I stared up at the top cover of my bed, unable to return to sleep after waking up an hour ago. It was only 5 AM right now, and my brain was nagging at me to get up and do something with the others before they had to leave. I really didn't want that conversation I overheard between the two technicians to get to me, but it did. It really wormed its way into my brain after the karaoke and dinner.

So here I was, laying awake after only a few hours of sleep, my brain running wild as I tried to think of something to do. We had today and tomorrow, that was it. Two days before we all had to say goodbye.

I buried my face in my hands, suppressing a grown so I didn't wake up Gladius and Maple, who were both sleeping soundly. Deciding I needed a walk, I carefully got out of bed, put on my slippers, and trudged into the hallway. It was quiet, and still fairly dark aside from the lighting Gladius said was always on for emergency reasons. They were low level, so I luckily wasn't blinded as I headed down the corridor towards the balcony.

Adjusting the housecoat I picked out so I didn't freeze, I headed down the stairs and began my walk through the courtyard. The moon was just barely visible over the horizon as the orange glow of the sunrise filled the sky. The blanket of grey clouds from yesterday had somewhat parted, letting the sky break through and illuminate the surrounding plants. It was calming, especially since there was a gentle creek that ran by amongst the greenery.

I took a deep breath and continued along my walk, the dew and moisture on the leaves sparkling in the sunlight, making me flinch every so often. But otherwise, I was at peace as I walked along. At least, it looked like that on the outside.

Inside, I was caught within a hurricane of turmoil.

My mind was racing with foggy voices as I tried to think of something for me and my friends to do today. This was our third to last day together, after all, and I didn't want us to lose the connections we shared. Through it all, we persevered in the end and made it back. But now we would have to say goodbye for who knows how long.

I wanted to do something that would keep us connected, no matter how far apart we all were from each other.

But then that thought wouldn't leave my head.

Something that could keep us connected… even when universes apart.

And thus I came up with my grand plan for the day: a second shopping trip, this time with the intent for us to buy a special souvenir that would act as our way to remember these past two months. That was perfect, especially considering tomorrow would half to be a packing day.

I doubted Rainbow would let the group stay if the gateway was finished, even if it was for one more day.

So it was settled then. We were going shopping today. Only issue was if Rainbow would be okay with that, considering how close to they end we were.

I gulped and decided it would be best to tell someone or her asap, or it would be too late. I scanned around my immediate surroundings, but sadly didn't see any staff or guards around anywhere. My shoulders slumped, and I was worried this would be a day I wouldn;t be able to find anyone until it was the next day,

But, as if to answer my prayers, I finally caught sight of a guard checking around. As soon as I locked my eyes onto him, I ran over.

He looked over at me and smiled. "Ah, greetings Master Caleb. What brings you out here this early?"

"Could sleep, and wanted to clear my head", I answered honestly. "But I wanted to ask if you could tell Rainbow something for me."

"Of course. What do you want to tell her?"

"If it's okay that I take my friends out shopping again. Just… I want to let all of us have one last day together before the pack up and goodbye."

"Mmmmmmm, yes, I heard the gateway was nearly finished." The guard looked off to the side. "The news spread throughout the castle quickly, and honestly the vast majority of us realised we would miss this band of misfits you brought together."

I looked up at him in surprise. "Wait, really?"

He nodded. "We realised that the castle was fairly… quiet. Your friends gave it that spark of life and chaos that the four gods never really brought with them. Your laughter and such was a shot of energy all of us needed. Heck, I heard some of the cooks liked the fact there were more people to make food for, since the kitchen you all order from is reserved for the gods and special guests."

I looked down at the ground, a slight smile forming on my face. "So… even you guys want them to stay."

"Yes, but Rainbow does what she wants. Although recently she has been unusually… silent, ever since the debacle at the Council meeting a few days back. We knew Gladius was arguing with her, but something else seems to be going on. She hasn't said what, yet."

I hummed. "I see… Well, I hope she's okay."

"I'll make sure when I deliver your message", he began to walk off. "You should be getting back, Master Caleb. I overheard that the cooks were making a special breakfast for you and your friends."

