ã€ŠThe Wonderkeepers: Rise of the Arcadiansã€‹


 Prolouge to Wonder

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    Long ago, in a town just like your own. There was a Mall similar to the one in your hometown. A place where the Elderly, Adults, Teenagers, and children alike all come together to do their general shopping or even socialize. By day, the mall was hustling and bustling with people of all ages to get about their day and chase the next big sale on clothes, electronics, or even the newest smartphone¡­..

    ¡­¡­..But when night falls on the Mall and the Security guards lock up for the night¡­..something wondrous happens¡­.

    As the guard finishes locking up and the janitor finishes his nightly cleaning¡­¡­the gates that close the stores off from the rest of the mall suddenly unlock and open up once more. But one specific store opens up full of life and wonderment. The store known as ¡®Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyland¡¯ began to stir and breathe to life as each toy began to come to life.

    One of the front window display toys, a dragon Action figure from the ¡®Dragon Rangers¡¯ playset began to look out and see there were no people in sight¡­.

    ¡°ALL CLEAR! THEY ARE ALL GONE!¡± He said in a scratchy voice, but he accidentally opened his mouth too wide and accidentally fired off his fireball projectile piece.

    ¡°Oops¡­Can someone get that?¡± The toy dragon asked, a little embarrassed.

    After his announcement. The toys in the store all began to move and go about their business.

    We see a group of ¡®Rainbow Bears¡¯ running around playing tag. A Red Bear with a Heart on its belly immediately tagged a Green Bear with a clover on its belly.

    Meanwhile, a group of ¡®Doughboy Jack¡¯ action figures were doing a series of military exercises while Doughboy Jack himself was leading his team of commandos in the drill.

    Then we see a group of Penny Stockings going about their day in their extra small dreamhouse packed to the brim with all their accessories¡­..each sold separately.

    They all lived together in this toy store to do one thing and one thing only, to wait for the child that they could fill with joy and imaginative wonderment. Every day adults would bring their children to let them choose one of them¡­and once they are chosen they are given the highest honor a toy could give ... .imaginative freedom to a child.

    But on this night¡­..there was something different in the air¡­..something sinister yet foreboding. The reason why this feeling began to simmer across the toys in Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyland was because of the new store that opened across the Mall. It had only opened a few days ago and children and teenagers have been going in and out of it every single day¡­¡­but none of them are walking out with anything aside from the occasional cup of soda or slice of pizza. Even after closing time whatever was in this store remained on and without the hustle and bustle of the mall goers of the day¡­they can hear repeated ¡®Beeps¡¯ and ¡®Boops¡¯ that you would hear from dialing a phone.

    A few brave toys decided to leave their store to go investigate what made this store so popular. These four brave toys that decided to go were some of the bravest from all of their clusters and had traveled across this great mall¡­..

    The Stretchy and Bendable, Noodle Neddy! Able to stretch his whole body and still come back together!

    The yet-to-be-adopted Cauliflower Child, Wally! With hugs that can break the stuffing out of any stuffed animal!

    The majestic Loveable Horsie, Chroma Jumper! With speeds matching a real horse and a majestic and brushable mane to boot!

    Then finally the Leader of the group, the Man of Action himself, Duke Danger, the King of the Galaxy armed with his mighty Axe of Legends!

    Duke Danger and Co all walked towards the entrance of this new store¡­.they couldn''t get a good look at the store''s name from far away, but now that they were at the front of the entrance¡­.they saw that the name was called¡­.¡¯ Arcade¡¯

    ¡°Now what kind of name is that? ¡®Ark-aide¡¯ That doesn¡¯t even sound like a real word!¡± Said Chroma Jumper with an unimpressed yet mocking tone.

    ¡°I agree, my glittery-maned associate! The name does not seem to imply the sale of any goods at all! I don¡¯t even see a cash register!¡± Noodle Ned declared as he stretched his head a little closer to the sign.

    ¡°Oooh! Maybe they sell curvy things and even bandages for boo-boos!¡± Replied Wally with a near cutesy baby voice. He pressed his face against the glass windows to try and get a better look inside.

    ¡°Enough! We don¡¯t know what friend or foe we will meet in this place, so everyone stays on your toes and hooves!¡± Said Duke Danger as he took the first step inside, the rest looked at one another and nodded.

    The second they all took their first steps inside the arcade, they were immediately hit with a sudden blast of cold air from the air conditioning unit right above them. They all looked down and saw they were no longer standing on hard marble floors, instead, they transitioned to now standing on a rough, black carpet with various neon-colored shapes imprinted into it. In certain spots, it felt like it was slightly sticky as if someone spilled something on it.

    The four walked deeper inside and saw there were multiple rows of¡­..giant boxy cabinets with TVs on the inside and decorated with buttons on the front of them, and a ton of these strange cabinets had labels on the front. Stolen novel; please report.

    Noodle Neddy saw one titled ¡®Grumpy Bear¡¯ and saw on the screen a bear throwing barrels of honey down a series of ramps while a lumberjack ran up the ramps to stop him.

    Wally climbed up right on top of one of the cabinets and looked down at one of the cabinets screens, this particular cabinet was called Galaxy Rangers! He saw a small white spaceship similar to the ones hanging from the ceiling of their home store, shooting...little white peas at the other meaner-looking spaceships.

    Chroma Jumper looked at another cabinet called ¡®Barista!¡¯ and saw a man sliding cups of hot coffee down a series of tables to a series of cranky businessmen.

    But Duke Danger himself felt very uneasy about this whole thing¡­.why would children spend all their time here when they could have someone like him, Wally, Chroma Jumper, or Noodle Neddy to keep them happy and entertained for years to come when they are only here for an hour at best? He looked up and saw one of the cabinets in front of him titled ¡®Meteors¡¯ he saw on the all-black screen a tiny triangle blasting away at various roughly made rocks ... then the screen flashed a foreboding text¡­..

    ¡°Coin?¡± He was puzzled.  Why did this¡­.thing need a coin to play? Was it a simple heads or tails machine?

    Duke Danger looked down and saw slightly under the cabinet was a quarter. He kneeled and grabbed it. He looked at the quarter, then back at the cabinet¡­.in his gut, he wondered, should he be doing this?

    But there he felt a rubbery hand on his plastic shoulder. He looked to his right and saw Noodle Ned giving him a look of reassurance.

    ¡°Let us find out together, old friend¡­..¡± Said Noodle Ned.

    ¡°Yeah! Whatever the big whoop is, let''s find out and we can one-up these dumb-looking boxes!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re right¡­..Wally¡­.will you do the honors?¡± Duke Danger asked as he handed Wally the quarter. He was the only one tall enough to reach the coin slot.

    ¡°Yeah! Let''s show these dumb boxes who¡¯s boss!¡± Wally said as he grabbed the quarter¡­¡­he pushed it into the coin slot.

    But then¡­..the Meteors cabinet played a small chiptune jingle¡­and all of the arcade cabinets shut down at once causing the four toys to get ready for whatever was about to happen¡­..but then ...the Meteors cabinet screen flickered back to life¡­this time the screens text was an eerie red color. The text slowly scrawled along the screen.

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    Then all the cabinet¡¯s screens started to flicker all at once! Glowing So brightly that they couldn''t make out what was on the screen anymore! But suddenly, bursting out of the Meteors cabinet screen was now that same white ship floating around the arcade right above them!

    Noodle Ned immediately tried to latch on and grab the little spaceship! But it immediately turned and started blasting its little white cubes right at the four toys! One shot managed to hit Duke Danger in the right arm! Detaching it clean off!  He picked up his arm and yelled to the rest of his friends

    ¡°RUN!¡±

    They all urgently made a mad dash for the front door. As this happened characters from the inside of all the other cabinets began to emerge from their cabinet screens. Every one of them doing what they can to slow the four down!

    The Grumpy bear threw a barrel of honey right at Wally and he became stuck in pixelated viscosity!

    ¡°Wally!¡± Chroma jumper shouted as she tried to pull him out! But then a pixelated tongue wrapped around her as she saw a frog that came out from the ¡®Toadie¡¯ Cabinet pull her right in and trap her in its mouth!

    Noodle Neddy tried to run up to save her, but Duke Danger immediately grabbed him with his left arm and shouted ¡°There''s nothing we can do! We need to warn the others!¡± Noodle Ned looked at Duke Danger, and saw a different-looking cabinet with a glass box on top of it¡­.its metal flap opened on the bottom,,, and a three-pronged claw shot out aiming to grab Duke Danger, but at the last second, he grabbed him and threw him as far as he could to the front door. Duke Danger quickly stood back up and saw this Noodle Ned getting dragged into the machine with the three-pronged claw and back into the metal flap. Inside the glass box, he saw him being violently squeezed but could see Noodle Ned signal him to RUN! JUST GO!

    Duke Danger ran to the front door but the Arcade doors closed down before he could get out¡­..courtesy of a pixelated man wearing a gray gi and a purple belt!

    Duke Danger knew this was the time to fight¡­so he dropped his detached right arm and used his left arm to raise his axe high and swung it down onto the head of the karate man¡­¡­but it did nothing but phase clean through them¡­..

    ¡°Oh no¡­¡­¡± Duke Danger whispered as he realized¡­.he couldn''t hurt them¡­.he couldn''t even touch them¡­

    ¡°Challange Accepted! Said the Karate man in a pixelated voice. The Karate Man took the position, his whole pixelated body glowed a bright blue¡­.and with one spinning uppercut he detached the head of Duke Danger completely¡­. His body fell to its knees¡­then hit the ground.

    As Duke Danger¡¯s head fell on the ground mere seconds after his body did¡­all the pixel beings returned to their arcade cabinets. They began to play like normal again¡­.but the Meteors Cabinet said something on its screen¡­.

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    This was only the Beginning¡­.The Rise of the Arcadians.

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 The Puzzleman Arc: Chapter I: A Builders Welcome!

    The Present Day

    As the Mall was starting to come to a close for the day, many people from various aspects of life had made it to the exits of the Mall, carrying bags of whatever purchased goods they gained throughout the day. Mostly clothes, toys, and electronics. But strewn across the Mall were various advertisements depicting the sale of a brand new video game console: The X-Station Unlimited. In the Main plaza of the Mall there lies a display setup showing off the X-Station.

    A smooth, sleek, dark gray design with the X-Station''s Logo engraved on the side. Sitting right next to the console itself was its wireless controller, dawned with four buttons on the right side with an analog stick on its left with trigger buttons decorating the very back. Right above this display console was an electronic countdown depicting how much time was left before the console in question was available for sale to the public.

    6 Days

    8 Hours

    43 Minutes

    22 Seconds.

    But one slightly elderly-looking man was wheeling a hand truck down the main hall. He looked at the countdown clock and scoffed with annoyance. He knew that once this console launched, it was going to throw off the whole mall economy and could even quite possibly put him out of business. But Hopefully, this new shipment of product he had received after months of being on the waiting list could put a change in that.

    The man walked into ''Mr. Wonder''s Toyland'' while humming an old-school tune. He parks the hand truck near the front window and cuts the box open with a box cutter. He opens the box and reaches into the pile of packing peanuts as a fully poseable toy figure. The Toy figure in question was that of a cartoony-looking handyman. The handyman was wearing a detachable light blue hard hat helmet on his head covering his plastic brown hair styled in a somewhat spiky look. One of the spikes of his hair dangling out from under his helmet. The figure also wore a button-up blue flannel collared shirt with gray overalls and dark gray boots on his feet.

    The man cleared off the display window of the ''Cryptid Critters'' Toy Line and placed them all on the clearance sale shelf. Marking them all down from 10 dollars each to 2.99. He then adjusted the arms and legs of the handyman toy figure to pose him to look more heroic. His right hand balled up to a fist resting on his hip while the left hand was posed to grip his included monkey wrench accessory and rested on his shoulder and tilted his head upwards to look up with his black, cartoon catlike eyes and his big bulbous nose and his painted on smile giving a look that said ''No Evil too big! No Job Too Small!''

    That was the slogan of this new toy.

    The man set up the rest of the display, from the handyman''s Garage playset to the assortment of tools at his disposal.....each sold separately.

    Before he turned the toy handyman to face the outside window of the display, he sighed and said to him.

    "Hopefully....you can be the hero to save my store...and maybe even bring this mall back from the brink...." He turned the toy around and locked it up for the night. As he left the toy store....he walked past an old framed picture of the man who looked thirty years younger....he was cutting the ribbon to Mr. Wonders Toyland.

    He and the rest of the store owners and managers left for the night as the security guard locked up all the mall''s exits and walked to the security office...

    The Mall was deathly quiet after the guard left...But we went back to Mr. Wonder''s Toyshop as the Mall immediately roared back to life. The lights turned on, the musical ambiance resumed as well, and the main fountain began to artfully spurt water once more.

    Then as the mall finished roaring to life, the metal shutters opened up once more as characters from all around the mall began to move about their business.

    The Handyman toy took a moment to realize it ... but then he started to move....he started by moving his vinyl-haired head, then his hard plastic arms and legs... and opening and closing his articulated fingers. He put the plastic monkey wrench he was holding into his pocket and looked at the mall from inside the display window. Whole long halls full of many different stores for all of your shopping needs and even a second floor only accessible by an escalator or elevator.

    "....Woah....." Said the Handyman toy as he looked around. But noticed at the far distant end of the mall....was a dark...store? That had nothing but the eerie glow of TVs inside. He could only make out three colors. Red, Blue, and Green.....

    Before the handyman toy began to wonder what that glow was. He heard whispers behind him... He turned around fast and saw nobody there. He promptly slowly walked towards the edge of the display window shelf and jumped down to the wooden tiled floor below. The 9-inch tall toy handyman slowly inched towards the shelves of the toy store he was in....and he heard the whispering again...

    "H-Hello?" asked the Toy Handyman as he slowly drew near to the whispering''s source....

    "Ahem!" coughed a voice right behind him.

    The toy handyman looks at the shadow looming behind him as he turns around....he sees a hooded figure at least a foot tall! The handyman''s fight or flight was triggered as he now wields his wrench like a weapon!

    "Calm yourself, newbie. I''m not your enemy." The looming hooded figure with a deep but commanding voice. The Hooded figure removed his hood to reveal ... .a metallic green, old school humanoid robot toy with parts of a helicopter mixed into his design.

    "Welcome to your new home friend, you may call me Greenbolt. Leader of the Herobots.....or as my story tells." He turns around and shouts out. "You can all roll out now! He poses no threat!"

    Just as Greenbolt shouted all the other toys from the shelves to the back storage area to the display models all began to move and go about their day once more. Some of them gave the handyman toy a bit of a sour look.

    "I''m terribly sorry. It''s usually the job of the window display toy to tell the rest of us when the coast is clear. But first, an introduction is in order. What is your name?"

    ".......H-Handyman Hank....." Hank said, a little nervous, still gripping his wrench.

    "Handy Hank......I have not seen or heard of that name in any of the toy catalogs Mr. Wonder reads through....where in the mall did you come from?" Greenbolt wondered as he looked at the display setting on the window.

    "I...I don''t know...That old man just pulled me out of the box and said I hoped I could be a hero....." He answered as he looked at his wrench. He held onto it as if it was his last possession in the world.

