compliment, returning my attention to the sky above. "Do you think that… 'Heaven City' is above us right now?"

"That place?" The sword looked up. "Maybe. It's always hard to say exactly, since they prefer to stay secluded. Not that they don't like the Capital, they just prefer their privacy." Gladius snorted. "Still have to listen to Rainbow and the twins at the end of the day."

"I see…" I continued to idly stare at the sky above. Maple decided to kill time by heading over to a nearby flower bed and playing around in it. It was cute, so much so I ended up my original task of cloud gazing so I could watch him. He ducked and dodged through the flowers, and it made me smile more and more.

It made me think: would Rainbow force Maple to go back to Neighborville with Zomboss? Or would she let the Wasabi Whip stay?

Gladius was quick to notice my worried face, and he put the pieces together. "She won't kick Maple out", he said bluntly. "She's stubborn but not stupid. Maple will stay, I will make sure of it."

I sighed and nodded my head. "Yeah… just, thinking about it."

All the sword did was hum in response, and we both returned to a comfortable silence. As we stayed at the table, looking over the courtyard filled with civilians of all different walks of life, my eyes wandered towards the gateway at the other end of the balcony. Two workers had shown up out of nowhere and were already hard at work, making my heart sting.

I pried my eyes away and towards the door back inside. Consider it fate, but Katania ended up walking out just then. She scanned over the whole outdoor place, and beamed brightly when she spotted me. In the blink of an eye, she darted over and slapped her hands onto the table.

"I was looking for you, CC!" She said in excitement.

I shared a look with Gladius, then looked back at my friend. "Okaaaaayyyyy… any reason as to why?"

"It's time for a girls day!" The general's daughter cheered.

I gave her a confused look. "So you're taking all the girls out? That's pretty nice. But why did you need to tell me this?"

"I'm not just telling you. I'm bringing you along!"

"WHAT?!" I cried in shock. "Sorry Kat, but last I checked I was a guy and happy to be one."

"Shush!" She put a finger on my lips. "I'm bringing you along because we still have two whole months to make up for, and this is perfect. Plus, it's a girls day out… plus one because I missed you like heck."

I gave her a long look, trying to give her some sort of counter. But she was right, we hadn't spent all that much time together. Three to four days don't make up for a whole two months. And, to be honest… I could say no to her with that pleading look in her eyes.

So, with a sigh, I relented. "Fine, I'll tag along."

"YAY!!!" Kat let out a cheer that made my resolve melt completely, and I let her drag me out of my chair and towards the door. But I was quick to notice something.

"Wait, what about Gladius and Maple?" I asked.

"Hey", Katania said firmly, shooting me a pout. "I said you. Which means just you. They had you for more than I did, so I get some time now. Bye you two!"

Gladius was clearly gonna say something, but it was silenced when Kat pushed me through the now opened door and closed it behind us.

"You could have asked for Gladius' opinion on this, Kat", I chided her.

"It'll be fine", she said casually. I sighed as she led me down the hallway, which was now surprisingly empty. "Besides, we have a loaded day today. C'mon."

She skipped down the hall, and I kept pace with her. "Sooooooo… what is planned?"

"Well, first", Kat began, "We're making a visit to my house. All the other girls are either there at the entrance to the town or on their way there. Then, we're taking the limo to this special spot near the edge of the city for lunch. Finally, we're gonna head to this amazing clothes store that isn't in the mall my mom always takes me to. Has some of the best stuff out there, trust me."

I processed everything she said for a moment. "Honestly, that sounds fun. Who's tagging along?"

"Jenny, Scrap Baby, Merida, Izzy, Maria, Star and Amy. The other girls weren't interested, so I let them go."

"Oh sure, they get a choice", I spat playfully. My best friend let out a very sweet laugh as we turned the corner and started walking along the wall of paintings.

"Yeah, they did", she playfully prodded back. "Whatcha' gonna do about it?"

"Hmmmmmm…" I hummed and gave her a look. She squinted her eyes in suspicion, probably hoping she could read my mind. "This!" I suddenly flipped the back of her hair up, messing up her whole usual style. She cried out in shock as I sprinted down the hall.