I nodded and ran off, weaving back through the overgrowth until I reached the stairwell of the balcony. Just as I climbed the first step, however, I paused and looked back behind me, glancing at the city that was visible over the castle wall. If this was our last day for anything, I'd make this a day on the town. Just all of us, going out and exploring this sprawling cityscape till the moon hung high in the sky. It was what we all needed.

So, with a determined look, I scaled the steps up to the balcony and headed back inside. The hallway was still quiet, but I could faintly hear some noise inside most of the bedrooms. So, as carefully as I could, I made my way back to my room to get ready. I snuck back inside so as to not disturb a still sleeping Gladius and Maple, and quickly headed into the shower to get washed up. After getting ready, I headed back out into my room, and noticed a sudden lack of sword and plant.

Deciding they simply woke up while I was showering, so I headed into the hallway. Most of the others were stretching and ready for the day already. I greeted them as I made my way towards the dining room. It was a pleasant walk, with my excitement for this day slowly growing the closer to the room I got. As I entered the dining room, I came face to face with Rainbow talking with Virus and Gladius, with Maple resting in the sword's hilt.

All four of them turned to face me, varying expressions across all of them. Maple beamed and quickly scurried over to me, and Gladius confidently hovered over. Virus gave his wife an unsure look, while Rainbow looked very conflicted.

"So… hey", I said carefully, although a genuine smile was plastered on my face as I waved.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" Rainbow asked as she watched me go and take my seat. "I'm sorry about all of that… The Council stuff was horribly out of line. I should've put my foot down."

When I took my seat, I gave her a long look, expression unreadable. She gave me a nervous look, clearly scared about what I was going to say. So I decided to be nothing but honest.

"You should've", I said bluntly. "I love you Rainbow, but you… You don't get what I went through…"

She deflated and sat in her seat at the end of the table. with a very scratchy sigh, she looked down at her lap. "You're right. Everyone else is right. Gladius and Maria both ripped into me after it all transpired, and it's made me realise that I've been too afraid to talk back. But… But now I feel more confident."

"That is good to hear…" I mumble. "But… I want you to promise me I will be safe here. I was so happy to finally make it back, but then having to deal with that makes me wonder if… if it would have been better to stay away…"

Rainbow tensed when she heard that, but slumped when I caught Virus (in the seat next to her) shooting her a very pointed look. "You're right, Caleb. I promise this place is the safest for you, and I will make sure of it. Without any Council meetings for a long while, it'll give me and everyone else time to just… make things right. So you can truly call this place home."

I looked up at her, and after a moment, I gave her a small smile. She smiled back, and looked over at the door towards the kitchen.

"A guard told me earlier about what you want to do", Rainbow said. "You don't need to ask me about it." She looked back at me. "If you want to take your friends shopping, that's all okay."

"Really?" I said in surprise.

"This is your home now too, Caleb", Gladius said. "You just need to tell Jeremy, since he's your designated bodyguard and driver."

I nodded, only to look over at Virus when the blob cleared his throat. "It worked out too, since me, Lightness, Darkness and Rainbow all have something very important to work on today. So you taking everyone out is perfect."

"What are you guys working on?" I asked innocently.

"It's a surprise", Rainbow said as kitchen staff came in with our food. One that didn't have a tray looked around and quickly dashed out, presumably to find the others. I smiled as Maple nuzzled against my cheek, filling me with hope as the aroma of the delicious food entered my nose.

Today… Today was gonna be special.

~X~

"So… we're going shopping again?" Zomboss asked.

After breakfast, me and Gladius quickly roped everyone up into a single group and began to lead them to the front of the castle. All during the walk, confusion washed over the group as they heard the grand plan for today.

"Yep!" I said happily, skipping along. Maple was still on my shoulder, and my two best friends Gladius and Katania by my side. "I thought since you guys couldn't take everything with you when you all go back home, I decided we all needed that one thing so we could remember our time together. Just something special and small."

"That's one way to look at it", McGee said. "But why can't we take everything back? Is there some reality breaking shenanigans that could happen?"

