The walk towards the Council room was slow and tense. I kept a blank look on my face, but my legs would lock up occasionally and once I even tried to just go back to the Rec Room. But the others were able to somewhat calm my frayed and frantic nerves. The closer we got, the more scared I would get. It was making my mind run wild, and I was close to bursting into tears.

As we turned a second corner, I saw Rainbow pacing outside the Council room's closed door, sounds of bickering and arguing coming from inside.

The goddess looked up, and as soon as her eyes locked onto me, she bolted over and wrapped me into a tight hug.

"Caleb Caleb Caleb…" She whispered out repeatedly, stroking my hair gently. "I'm so sorry, I tried, I really tried to tell them no. I tried I tried I tried I tried…" She hugged me closer and tighter, quietly sobbing.

"Rainbow…" I whispered sadly. "Rainbow…" she continued to sob. "Mom, it's okay…"

"It's not okay!" She cried. She buried her face in my hair. "You shouldn't have to deal with this. I just got you back, and you're being thrown out to the sharks… I should've put my foot down…"

"Rainbow, relax", Gladius said reassuringly. "Caleb will have you four, while the rest of us will be right outside." He gestured to the others, and they all nodded with determined looks.

Rainbow sniffled. "Thank you…" She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, then looked down at me. "This is gonna be very tense, Caleb. Thanos thinks something is inherently wrong with you." She looked off to the side. "They weren't fully aware somehow, but you all going from universe to universe tipped them off to something being wrong."

We all winced. "We really tried to not leave that much on an imprint." I looked back at the others, and they all looked lost and horrified. The most visibly distraught ones were Galacta, Dry Bowser and Flowey, who all seemed to be suddenly very aware that their actions seemed to have put a bigger target on my back.

I gulped then looked back at Rainbow. "I'll be fine. If things get too intense, I can just go, right?"

Rainbow looked off to the side. "Maybe… Depends on what happens, or how the Council are feeling."

"It can't be that bad", Majima said nonchalantly.

We all jumped when an explosion sounded off inside the room. Toro's one eye widened, and he shrunk down a bit sheepishly when most of the others shot him a very heated glare.

Ralph walked over, and Rainbow lowered me so we could see each other eye to eye. "Kid, I know it's scary. But remember who you met. Who you were able to rope up together because of who you are."

"You're brave…" Ruby said reassuringly.

"You're creative…" Amy said with a smile, tilting her head.

"You're crazy…" Dry Bowser added, the flames in his eyes sparking a bit.

"You're kind…" Blossom mentioned, with her sisters nodding in agreement.

"You're determined…" Galacta said stoically.

"You were somehow able to snag a complete circus of weirdos…" Barranco said, gesturing to himself and the others.

"You gave most of us a second chance…" Scrap Baby said shyly, shooting me a look as she pet her claw.

"I'll admit you're a handsome devil…", Merida said with a smirk. The blush I was gaining exploded at that.

"You helped all of so much…" McGee said proudly.

"And all of that combines to make you", Jenny said. "The one and only Caleb."

"Our Caleb", Katania finished, smiling brightly at me as she stood next to her dad. "And none of us would give that up."

"You have changed our lives, my boy", Gladius began. "And no matter what happens, no matter who tries to attack you, no matter what the council says to you, we will always be here. We will stand by your side, move mountains, cross oceans, we'd do it all to keep you safe."

At this point, a waterfall of tears was cascading down my face as a bright but shaky smile remained fixed on it. I looked over all the others, and wiggled out of Rainbow's hug and rushed over to them. I hugged Ralph tightly, with most of the group joining in. After a few seconds, I wiped the tears away and took a deep breath. Looking back over to Rainbow, I opened my mouth…

Only to clamp it shut when Darkness came barreling outside of the council room, slamming the door behind him. He looked absolutely frazzled, eyes wild as if he just came back from a war that fast forwarded through a war.

He looked over at us, and only seemed to become more frantic at the sight of me. "Rainbow, I don't think sending him in is a good idea." The dark blob nodded at me. "The Council are at each other's throats, and Thanos isn't helping. Darkseid's helping him, it is bad!"

Rainbow sighed, sounding like she was suddenly one hundred years older. "Caleb is doing it. And if it gets the Council off our backs, then so be it."

Darkness gave his sister a long look, then glanced at me worriedly. "Are you sure about this kid?"