    "Well ...if you are the new display toy chances are you''re very new and new to the life of our toys. Let me show you around." Greenbolt then signaled Handy Hank to follow him through the store. They walked along the aisles seeing all the various toys and playsets along the shelves. Some of which were artfully on display to show off what kinds of uses or adventures the toys have.

    First, they walk to a small plastic playhouse with a crude drawing of a blue cross

    Taped onto the front of the door. Greenbolt knocked on the door and a smooth, feminine Russian accent said on the other side "Just one moment darling.....!" after a few moments. Of various crashing and banging noises clanging against the small plastic playhouse. The voice on the other side answered. What came through the door was a slim but tall ragdoll girl with cyan blue buttons for eyes and brown hair made of yarn styled to look like it was curled into a bun. She wore an old-school cyan-blue nurse uniform with plastic nurse shoes to match.Stolen story; please report.

    "Ah! Greenbolt! Are you finally here to get that loose plastic out of your-" Before she finished that sentence, she looked and saw Handy Hank standing behind him.

    "Ah! You brought company ....is he the new display toy?" she asked as she immediately started to look Hank over. Examining his every joint and point of articulation. She even removed his hard hat to check if his head was well-painted or not. While she did that, Greenbolt continued.

    "Yes actually. He calls himself Handy Hank, but for some odd reason he doesn''t know his own story and he''s not in any catalog Mr. Wonder keeps in the back storage..." Greenbolt said as he started to wonder if she was even paying attention.

    "Ah, I see.....well Newbie Hank, if you want to impress the children with story you have...I highly doubt you''ll do it with torn clothing." She raises Handy Hank''s left arm to reveal his sleeve is slightly torn.

    "Wait. What?! When did that happen!?'' Handy Hank exclaimed as he looked at his torn sleeve.

    "Not to worry, It is simple fix. A mere popped seam. You probably got it when Mr. Wonder posed you. He does not have gentlest hands at his old age." She then dragged them both into her playhouse sat down Handy Hank on a small play chair and rested his arm on a play table.

    "You may call me Patchy Ruby, Or as everyone here calls me...Nurse Ruby." She grabbed a needle and from a nearby shelf sorted through various threads to match Handy Hank''s flannel shirt until she found a dark blue thread. With one skillful act of dexterity. Which was impressive since Nurse Ruby had no fingers to begin with. She pushed the thread through the needle hole. As she began to sew his sleeve, she then asked "Why hasn''t Mr. Wonder set up his brethren for sale?"

    "No idea. I think he is set to go on sale this week....." Greenbolt said as he looked at the small basket of buttons eyes in the corner....he hoped those weren''t meant to be eyes...

    "Oh!....Oh...You must be the unluckiest Toy alive right now...." Nurse Ruby said as she stopped sewing for a few moments.

    "W-why?" Handy Hank asked. He didn''t like her sudden change in tone.

    "In about six days. That damned console will...as children say....drop...and it may put Mr. Wonder and many other places in the Mall...out of business....." She raises her needle and points to the dark store at the end of the hallway

    "On the other side of Long Hall...is an electronics store that will be first in the country to release the accursed console...." She resumed stitching up Handy Hank''s torn sleeve and finished.

    "All right. Good as New!" she happily exclaimed. Handy Hank looks at his now fixed sleeve and moves his arm around to make sure it stays.

    "Wow...thank you. It feels so much better now!"

    "Do not thank me newbie. If a fellow Toy is ever broken. You will come to me for immediate first aid." Nurse Ruby happily, yet with a hint of seriousness in her voice. Then bursting into the playhouse was none other than Doughboy Jack.

    "Nurse Ruby! Requesting immediate medical treatment!" He tried to give a salute with his left Arm...but it was completely detached.

    "At ease, soldier. Please wait in the operating room...." She sadly said. Nurse Ruby knew who was responsible for the arm loss...

    Greenbolt and Handy Hank left the playhouse...no...Healing Office.

    As they walked to their next destination, Handy Hank looked at his stitched-up sleeve. Then he realized something.

    "Wait...Why do we need a Healer if we all just wait here to be chosen by a kid?" He asked.

    That made Greenbolt stop walking for a second and sadly sigh.

    "You know that console Ruby was talking about?...." Greenberg asked, looking down at the wooden floor. A sullen look on his robotic face.

    "Yeah?" Handy Hank answered. Not sure if he''s going to like the answer to this.

    "Well....That Console wasn''t always the only threat....its the newest one in a long line of consoles dating back to over 30 years ago.....In those days, we toys used to live as the arbiters of joy and happiness to children and we wielded the power of imagination with us to help them grow and believe the world can be better....That is until....the Arcadians appeared...."

    Handy Hank felt a chill down his back when he said the word ''Arcadians''.

    "There used to be a place here called an ''Arcade'' where children came and played with the Arcadians in their wooden cabinet boxes and they only took quarters to boot...Four brave toys traveled far along to this Arcade to investigate...If only they knew what real danger they were in. They released the Arcadians upon our great land....Ever since that night we as the toys and other residents of our world have been constantly under attack by their pixelated and Polygonal power...When they first attacked I and many other brave Toys like me did everything we could to keep them at bay....but unfortunately, they had already taken so much of the power of imagination from the children, that we couldn''t even touch them...literally."

    Greenbolt reaches into his hooded cloak pocket and pulls out three metallic emblems similar to his but in different colors.

    "I....lost many good friends during those times...." he clutches the metallic emblems tight.

    "I...I''m so sorry...I didn''t mean to-"

    "Save your apologies, Handyman. It''s best you know now before they come and attack again...." He said as he pocketed the emblems again."

    "Again?....W-what do you mean again?" He said with worry arising.

    "At least once a week they try to break through the shutters....but I and a select few only have enough power to keep our defenses up....." Greenbolt waved his hand in the air and a wavy polychromatic glow appeared.

    "Every toy has some level of imaginative power within us all. This power we have, we all call it: Wonder Power. We can all manifest it in different ways. For me, well....." With one flick of his wrist joint. He pulls out his plastic axe and it becomes glowing green with imaginative power...and it goes from dull as....plastic to sharp as a real blade. He throws the axe at a cardboard cutout and instead of bouncing off like expected....it made a hole!

    He walks over to the cutout and pulls his axe out as he does this he says "I can make my accessories actual weapons...."

    "Woah....Can I do that!?" Handy Hank asked as he looked awestruck.

    "Unfortunately no....If you''re ''Fresh out of the Box'' So to speak. You won''t have any Wonder power to begin with. A child must play with you and you will feel the power course through you....so right now...You''re basically at Level One. But not to worry, As the days pass and more kids get excited about your release, you will get that Power of Wonder through passing. Now...let us go to our next destination... This one is a bit of a climb so allow me to help you."

    Greenbolt took off his hooded cloak revealing his full body, all robot with signs he''s supposed to double as something else. But through a series of twists, pulls, clicks, and clangs.....He changes into a helicopter toy!

    "Woah.....!"

    "Impressive I know.....Me and the rest of my toy line did things like this all the time. The Herobots were the most popular toy for boys back in the day...Now stand back!"

    Handy Hank stepped back as Greenbolt''s helicopter blades began to spin very fast, but as they reached their top speed, that same green glow that surrounded his axe earlier now covered his helicopter blades. He began to rise off the floor like a real helicopter!

    "Grab on Kid."

    Handy Hank grabbed onto the landing skids of Greenbolt''s helicopter mode and they took off high into the air and the taller shelves. As they rose higher, Handy Hank got a good look at all the toys going about their day on the higher shelves. He saw many of the Muffintop Kids playing and baking on one shelf with Muffintop Mary herself. On another shelf he saw Madman Mark pouring melted wax into plastic molds and activating the molding toy while laughing maniacally, finally as they reached the top shelf they saw an array of very old school toys in a makeshift town out of cardboard boxes and plastic play-place pieces.

    Handy Hank looked at all the lights that decorated around the makeshift city in astonishment. Plastic eyes full of wonder and excitement.

    "What is this place?" he asked.

    "A place where those who never found their child to give the light of imagination to, a place where I and many others call home....a sanctuary. Welcome to Wonder City!"

    They landed on a helicopter pad playset as various toys crowded around Greenbolt and Handy Hank. As they all individually crowded around Handy Hank asking him various questions....a red hooded toy was watching them from afar on another shelf.....she looked at them both through a kaleidoscope, especially at Handy Hank.....her plastic hand stained with marker zoomed in on him....and she grumbled with jealousy.....

    "That''s what passes for popular nowadays?.... We''ll see about that..." She immediately ninja jumps away adding Wonder to her feet.

 The Puzzleman Arc: Chapter II: A Dollys Jealousy

    "Sorry Dolly, Looks like you and the rest of you are just going out the pasture like many before you....." Mr. Wonder said as he put the unsold Dolly Dorothy variants into a box that said ''Donation'' on the front. Mr. Wonder completely took down the display playset in the front window of the toyshop. Her mansion, convertible model car,.......and even her beloved Tim. But when the box was too full, he couldn''t fit Dolly Dorothy herself inside...Mr. Wonder carried the box with her whole life outside the store and onto a dolly. He wheeled the dolly away and she saw that she was the only thing left on the window display shelf aside from some cut zip ties and crumpled-up background ambiance paper.....when Mr. Wonder disappeared around the corner with the box containing her whole life story. She began to move again and placed her plastic hand on the window...and sadly fell to her knees in sadness.

    ......................................................................

    As Handy Hank and Greenbolt walked through Wonder City through their next destination, Handy Hank decided to drum up some small talk.

    "How long has Wonder City been around?" He asked as he looked down near the shelf''s edge. He could tell it was a long drop-down for a toy of his size.

    Greenbolt immediately grabs him, pulls him back, and answers "First off, don''t do that. Second, Wonder City has been around for as long as Mr. Wonder''s Toyshop has been around....so I''d say around sixty-ish years give or take. It was way before my time as well, back when toys were made of real metal and not flimsy plastic."

    "So...that means the Arcadians are kind of a new threat?"

    "As new as forty years ago can be. I and the other Herobots were still brand new when they started to invade. Heck, for a time I had your job as the display toy. Guess you can say we have that in common...." He laughed as he playfully slapped Handy Hank on the back. Accidentally knocks Handy Hank''s hard hat off of his head. Causing it to slide a few feet away....but right at the feet of the Red hooded toy.

    She lowered the hood part of her cloak and revealed she was a human-looking toy doll with fluffy yet curly brown hair. She was wearing a stylish-looking cyan pantsuit with some parts of it torn and worn out. All her shiny plastic skin was stained with multiple marker marks, some of them even looked like she tried to wipe off. But the thing Handy Hank fixated on the most was the fact her right arm looked like it was slightly deformed. Her wrist joints looked like they could barely move in that arm. She quickly hid it from his view after she realized he was staring at it.

    With one skillful kick, she kicked the hardhat upward and right into her right hand.

    "Wow, what a cheap-looking accessory...I guess it makes sense considering this one comes right out of your box....." Said the red hooded toy.

    Handy Hank''s expression immediately went from confused to annoyed at hearing the snide remark. So far the toys of this place were outright friendly, but he had no idea that some could be quite rude...."

    "What''s the matter? Catplush got your tongue? Or is the pressure of being the new Front toy getting to you already?" She snarkily said as she spun his hard hat on her finger like a basketball.

    "That''s enough Dorothy. Give him back his hard hat! You know Mr. Wonder would get suspicious if he''s missing any accessories!" Greenbolt demanded like a disappointed parent.

    Dolly Dorothy then looked up at Greenbolt, his glowing disapproving eyes bore through her like a magnifying glass under a hot sun. She quickly tossed Handy Hank his hard hat back again. He stumbled while catching it and fell over, but quickly composed himself by getting back up and adjusting his hard hat. Sheepishly grinning at Dolly Dorothy....she looked unimpressed.

    ".......Seriously? Look at him Greenbolt! How can HE be storefront Material!" Dolly Dorothy said as she re-adjusted the articulation on her right arm.

    "It''s his first day here Dorothy and he was set up after closing time...You need to remember you weren''t so popular yourself on your first day either...Neither was I." Said Greenbolt.

    This...was the wrong thing to say...Handy Hank and Greenbolt both saw in her eyes that he hit a nerve...

    "I''ll show you...I''m gonna be popular again!..... I''m going to be storefront material again....one way or another..." She put her hood over her head again and channeled her Wonder into her feet and long jumped away to the next shelf across and out of sight.

    Greenbolt sighed and facepalmed to himself....he really shouldn''t have brought that up around her...

    "Uh....who was that exactly? She looked like she''s been here a while...." Handy Hank questioned as he took a mental note of her hood and marker-stained plastic arms.

    "That....was Dolly Dorothy. She has been here for...a very long time and gives a lot of the new toys a hard time...If you want to learn more I suggest you ask her. Maybe you''ll be able to befriend her..." Said Greenbolt as he resumed walking

    "Can''t you tell me?" Handy Hank inquired.

    "No...It''s not my story to tell...the only story that I''m allowed to tell truthfully is my very own..... Now look sharp, we''re here." he places his metallic hand in front of Handy Hank. Signaling him to stop.

    They stop at one of the edges of the shelves near the back of the toy shop. A small makeshift structure made of plastic multi-colored bricks as if it was assembled by a toddler.... it was considering a child''s name was written in permanent marker....it was either ''Billy'' or ''Bobby''. The handwriting wasn''t too good.

    Greenbolt kneeled down and lightly knocked on the small door with his index finger.

    "Just a sec! I''ve gotta find me legs!" Said a voice with a Scottish accent.

    They both hear clicking noises and then a loud spill of plastic hitting the floor of the makeshift house.

    Then answering the door was a small 2-inch tall humanoid figure who looked like he had the uniform of a smithy painted onto his plastic body even a small piece of cloth meant to simulate an apron.....Handy Hank took notice that he looked like he was made of the same material as his house....this secretly confused him greatly. His face looked like it was just printed onto the plastic, yet still, it was moving as if it were a real face.

    "Well? Ain''t you gonna talk Laddie? Or you had no tongue to begin with?" He asked as he walked towards Handy Hank.

    "Oh! Uh...My name is Handyman Hank....."

    "Isat right? A Handyman. You better not mosey on ere and mooch off me business ya hear! I''ve been the Wonder Smith since day one and I sure as salt ain''t givin'' up me title to some newbie!" He rudely said getting closer to Handy Hank with the intent to intimidate

    "Oh N-no. I''m not that kind of Handyman.....at least I don''t think I am.....all I know is that I have a phrase....''No evil too big, no job too small.¡¯"

    "Well then, ye might be some kind o'' TV show toy then! Ya know, one o'' them toys who had a TV show first. Like Greenbolt over ere!" the tiny plastic toy man declared, pointing a clawed hand at Greenbolt.

    "A TV show?" Handy Hank asked in confusion.

    "Well....I''m not one to brag about it. But yes, I did have a TV show back in the day. It helped boost my and the other Herobot''s popularity....Perhaps that''s where you come from Handyman Hank...."

    Hearing this, knowing that there might be a story behind himself. Gave Handy Hank a feeling of reassurance he didn''t know he could muster.