"No", Gladius said firmly. "Just that those in your home worlds, at least for some of you, don't have the modern clothing styles the Capital offers. We don't want you all to be bombarded with questions."

"Plus, it'll just be hard to hide all the stuff you guys bought in your homes", Katania said. "Especially since most of you weren't at home when Caleb and Gladdy ran into you." Galacta Knight sighed while Flowey, Scrap Baby and the Lakebottom Campers winced and nodded.

"Honestly, I'd like to see what we can find", Steve said in anticipation. "Maybe there's a special music box or something that can be synced with other models…"

"That'd be interesting", Jenny mused. "But I'm hoping for maybe something that isn't battery powered. For those of us who don't live in a place with proper outlets."

Manolo and Maria shared a sad look, and I cleared my throat. "I'm sure there'll be something in the mall that would fit what we need. Just give it time, look around, and if any of you find something, call the rest of us with the walkie-talkies and we'll meet up."

As we neared the front entrance, I caught sight of a group of staff moving a bunch of scrap and charred wood into massive containers.

"Looks like the Council room was hit pretty hard, huh?" Majima said with a smirk. "Play with fire, you get burned."

"Did you guys not see the wreckage?" I asked in confusion.

Hilda shook her head as Alfur rested on her beret and Twig skipped beside her. "Only Gladius got to see, the rest of us weren't allowed in after all the chaos."

"I would like to see what Rainbow had done", The Doctor said thoughtfully. "Just to see if she really is all she's cracked up to be." We all gave him an odd look, so we quickly elaborated. "In the sense of if all this 'all powerful goddess' talk is fully true. At least… nevermind."

We all rolled our eyes and made our way outside, where the limo was waiting for us. It was a bit to the side, since three garbage trucks had to be lined up with the cleanup going on. We all made it past the work crew, and climbed into the vehicle. Jeremy was once again our chaperone, only he was fairly quiet as he talked with one of the other staff members. After he was done, we were off.

There was a faint plume of smoke coming from the back corner of the castle, and a few helicopters could be seen flying around where the destruction supposedly was.

"I'm guessing nothing like this has happened before?" Marco asked Jeremy as Star leaned out the window.

The guard shook his head. "Not since I've been around. But in the records there's reports of council meetings at the beginning being very chaotic because everyone was still trying to figure things out."

"I remember that", Gladius said wistfully. "Man, it makes me miss those days. That Council was so much better than this current one. Hopefully Rainbow gets back into contact with the past members so they can help with the restructuring."

"That'd be nice", Rory said. "After everything that happened, it's probably for the best to get them back in on all of this." He paused when another helicopter flew overhead. "Especially with this. I don't like any of this."

"I'll admit, it's a lot." Amy frowned as she looked out the window, catching one last glimpse of the castle before it disappeared behind the wall of skyscrapers.

"I wonder how Rainbow's freak out was seen from the city", Vanellope mused.

"Probably absolutely terrified as a massive blast shot out of the castle and split the sky", I said. "I mean, how else would you react if you saw a giant rainbow coloured beam blasting into space when you know you live with gods that could once manipulate literally existence itself?"

Everyone hissed and nodded in understanding, and for the rest of the drive things fell into a comfortable silence. Looking out the window, I could see the city was a bit off, and when we stopped at a red light, the somewhat tense body postures of most of the civilians made it all clear: they were still shaken up over what had happened a few days ago.

As the light turned green and we continued, I continued to idly look out at the passing buildings in silent content. Deep down there was still that sadness, but it was now amongst the feeling of content and acceptance.

I snapped out of my stupor when Jeremy pulled the limo into the mall's parking lot, and was quick to bring it to the spot reserved for Rainbow. With the limo parked, we all headed out and began to make our way over to the mega mall.

"Alright, we'll split up and search", I said. "Kat, Gladdy and Maple are with me. The rest of you… figure it out yourselves. Come one guys."