"Hey, no fair!" She called back. "You didn't warn me!"

"Then you would have stopped me!" I called back, running backwards for a bit before heading back along my way. I slowed down to a simple walk and smirked when Kat let out a roar of rage, and I heard her footsteps storm up towards me. But just before she could exact her revenge, I spun around and picked her up.

She squeaked in surprise, then gave me a fierce look when I stopped spinning. After a few moments of silence, she flicked my glasses off my face, and they fell on the carpeted floor harmlessly.

"That's for my hair", she grumbled with a pout.

I laughed and set her down so I could pick up my glasses and put them back on. I looked at Kat, and saw her giving me a look. It made me feel weird. A good weird, but still weird.

"You okay, Kat?" I asked.

"Caleb… Do you actually still like me?" She asked as she played with her hair.

I jolted at the sudden question and gave her a shocked look. "Of course I do! Why else would we be hanging out?"

She shrugged. "Just… we haven't seen each other for two months, so I thought you'd want to be with the others more…"

"Kat, look at me", I said firmly. She did, giving me this innocent, wide-eyed look. "You were my first friend I made when I showed up. You are amazing, and not hanging out with you would be stupid. So you are stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

She gave me a grateful smile, and launched into a hug. I returned it without hesitation, and we stayed like that for a bit. When we broke off the hug, she kept her smile strong.

"Thanks, Caleb", she said, tone shaking a bit. "I needed to hear that." She took a deep breath. "Now, let's go. I don't want to keep the girls waiting any longer."

I nodded, and the two of us ran down the hall, hearts beating in excitement.

~X~

I turned a corner, and stopped my sprint when I was immediately greeted by the girls all grouped together. Kat walked past me and through the small group, making them all finally notice me.

"I honestly didn't think you'd come, Caleb Cat", Star said with a smirk.

I shrugged as I joined them. "She didn't have much of a choice. Plus, I can't say no to her puppy dog eyes. They are legit too big and too innocent to be physically possible."

Amy snorted while Maria giggled. Scrap Baby quietly huffed. "You have more control than us. Most of us said yes without even realising what we agreed to. Not complaining, mind you, just a bit peeved I slipped."

"Oh shush", Izzy said in a bubbly tone. "You're excited to be heading out with all us gals. Girl power!" We all pursed our lips and shared looks at Izzy's exclamation. When she realised she didn't get the reaction she wanted, she blushed in embarrassment and chuckled sheepishly.

It was then Kat joined us again, a serious look on her face. "Okay, they're letting you all through", she explained, "But we are all going to my house. They're still unsure about you all, so stay close, got it?"

We all nodded, and she led us through the indoor common area. It was pretty tense, with most of the guards giving us stern looks as we walked outside into the gated community. Kat quickly led us down one of the paths that led directly to her home, with some of those that lived there giving us smiles and waves.

We politely returned them, although some of the glare we got made us all just walk a bit faster.

Luckily we weren't in the semi-hostile environment, and we soon made it to Katania's house. It cast a welcoming shadow over us as we passed the gates. Once our guide closed the fence gate behind us, we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, why were they all glaring at us like my dad does when my brothers get in trouble?" Merida said in a strained tone.

Katania gulped then sheepishly chuckled. "They can be… Intense to guests. But, now we're here!" She cleared her throat and gestured to the building before us. "Welcome to my home!"

We all looked up at the building, and I nodded. "Pretty nice place. It looks a lot better up close."

Kat beamed and ran to the front door. "C'mon, mom and dad are out, so it's just us. I'll get us some tea while you guys look around."

She held the front door open for us, and we all took off our shoes as we walked in. The main room of the house was very rustic with plenty of modern touches, with a very elaborate fireplace. The very plush looking couch looked super inviting, so I decided to check it out. There was a single cushion on the side, but it looked far too fluffy.

As soon as I sat down and reached over to pick up the cushion, it rolled out to be a cat. Specifically the fluffiest, most beautiful Persian I have ever seen.