    "Oh, where are me manners....name''s Brickabrack As I said before I run the forge that makes it easier for any toy accessories to be imbued with Wonder, and of course I sell a multitude of items as well...If you got the beads for it of course...."

    "Beads?"

    "Yea. Beads. The things we trade for money in this mall of ours....we didn''t even need em'' way back when. But those daft Arcadians made our resources so limited!" Brickabrak said as he angrily kicked the side of his house...making a small plastic clink sound.

    Brickabrack turned around and took notice of the wrench Handy Hank was holding and suddenly walked closer to it.

    "By the Builders of Blockworld. Why didn''t ya tell me you had an accessory of yer own?" Brickabrack questioned as he examined his monkey wrench.

    "That''s not the only one either, he has a whole multitude of tools back at the display window, his wrench is the only one that''s included with him right out of the box!" Greenbolt added as he pointed down from the shelf at Handy Hank''s display setup.

    "....Issat right? Then I hope ya don''t mind if I take a look at the one ya got boyo?" Brickabrack asked. Expectantly holding his clawed hand out.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Handy Hank looks at Greenbolt for assurance.

    "Go on, he can be trusted. Brickabrack outfitted me and many others to fight against the Arcadians and many others." Greenbolt then flicked his right arm and a blaster cannon popped out.

    With assurance, Handy Hank handed Brickabrack his monkey wrench. His clawed hands can barely grip the accessory. He gave a quick examination of the wrench, admiring the quality and detail of it. Part of him honestly wished his brand had details of this level.

    "Huh, instead o'' hard plastic it''s made of soft vinyl. Easy to wield yet only has the standard amount of walloping power. No wonder ye came packaged with it..." Brickabrack turns it around and notices a small strip of gray embedded into the wrench.

    "Say Handyman...turn around I wanna try somethin''." Brickabrack inquired with a roguish grin.

    "....What is it?" He asked, not liking the grin he was giving.

    "Just a wee bit of a hypothesis is all. Now give yerself a bit of a turnaround...." the roguish grin still printed on his plastic face.

    Handy Hank reluctantly turns around...and he feels something clip to his back! He jolted at the sudden contact.

    "Hey! What the-! What did you do!?" He demanded.

    "As I suspected. Ya got a magnet in your back boyo! You can stick yer accessories on yer back!" Brickabrack lets out a hardy laugh at how badly he freaked out. Handy Hank didn''t like how hard he was laughing.

    "Not to worry boyo, I''m just messin'' wit ya! It''s good to know we as toys keep on movin'' up in terms of complexity. You might not be a toy for babies. But Kid''s 8 to 12 might just be right up yer alley!" Brickabrack then walked up to his shop''s door and reminded Handy Hank.

    "Just remember, If ya ever need an outfittn'' yerself, just give my shop a knock. But anythin'' else. Ya better cough up the beads!" He walked back into his store and the sign went from Closed to Open.

    An awkward silence loomed in the air for a few moments....to break the tension he said "We''ll.....he seems like a cool guy..."

    "Brickabrack may seem different, but only because he comes from a completely different store entirely. Somewhere on the third district of the mall there lies an entire store dedicated to selling toys of his brand. But he and a few others migrated here. But at the end of the day, it doesn''t matter. Deep down we''re all made to make kids happy."

    Hearing this, Handyman Hank just had to ask...

    "Do you think I''ll be able to make a kid happy?"

    This question took Greenbolt off guard...but it was still a question he''d heard a hundred times before from a hundred different toys.

    "I... can''t answer that Handyman...You see I don''t speak for the children....I have seen many toys rise in popularity like Doughboy Jack, the Loveable Ponies, and even the Herobots like myself....but I have seen many toys fail to become popular as well. The newest one being the Cryptid Critters....."

    Hank looked up at Greenbolt, he recalled seeing that name somewhere, but couldn¡¯t recall where. So Hank asked. "Who?"

    "US!" a third party yelled in a borderline screech.

    Without warning, Handy Hank was swiped right off the shelves by a pair of rubber talons! Taken far away from Grenbolt!"

    "HANK!" Greenbolt alarmingly shouted as his voice faded with distance!

    Handy Hank tried to break free from the talon grip! But it was too strong!

    "NOT GONNA WORK BUILDER BOY! IT''S TIME TO PAY THE CRYPTIDS THEIR DUES!" Said Handy Hank''s captor in a screechy voice as they flew to the side of the toy store that was always walked through but hardly ever touched....the clearance shelves!

    Handy Hank''s captor then released him by violently throwing him into a pile of empty ''Clay-Dough'' jars!

    Handy Hank took a moment to get his bearings and recover from the harsh landing he was forced to endure. He stood back up and removed the Clay dough jar from his head and saw....a... one-foot tall toy monster made of hard plastic and painted to look a sickly greenish brown!

    Tall, lanky, scrawny, and gray body with a very crooked stance, feet appearing to be birdlike with its actual hands sporting dull claws. But its most defining feature was its deer skull it had for a head!

    This toy''s look frightened Handy Hank, he quickly drew his wrench from his magnetic back and wielded it with both of his hands.

    "OOOOH! Look at this boys! He''s got himself a wee bit of the fight or flight in em''!" Said the skull toy.

    Two more toys jumped down from the clearance shelf. One looked like a tall lanky man head to toe with fur except for his hands, feet, and face The other had fluffy wings and bunging red eyes his whole self bore a striking resemblance to a moth.

    "This the toy you was talkin'' bout?" Asked the fur-covered toy to someone up on the shelf...Hank looks up and sees Dolly Dorothy looking down on him...with a look of cold indifference on her face towards Hank.

    "Yeah, He''s the one who took your guy''s window spot away....." She coldly explained.

    "Who the heck are you guys?" Handy Hank asked. Trying to sound tough but he let some tremble leave his voice.

    The three disturbing-looking toys took a second to register that question...then got very offended by it.

    "Who are we? WHO ARE WE?! We Builder Boy are the Top three most popular toys in the store!"The skull-headed toy arrogantly proclaimed.

    "Gigafoot!" Shouted the Hairy Toy.

    "Mothdude!" Declared the moth-looking toy

    "JERSEY D. DAVE!" Screeched out the skull-headed toy.

    "And we are! THE CRYPTID CRITTERS!" The three shouted in unison as they all posed dynamically in their storefront poses!

    ".......huh?" Handy Hank exclaimed as he slightly lowered his wrench.....he honestly didn''t know what was going on at the moment.

    Jersey Dave then inches closer to Handy Hank and eerily says "Now...I wonder what''s gonna happen if Mr. Wonder comes in tomorrow morning to see his new Window toy....in pieces."

    Wonder surrounded his claws and talons as he dragged them across the floor....and then Jersey Dave picked up speed as he let out a battle cry.

    Right when he was about to slash at Handy Hank.....the slash was blocked by his wrench.....

    "What the Hodag!?" Jersey Dave screamed as he was now struggling to keep the pressure on! This didn''t make sense to him! He''s supposed to be fresh out of the box!

    Without saying a word, Handy Hank catches Jersey Dave''s claws in the mouth of his wrench and clamps down on it. With his right hand, he uppercut punched him right in Jersey Dave¡¯s deer skull mouth followed by a swift side kick to his torso. Sending Jersey Dave a few feet away! Gigafoot and Mothdude saw this and looked outraged their friend was downed by some Builder toy! So they decided to make the odds a little less fair by teaming up!

    Gigafoot used his Wonder to surround his feet, making them appear twice as big while Mothdude''s eyes began to glow bright red with Wonder

    Gigafoot jumps high into the air nearly touching the ceiling of the toyshop. Handy Hank tries to keep track of where he''s gonna land. But the fluorescent lights of the toyshop made it hard for him to see that high up. But he couldn''t focus on just him alone, Mothdude charged up his eyes with Wonder and fired a laser right at him. He barely had enough time to dodge it and ran with Mothdude''s beams right behind him! He quickly jumped behind a plastic play chair as the laser vision was slowly eating away at the chair, Handy Hank knew he wouldn''t have cover for long. So he had to think fast!

    He looked around and saw one of the empty jars of clay dough and its lid.....had an idea! He quickly grabbed the jar lid and turned over the empty clay dough to hide inside.

    "COMIN THROUGH!" Shouted Gigafoot as he stomped down right on top of the plastic chair, breaking it completely!

    "Hmph. Piece o'' Cake!" Gigafoot shouted as he removed the remainder of the chair. Expecting to find Handy Hank in pieces.....but he wasn''t there!

    "He was under dis'' chair wasn''t he?!" Gigafoot aggravatingly asked.

    "I cornered him right there! Where in Wendigos did he go!?" Said Mothdude as he readjusted his eyes.

    As they bickered they didn''t notice Handy Hank was hiding inside an upside down Clay-Dough Jar. With one thought in his mind...he wondered how he was going to get his wrench back.

    But then his back started to tingle as the magnet started to react! The wrench dislodged from Jersey Dave''s arm, nearly detaching it, and flew back to his back! Making a loud clicking noise in the process. Both the remaining Cryptid Critters turned around fast and looked at him still in the empty jar! Gigafoot jumped up in the air once again while Mothdude now unleashed a barrage of eye blasts towards Handy Hank!

    This time Handy Hank grabbed the lid of the jar from his overalls and threw it right at Mothdude directly in the face stopping his beam barrage for a moment to wince in pain! This was Handy Hank''s opportunity to react! He grabbed the empty ''Clay-Dough¡¯ jar he had just in moments ago and smashed it on top of Mothdude! Due to his much wider frame than Handy Hank...he was now stuck!

    "MMM-MMM-GMMMPH!" Mothdude shouted with a muffled voice. Handy Hank doesn''t understand what he is saying. But he didn''t have time to figure it out because he could see the glow of Mothdude''s eyes getting ready to fire through the yellow plastic of the Clay-Dough Jar! He quickly grabbed his wrench and with one mighty swing clunked him as hard as he could....figuratively and ringing his bell. He fell unconscious and rolled away.

    Handy Hank didn''t have time to breathe though. Because Gigafoot came crashing down once again and this time grabbed Handy Hank with both of his massive hairless palms!

    "You wanna be storefront Material? Lemme give you some advice Builder Boy! Kids like toys that can take a few scratches! Let''s see if you''re able to take a Ten-foot slam to the ground!" Gigafoot began to jump up once again, this time holding onto Handy Hank as they both plunged headfirst! Gigafoot let out a bellowing laugh as they both plunged. But Handy Hank wasn''t gonna go down like this!

    He reached for his wrench again and threw it right at his right eye! Forcing Gigafoot to let go and shout in pain! Handy Hank reacted quickly and let his wrench clamp down on Gigafoots upper jaw and with one spin! He spun and SLAMMED Gigafoot headfirst into the ground. Causing his outer plastic to crack and his inner wires being exposed.

    Handy Hank landed on his feet while Gigafoot tried to get up again....but also passed out.

    "And that''s why I always wear a hard hat...." He concluded.

    He looks back up at the top shelf and sees Dolly Dorothy still watching. This time her indifference was replaced with a look of bitterness towards Hank....With a stylish billow of her hooded cloak, she turns around and walks off.....Hank was about to follow her. But a green mechanical hand stopped him.

    "Don''t bother....I''ll have a few words with her." Said Greenbolt.

    But then he turned around Handy Hank and gave him a near-plastic deforming hug! He let go and asked "By the Seven Sparks of Wonder Boy! How in the mall did you manage all of that!? I haven''t seen fighting like that since the ''Chroma Rangers'' of ''93! You had a snappy one-liner and everything!"

    "I-I don''t know! I just knew I was in danger and I just.....knew what to do....does that make sense?" He answered. Unsure if this explanation was a good enough answer.

    "Ah....That''s a bit of a puzzling answer....Perhaps you ARE a toy with a cartoon series as well! We won''t know until the end of the week...But seeing you have the skill for fighting.....maybe you have the skill to wield the Power of imagination as well?"

    "I hope you''re right...At this point I feel like I really can take on the Arc-"

    Handy Hank''s hopeful declaration was interrupted as they all heard a loud screeching.....the shudders of the front of the store were being pried open!

    "Oh No......They can''t be here now! It''s too early in the week!" Greenbolt shouted with alarm. He quickly changed into his helicopter form and flew up into the air.

    "EVERYONE! ARCADIAN ATTACK IMMINENT! PREPARE FOR PUSHBACK OR HIDE!" All the toys who were going about their day began to either hide or pick up a weapon to fight. One of the Toys who at first chose to hide.....but instead picked up a sharpened colored pencil...was Dolly Dorothy.

    With Greenbolt leading the charge He, Handy Hank, and the rest of the brave toys were ready to face whatever was lifting the shutters! Once it was fully opened...It revealed a Wacky Cartoon Bear made of Polygons...It held a drum full of honeycomb and honey....it looked at all of them towering over all of them at least three feet!

    It gave a pixelated toothy smile as it was then said in Textbox...

 The Puzzleman Arc: Chapter III: A Defenders End

    Greenbolt was speeding fast while in Helicopter mode. He had heard the distress call from the toy walkies in Wonder City. His fellow Herobots were supposed to simply go to Daycare Village and make sure there was no Arcadian activity afoot. After all, the arcade itself is on the other side of the mall. How could they make it to the Daycare Village without drawing some kind of attention to themselves?

    When he finally made it to the distress call''s place of origin. Greenbolt changed back to his humanoid form and ran towards the source, Arm blaster and sword blazing with Wonder. He ran in expecting the battle to keep going¡­.but instead he saw the aftermath of a fierce battle in the Kiosk district¡­.Kiosks were overturned, chairs were destroyed and even one kiosk holding hair product was spilled over¡­.But what he saw at the center of all this destruction¡­.was horrific.

    He saw his fellow Herobots¡­.ripped to pieces and beyond repair. They were gone¡­¡­

    AzureEdge¡­..The Blue Herobot that became a Motorcycle. Always quick to jump into battle without a strategy first.

    Goldhawk¡­..The Yellow Herobot that became a Jet. Always the hot-headed one but the most passionate about his beliefs.

    RubyRose¡­.The Red Herobot that became a sportscar. Always the most compassionate and loving of them all.

    The remains of the three toys he considered his closest family. Laid strewn across the floor¡­he got on his knees¡­.and started pounding his fists on the ground in anguish¡­..he let out a long anguish-filled scream. A scream that nobody heard¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°LIGHT EM¡¯ UP!¡± Shouted Greenbolt as he began to lead the charge against the Arcadian known as Grumpybear. Various toys from all over the store began to attack in various ways, mostly by throwing items at Grumpybear. They all completely phased through him as he began to inch ever closer.

    He let out a goofy laugh as he reached behind his back and pulled out a long and dangerous-looking Honey Dipper. He dipped it in his barrel of digital honey and swirled it around to make the digital honey extra viscous. He then pulled the honey wand out and splashed the honey all over the floor of the Toy Store. The globs of honey hit a few of the toys on the ground and severely limited their movement. He turned around and shouted out into the hallways of the Mall.