I nodded, and he sighed. "I'll let them know you're here." He entered the room once again, the volume of the arguing making me wince for a moment before the door closed.

Rainbow stood tall for a moment, remaining absolutely silent. Then, she sighed.

"Let's get this over with, Caleb…"

I nodded and followed her towards the door. I waved goodbye to the others, and they all waved back. Katania and Gladius were at the front of the group, both of them looking distressed in the ways they could best express it.

With a nervous swallow and deep breath, I followed Rainbow into the Council room.

~X~

It was deathly silent as I hid behind my adoptive mother, and she led me to a seat that was set up between her and Virus. The purple blood shot me a reassuring smile, and I smiled back only for it to fall when I nervously looked back at the Council members, who were all in their seats before us.

They were all looking at me, some of them warily, some with glares, and others in sadness. Those last few clearly didn't think putting me on the spot was a good idea, and my uncomfortable expression clearly solidified that.

One of them was, surprisingly, the God Of Destruction from Dragon Ball, Beerus. The purple humanoid cat was with his companion, Whis, and was giving me an almost nostalgic look.

I think he could tell I was a cat person.

At the centre of the room, the only one not in their seat was none other than the mad titan himself. Thanos gave me a suspicious glare, his arms behind his back as he began to pace back and forth.

"We have heard things, Rainbow", the Mad Titan began. "There's been whispers that have been circulating since this child showed up in your palace."

"Whatever it was, Thanos", Rainbow spat, "It has nothing to do with Caleb. He's been here the whole time, and you have no proof he's been anywhere else."

"On the contrary, Rainbow", Thanos spat back. He pointed the hand with the Infinity Gauntlet at Him. "Him has shared some very interesting information with me before I made a call to this meeting."

"You what?!" Darkness roared, shooting out of his seat. "You know that isn't allowed, Thanos!"

"What I was told", Thanos continued, completely ignoring the embodiment of evil, "What that child was in Townsville. He couldn't fully tell, sadly, but he was able to share something else."

The Mad Titan gestured at the red, clawed demon to speak, and Him stood up. "I remember being promised by this talking flower that my wildest wishes would come true, only for him to betray me right as those bothersome Powerpuff Girls stopped the plan. But they weren't alone. They had this massive group of strangers with them, and one of them stood out to me…

"Does anyone here know of a winged knight with the body of an orb?"

I tensed slightly as everyone shook their heads.

Except Rhombulous, who raised one of his sentient snake head hands. "I did. I was minding my business in the Crystal Dimension when he suddenly crashed through my roof and started attacking me. I lost, but something scared him off."

"And why does this involve Caleb?" Lightness asked in genuine confusion. "If something else was running rampant, it might have just been a Fragment."

I shot Rainbow a confused look, and she mouthed "Later" at me.

"Wait, you said 'winged warrior'?" Xibalba asked. Him nodded, and the ruler of the Land Of The Forgotten hummed. "Now that you mention it, I do remember seeing him. When Chakal was attacking San Angel, I remember just barely seeing him in the crowd. And I believe I saw the boy within it too…" His red skull pupils locked onto me, and I shivered.

Thanos shot Rainbow a look, and I could swear there was the faintest of smirks. "You see, Rainbow, multiple members of this group you formed for this exact reason have seen this boy in their worlds. And you shouldn't lie to us, because you know the consequences…"

Rainbow snarled and slammed her fist on the table, making me jump. "CALEB WAS HERE AND NOWHERE ELSE. IF THIS MEETING WAS JUST TO PIN BLAME ON HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE PARANOID, THEN PISS RIGHT OFF!"

Thanos seemed unfazed by the goddess' outburst, simply giving her a bored look before looking at me. "What do you have to say for yourself, child? You broke one of the most important rules we were all told when we all came together for the first time."

"I don't know", I said, trying not to crack under the stares. "I have been here this whole time, so whatever you all saw wasn't me."

Thanos cocked a brow at me. "Are you certain?"

"I would know if I wasn't home, Thanos…"

"Hmmmmm… I see…" The Mad Titan turned his back to me, facing the rest of the Council. "What do you all think? Do you take the child's words to heart?"

Everyone in the seats looked at Thanos for a while, then looked at me. I ducked down a bit, still terrified one of them would vaporise me on the spot. They all remained silent as they looked at me, with those seemingly on my side moving first and nodding. I passed a glance at Beerus, and the cat god gave me the subtlest of winks.