Kat, Gladius and Maple quickly followed after me as we left the others behind at the entrance. We darted about the busy mall until we came to a row of distinct shops that reminded me of the kind you'd see at the edge of a highway. Cheesy, simple but filled to the brim with charm.

"So this is our first stop…" Gladius said in a monotone voice, Maple cocking his head in confusion. "Any reason as to why?"

"Places like this always have the things you'd expect to help you find things that'd always make you look back on good times and remember", I explained happily. "So there's gotta be something here that'll be special to all of us."

"Sound reasoning", Katania said thoughtfully.

Gladius shrugged and all of us entered the first of the four stores. It was somewhat western inspired, with wooden architecture and very rustic set pieces. The man behind the cashier counter was old, with a bushy grey moustache and worn outfit that made him look like a retired sheriff.

We quietly waved at him and began to look through the small shop. The shelves were lined with rustic knick-knacks that were pulled right out of the Wild West, with wooden horse toys, fake revolvers, and even some small cactuses. It was quaint, but not really what we were looking for. So after we searched high and low, we decided to move onto the next store.

The owner was sleeping as we left, but I felt bad we didn't buy anything, so I decided to leave about 100 dollars in a small donation jar that was on a counter. I smiled and caught up with Kat and Gladius, who were about to enter the second store. But when we saw it was an adult store, we immediately decided to head to the next store over.

It was much more appropriate, with it feeling like a typical tourist trap kind of like the Mystery Shack. Only with more modern touch ups. There was one other person walking around looking through the shelves, and no cashier in sight, so the four of us split up to find something. Maple went with Katania, leaving me and Gladius to head to the opposite side of the store.

As I scanned over the shelves, trying to not disturb the other shopper, Gladius ended up saying something that changed everything.

"Ra?" The sword asked in disbelief. "Is that really you?"

"Ah, Gladius!" I looked over and saw the well dressed man with a hawk head shoot Gladius a joyful look. "It's been much too long, old friend!" They both hugged. "How have you been? It's been over 250 years since we last talked."

"Surviving", the sword said flatly. "Rainbow, Lightness and Darkness became a lot more jumpy after they disbanded the old Council, and they haven't been the same since. Heck, over the last 50 years I was locked into a storage room because they were worried the new Council they were looking to form would take advantage of me."

"Clearly because they knew you were too smart for their own good." Ra chuckled lightly. "But you're out of that blasted rock! I'm surprised, considering all of us back then tried whatever we could. Who was finally able to free you?"

"This young boy right here." Gladius turned and gestured to me. "This is Caleb."

The Egyptian sun god hummed and knelt down so he could look me in the eye. "I heard about you, my boy."

My eyes widened in shock. "You have?"

Ra nodded. "All us original members of the old Council still have our connections to hear, and when Anubis told me Rainbow lost her mind because someone she cared about was being harassed by the new council, I became curious." He gave me a curious look. "Why are you so special to her?"

"She basically adopted me", I explained. "And after going on an accidental adventure across the multiverse, she's been a lot more protective of me."

Ra looked over his shoulder to give Gladius a look, and the sword rubbed the back of his jewel sheepishly. "It's a long story…"

"Well, I have the time, so give me the summarised version."

Me and Gladius shared a look, and so as we scanned the shelves we gave Ra the simplified spin on our two month long tale. Surprisingly, he seemed extremely supportive when I told him about all the friends I made and dragged along on the journey. How we saved multiple words from armageddon, twisted the storylines of other worlds, and generally created chaos in our wake. He laughed and smiled, almost looking nostalgic as I talked. At some point, Katania and Maple finally joined us, and we all shopped with Ra as a group.

As the tale came to an end, with me summarising our final stop in the Convergence Universe and the explosive meeting of the Council, the sun god sighed. "I'm not that surprised to hear all of that. Although the Convergence Universe… that project was abandoned over 500 years ago…"

"Yes, it was quite a shock to me when we found our way in somehow", Gladius said. "We were lucky to have survived."

"And after you guys made it back!" Kat cheered.

I smiled. "Still crazy to me, honestly."