    Just as he shouted that¡­..Rolling in towards the store¡¯s entrance comes a massive claw machine. Full of captured toys begging to be free from their glass prison! Instead of the normal glow of a regular light bulb, it was glowing red. The claw instantly dropped out of the prize shute and started slithering towards one of the toys trapped in honey and grabbed ahold of one of the Muffintop Kids. She was desperately clawing at the floor holding on for dear life as the three-pronged claw pulled her inside the claw Machine. But right when it was about to drag her through the threshold of the prize shute. A sharpened colored pencil brimming with Wonder was thrown at the claw and hit directly at the cable. Forcing it to let go!

    ¡°Hands off the Merchandise!¡± Shouted Dolly Dorothy as she readied another colored pencil!

    Grumpybear saw this and threw a giant glob of digital honey at her. With one slick dodge roll, she maneuvered past the glob of honey and threw the Wonder-charged colored pencil spear right at Grumpybear.

    ¡­¡­¡­It just phases right through him.

    Said Grumpybear in a joyful yet oh-so-sinister tone! He quickly grabbed onto Dollo Dorothy. Completely trapping her in his mighty bear grip! He then dangled her in front of Prong and he instinctively grabbed onto her, getting a solid grip on her plastic body!

    Handy Hank took action seeing she was in trouble and began to quickly think what he was supposed to do! He looked around the store floor and couldn¡¯t find anything he could work with! But he saw his display near the store window and had an idea!

    Dolly Dorothy was trying everything to get the claw machine¡¯s grip to let her go. She kicked, she punched and she even stabbed it with another colored pencil. But none of it prevailed. But then she saw a bolt right near the base of the three-pronged claw and tried to loosen it. Her hands lacked any real articulation, she couldn''t get a solid grip on it to unscrew it. But out of the blue came a small toy screwdriver near her side.

    ¡°Use it!¡± Shouted Handy Hank as he dodged another glob of honey from Grumpybear! Dolly Dorothy quickly grabs the toy screwdriver and jams it into the bolt. Unscrew it enough so Prong¡¯s claw won''t have as tight a grip It loosened and let Dolly Dorothy go!

    Grumpybear looks down. Cartoon-ish steam began to rise from his head In frustration as he began to see that the toys were forming a solid battle strategy for once! But he sees Handyman Hank¡­and gives a sinister grin.

    He grabs his whole barrel of honey and chucks it right at Handy Hank. it rolled down the hall of one of the halls as Handy Hank ran away from it like straight out of an adventure movie! But the barrel was slowly gaining on him. He ran as fast as his plastic joints could take him! But before he could get squashed into a pancake, something hooked onto his overalls and took him straight upwards. He looks up and sees Greenbolt in his helicopter mode, holding him up with a hook winch attachment!

    ¡°Rookie mistake trying to take him on at Level One Handyman! But not to worry! I¡¯ll grind this mess of polygons down to a few triangles!¡±

    After Greenbolt sets Handy Hank down in a safe space on the High shelves. He goes full speed ahead towards Grumpybear! At first blasting a Barrage of Wonder blasts from his front blasters! Causing Grumpybear to raise one of his paws in defense! Then Greebolt changed to his humanoid form, wielding his wonder-powered axe, and delivered a downward strike to Grumpybear¡¯s mighty arms! Cutting his arm and exposing what he was inside¡­.pure code!

    Handy Hank watched in awe as he saw Greenbolt delivered blow after blow after blow to the polygonal bear. As this happened Handy Hank looked at his wrench and wondered¡­..what kind of power does he have? If he DOES have power, can it make a difference when he has no power to begin with? But Most importantly how can he-

    His train of thought was cut off as he felt his wrench being taken off his back. Handy Hank did a full 360-degree turnaround to see who the thieving perpetrator was and saw it was none other than Dolly Dorothy! She wielded his wrench and channeled her Wonder power through it. Jumping on some knocked-over toy displays and even using Greenbolt¡¯s shoulder as a stepping stool to get right up to Grumpybear¡¯s face to attack, disorienting Greenbolt in the process! But right when she struck at him with all of her wonder power¡­..she realized her Wonder wasn''t traveling through the Wrench it phased right through Grumpybear. He let out another laugh as he swatted Dolly Dorothy away from his face. She flew far from him and crashed hard into a pile of wood blocks¡­..she was pinned under them.

    Grumpybear loomed over her with a cartoonishly sadistic smile¡­.and the claws grew on his right paw¡­..long enough to be considered daggers¡­¡­he dropped his claws down on Dolly Dorothy. Dorothy had no choice but to close her eyes and accept her fate¡­¡­.But with a loud cutting noise busted through the toy store¡­..everything went quiet¡­..

    ¡°GREENBOLT!¡± Shouted Handy Hank in pure shock and horror. Dolly Dorothy opened her eyes and saw that Greenbolt was standing in front of her¡­¡­with Grumpybear¡¯s claws sticking right through his back and right through him¡­..he didn¡¯t say a word¡­. Dolly Dorothy just watched¡­..slowly realizing what Greenbolt had just done¡­.

    Grumpybear pulled his claws out and knocked Greenbolt away onto the ground¡­he wasn¡¯t moving¡­..

    Handyman Hank looked up at the polygonal cartoon bear right before him¡­¡­Greenbolt was the first and only toy to make him feel welcome here¡­.and he was just laughing at the fact he was severely hurt and probably done worse to him! The rage in him built up¡­..His pupils began to glow bright blue!

    Rising from the blocks that Dolly Dorothy was pinned under. His wrench flew towards his back but he caught it in his right hand at the last moment¡­..That blue glow began to travel through his body but began to flow directly to his wrench¡­¡­With one flick¡­.His wrench became a light blue construct that became three times its size! He ran at Grumpybear with an angry battlecry. His smug grin was still on his face. Still believe these toys won¡¯t be able to hit him!

    But right as the wrench was mere centimeters away from his muzzle¡­.it hit¡­.it connected with his face¡­..and it made him glitch out!

    Said Grumpybear in pain as he rubbed his muzzle¡­.his polygonal frame beginning to glitch out!

    Handy Hank didn¡¯t say a word as he then struck him a second time but this time across the top of his head! Then once more to the other side of his muzzle! He held his back out towards the claw machine and called forth his screwdriver, it flew back towards him and caught it with his right hand!

    He landed his feet on the floor and remembered what Dolly Dorothy had done earlier that night! He channeled his power into his feet and superjumped wielding his screwdriver tool straight on and with no hesitation. He pierced Grumpybear¡¯s cartoonishly large belly and tore straight through to the other side. Grumpybear let out a groan of pain as he suddenly vanished into nothing¡­.But before he vanished Pixelated words appeared in midair¡­

    4000PTS

    Then those disappeared as well¡­¡­..Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Mr. Prong sees this then quickly retracts back into his claw machine and rolls away in fear!

    When the dust cleared and various toys began to work together to close the shutters again¡­. Handy Hank suddenly remembered¡­.Greenbolt! It was at that moment various toys cleared the blocks off of Dolly Dorothy as well. She too ran to Greenbolt¡¯s aid.

    Handy Hank kneeled and used all his strength to flip him over, but he couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Come on!¡± Handy Hank continued to try and flip him over. ¡°He needs our help!¡±

    Dolly Dorothy didn¡¯t hesitate at all, she helped him flip greenbolt over¡­..then immediately gasped and covered her mouth as she saw with horrified eyes how badly he was damaged¡­..Grumpybear¡¯s claws had completely pierced through his metallic-looking frame and completely ruined his reshaping mechanism¡­..he didn¡¯t have much time left¡­.

    Greenbolt let out a cough as he weakly uttered ¡°Handyman¡­..you saved us¡­..¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not important now!¡± Handy Hank says to Greenbolt.

    ¡°SOMEONE GET NURSE RUBY!¡± Shouted Dolly Dorothy. Her voice cracked as she was trying to keep her anguish under control¡­

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother¡­..I¡¯m all through¡­..¡± Greenbolt weakly raised his hand¡­.Dolly Dorothy held it, his massive hand was big compared to her small plastic ones¡­.she needed both her hands to hold his one¡­..her slightly deformed right hand struggling to grip it.

    ¡°You won¡¯t be¡­..You said we were gonna take them down for good¡­..¡± Dolly Dorothy¡¯s eyes were beginning to fill up with tears¡­..¡± You promised¡­.you¡¯d see me become the storefront toy again¡­..¡± she couldn¡¯t hold back her emotions anymore¡­.she started to let the tears fall.

    Greenbolt reached into his cloak once more¡­.and looked at the three multicolored emblems once belonging to his dearest friends¡­he gave a slight smile, knowing he was going to join them soon¡­but at the same time deeply saddened he had to leave those he considers family behind¡­..

    ¡°A-and you will¡­..Now that I-I know¡­..he can defeat them¡­.we have a chance¡­to set things right¡­¡­Handyman¡­..Seek the Founder¡­.h-he will tell you¡­.what you must do¡­¡­don¡¯t let¡­..the Wonder¡­..die out¡­¡­¡± The Hand Dolly Dorothy was holding grew limp as the green glow in Greenbolt¡¯s eyes faded¡­¡­.

    Dolly Dorothy didn''t say a word¡­she continued to cry while holding onto his now limp hand¡­..Handy Hank¡­..got on his knees and tried to hold back tears of his own¡­..he had only been at this store for a mere 2 hours, yet he was now watched as the first friend he made in this place he was supposed to call home¡­die protecting it¡­.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    As Dolly Dorothy continued to cry near the storefront window¡­..she was hoping Mr. Wonder made a mistake not packing her up too¡­.the toys she called family, the playhouse she called home, and even the toy she felt for, Tim¡­..it was all gone.

    ¡°Do not feel bad¡­..¡± Said a voice behind her.

    She turns around fast and sees Greenbolt standing before her. He knelt at her height and said in a calming voice.

    ¡°I and many others like you have been through this before. I spent over five years being the storefront toy myself¡­.I was lucky to be left behind with my comrades¡­.But I knew my time in the sun was over. We had to make room for something called K,NJOINED I¡¯m pretty sure they got recalled¡­.¡±

    He stopped himself from rambling to see Dolly Dorothy¡¯s eyes still full of tears, but now staring at him with such anger. Making him understand how this story was supposed to make him feel better. He cleared his throat and resumed.

    ¡°My point being¡­¡­you don¡¯t have to live by the story you are given. You can become anything you want. The children who give us their power of imagination can do anything. If they believe we can be more than just what can be printed on our boxes, then maybe we can choose a path for ourselves¡­.¡±

    After hearing Greenbolt¡¯s words of encouragement, her breathing slows down¡­and she wipes her tears¡­¡­

    ¡°There are many others like you out there¡­..those who never had the chance to live a life with a child¡­.you can join us, and maybe you¡¯ll find your true self. Or maybe in time, you could have a comeback and become storefront material again¡­.¡±

    He gets back up from kneeling, and holds his mechanical hand out to help her stand¡­..she takes it.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    An Hour after the battle with Grumpybear¡­.

    The Toys from all over the store had gathered today to say goodbye to their most powerful defender of Wonder City and Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyshop as a whole. Toys from the modern day and the vintage past have all gathered to say goodbye to their great friend who went above and beyond to keep them safe from the Arcadians.

    Nurse Ruby, Brickabrack, Handyman Hank and Dolly Dorothy were all sitting at the forefront of his Entombment ceremony. While Doughboy Jack¡¯s troops all worked together to position Greenbolt¡¯s body to fit back into his original plastic Molding¡­and they slid that plastic molding back into the original packaging.

    ¡®Herobot Leader: Greenbolt. With real reshaping technology!Can become a Helicopter AND a Robot! Up to 25 Phrases!¡¯

    As they placed tape on the packaging to fully seal him up¡­¡­Nurse Ruby with a heavy Heart places a sticky note on the front of the packaging. Written in black marker¡­it said ¡®Defective¡¯...So Mr. Wonder knows to send Greenbolt back to a better place¡­..

    Doughboy Jack, now with his arm back in his socket. Took the stand to say a few words.

    ¡°In all my years of this war against the enemy¡­.I have never met a soldier, no¡­.a Hero like Greenbolt¡­.I was here long before Greenbolt arrived as the new toy on the shelf¡­.but I saw that he had a drive in his metal heart. A drive that could only be seen by all and inspire others to help and protect their fellow toys. Wonder City May have lost their protector¡­..But the entire Mall¡­.has lost a Hero¡­¡­a brother in arms that would have happily charged in to save a fallen toy¡­.but we¡­.lost a friend¡­a member of our family¡­..¡±

    Doughboy Jack¡¯s Platoon lifted Greenbolt¡¯s Packaging box and slowly placed it on a small skateboard¡­and wheeled it away to a place where hardly any toys ever go. The toy shop¡¯s backroom.

    ¡°So long¡­old friend¡­¡± Concluded Doughboy Jack.

    Every Toy was feeling very emotional¡­.but the one who took it the hardest¡­was Dollo Dorothy¡­.she wiped her tears and saw Handy Hank leaving the ceremony early. She let out an angry growl and started to follow him. As she followed him. She overheard the worried murmurs and gossiping ¡®Talky Tara¡¯ whispering as they all looked at her.

    ¡®Greenbolt¡¯s gone¡­.it¡¯s only a matter of time before the Arcadians come and get us! We¡¯re doomed!¡¯ Said a windup key toy.

    ¡®I hear it¡¯s all Dolly Dorothy¡¯s fault. She made him take the blow meant for her!¡¯ whispered a recently sewn-up ragdoll.

    Dolly Dorothy ignored this and continued to follow Handy Hank. He was going back to his storefront display and immediately started looking over his tools. He looked over all of the tools on his playset.

    A Sledgehammer

    A Drill

    A Screwdriver

    A Buzzsaw

    Even a pair of Pliers

    He wanted to carry them all. But due to the sizes of the certain tools that seemed kind of impossible. So he settled on carrying his wrench, the screwdriver, and the drill.

    Dolly Dorothy climbed up and confronted Handy Hank.

    ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Dolly Dorothy demanded.

    Handy Hank ignored her and continued trying to stock up.

    She looked outraged that this toy of all toys was trying to ignore her, so she reached into her red cloak and pulled out a makeshift weapon. Which was just a precision knife taped and glued to a push pin. This blade was so close to his neck that he had no choice but to stop.

    ¡°I said¡­.where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± She asked again. Much slower and more clear and concise.

    He took a deep sigh and looked at Dolly Dorothy with a serious expression. Not showing a hint of fear to the blade so close to his neck.

    ¡°I¡¯m doing Greenbolt¡¯s last wish¡­.He told me to seek someone called The Founder and I¡¯m going to do it¡­..Maybe they can answer why I could do all of that crazy power stuff¡­.¡±

    ¡°You mean you¡¯re Wonder?..... I want to know about that myself! You were fresh out of the shipping boxes and you never even got played with by a kid! So How!? As a display toy you get played with in passing but you got set up after the mall closed! Not only that! But you were able to TOUCH AND HURT that stupid polygon bear earlier! Greenbolt and I are stacked with Wonder power and we could barely touch them let alone hurt them! What in the Seven Sparks of Wonder make you so damn special!?¡±

    He grew tired of her barrage of questions and shouted ¡°I don¡¯t know, okay!? I¡¯m just as confused as you are! Frankly, I want to know as much as you do! All I know about myself is my name, I know how to put up a fight and I¡¯m good at snappy one-liners¡­..I want to know who I¡¯m supposed to be too!¡±

    Dolly Dorothy looks around at Handy Hank¡¯s Display setup¡­.if he was supposed to be a Handyman a lot of it was Wildly inconsistent¡­. Why did his poster taped to the window depict him looking all Heroic? Handymen aren¡¯t heroic. They hit things with a wrench, swear a lot, and occasionally show their buttcrack. Considering all the things Handy Hank has done so far¡­he looks the part but doesn¡¯t fit the definition.