Everyone else, after a while longer, shook their heads (although some hesitated).

"A majority does not believe you, boy", the Mad Titan said impatiently. "And because of that, you will need to be questioned. To determine if you truly are harmless or not."

Rainbow and Virus shot out of their seats in rage. "You don't have jurisdiction to make that choice, Thanos!" Rainbow roared.

"I have the majority vote on my side, Rainbow", he calmly said back. The tone sent a chill up my spine. "You said it yourself, these meetings had to be fair, and this child is no different. We all know you and Virus are incapable of creating a life, so you obviously picked this brat off the streets."

I looked down, eyes wide. He wasn't entirely wrong.

Rainbow growled, looking at Lightness and Darkness for support. They both shook their heads, knowing she'll want to fight back. Rainbow, outnumbered, let out a sigh.

"Fine", she spat angrily, "You can ask Caleb your questions. BUT, only one at a time. If you overwhelm him, you won't hear the end of it."

"Of course, Rainbow." But the Mad Titan didn't sound the slightest bit intimidated. It seems Rainbow's lack of power really made her not seen as a threat. It made me very nervous.

"Get Caleb a chair and table", the goddess barked at some guards behind us. They nodded and entered a side room, and quickly exited with a small table and chair that were more my size. They set them in front of the four gods' table, and I gulped.

"It'll be okay, Caleb", Lightness whispered as I moved to hop off the chair. "Just answer questions, be honest, and this'll all be over."

I gave him a forced smile and thumbs up, and made my way to my new seat. When I took a seat, Rainbow lightly tapped the back of my chair with her foot, reassuring me a bit.

"Now, let us begin", Thanos said firmly. He gave me a hard, icey look. "Child, your name is Caleb, is that right?"

I nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Any last name?"

Already my heart clenched painfully, but I forced out an answer. "No. Not anymore."

The Mad Titan hummed. "I see… Where did you come from?"

I gulped and looked up at Rainbow. She looked at me with a contemplative expression, then nodded.

I looked back at Thanos, and took a deep breath. "I come from Canada, on earth. The one outside the multiverse."

That made the whole room explode in confusion and anger.

"You're from where?!" Aku roared.

"The Alpha Universe, of course he's from the Alpha Universe", Yellow Diamond said in shocked outrage.

"How did he even get here?!" Mickey Mouse yelled over the chaos.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP!" Rainbow screamed. Everyone fell somewhat silent, although there were still hushed conversations filled with confusion. "Yes, Caleb is from the Alpha Universe. It happened two months ago, on the day you all called that other emergency meeting."

"So that's why you were so protective of him…" Thanos snarled. He glared at me. "How did you get here?"

"I was driving home after… a bad day", I explained, "But then a storm suddenly formed above me and a portal opened right in front of me. I couldn't stop, so I drove through and crashed into the castle. That's when I first met… them…" I gestured up at the four gods, who all shot venomous glares at the other Council members as if daring them to lash out at me.

"You turned on that stupid machine, didn't you?" Cuphead's Devil spat. "It opened a rift and brought someone from the Alpha Universe here. You two were fools."

"We're lucky it wasn't someone dangerous", Arceus said, his voice echoing across the room.

"We don't know that yet", Darkseid said forebodingly. "This boy clearly has jumped worlds, so we have yet to know his true motive."

I gulped and shrunk into myself a bit, tension running through my blood at impossible speeds.

This wasn't going to be fun…

~X~

The next series of questions we all focused on my first few days here, and I had to answer them all honestly. I told them about my shopping trip, getting trapped in the treasury, heading to the Ice Cream Parlor and being harassed by Thanos (a lot of the members glared at him and those with him at the time), meeting and befriending Katania, and exploring the Capital's museum.

"And that's how my third day went", I said as I wrapped up my story. Thanos had his back to me, clearly processing what I had said.

"You're leaving something out, child…" the purple skinned man said calmly. Although I could sense the barely hidden edge.

"I'm honest, that's what happen-"

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" The Mad Titan roared, spinning around so he could look me dead in the eye. I leaned back, face twisted in terror and tears threatening to spill as his monstrous glare was locked onto me.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, and spoke. "I-I heard a voice i-in one of the st-torage rooms, a-and I went to investigate. It was a talking sword, and I-I freed him from the r-rock he was tr-trapped in…" I took some deep breaths to steady myself as Thanos leaned back so he was fully standing once again, then turned his back to me.