Ra chuckled. "I understand that, my boy." He looked up at a clock on the wall of the shop, then down at the cloth bag hanging from his arm. "Well, I suppose we sadly must part. I have to be elsewhere soon, and I don't want to be late."

"We understand Ra, don't worry", Gladius affirmed with a nod. "I'll be sure to keep in touch."

"I expect nothing less from you, old friend." The sun god looked down at me and Katania. "You two are just what this place needed for a better change. I hope we will meet again soon. And Caleb." I looked up at him with a look of awe. "All of us original Council members still keep in touch. So I'll tell them what you told me. We're all in your corner, so if you ever need to talk to someone, you know who to call." He flashed one last smile before he purchased his goods and left into the busy mall, leaving me, Kat and Maple in silent awe.

"I missed him so much", Gladius said quietly. "One of my dearest friends back in my life." He looked down at me. "He wasn't wrong. You two have the capabilities to change this place. It already has somewhat begun, with myself freed and Rainbow taking her stand against the Council."

I nodded absentmindedly, then shook my head. "Yeah, but let's worry about that another time. I say we check up on the others, see how things are going on their end."

"Yeah…" Katania put a small simple toy back on the shelf. "These places, while fun, don't have a lot going for them. Let's go."

The four of us left the store and began to weave through the crowd, on our way to hopefully find the others.

~X~

An hour or two later, it was hard to say, we were all grouped back up in a store Corey had found that seemed to be exactly what we were looking for. It was a music store, but it had all manner of music related trinkets. But what made him call us over was the fact this one store actually did custom built music boxes, which was perfect for us. Despite all of us loving different genres of music, that was a love we all equally shared. So this was perfect.

"I never had to build so many of these before", the middle-aged woman who owned the store said with a laugh and a smile. "But I can't say I'm surprised. It's been all over the news here about you all, and everyone is thinking the Council being banned from coming back is because of you guys."

"Not surprised it broke out into the news…" Majima grumbled as me, him, Gladius and Maria hung around the front desk waiting for our order as the others explored the store to pass the time. "Considering everything, I'd be more shocked if anyone didn't care!"

"Oh yeah, it was wild." The cashier, who's name was Christina based on the name tag, rounded around a printer and put the seventh finished music box on a small table. "I haven't seen this city thrown up into such a panic before. But for most of us, it was a long time coming and couldn't be happier."

"Oh?" Maria spoke up in surprise. "Was there that much bad blood with those freaks?"

"A lot of them always acted like these ego-filled big shots when they'd walk around the city", Christina explained. "They expected us to treat them like royalty, giving them free stuff and what not. Of course we complained to Rainbow and her brothers, and they did stop them. But they kept doing it."

"So I'm assuming this massive blast we keep hearing about was really nice?" Majima waved his hands around with an eye roll.

"Yes and no." Christina pulled out a remote and clicked on a TV, and all of us in the store watched as a news report flashed on the screen. A news anchor explained about the situation and it cut to footage of the castle a few days ago. All seemed fine, with the horrible weather making me have bad flashbacks to that awful day. But all quickly spiked into chaos when a massive rainbow coloured blast shot out of the building. The image shook violently, Rainbow's rage filled scream filled the air, and the storm ceased instantly.

"Holy fuck", Majima said in shock.

"Yeah, it was intense." Christina put another two finished music boxes on the table with the others. "The whole city was in panic because we've never heard Rainbow sound so mad. Most of the city is still sacred to ask for anything because of it. Luckily General Skye was there to answer questions to help clear things up. Didn't do much, but it did help somewhat."

"I've only seen that side of Rainbow once", Gladius said as the shop owner turned the TV off. "And it was not pretty. She was so mad I was worried she would completely annihilate the entire planet."

"That's a scary thought", Maria said. She reached into the purse she bought during Katania's girls day out, and pulled out the credit card tied to the castle's personal account. "I'm glad she's on our side with all of this."

"We all are", Christina said with a smile. I smiled myself as Maria paid for the finished music boxes. They looked beautiful, with a small figurine of a posing Gladius the spinning component as an instrumental of LA Devotee by Panic! At The Disco played out as the song of choice.