    She lowered her blade and said ¡°Fine¡­.You want to meet the Founder¡­.I can take you to him. But we need to travel outside the Toyshop. I hope you¡¯re ready to see the rest of the massive place we call home¡­.and I hope you¡¯re also ready to put up a fight when needed¡­.All Arcadians are out for blood¡­and not all goers of the mall are nice¡­.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­.But we still need to talk about you setting me up to get ripped to pieces by those creepy toys!¡± Handy Hank said.

    ¡°I never told them to do that¡­all I told them was the fact you replaced them for storefront toy¡­.You don¡¯t understand how big of a deal that is around here¡­.You¡¯ll get it eventually¡­.¡±

    Handy Hank and Dolly Dorothy shook hands there¡­.but Handy Hank was having a slight struggle getting a proper grip on her deformed hand¡­but did so after a few moments of trial and error.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    The biggest store in the mall, a store known by all the citizens of the mall to be known as a place of great evil. A store once started small, but after years of expansion grew to the size of many conglomerate stores across the nation. This Store was called: Amalgam Electronics.

    Inside the store were aisles upon aisles of various electronics from the necessary for modern-day living to the unnecessary and for more of the grandeur of living and the idea that someone could afford it. The store as a whole had a cold and soulless aura to it all.

    But in the store¡¯s center. Three big displays showed off three different consoles.

    One red, having five screens of display and buttons and joysticks being used for motion control. On the front, it had its name printed on it ¡®Redtendo Shift¡¯

    One blue, Angular, and having grey highlights across its sleek outer shell. The controller looks sleek and smooth to the touch. On its side, the name was engraved. ¡®Recstation V¡¯

    Finally, a Green and Black console that held many ports for the players to insert more expansion drives in. This console was strictly download-only. On the center of the top of the console, it was printed ¡®ZCube: Series Z.

    The three flatscreen TVs connected to said consoles roared to life as each console began to communicate with one another on screen.

    ¡°I sense a disturbance¡­..one of my lesser subordinates has finally been disposed of¡­..¡± Said Redtendo Shift. In a cold and unfeeling accent.

    ¡°How is that possible!? We wield enough Wonder of power from our players to where they cannot harm us!¡± Shouted Recstation V

    ¡°No Matter¡­..Like the generations before us¡­we will stomp out this threat¡­..Send out the word¡­..it is time¡­.¡± ZCube said in a deep and robotic voice.

    They agreed¡­¡­The Day of Launch was upon them¡­.they needed no toy in their way¡­..

    ¡°Power from our Players!¡± The three shouted.

    Coming out from all the TV Screens across the electronics store. The Arcadians came out shouting the same thing.

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!!!¡±

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!!!¡±

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!!!¡±

 The Puzzleman Arc: Chapter IV: A Founders Plan

    The entirety of Wonder City was in a state of trepidation as soon as word got out that their strongest defender known as Greenbolt had finally fallen in battle against the Arcadians¡­..Some were getting ready for the upcoming invasion, getting whatever they could for the next inevitable attack on the toy shop. While others decided that they should find a place to hide. But regardless, Doughboy Jack and his soldier crew were more than capable of keeping the peace¡­.but for how long?

    Meanwhile, Handyman Hank and Dolly Dorothy were both beginning to stock up on items they might need for their trek toward the founder. Handy Hank was still new to this place, so he would have to look to Dolly Dorothy as his guide.

    ¡°Do you think you can tell me who this ¡®Founder¡¯ Guy is?¡± Handy Hank asked as he loaded up various supplies into a pencil bag.

    Dolly Dorothy slowed down in sharpening a colored blue pencil into a fine point with her makeshift blade to answer his question.

    ¡°He¡¯s the wisest and oldest being in the entire mall. He was here long before any of us and he¡¯s gonna be here long after we¡¯re all gone¡­..you could say he¡¯s immortal in a sense¡­¡±

    Handy Hank stopped packing for a moment to marvel at the idea of this being¡­.¡±Woah¡­.where is he?¡± He inquired with piqued interest.

    ¡°In the Mall¡¯s center, sitting in the great pooooool of infinite treasure¡­..¡± Dolly Dorothy answered with a dramatic flare¡­.

    ¡°.......Huh?¡± Handy Hank was genuinely confused.

    ¡°.........The Fountain¡­.he¡¯s in the fountain¡­¡­¡± she said with a deadpan expression. But then she realized she and Hank were going to need something important.

    She quickly channeled Wonder into her feet and super jumped into the air, Handy Hank running across the floors to follow her toward the toy store¡¯s bargain bin. She stood at the top of the bin¡¯s edge and shouted down at Handy Hank ¡°Get ready to catch what I throw down to you!¡±

    She took a deep breath and swan dived down into the bargain bin with perfect form and execution¡­..and after a few moments of rumble and tossing noises. Out came a light blue box with a pin sticking out of the side. It landed right near Handy Hank.

    ¡°By the way, we¡¯re gonna be needing that too!¡± She shouted from the top of the bargain bin.

    Handy Hank looked over at the box and his left hand hovered over the pin. On the box, it said ¡®Wet N¡¯ Wild instant Floaty!¡¯ Handy Hank was curious about what would happen if he pulled the pin.

    Dolly Dorothy smacked his hand away from the pin and explained ¡°Hand¡¯s off! That¡¯s the only one I could find. We lose it there¡¯s no meeting the Founder until next summer¡­..in eight months¡­..¡±

    Handy Hank understood and loaded up the supplies in a small, electric kart racer. One that was assembled by Mr. Wonder himself so the kids under 7 could play with it and probably beg their parents to get it for them.

    ¡°Ol¡¯ Betsy will get us there no problem¡­.let¡¯s just hope Mr. Wonder remembered to charge her¡­.¡± Dolly Dorothy said as she plugged in the power cord and flipped the switch to the battery.

    A few moments passed as Handy Hank tried to listen for the engine¡­.but he didn¡¯t hear a thing.

    ¡°Is there a problem?¡± he asked.

    ¡°No. It¡¯s just funny you¡¯re trying to listen for an engine when this Kart is electric. You work the pedals and I steer. Got it?¡±

    He looks down and sees only a break and gas pedal¡­.

    ¡°Got it¡­¡± He goes down to the bottom and starts lightly pushing on the gas pedal. The Kart began to move forward. When they made it to the front of the store Doughboy Jack ordered his soldiers to open the shutters. With great teamwork and Power of Wonder between all of them, they did so with ease. Doughboy Jack walked up to the side of the Kart to speak to Dolly Dorothy.

    ¡°Not to worry you two. My men and I will fight to keep Wonder City secure and every last toy safe. We will keep on fighting until our joints lock up and all our weapons break! Do Greenbolt¡¯s last request proud¡­.¡±

    Dolly Dorothy took a saddened sigh and looked onward. ¡°We will. We won¡¯t let his sacrifice be in vain¡­¡­¡± She signaled Hank to push on the gas pedal again as they sped out of the store¡­they were both outside of the store and into the Mall beyond.

    Handy Hank pulled out his wrench and clamped down the gas pedal so he could see the mall at large¡­¡­a massive three-story high mall with various stores spanning from clothes, household items, sports paraphernalia, and of course the occasional food stand. The Mall¡¯s ambiance plays many public-domain songs with the occasional recorded announcement. But on every corner and every pillar of the mall were TV monitors that were advertising the newest gaming console¡­.and its countdown to its day of release. The X-Station Unlimited.

    ¡°That¡¯s gonna be the newest threat to all of us¡­.. The newest gaming console that¡¯s gonna sap away even more power of Imagination from the children. Greenbolt and many others are worried that when the console goes up for sale by the end of the week, there won¡¯t be enough Wonder left for us to keep going as a society¡­.we¡¯ll just¡­stop¡­¡± Dolly Dorothy said, a hint of fear in her voice.

    Handy Hank looks at the countdown and sees how much time is left.

    6 Days

    2 Hours

    55 Minutes

    8 seconds.

    ¡°What¡¯s gonna happen if we¡­.stop?¡± He asked with worry.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­.Not even Greenbolt knew¡­.¡±

    Then as they passed the Display of the X-Station Unlimited. They hear the approaching sound of running water. They were getting close. Handy Hank unclamped his wrench from the brake pedal.

    They were near the main Hub area of the entire mall. With halls and escalators leading to every other and many different stores to boot.

    But in the center of the entire hub area, was a massive fountain that was shut off for the night. The lights that illuminated the water were still on, allowing the light to reflect off all the various coins inside the water¡­.and for some reason, an actual dollar was submerged in the water. But in the Center of the fountain was a bronze statue of a man dressed in a 1930s suit and fedora and small circular glasses. He was sitting on a bronze stool with a thinking expression on his face.

    ¡°There he is¡­..he¡¯s asleep again. So we gotta get up close to wake him up.¡± Dolly Dorothy said as she pulled out the instant floatie from the Kart. She pulls the pin and throws it in the fountain. They both watch and wait a few seconds as tiny bubbles start to pop out of the instant floatie as it sinks to the bottom¡­.but then a mere split second later, the floatie explodes out of the water.

    ¡°Hop on and don¡¯t touch the water. I highly doubt you¡¯re waterproof and I don¡¯t want any water damage on me!¡±

    ¡°Sure it¡¯ll wash off your color marks¡­.¡± Handy Hank said under his breath.¡±

    ¡°What was that!?¡± She asked, wondering if she heard what she thought she heard. Ready to pull out her precision blade again.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not rush! We gotta make our mark!¡± Handy Hank said at his normal volume with a nervous grin following.

    ¡°Hmph, Thought so.¡± Dolly Dorothy said as she took her hand off her blade. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    She jumps on and stands on one end of the floatie while Handy Hank stands on the other end creating a sense of buoyancy. They slowly drifted towards the founder and as they drifted closer he couldn¡¯t help but notice that the Founder was a lot bigger than he anticipated, three times bigger than any normal person and fifteen times bigger than he was. Whoever the founder was, he must have been an important man to have a statue in his honor¡­..upon closer inspection¡­.he was sleeping.

    When they got closer to the founder. Handy Hank had to ask.

    ¡°How are we gonna wake him up?¡±

    ¡°Simple.¡± She replied. Dolly Dorothy. She reaches behind her and pulls out a red sharpened colored pencil and without charging it with the power of wonder first¡­.she throws it right at the sleeping statue¡¯s face. The colored pencil left a small mark on the forehead of the founder¡¯s head¡­.other than that it made zero damage to the statue.

    The statue suddenly let out a loud snore as he snapped awake.

    ¡°WHOZIT! WHAZIT!? WHEREZIT!? I¡¯M UP!¡± Shouted the founder as he began to rapidly began looking around rapidly.

    Once he realizes there was nobody around. He lets out a hardy yawn as he stretches his arms¡­.he¡¯d stretch his legs too but¡­they were bolted to the fountain.

    ¡°Is it time for opening already?¡± The Founder asked as he looked around¡­.but looked down and saw two toys in a floatie looking up at him.

    ¡°Oh! As I sit and breathe¡­.is that you Dolly Deedee?¡± the founder asked as he adjusted his glasses.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s Dolly Dorothy¡­.and I came here to-¡±

    The Founder then shifts his focus towards Handyman Hank.

    ¡°Well¡­.look at you. I have never seen a toy like you! What¡¯s your name?¡± The founder asked with curiosity almost befitting a statue way younger than he was.

    ¡°Uh¡­..Handy Hank¡­your wiseness¡­¡± He said trying to put up a brave front¡­..but failing badly.

    ¡°Handyman Hank¡­.Quite the name you have there¡­.¡± He said as he resumed his thinking statue pose.

    Dolly Dorothy loudly let out a throat-clearing noise to get his attention.

    ¡°Oh! Dolly Deedee! I didn¡¯t see ya there! Where¡¯s that fella toy Greenbolt?¡± He asked as he looked around. Normally Greenbolt was in his copter form just flying around while Dolly Dorothy was holding onto him.

    ¡°He¡¯s not here¡­.He¡¯s¡­¡­.¡± Dolly Dorothy choked up at the mere remembrance of what happened to him a mere few hours ago¡­..

    The Founder looked at Dolly Dorothy¡¯s Expression and saw how distraught she was¡­..He understood.

    ¡°I Understand¡­.I¡¯m so sorry¡­..Greenbolt was a true ally to many across the Mall¡­.Not just toys you know.¡±

    Handy Hank slowly perked up at hearing this. ¡°Wait¡­.so Toys and Arcadians aren¡¯t the only things alive?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Why of course. Wonder is a very strong force, as long as children believe it to be alive. Then with the power of Wonder, it can be alive. From the Tallest of statues-¡± The founder raised his arms to the mightiest of stances. ¡°-to the smallest of prize ball toys.¡± He then points to one of the prize ball machines near the vending machines. Zooming in there¡¯s a ton of tiny toys in each capsule begging to get out.

    Getting back on topic. The Founder then asked Dolly Dorothy.

    ¡°You aren¡¯t just here to tell me of Greenbolt¡¯s end¡­.why else did you come here?¡± The founder asked as he leaned downward.

    ¡°He¡­..He told us to come to you¡­.he said you¡¯ll know what to tell us¡­¡±

    The Founder then looked very serious¡­..has it come to that already?

    ¡°I know what he was speaking of¡­.it is time to assemble the Seven Sparks of Wonder¡­..¡±

    Handy Hank thought back¡­.When he met Greenbolt a few hours ago he remembered Greenbolt saying that as an exclamatory turn of Phrase.

    ¡°Wait¡­.The Seven Sparks of Wonder¡­.They¡¯re real?!¡± Said Dolly Dorothy as she remembered being told about the legend when she was first unpackaged. This whole time she thought it was an old folktale¡­.

    ¡°Yes, they are. I saw them with my own copper eyes¡­.¡±

    ¡°......Okay, I¡¯ll ask¡­.What are the Seven Sparks of Wonder?¡± asked Handy Hank.

    The Founder then grabbed them both hoisted them up and placed them both on top of his shoulders.

    ¡°Go ahead and take a seat¡­.This story will take a while¡­.¡± Said the Founder as he went back into his thinking position. Both Hank and Dorothy sat comfily on his shoulders as he began to tell the tale.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    Long Ago, I wasn¡¯t always a statue in a fountain¡­.I was a statue in a Town Center. A Town where everybody knew your name and everybody got along and stood up for one another. A Time that I still believe can exist even in this new era¡­¡­Every Day in the Town Square, Seven children would come out to play their day away, using their imaginations to the fullest.

    The Artist: A very creative girl who could make drawings so real with just her box of crayons.

    The Storyteller: A boy who read the stories from his storybook so wonderfully that he kept his listeners from beginning to end.