"Oh, hello…" I whispered, gently petting the sleepy cat. It let out a very cute meow and waddled over to me, quickly laying on my lap and falling asleep.

Izzy snorted. "Looks like Caleb's settled already!" Most of the other girls giggled, which only made me blush.

Katania looked over from the small coffee/tea table, and smiled. "That's Mulan. She's a bit of a pest, but I love her. Although I will say she hates metal. So Jen, unless you want your arm off, keep your distance."

The teenage robot pursed her lips and took a few careful steps away from me. I quietly laughed and began to pet Mulan, who just purred and balled up tighter.

"So… what do you usually do, Kat?" Amy asked.

The general's daughter paused her tea making for a moment. "Honestly… not a whole lot. When I was born, my mom was very much all in on keeping me away from everyone. She can be pretty over protective, but that came at the cost of my social skills. So for a long time, I normally stayed at home doing my own thing. A few years ago, dad got us Mulan so I had someone to hang out with at home."

The cat meowed at the name call, making us all giggle. With a sigh, Katania continued. "When I started exploring the castle about… three years ago, I usually stayed glued to my parents, Rainbow, Virus, Lightness or Darkness. Anyone else was a stranger and that was bad. And it was like that for a long time… till Caleb literally bumped into me."

I smiled and blushed at the memory. Katania had finished up the tea just then, and brought the loaded tray over. She set it down on the coffee table, and grabbed her own cup so she could sit next to me. She took a sip, set the cup down on a side table (with a coaster, obviously), and lifted Mulan off my lap.

"You are just one lazy cat, huh?" She cooed at the cat. The animal whined in return. "Yes you are!" She hugged Mulan close to her, and the cat simply settled in her new awkward position.

As the other women (sans the robots) and I picked up our cups.

"So, where's this 'special spot' you told us about, Kat?" Jenny asked.

"It's in the back corner furthest from the city", she explained, still hugging her cat. "There's this cherry blossom tree a walk away on top of this hill that gives you a beautiful view of the city's skyline. I've got a picnic lunch on order, and when my dad brings the limo over we'll be on our way!"

"Sounds awesome!" Izzy cheered, before chugging down the rest of her tea in one long sip. We all gave her silent looks as she froze, twitched, then crashed onto the ground. "Awwww yeaaaaahhhhh… tea is greeeeaaaaat…"

"You okay there, Izzy?" Maria asked flatly, lightly poking the Psycho Hose Beast with her foot.

"All good!" She responded, shooting a thumbs up into the air. "Just didn't expect this tea to have that sort of kick!"

Baby rolled her eyes. "You're impossible sometimes, you know that Izzy?"

"Always and proud of it!" She said in a cheer. It seemed like her usual silliness was more subdued this time around, but maybe that was just me.

And so for the next while we all chatted as we sipped on our tea. Mulan, at one point, got bored and headed upstairs. Probably to nap away from the noise.

After what I believed was an hour, we all heard a car horn out front.

Katania sprung to her feet. "That's my dad! C'mon, I've been so excited to show this to you guys!"

We all got up and followed after Kat, heading outside. Sure enough, around the side of the house, was Jeremy with the limo.

The man poked his head out the driver's side window. "You girls ready to get going?"

"You know it!" Kat called back. She scurried into the back of the vehicle, with the rest of us following swiftly. Jeremy noticed me at that point, and chuckled.

"She rope you into this, kid?" He asked with a smile.

I shrugged and smiled back. "Yeah, she did. Drove a very hard bargain."

The guard snorted. "I get ya' kid. She can be a menace with those eyes."

"Dad!!!" Katania could be heard whining.

"Those eyes are evil!" He called back sweetly. "You totally get it from your mother!"

That made the back of the limo explode into laughter, which gave me enough incentive to climb inside. I sat next to an embarrassed Katania, who looked up at me gratefully.

With all of us inside, Jeremy drove off to this special spot Katania seemed to love like crazy.

~X~

The drive through the city was pretty relaxing. That seemed to be the main reason Katania gave us the tea earlier, which made me quietly compliment. Kat when the other girls were distracted. My best friend blushed and tried to brush it off, but she clearly took pride in her plan working.