"The inside of the lid is basically an impromptu picture frame, and it;s super easy to get anything in there", Christina explained as she put all the music boxes in a single big cardboard box. "So hopefully you find something that fits right in there perfectly." She winked as Dry Bowser took the filled box and Maria finished the transaction.

We all bid Christina farewell and began to make our way back to the entrance of the mall, spirits high but smiles having this slight hint of sadness.

"We should do a group photo", I spoke up suddenly. Everyone looked at me, and I continued. "For the music boxes. We should all pose for a group photo, and then get it printed and copied so we all have that. What do you guys think?"

"Sounds good!" Ralph said in a jolly tone, although there was a melancholy undertone to it. "We can probably take it on the balcony or something."

Everyone else nodded, and for the rest of the walk back we were all silent. It was a comfortable silence, but one that was somewhat sad when you dug deeper. Even when we all made it back to the limo and climbed inside we were all still somewhat quiet. Jeremy looked over at us from the driver seat, his eyes reflecting off the rear-view mirror. I caught his worried gaze and shot him a thumbs up, still not fully sure if I was being 100% honest with myself.

After finally making it back to the castle and quickly dashing to our hallway, The Doctor ran into his room and got a camera and tripod. It was fairly modern, clean and slick. Dry Bowser dropped the box off in the Rec Room, and we all headed outside onto the balcony.

Me, Galacta and Amy worked to get the camera into position as the others all shuffled together in front of the door. I glanced up and saw Gladius instructing them so the shortest were in the front and the tallest were in the back. Hilda and Vanellope paired up and watched from the side as everyone else shifted and stumbled. But soon they were all in position, and I flashed a thumbs up when everything was lined up.

Galacta flew over and hovered above Dry Bowser, Amy joined Rory, and I slid up next to Katania.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" My best friend asked in a hushed voice.

"No…" I whispered back, fighting to keep my tears hidden.

Kat fell silent for a moment. "I'm gonna ask my mom if I can sleepover in your room, I can be there."

I nodded, then faced the camera. "Cherish every second."

The camera flashed, and the picture was taken.

~X~

I lazily looked out my bedroom window as I waited for Kat to show up with all her stuff for the sleepover. I was already prepared for bed, and decided to pass the time by stargazing till I had to bid goodbye to this wonderful yet somewhat sombre day, and greet what was going to be one of the saddest days of my life. I wasn't ready, I knew that, and even with the music box it didn't feel right.

Speaking of, I looked to my right and watched the small box play its gentle melody, the photo of the crazy bunch of lunatics I had assembled as a new family all bright and smiling on the underside of the lid. Despite the happiness shown across the bright, smiling faces, I felt nothing but sadness.

It was going to be hard tomorrow. One of my worse, I knew. But, I was l lucky to have Gladius, Katania and Maple by my side through all of it, even if it was such a heartbreaking time for all of us.

I took a deep breath and stood up, heading to my bedroom door. I opened it and looked down the hallway, seeing Katania approach with a suitcase and a sombre look. Gladius was hovering next to her, carrying a stuffed lizard she clearly loved dearly.

I walked over and helped her, the ticking of the clock suddenly ringing in my ears like a deep drum.

It made my heart twist.

~X~

Sorry I took a bit longer to get this chapter out. The new Pokémon DLC, The Indigo Disk, came out a week ago and had captured my attention.

Anyway, 93rd chapter is done! A calmer one, with a goal set and achieved and a surprise appearance from the sun god Ra. And this Ra was the original from the ancient Egyptian legends we still don't fully understand. I was planning to include him sooner, but it felt better to save him for now after Rainbow put her foot down in regard to how things were.

Next chapter is gonna be a hard one to write, I just know it. So be ready to shed some tears and use a few tissues as we cap off this incredible and chaotic fic.

Up next: The penultimate day of the gang being together is here, and Caleb is miserable. As everyone begins packing up what they can take with them, the boy, general's daughter and magic sword spend some time with each of them before it was time to say goodbye…

~Caleb~