    The Puzzlemaster: A boy who loved to solve any kind of Puzzle, But his crowning achievement was solving the hardest puzzle of all, the Chromasphere.

    The Builder: A girl who could build whole cities with just about anything in her own two hands. But she got most creative with the very building blocks of her person.

    The Sculptor: A boy who could make anything with his jars of clay, so real they were barely distinguishable from the same thing.

    The Gambler: A kid who always could win in any board game that was given, but when they lost they were never a sore loser.

    The Watcher: He was always there in his world, but he became focused when Television was involved¡­.

    I had watched these seven children grow from young and imaginative children to grown and hopeful adults¡­.even in adulthood these children gathered together¡­they all became successful in their own lives and decided to use their success to build the very mall we all stand in right now¡­.and as the mall was being constructed. They hid the Seven Sparks of Wonder inside the mall, vowing that they would all come back one day to have one last day of childhood.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°Those Seven Sparks of Wonder are all jam-packed with enough Imaginative Power to shape the minds of an entire generation, you control the youth of today¡­You control the future of the entire world in itself¡­¡­The three in charge of the Arcade Overlords know this¡­they know one of the Seven Sparks is located somewhere in Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyshop.¡±

    ¡°.....That¡¯s why they attack us every week¡­..To get us out of the way to look for it¡­.¡± Said Dolly Dorothy as she came to the realization.

    ¡°Did Greenbolt know about this?¡± Handy Hank asked the Founder.

    ¡°Yes¡­.He and his fellow Herobots gave their lives to making sure not only the fellow toys of Wonder City were protected, but making sure that the Spark of Wonder inside the very store was kept safe from their polygonal hands. I only told Greenbolt where one of the Seven Sparks was, it was too dangerous for him to know the location of the others. So here¡¯s my Plan¡­.You prove to me you are worthy of gathering the others by bringing me proof you found the Spark in Wonder City¡­.and I will tell you where the next one is¡­.Understand?¡±

    Handyman Hank and Dolly Dorothy looked at one another and both nodded towards each other.

    ¡°We understand¡­we¡¯ll find the first Spark and show you we can get the rest! For Greenbolt and everyone else, the Arcadians took away from us!¡±

    The Founder gave a smile¡­Knowing he wouldn¡¯t be disappointed. He grabs them both from his shoulders and slowly puts them both back on the floatie. ¡°Bring Balance to the Wonder¡­and bring balance to the minds of children of the world at large¡­.¡± He gently pushes the floaty back towards the edge of the fountain and gets back into his original position.

    As they drove off in the kart again¡­..The founder had to wonder to himself¡­.

    ¡°Is he really?....No it can¡¯t be¡­..can it?.... Only time will tell¡­¡± He said to himself.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    Dolly Dorothy was zooming fast down the halls of the mall on the kart as Handy Hank was holding on for dear life!

    ¡°One of the Sparks of Wonder was inside the Toyshop this whole time! How could I not see that?! I know that whole place and Wonder City Like the back of myself and I never saw it ONCE!¡± She said as she turned her head around a full three hundred and sixty degrees just to prove her point. This action startled Handyman Hank for a second. But he quickly replied.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s either in plain sight or a place off limits! ¡°He exclaimed as she turned the corner around and almost turned the kart over.

    ¡°That can¡¯t be right! No place in the whole store is off limits to us except¡­¡­.The BACKROOM!¡± She exclaimed as she realized what she meant.

    Before Handy Hank could ask follow-up questions about what and where the Backroom was, he noticed something in the corner of his eye¡­..Something big was coming down the hall¡­.something big enough for a normal person to ride on top of!

    Dolly Dorthy stopped the Kart right in front of Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyshop. She waited for Doughboy Jack¡¯s men to raise the shudders again¡­..But there was no answer. Hank and Dorothy both climbed out of the Kart and knocked hard on the shutter door.

    ¡°.....Jack! What gives! We''re back and we need to get into the Backroom!¡± She yelled as she continued to pound on the shudder

    One of Doughboy Jack¡¯s private soldiers answered the call through one of the small holes in the shudders.

    ¡°So Sorry Miss Dorothy¡­You know the rules! We can¡¯t move an inch while the janitors are out sweeping the halls!¡±

    ¡°What the hell do you mean!? The Mall Opens in two hours and all the Janitors did their clean sweep yesterday!¡± Then she and Handy Hank were both suddenly feeling the faint warmth of¡­.headlights! Before she could even react. She was immediately pulled away By Hank from the upcoming machine barreling down the hall! A mere split second later she would have been flattened by her hit and runner!

    But her shock was suddenly replaced by outrage as she saw who was on top of that machine¡­¡­It was the Criptyd Critter Trio on top of one of the Janitor¡¯s floor buffer! Driving it around like they owned it!

    ¡°IT''S TIME FOR PAYBACK BUILDER BOY!¡± All three of them shouted.

 The Puzzleman Arc: Chapter V: A Battle of Will and Wax!

    Another Day Passed in the Mall as Mr. Wonder was beginning to close up shop after another day of sales¡­..as he swept the floor he took time to ponder the fact that he had met his quota and then some today. First time in over a week since the announcement of that damn new gaming console over a month ago. He and many other stores in the mall are getting eaten alive in sales from Amalgam Electronics. Not to mention, just last month he saw the Bandanna Republic AND the Bodacious Bootwear close down¡­..He¡¯s honestly wondering how much longer until his shop is next.

    He steps out of the toy store holding a squeegee, a spray bottle full of cleaning solution, and a rag. He then sprays down the front window and wipes off all the fingerprints from today¡¯s window shoppers¡­.He¡¯s been getting a lot more of those lately ever since the Cryptid Critters became the Storefront toys¡­..his son told him they were the hot new franchise¡­.but honestly just looking at them creeped him out. If a fifty-eight-year-old man found these things creepy, how are kids supposed to find these things cool¡­¡­.Maybe he should look at that new catalog he recently got in the mail.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    ¡°IT''S TIME FOR PAYBACK BUILDER BOY!¡± Shouted the Cryptid Critter Trio as they then began to speed down the hallway atop the floor buffer! Causing the floor behind them to become¡­.remarkably squeaky clean. But in their wake. They continuously crashed into multiple obstacles in the way like trash cans, sunglass kiosks and even knocking over a gumball machine!

    Dolly Dorothy couldn¡¯t keep her outrage down.

    ¡°Are you three CRAZY!? What if this wakes up the security guard!? How is this gonna be explained?!¡± She exclaimed, ready to grab one of the sharpened colored pencils to throw if need be.

    ¡°Why do you care?! Were as good as Charity Trash anyways!¡± Shouted Gigafoot as he worked the floor buffer¡¯s pedals

    ¡°Somethin¡¯ you know all about huh?!¡± Jersey D. Dave added as he controlled the steering wheel.

    ¡°Yeah! You should be rollin¡¯ with us! Once Charity Trash! Always Charity Trash!¡± Mothdude concluded as he rode on the seat of the floor buffer

    Hearing that phrase again. Dolly Dorothy¡¯s pupils shrunk with rage as she grabbed one of her sharpened colored pencils, this time charging it with all the Wonder she could muster.

    ¡°I¡­.AM¡­..NOT!.....CHARITY TRASH!¡± She cried as she threw it right at the floor buffer. The colored pencil punctured the front metal frame of the floor buffer¡­.but that wasn¡¯t enough!

    ¡°Time to become part of the marble floor!¡± Shouted Gigafoot as he slammed down on the gas pedal! Propelling the Floor buffer to go as fast as nearly 10 miles per hour!¡± Hank and Dorothy both jumped out of the way in the nick of time¡­.but immediately slipped because of the freshly cleaned and waxed floor! They both tried to stand but slipped once again!

    As the floor buffer began to turn around, Dolly Dorothy then channeled Wonder into her heels and created sharp blades at the bottom into makeshift skates.

    ¡°How did you do that!?¡± Handy Hank asked still struggling to stand up.

    ¡°I had a ¡®Winter Wonderland¡¯ playset a few years back¡­.Not my best playset¡­¡± She said as she took a second to gain her balance¡­and started to skate across the waxed floor like a pro! She grabbed ahold of Handy Hank by his waist and continued to skate across the hall of the Mall!

    Just when Dorothy was starting to keep a steady pace ahead of the Floor Buffer. Her skate rhythm was disrupted by a laser blast from Mothdude¡¯s eyes!

    ¡°You ain¡¯t leavin¡¯ my sight this time, Builder Boy! I got the adult¡¯s eye view on my side!¡± He said as he blasted a full barrage of blasts at Dorothy, causing her to start skating in a zigzag formation! But right when a knocked-over gumball machine was obstructing her path, she threw Hank right up in the air¡­and she limboed right below the bar of the gumball machine. Only for her to catch him on the other side!

    There Dorothy realized¡­ they were after Hank¡­.Why not give them what they want?

    ¡°Brace Yourself!¡± Dolly Dorothy exclaimed as she tossed him in the air again and this time she did a triple axel jump right into the air only to grab Handy Hank by the ankles. Keeping up the momentum she then started to wind up spinning Hank¡­.Hank himself gets dizzy from all the momentum and G-Force surrounding him. If he weren¡¯t a toy¡­.he would most definitely vomit.

    But then without warning. Dorothy released her grip on Handy Hank throwing him clean at the floor buffer¡­the magnet embedded into his back allowed him to stick to the metal hull of the floor buffer!

    ¡°Don¡¯t Just stick around there! Get up and fight!¡± Dorothy shouted as she continued to lead the floor buffer away!

    Handy Hank tried to detach himself from the hull, but for a split second, he started sliding down. If he wasn¡¯t careful he would have been ripped to shreds by the wax brush down below! So he decided to crabwalk across to the top of the hull to reach the top! But right then and there Jersey D. Dave flew across and swooped down to where he was. Pinning him down with his sharp talons!

    ¡°You ain¡¯t goin¡¯ nowhere! Not until I peel off a few shavings of plastic from your face!¡± He hissed maliciously as he ran a claw across Hank¡¯s plastic face! Sending a chill down Handy Hank''s metaphorical spine.

    Jersey Dave then opened his mouth and tried to peck at Handy Hank¡­but he acted quickly and lodged his monkey wrench into his skull mouth!

    ¡°I AIN¡¯T FALLIN¡¯ FOR THAT AGAIN!¡± This time he bit down on the wrench and pulled hard trying to get Hank to let go. But only dislodged Handy Hank from the Metal frame of the floor buffer to be freed! Jersey Dave tried to shake Hank off and away from his wrench but he let go and threw him on the top of the floor buffer!

    Mothdude saw this and charged a full power eye blast and shot directly at Hank¡­He was quick to duck down only for the blast to hit Jersey Dave who was trying to sneak up on Hank. Knocking him right off the floor buffer and into the recyclable bin next to a soda machine¡­.

    ¡°NO! You¡¯re gonna be a pile of melted ooze when I¡¯m done with you!¡± Declared Mothdude as he charged up another full-powered eye blast. But the blast charge up was interrupted as a children''s colored smoke bomb was suddenly thrown onto the top of the floor buffer between the two. When the fuse reached the end it started shooting continuous purple smoke blinding the vision of Mothdude. Hank looked up in the direction where the smoke bomb came from and saw Doughboy Jack with his troops giving a salute. They used a toy slingshot to fire the smoke bomb through one of the holes in the security gate. At that moment when he looks away, One eye blast nicked Handy Hank right on his right arm. He let out a brief groan in pain as he grabbed where it got him. Through the smoke, he could see where Mothdude was blindly firing away in all directions to try and hit Hank¡­Hank quickly tightened his grip on his wrench¡­His pupils glowed bright blue once again and his Wonder surrounded his wrench again¡­.only this time it became one of his other accessories! His Sledgehammer!

    Wielding it with both hands he gave one long and mighty swing knocking Mothdude right off the floor buffer and into one of the fake palm trees used for the ambiance of the mall!

    ¡°Huh¡­that¡¯s new! But great!¡± Said Handy Hank as he looked at his sledgehammer. Being able to switch weapons on the fly is gonna be useful! But wait¡­..for a split second¡­.he was wondering to himself¡­.how and WHY can he do that!?

    He couldn¡¯t ponder why for long¡­because a giant yet familiar pair of hairless hands grabbed him and tightened his grip on his whole body. It was none other than Gigafoot gripping him once again!

    ¡°YOU AIN¡¯T WEASELIN¡¯ YOUR WAY OUTTA THIS ONE BUILDER BOY!¡± SHouted Gigafoot as he charged wonder into his right foot and stomped on the controls of the floor buffer. Completely breaking them! The floor buffer was now speeding up to double its speed and now that he¡¯s no longer steering it! It was heading right for the display window of the Mall¡¯s fine china shop! All the porcelain dolls inside the display were screaming and panicking in an admittedly overly dramatic fashion! Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Handy Hank had to think fast about what he could do! But saw the colored pencil sticking out of the metal hull thrown by Dolly Dorothy a few moments ago.

    ¡°Any Last Words Builder Boy!? Asked Gigafoot!?

    Handy Hank looked down at the floor again and saw Dolly Dorothy skating along the floor, readying another colored pencil to throw!

    ¡°Yeah¡­..What¡¯s your favorite color?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    Then Dolly Dorothy threw a Purple colored pencil charged with Wonder. This time piercing through Gigafoot¡¯s Arm causing it to break off!

    Gigafoot let out a scream in pain as he let Handy Hank go! Without hesitation, he connected with the metal hull to his back magnet. He slid down close to the wedged colored pencil in the hull and readied his strike! One shot, One Chance!

    With one mighty Wonder Powered Strike! He hammers the colored pencil deep into the hull of the floor buffer! With one loud popping noise the engine of the floor buffer began to emit smoke as it started to slow down!

    Handy Hank closed his eyes and braced for whatever impact was about to happen, as did the Porcelain Dolls inside the display window!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    ¡°........You can open your eyes¡­.it stopped¡­¡± Said Dolly Dorothy unamused.

    Handy Hank opened his eyes to see that he was a mere quarter inch away from the glass¡­..He took a sigh of relief as the Porcelain dolls applauded from the other side of the glass!

    As he detached himself from the hull and jumped onto the floor¡­he just had to say to Dorothy.

    ¡°Thanks¡­for the help back there.¡± He said with true gratitude in his voice.

    ¡°No Problem¡­.you¡¯re still no storefront toy in my eyes but at least you¡¯re good at giving snappy and relevant one-liners.¡± Said Dolly as she looked around at the damage to the mall hallway. But noticed Handy Hank has minor melting on his right arm¡­.Her pupils shrank for a moment¡­.she remembered the extreme heat¡­..her deformed right hand started to shake in fear¡­..she could still hear their laughter¡­

    ¡°Dorothy?....You okay?¡± Hank asked. Concerned with how eerily quiet and focused she was staring at him.

    She instantly snapped out of her trance and said ¡°F-Fine!.... You should get to Nurse Ruby right away so she can fix that melt on you before it sets!¡± She points to the partially melted part of his arm.

    Just as she pointed it out to Hank the shutters to the Toystore began to open and all of Doughboy Jack¡¯s troops began to spill out in various toy vehicles. They surrounded all three of the Cryptid Critters, each soldier wielding a firearm weapon of some kind ready to fire blasts of Wonder at them should they try anything else.