"Good, was that so hard?" His tone was condescending and impatient, as it was clear I hadn't told him what he wanted. "Is this sword your companion?"

"Yes, he is. His name is Gladius, and he doesn't like you…"

Thanos darkly chuckled. "Most people don't, so I'm not surprised. Here I am, his saviour and companion at my mercy."

"You're crossing a line, Thanos…" Virus snarled. "If you keep that up, we'll cut this meeting short."

The Mad Titan snorted, then faced me again. "Can 'Gladius' open portals at all?"

I paused. "I don't know. He's been in that rock ever since he was born, so we don't know what he can do. All the two of us know right now is he can talk, fly, and use telekinesis."

Thanos glared at me. "You are testing my patience, boy. We all know you jumped universes. You were seen, and with others. You can't weasel your way around evidence."

"How can we be so sure it was me?" I asked honestly. "I've been here with Katania and Gladius this whole time, living here over these past two months. Whoever was out there wasn't me!"

Thanos gave me a very hard look, deathly silent as he gazed at me. I suddenly struck under his glare, and became more uncomfortable as he leaned in close.

"No one has ever called me a liar, child", he snarled silently. "If you value your life, you will tell me the truth, NOW."

"THANOS!" Rainbow screamed. He looked up at her, and was unfazed by her glare. But he conceded, letting out a sigh and stepping back.

"Very well, we'll return to this at some other point. For now, tell us, what did you do over these two months? Have you enjoyed yourself?"

I relaxed just the tiniest bit. "Yes, I have. Me, Katania and Gladius spent everyday together, exploring the castle top to bottom. Of course, after Rainbow threw me a welcome party…"

"I see. That does sound enjoyable. But I have to ask, did anything happen at the party?"

"Well, we played games, talked, ate food, the typical stuff you do at a party."

"Hmmmmm, strange, because I remember running into a disgruntled ex-soldier who told me something very different a month back…"

A suffocating silence fell over the room as my blood turned to ice.

"I see you know who I'm talking about", Thanos spat, smirking at the terrified look on my face. "So you must know he explained to me that himself and two former colleagues raided your party, forcing you to lash out with Gladius. In your act of self defence, you two opened a portal and fell in."

"N-No…" I weakly defended. 'That's not-"

"Child, enough, it's clear you jumped universes. And by the looks of it, a lot. More than any of us have seen. And yet you attempted to lie about that, cover it up. Why is that?"

"If you're insinuating I did it intentionally to hurt people, then you're wrong!" I shouted. Thanos looked surprised at my outburst, so I kept it going. "Yes, I universe hopped. But it was all an accident! I didn't want that to happen, and I was terrified because I finally found a home after two years of being alone and lost it after only five days. So I travelled to try and get back! For two whole months I was trying to get back! But not once did I hurt a soul!"

I started taking a few heavy breaths, finally realising I was standing up. All the Council gazed at me with varying expressions, with Thanos giving me an unreadable expression. Then, much to the fear that's been growing in me since this started, he began to laugh.

"Child, you are a fool to think that is any different", the Mad Titan said. "You still left a mark in your wake, and it seemed you formed quite the entourage as you travelled. Most of us noticed missing persons in our homes after you mysteriously vanished, which doesn't help your case."

I sat back down in my seat, all the adrenaline having evaporated from my body as Thanos glared at me.

"You truly are foolish, child. You think you can stand up to me, but I am so much more important than you. But I can tell, even through your lies, that there's something else you aren't telling us…"

"W-What do you mean?" I stuttered.

"I'm curious…

"Who are you, really?"

~X~

Yep, this is the next arc. Caleb being interrogated by the Council (mainly Thanos). After they all vanished after the first chapter, I wanted to bring them back in some capacity. And this was the perfect way as to how. They'll be ripping Caleb apart emotionally and mentally, with it peaking at the arc's third and final chapter.

Seriously, this is the final build up towards the final emotional climax. I've been waiting for this for a long time, so hopefully it meets and even exceeds your expectations.

God this is gonna be good…

Up next: The Council as whole begins to question Caleb in an attempt to see who, or what, he really is. But that comes at a cost for the boy, who is forced to see painful and buried memories flash before his eyes as the questions get more and more personal…

~Caleb~