As we left the city limits, Kat got more and more excited. It was kinda surprising, seeing how this one spot was making her act like this. It only made me more curious.

"I'll pick you guys up in a few hours", Jeremy told Maria as we all prepared for the long walk to the spot. It was far away from any road, so this was where we'd take the trip on foot. "Kat's got a small radio Skye and I use to let her know we're nearby to pick her up, so keep an eye out for that."

"We will, Jeremy, thank you", Mrs.Sanchez said gratefully. She picked up the lighter basket as Scrap Baby lifted the filled cooler with ease next to her. "Don't worry about us. I'll make sure they'll stay out of trouble."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Amy asked in a joking tone. That got a bout of calm laughter out of all of us, and we bid Jeremy goodbye as we walked on, following a skipping Katania down a trail.

Bordering the path on either side were bunches of beautiful flowers, all of them a variety of colours that stood out against the green fields and bright blue but cloudy sky. All this scenery combined together to make a very magical, almost dream-like walk as we headed further from the city. It felt weird, as it almost was like I was living that one dream almost everyone had at some point.

Just walking forever in a field of flowers under a blue sky alone.

But for me, I had people with me. And there was a destination this time. One I could see get closer and closer. On a hill,not that far away, was that elusive cherry blossom tree Katania told us about. It was large, somewhat leaning over as the pink petals draped down like a curtain. Gave it this old, wise, withered appearance.

Katania set the large picnic blanket on the grass under the shade of the tree, sitting down and beaming at us. We all joined her swiftly, and as soon as I looked out towards the city…

I immediately got why Kat loved this spot so much.

The city was this perfect wall as the castle sat in the dead centre, all of it framed by the sky. Rainbow and Virus' place above the palace completed the entire sight.

"Okay, you were right Kat", I said. "This is a beautiful view. It's crazy seeing the city like this."

My best friend nodded. "I come here often, just to help clear my head."

"I'm jealous I don't have something like this at home!" Izzy cheered. Me and Kat looked up behind us to see the Psycho Hose Beast and Mewman Princess scaling the tree, giggling and having a blast.

"You two better not fall", Scrap Baby chided as she sat down on the grass, leaning against the tree's trunk. "We don't need to deal with the others getting worried over us."

"Ah, we'll be careful, Baby", Star said as she waved off the animatronic's concern.

Baby huffed and crossed her arms, making me smile lightly. Merida sat down on the blanket next to me and cracked open the cooler, pulling out a bottle of water and popping the cap off with ease.

"Honestly", she said after taking a sip, "This is just nothing like I expected. I thought I'd still be back home, spending time with mum and learning to be the princess I want to be… but here I am."

"You got that right, Merida", Amy said as she pulled out a biscuit from the picnic basket and took a bite. "Here I was thinking me and Rory would be stuck waiting for our next adventure with The Doctor for… two, three months. But instead, all three of us joined you lot. I consider that one of my better life choices."

"Getting a break from the chaos of my sisters and mom…" Jenny said wistfully as she looked out towards the city. "That is all I wanted. And it's… this is exactly what I wanted."

"I've never felt more free!" Izzy called from the branches above. "Not even Total Drama Island was this wild! This is a blast!"

"I'm glad me and Marco tagged along", Star said as she sat on a branch further down. "After what happened with Galacta, I honestly didn't want to see what mom would've said. So yeah."

"All of this has been such a breath of fresh air", Baby said ass he leaned back and closed her eyes. "This is a life I would have never imagined was possible. It makes my afterlife feel all the more… freeing."

Maria sat next to me, and gave me a loving smile. "And we all have you to thank for that, mijo. You brought us together, and now we're stuck together."

I smiled and nodded, onl;y for my smile to fall when I looked out towards the city. "Yeah… Maybe. Depends on how Rainbow feels."

"We heard about that argument", Izzy said. I shot Merida a look, and she mouthed a 'Sorry' at me. "It sounded brutal. Kinda bummed I missed it."

"You could have told us, Caleb", Maria said sadly. "You know we wouldn't let Rainbow rip us all apart. Not after what we've all been through."