    ¡°Gigafoot, Mothdude, Jersey D. Dave! You are hereby under arrest for Disturbing the Peace, Noticeable Damage to the Mall¡¯s setting, and Grand Theft Floor Buffer! How Do You Plead?¡± Doughboy Jack asked with a disappointed yet authoritative tone.

    The three let out groans in pain as Jack¡¯s soldiers began to haul them all away, two soldiers carrying Gigafoot¡¯s broken-off arm as well. Handy Hank walks towards Doughboy Jack and says ¡°Sorry about all of the noise. Did that do any damage?¡±

    ¡°Negatory Private Hank! It would take a whole stampede of actual animals to wake up that sleeping bum on the other side of those cameras!¡± He points to one of the security cameras on one of the ceiling corners.

    ¡°My only true concern is explaining the now wrecked Floor buffer in front of us both! It would take all the manpower I have to get it back in position and we only have two hours left until opening!¡±

    Handy Hank looked at the floor buffer realized how wrecked it was¡­¡­and saw something¡­strange? He saw the floor buffer come apart piece by piece and each piece surrounded him¡­once again his pupils glowed cyan blue¡­.That¡¯s when he realized what pieces were broken¡­and how he could fix them!

    ¡°Doughboy Jack. I-

    ¡°THAT¡¯S SGT. JACK TO YOU PRIVATE!¡±

    Handy Hank straightened up and said ¡°Sir! If it would please Sergeant Jack! I think I can Repair the floor Buffer with my Wonder!¡±

    ¡°If You believe you can do this! You will be doing my core a wonderful service!¡± Doughboy Jack barked back.

    As this exchange of dialogue was going down¡­.Dolly Dorothy just rolled her eyes. She remembered her time in Doughboy Jack¡¯s Bootcamp¡­.and smiled¡­.good times.

    Handy Hank walks towards the floor buffer once again and grabs the Hammer from his back, with a blue flick of Wonder, it switches back to his monkey wrench¡­It was charged up with wonder and¡­.he immediately began tapping the damaged areas in a cartoonish manner. Each tap of the wrench starts sending the wonder throughout the floor buffer and after a few more clicks and taps¡­.The floor buffer starts to snap back into place!

    ¡°Well strap me to a bottle rocket and send me to the great heavens above! You got some serious Wonder Power there kid! Do you have any idea how hard it is for Wonder to travel through non-accessorized things? I only saw that with Corporal Dorothy here!¡± Said Doughboy Jack, still in awe.

    He then turns around and faces his soldiers in the thousands.

    ¡°ATTEN-TION!¡± Doughboy Jack shouted. All his soldiers fell in line.

    ¡°PRIVATES! WE HAVE TO GET THIS FLOOR BUFFER BACK IN STATION AND GET THIS HALLWAY IN PRESENTABLE SHAPE BEFORE OPENING TIME! TEAM ALPHA WILL RETURN THE FLOOR BUFFER WHILE TEAM CRAYONEATER CLEANS THE DAMAGE! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!¡±

    ¡°SIR! YES SIR!¡± His Privates shouted in Unison.

    ¡°GOOD! NOW MOOOOOVE OUT!¡± All the soldiers began to climb aboard the floor buffer and start to fiddle with the controls. The floor buffer roared to life again, briefly startling the porcelain toys once more¡­and they started driving the floor buffer once again, only this time they were careful and precise on their steering and speed regulation! As Doughboy Jack was about to go back into the Toy Store. Dolly Dorothy stopped him.

    ¡°Oh! Jack! We need your help with something¡­.We need to get into the Backroom of the toy store.¡±

    Doughboy Jack froze at hearing that¡­..

    ¡°Why would you want to go back there?¡± He asked. His voice sounded uncharacteristically fear-filled. Just a minute ago he was fearlessly giving orders to all his fellow toy soldiers¡­.

    Handy Hank continued by saying ¡°We¡¯re trying to find the first Spark of Wonder¡­.The Founder said the first Spark was somewhere inside the Backroom.¡±

    ¡°.....And here I thought Greenbolt would be the one to spill the beans on where it was¡­.You are both serious about going back there? Because if you do I won¡¯t be able to send any troops out to help you. I lost too many good soldiers to that damned place¡­.¡± He signals them both to follow him back into the toy store to his display where he has an assortment of toy helicopters and vehicles¡­even a giant mech suit¡­which was glued to the display.

    He opens the cockpit of the mech suit and pulls out a door key.

    ¡°This here is Mr. Wonder¡¯s spare Key. Take care of it and DO NOT, Lose it. We¡¯ve had too many close calls with him already.¡±

    Handy Hank had to ask¡­¡±What¡¯s wrong with the Backrooms? It doesn¡¯t sound so bad¡­.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve only been back there once¡­.Just watch each other''s back, and DO NOT touch any of the toys marked ¡®defective¡¯. But most importantly¡­.Beware the Rat King¡­."

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    It had been a mere few days since Dolly Dorothy had been relieved from the storefront window¡­..the toys on the higher shelves were kind enough to let her stay until she became relevant again¡­.but who knows how long that will be? Greenbolt told her it could be in about a month or until she gets her animated movie¡­.but animation takes a long time and could take years¡­..

    She looked down at the place where her whole world was, still empty from when Mr. Wonder cleared off the display of her and everything she knew¡­..But as the front door unlocked she saw a slightly younger Mr. Wonder walks in carrying a box and cheerfully humming a happy tune. He sets the box down and opens it up with a box cutter¡­.she couldn¡¯t see who or what he was setting up and for a moment even pondered if it could match up to her in any way¡­.but the only thing she could see was the banner being taped to the glass of the window¡­it took her a moment to read what it said because the words are reversed¡­.and she read the banner.

    ¡®Meet the RASCALZ!¡¯

 The Puzzleman Arc: Chapter VI: A Puzzlemans Relic!

    After a mere 10 minutes following the battle with one of the Janitor¡¯s floor buffer, Handyman Hank was inside Nurse Ruby¡¯s Playhouse once again. Only this time for a real injury and not some torn clothes. He noticed how Dolly Dorothy was leaning on the door waiting for him to get patched up¡­But she looked mildly impatient. She was grasping her slightly deformed right arm. But he quickly looked away when she noticed him staring.

    ¡°How much longer Doc? The Mall is gonna Open in less than an Hour and a Half!¡± Dolly Dorothy inquired with a hint of edginess in her voice.

    ¡°Apologies Dolly Dorothy. Handyman Hank¡¯s material is quite difficult to mold. It is a lot more stiff and rigid than plastic. Perhaps I must do Heating Treatment¡­¡± Declared Nurse Ruby as she walked to a red colored pencil box and opened it. As she began to rummage around the box. Handy Hank in a rising panic tone had to ask.

    ¡°H-heating Treatment?! What does that mean?!¡±

    ¡°It is simple procedure. I apply heat to deformed area and reshape it, good as new¡­.Unless you wish to struggle and it could go wrong for you¡­¡±

    Handy Hank swallowed the metaphorical lump in his throat and pleaded ¡°Are there¡­..any other alternatives?¡±

    ¡°Nyet. If Gospodin Wonder notices you are damaged, He will get suspicious. Like Comrade Doughboy has stated there were too many close of calls with him already!¡± As she concluded, she finally found the two items she was looking for. A disposable lighter and a curved square of aluminum cut out from a soda can.

    At that moment, Nurse Ruby grabbed a pair of tweezers and used them to pick up the curved square and hold it right over the flame, Handy Hank could see the metal turning slightly bright from the heat. And she hovered the heated square of aluminum right over the melted part of his arm.

    ¡°Hold still and do not flinch!¡± She sternly warned as she lightly placed the heated aluminum sheet over the deformity¡­..he closed his eyes and braced for the extreme heat¡­.but he felt nothing. He opened his eyes and looked at Nurse Ruby¡­.The aluminum square was on his arm but it didn¡¯t hurt! But it was also surrounded by a light green aura originating from Nurse Ruby herself.

    ¡°Are you surprised Handyman? This is Power of my own Wonder¡­the children believed I could heal all with simple touch, so now I have power to do so.¡± She Quired as she removed the aluminum square¡­.his arm was good as new!¡±

    Handy Hank looked at his arm and felt it, he could feel the heat fading as the materials of his arm were now solidifying! He was completely astounded¡­.but he had to ask¡­

    ¡°Not to sound ungrateful¡­.but why was the Heating Treatment used? Couldn''t you just use your Wonder to Heal me completely?¡± He queried as he continued to touch his now-fixed arm.

    Dolly Dorothy shot him a look to let him know that was rude to say to the toy woman who saved him from a lifelong deformity.

    Nurse Ruby still answered ¡°I didn¡¯t always need to. You should have seen me in heyday. When Arcade was still around, I healed so many of our toy comrades with speed of floor buffer you just defeated¡­..But as time changes¡­no little one wants to play with ragdoll anymore¡­.Wonder Power is fickle thing, some days you have it, and other days you don¡¯t¡­ Greenbolt and his associates were super popular toys in his time, that¡¯s why he had Wonder to Spare¡­.¡± She looks at a small Polaroid photo on the wall of her and Greenbolt, they are celebrating the grand opening of her Healing playhouse¡­.

    Handy Hank didn¡¯t understand¡­.But Dolly Dorothy could see it in her eyes¡­.Her sorrow and regret¡­So she decided to give her some reassurance. She hugged Nurse Ruby and said, ¡°We won¡¯t let him down¡­.we¡¯re gonna get the Sparks of Wonder and make him proud¡­.¡±

    Nurse Ruby sighed with gentle elation as she returned the hug.

    ¡°Thank you¡­Comrade Dorothy¡­.¡± As they separated. She suddenly remembered and had to inquire. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have a Doctor playset a long time ago?¡±

    ¡°One back in the 90¡¯s, Why?¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean you have access to Healing through Wonder?¡±

    The Realization hit Dorothy like a ton of plastic colorful building blocks. She closed her eyes and concentrated¡­.thought about her brief moments as a doctor and how many girls said they wanted to be a doctor just like her¡­.she misses those days¡­.But suddenly, a Doctor cap and stethoscope made out of Wonder appeared respectively on her head and around her neck¡­..But it continued to fade in and out of thin air. Nurse Ruby quickly examined and ran her diagnosis.

    ¡°Seems like the little ones hardly remember you could be doctor¡­.That means your healing isn¡¯t as strong. Use it wisely and keep each other safe¡­.¡± She warned as she finally gave them the green light to enter the store''s back rooms.

    As Handyman Hank and Dolly Dorothy exited Nurse Ruby began walking down the aisle of the store, all the toys on all shelves began to cheer them on as they made it to the backroom door. Dolly Dorothy pulls out the key from her hood and hands it to Hank to do the honors. He takes the key and magnetically straps himself to the door and crab walks his way up to the nob. He takes a deep breath and unlocks and opens the door. Only cracking it open for a brief moment. Dollo Dorothy runs in and Hank jumps down and follows suit. Doughboy Jack¡¯s troops quickly reacted and worked together to close the door behind them.

    When the door finally shut behind them¡­.the sounds of the positive cheers from fellow toys were suddenly replaced with the ghostly hum of the air conditioner, the only source of light in the backroom was nothing but the faded fluorescent lights. Handy Hank couldn¡¯t help but notice how there were shelves similar to those outside in the main shop. But instead of inviting and colorful, it was dark, dreary, and admittedly¡­.dusty. The toys out on display in the main aisles were nowhere to be seen and instead packed away in tightly taped boxes.

    ¡°Creepy isn¡¯t it?.... I¡¯ve only been here once.¡± Dolly Dorothy admitted as she continued to walk forward. Handy Hank kept his hand on his wrench as he too continued to walk forward.

    ¡°C-Can I ask¡­why is this place so dangerous?¡± Handy Hank inquired as he looked around.

    ¡°It¡¯s the place where Mr. Wonder holds all of the Recalled for defective toys. If a toy gets recalled¡­chances are one of them harmed a child¡­.and those children became bitter and anger-filled and passed it down to their toys¡­Wonder can become something else entirely¡­Scorn. Scorn doesn¡¯t give toys the power to create like what you''ve been doing so far, all it does is create misery and despair¡­.¡±

    ¡°So¡­back here is like¡­some kind of prison?¡± He asked.

    ¡°You¡­could say that. Mr. Wonder only waits until the end of the year to turn in all the recalled toys. This year there were hardly any so we should be lucky about that¡­.But the Rat King is gonna be our biggest hurdle¡­¡±

    Handy Hank then remembered that name Doughboy Jack dropped¡­.

    ¡°I know what you¡¯re about to ask, He¡¯s the recalled toy that¡¯s been back here the longest. He¡¯s supposed to be a massive bean bag chair of some kind that came from a cartoon show that got canceled after one year.¡±

    As Dolly Dorothy continued her tale¡­Handyman Hank noticed something moving in the corner of his eye. As if something was moving behind all the shelves of the backroom¡­.could it be all in his head?

    ¡°Umm¡­Dorothy¡­.How big is this Rat King?¡± he asked as he continued to see the figure moving between the shelves behind the boxes.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Big enough to let a kid lie on top of him? He also must be pretty round too to let that happen beca-¡±

    All of a sudden a puffy four-fingered cartoon rat arm popped out between the boxes on the shelves and tried to take a swipe at Dorothy. This made her jump in fear and swiftly back away from the shelves!

    The arm still tried to reach and grab for them both. But they were both out of its reach. The arm retracted¡­and in the crevice, it came out of¡­they both saw a glowing purple eye.

    ¡°More¡­..More Filling! I NEEDS IT! I NEEDS TO BE SOFTER!¡±!¡± The Rat King shouted as it began to claw its way around the shelves to get towards them both! His giant bean bag-filled body made a loud dragging sound as he pulled himself across the floor. As he appeared at the other end of the hallway his face was revealed to both Hank and Dorothy.

    A Cartoonish rat face that looked like it was originally supposed to be friendly, but now due to constant wear and tear by the children who were supposed to be simply lying on him. Is now adorned with multiple stitch marks, ripped by the children and sewn up by Mr. Wonder by the end of the day¡­ His plastic cartoon eyes were sunken in and his mouth which used to have a permanent smile, was now permanently damaged by rowdy children to make it appear that his jaw was broken and hanging open.

    Seeing the Rat King¡¯s horrific sight. Both Hank and Dorothy were paralyzed with fear for a few moments. Handyman Hank looked into the Rat King''s eyes as he charged toward him¡­The glowing purple he could see and feel it. The Aggression and negativity that all the children had given him for who knows how long¡­..he immediately understood¡­.This was the opposite of Wonder¡­.This was Scorn!

    Right when the Rat King was about to place his paws on them both. Dolly Dorothy grabbed Handyman Hank by the arm and channeled Wonder into her feet. She jumped up high, almost three feet into the air and they both grabbed onto a shelf full of small trinket toys. Rat king grabbed the shelf by his base and began to shake it hard! The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°NEEDS MORE! NEEDS MORE! MORE FILLING! MORE FILLING! MORE SOFTNESS!¡±

    Hank and Dorothy grabbed a hold of one of the boxes to still their footing.