I shrugged. "I don't know… Gladius just keeps telling me how stubborn she can be. I think something big needs to happen for her to rethink sending you guys all home with no way to visit or keep in touch."

"That might've just jinxed us", Jenny said slowly, "But, no matter what, we'll be here to back both of you up. Okay?"

I nodded, falling into a comfortable silence. Lunch started without a hitch as I continued to look out towards the lively city. I couldn't quite quell the unease in my heart, but I didn't let it stop me from enjoying the day.

~X~

A few hours later, I found myself looking through the racks of very nice clothes in the store Kat said we'd visit as the last stop of the day. The girls were using this as a chance to pick out some fresh clothes for their fresh start. Except Izzy, who looked more curious than anything, seemingly not intent on buying anything despite the bottomless cash pool she had access to.

"So, what do you think, Kat?" I asked, holding a very nice black sweater in front of me. It was baggy, was soft, and had a stylized design of a Pokeball on it.

Katania looked up from her clothes and flashed me a smile and thumbs up. "It looks amazing! You should get it!"

I nodded and stuck it in the kart me and her were using. She tossed a nice looking green dress into the kart, just barely missing my face. "Yikes, watch out where you're aiming that stuff, Kat."

"Sorry, I just always get so invested whenever I come here." She looked over a pair of cosy looking pants and tossed them in the kart. "I just know what I want to get. Plus, I like future proofing. A lot of the clothes I pick out are too big for me right now, so I can wear them when I'm older. Like the dress that nearly nailed you."

I looked down into the kart and hummed. "Not a bad idea. I'd do the same, but I don't know how tall I'll be in, say, three years. So I don't have the confidence like you do."

"That's fair." She tossed one last shirt into the kart. "Okay, that's all of it. Let's go and pay."

"That's all, huh?" I gave the mountain of clothes a long look. "Okay, yeah, sure."

Katania rolled her eyes. "I'm not the kind of person that says they have everything only to keep looking. Now c'mon, let's go pay or I'll keep looking just to spite you."

I started laughing as I pushed the kart towards the cashier, with Kat pulling out a special looking card. It was the credit card that was tied to the castle's own treasure hoard, so it definitely streamlined things.

After paying, we headed outside to join back up with the others as they all climbed into the limo. The sun was starting to set (we were shopping for a long while), so I knew I wanted to just get home.

"Today was awesome!" Jenny cheered. She flattened out the dress shirt and dress pants she picked out for herself and decided to wear on the way back.

Scrap Baby adjusted the fancy summer hat she picked out for herself. "I agree. Today was a much needed change of pace. Just us girls… and guy, out for a day of fun and shopping."

I rolled my eyes with a smile as Amy and Maria burst out laughing, with Star and Izzy joining in shortly after. Jenny flashed me a smirk, while Merida and Izzy were so locked in their own conversation they barely noticed.

As we turned down onto the main road that led towards the castle, I reflected on the day. It was good. Great even. But my mind subconsciously looked up at the swirling clouds above, wondering if today turning out so great was all because tomorrow was going to be a day of hell. I wanted to ignore that thought, but something didn't sit right inside me.

This feeling I was going to break. I nearly did several times.

The light tapping as rain began to fall against the window kicked me out of my musings, and I took a deep breath as I mentally prepared for whatever was about to happen next.

Nothing was going to kick me down and break me.

Not when I had friends as supportive as mine.

~X~

Thus ends another chapter of DCT. 85 whole chapters of love, sadness, adventure, violence and beautiful chaos. But now we've reached the turning point. Because in 10 chapters, the main plot of this fic is over. Seriously. That's wild to think about.

But yeah, about this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it! A girls day out was always one of the chapters that was going to make way back around when this fic started, and I'm so glad I got to get it out into the world. Hopefully you all liked Katania being cute and Caleb trudging along for the ride. I love writing them together.

Now… I'll see you all next chapter…

Up next: A good day turns dire when the Council makes the call for an emergency meeting, causing worry and distress to shoot through all those at the castle. Especially when a certain boy with glasses is the centre of it all…

~Caleb~