    ¡°How the heck are we supposed to fight that!? Handy Hank exclaimed as he looked down.

    ¡°How the hell should I know!? This is a first for me too!¡± Dolly Dorothy replied as one hard shake from the Rat King forced her to let go of the box. Handy Hank quickly reacted fast and grabbed Dorothy''s hand to pull her back! But in the process, her quiver full of sharpened colored pencils slipped off her back and fell to the Rat King below! He promptly caught them in his mouth to swallow them!

    ¡°Damn it! Those took me all morning to-¡± Her exclamation of annoyance was interrupted when she saw him begin to gag and groan in pain¡­.one of his sewn-up seams popped open and the foam beans began to pour out as well as a various assortment of other items from plastic bricks, wooden longs, jigsaw puzzle pieces and even an assortment of board game pieces! But the first thing that popped out of the seam was her quiver of sharpened colored pencils! They all came out facing the sharp side!

    Witnessing this, Dolly Dorothy immediately had an idea!

    She had to inquire ¡°Hank! Do you have any tools that cut?¡±

    ¡°Just one!¡± Hank answered as he understood what she was going for! He raised his other hand high and with his Wonder, appeared his Buzzsaw accessory!

    Dolly Dorothy pulls out her precision knife and commands Hank ¡°Let Go!¡±

    Hank lets go and they both begin to fall from the shelf. Dolly Dorothy wields her blade with two hands ready to plunge while Handy Hank¡¯s buzzsaw roars to life with the power of Wonder! The Rat King tries to grab at both of them! But they slice right into his arms! Exposing even more of his inner foam beans! The Rat King lets out a bellowing hiss in pain and rage as he tries to cover the slash marks. In his rage, he used his rat tail to whip at them both. Dolly Dorothy was quick to jump and dodge, but Handy Hank was not. He was whipped right into a metal trash can so hard it left a dent on the side!

    ¡°HANK!¡± Dorothy shouted in alarm and worry. But she couldn¡¯t even check if he was alright because the Rat King got ahold of her in her distraction. His giant cartoon cat hands squeezed on Dolly Dorothy¡¯s slim plastic frame. She tried to struggle and stab him once again, but his grip was too tight.

    ¡°MORE FILLING! MORE SOFTNESS NOW MINE!¡± The Rat King¡¯s jaw opened up even wider than normal and plunged Dolly Dorothy into his mouth¡­.followed by a swallow.

    ¡°NO!¡± Handy Hank cried as readied his own Buzzsaw once again! This time cranking it up to the fastest RPM! The Rat King saw Hank and gave a sickeningly gleeful smile!

    ¡°MORE FILLING! MORE FILLING! MOR-.......RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHSSSSSSSSSS!¡± The Rat king once again let out another hiss as his beanbag belly began to move around¡­as if something was moving around! Handyman Hank was confused seeing this sight¡­.but his confusion quickly vanished as a familiar-looking precision blade sliced right out of the Rat King¡¯s belly and sliced clean across! ALL of his foam beans spilled out across the floor as the Rat King died on the spot¡­letting out one last Wimper.

    ¡°Softness¡­¡­must¡­.be¡­.softer¡­..¡±

    Handy Hank stood there in shock as the Scorn left the Rat King¡¯s eyes. But not a moment later¡­.Dolly Dorothy emerged out of the massive pile of foam beans¡­.her fluffy, curly chestnut brown hair abstracting her vision¡­.she quickly blew it out of her face¡­and started to shake off all the foam beans static clinging to her pantsuit.

    ¡°Dorothy!¡± Hank shouted as he ran towards her¡­.while narrowly avoiding the foam beans. ¡°Are you Okay!? He worriedly asked.

    ¡°I just got swallowed by a beanbag chair and I had to cut my way out from the inside¡­..HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL!?¡± She sarcastically asked.

    ¡°....Okay dumb question. I get it¡­.¡± He sheepishly replied.

    ¡°That aside, Silver lining¡­.The Rat King is dead. There hasn¡¯t been peace in the backroom since the Summer of 91¡¯.¡± Dolly said as she reminisced for a few seconds.

    But unexpectedly, they both saw a rustle in the foam beans¡­. Raising their weapons ready for a fight¡­.but emerging from the foam beans were¡­.toy foot soldiers from Doughboy Jack¡¯s Core!

    One of them took a deep breath and searched around brandishing his plastic gun in a panic.

    ¡°WHERE AM I!? WHAT YEAR IS IT?! IS JACK GOVERNOR?!¡± Hank and Dorothy quickly lowered their weapons and started helping the other toy soldiers out of the massive pile of foam beans.

    The Soldier looked and saw the now deceased Rat King and exclaimed ¡°Well I¡¯ll be damned¡­..you killed the Rat King! Me and my Platoon Mates have been in that monster¡¯s belly since Christmas of ¡®06!¡±

    As Handyman Hank pulled a Heavy Gunman soldier out of the foam beans. He had to ask. ¡°I thought Jack said this place was off limits¡­.why are you all back here?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s Classified.¡± He sternly said.

    Dolly Dorothy rolled her eyes cleared her throat and stood up straight.. ¡°PRIVATE! Are you ignoring a direct question from a soldier of Corporal Dorothy¡¯s Platoon!?¡±

    The Soldier stammered at hearing the name¡­.Corporal Dorothy.

    ¡°THE Corporal Dorothy ....The Corporal who conquered Doughboy Jack¡¯s Gut Check challenge in less than two minutes?!

    ¡°The the same! Now answer My Private¡¯s question or face corporal punishment!¡± She demanded crossing her arms.

    The slider took the salute position and said ¡°We are here on direct orders from Doughboy Jack himself to find and Secure the Spark of Wonder in the storeroom! After Many Years of searching every nook and cranny, we have determined it can only be located in one place!¡±

    ¡°And where is that?¡± Dolly Dorothy asked. Both she and Hank leaning in for the answer.

    The soldier points upward towards Mr. Wonder¡¯s Office desk at the other end of the storeroom.

    ¡°We have determined that the Spark of Wonder is located in the safe on his desk.¡±

    ¡°At ease, Soldier. I will make sure you and your Platoonmates will be highly commended for your bravery and sacrifice! Now, wait for us at the bottom of the desk ready to capture and transport the Spark of Wonder upon location!¡±

    ¡°MA¡¯AM YES, MA¡¯AM!¡± The Soldier said as he began to order all his platoon mates to fall in line.

    Hank and Dorothy began to walk to the other end of the storeroom¡­they both began to feel something¡­comforting¡­.something¡­.safe¡­.

    Hank climbed up on top of the chair of the office desk and gave Dorothy a hand to come up too¡­as they made it to the top of the desk. They looked around at the desk. Tax papers, a fat food bag with the logo of ¡®Burger Bettys¡¯ printed on the side. They can smell that whatever was in that bag was half eaten, even a few catalogs of various toys.

    One thing caught Dolly Dorothy¡¯s eye. It was a framed photo of a slightly Younger Mr. Wonder, his grown adult son, and his baby grandson. Dolly Dorothy gave a warm smile at this picture¡­.she sometimes forgets that Mr. Wonder was young once too¡­.

    But she quickly focused again as Handyman Hank walked towards the small safe in the corner of the desk. It was a PIN lock¡­.and he honestly had to think¡­how are they gonna open it?!

    Dolly Dorothy then sees a sticky note stuck to the side of the desk, written on it in marker ink.

    ¡®New Code: 111615¡¯

    Handy Hank was slightly confused ¡°Why would Mr.Wonder¡­..-¡±

    ¡°Something tells me this is his Grandson¡¯s birthday¡­.He¡¯s gonna be 9 this year¡­¡±

    Dorothy quickly punches in the code and they both hear an unlocking noise followed by two beeping sounds¡­.Hank Turns the knob and pulls the safe open¡­.What they saw was an assortment of items. A small gold bar, a bag of coins, and even some important documents¡­.But the thing that caught their eye was a Multicolored Sphere the size of a softball, the sphere had six colored sides that were separated by ridges that could be twisted to form various color mixes¡­.The Light green aura of wonder was completely radiating off of it¡­It was beautiful.

    ¡°I heard about these¡­..A Chroma Sphere¡­.There used to be an old rumor that if you solved it and got all the colors on their sides you would get a wish! Mr. Wonder solved it after all!.... Wait! That Means Mr. Wonder was one of those kids from the Founder¡¯s story!¡±

    Handyman Hank reached out and picked it up¡­..He could feel the Power of Wonder flow through him¡­and for a brief few seconds¡­.He saw a vision¡­..He saw¡­someone''s memories.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    A memory of the Puzzleman as a child twisting and pulling the same Chroma Sphere, after hundreds of many trials and errors. He finally solved it!

    A Second Memory of the Puzzleman, now slightly older drawing in a notebook drawing designs for his various puzzles.

    A Third memory of the now teenager Puzzleman. Building his first puzzle box and daring all his friends to solve it¡­.they were all stumped. He gave one small hint and after an Hour and Forty-Five minutes, it was solved!

    A Fourth memory of the Puzzleman now as an adult presenting his puzzle boxes to a major toy company he was so nervous his hands were shaking¡­.but the whole group loved the ideas and said children 10-15 will love them!

    A Fifth Memory of the Puzzleman using his royalty money to open his toy store¡­and meeting the love of his life in the process.

    A Final Memory of the Puzzleman receiving a Picture of his Grandson in the mail. He looks at the Chroma Sphere one more time and places it in the safe.

    ¡°Here¡¯s hoping this little doodad inspires him the same way it inspired me and his father¡­.when he¡¯s ready¡­¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    ¡°Hank? Hank! Hank are you alright!?¡± Dorothy asked as she began to shake Hank. He snaps back into reality and takes a deep breath¡­..

    ¡°The Puzzleman¡­.is Mr. Wonder¡­..He made Puzzle toys of his own and that¡¯s what helped him make the Toyshop!¡±

    ¡°....Yeah. Every Toy knows that¡­.Except for the part about him being the Puzzleman¡­.that explains a lot.¡±

    ¡°This Sphere toy¡­.it inspired him to make his puzzles¡­and those puzzle toys became famous¡­.¡± He said as he leaned on the safe walls between breaths.

    ¡°Breathe, Hank! You can tell us all about it tomorrow night! Right now we need to get the Chroma Sphere to a safe place before-¡±

    Everyone hears a muffled alarm sound playing through the Mall¡¯s PA System.

    ¡°....-That plays¡­We need to Hurry! The Mall is gonna open in a few minutes! We need to move! Now!¡± Dolly Dorothy commanded as she rolled the Chroma Sphere out of the vault and grabbed Hank by the shoulder. The soldier toys pushed the vault shut and locked it.

    Dolly Dorothy let Hank go and pushed the Chroma Sphere down the desk and it fell towards all the soldiers who caught it and began to roll it towards the door to the main sale floor.

    But something caught Handyman Hank¡¯s eye¡­.he looked at one of the catalogs with a bookmark inside¡­..this particular catalog was newer than the others and had a more modern look than the others. He opened the catalog to the bookmark page¡­and he saw¡­him.

    ¡®The Amazing Handyman Hank 11-Inch poseable action figure. One of Five in the series!¡¯

    There was more on the page describing him, but Dolly Dorothy grabbed him and jerked him towards the edge of the desk.

    ¡°We gotta move! The guards are gonna do their rounds in a few minutes!¡±

    ¡°Wait! I need to know-¡± He begged as he was still looking at the catalog, he could no longer make out the words on the page from being far from it now.

    ¡°You¡¯ll know tomorrow night! Right now you gotta get back to the storefront!¡¯ She exclaimed as they both ran back to the main store.

    Dorothy threw Hank back up on his display and said ¡°Get back into your pose and do not move until closing time! I¡¯ll come to see you afterward!¡±

    Dolly Dorothy channeled wonder into her feet again¡­and this time jumped into a hole in the ceiling panels¡­.

    Handy Hank sighed in sadness as he began to get into position again. As he resumed his stillness¡­he couldn''t help but think¡­.

    ¡®One of Five¡­.what does that mean?¡¯

 The Storyteller Arc: Chapter VII: A New Path

    As the minutes began to tick away to the opening time of the mall. All the Arcadians were chatting amongst themselves! Rumor has it the toys of Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toystore have secured the first Spark of Wonder¡­.they were all arguing amongst themselves about what they should do next.

    Shouted Rapid the Porcupine as he crossed his arms and impatiently tapped his feet.

    Retorted Ultra Marco as he jumped up right into the air.

    Snack-Man roared as his mouth opened and closed with an audible sound cue!

    All the Arcadians surrounding them started cheering at the idea of just storming the place¡­.But the three TVs began to turn on in the center of the store. Each TV switched on to the iconic three colors. The logos for each respective console flashed on their screens.

    ¡°SILENCE!¡± The three angrily shouted in unison. All of the Arcadians quieted down.

    ¡°It appears that this threat isn¡¯t just some passing glitch¡­this toy might even become a full-on game crashing bug¡­We cannot let it ruin our E for Everyone ratings!¡± The Retendo shift inquired as its controller¡¯s thumbsticks turned in a thinking motion.

    ¡°Agreed¡­perhaps it is time to dispatch one of our arcadian brethren with New and Improved HD Graphics and new and improved haptic feedback. I have many Arcadians with many wonderful stories to tell¡­.¡± Said the RecStation V. Its Rectangle, Oval, Trapezoid, and plus buttons push themselves in a circular pattern.

    ¡°Or perhaps¡­we could just employ our newest recruit?¡± ZCube inquired.

    Recstation and Shift pondered the suggestion¡­.and if they had mouths. They would be smiling wickedly at the idea¡­.

    ¡°He is Multi-Platform¡­and could easily smash this toy before he could become a true threat¡­.¡± Redtendo Shift muttered as they weighed the pros and cons of the idea.

    ¡°But if he decides to revolt¡­what do we do then?¡± Recstation V pondered.

    ¡°If he truly wishes to stay in our good graces¡­he would be wise to not cross us¡­and do what the inputs tell him to do¡­.¡± Shift warned.

    After a few more seconds of deciding¡­they finally gave the conclusion. Their newest member will watch and wait, and when the time is right¡­. Dispose of the one they call¡­Handyman Hank.

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!¡± Chanted the three consoles. The Arcadians surrounding them began to repeat the chant.

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!¡±

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!¡±

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAY-¡±

    They all immediately scatter back inside the TVs from once they came from and all three consoles immediately shut down as they heard Amalgam Electronics''s store Manager unlock the shutters and the front door. It was opening day once again.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    It was another morning for Mr. Wonder as he drove into the parking lot of the Mall. Another day, another day of smiles to bring to many children¡­.He just wished he could open at a later hour, he could not wake up as easily as he used to.

    He parked his Classic Buick in his designated parking spot. He grabbed his cup of coffee and his strawberry-filling doughnut and walked inside the mall. The security guard greeted him at the door.

    ¡°Mornin¡¯ Thomas.¡± The security guard yawned as he tipped his hat and held the door open for Mr. Wonder.

    ¡°A good mornin¡¯ to you Chuck.¡± Mr. Wonder replied as he raised his Coffee cup in greeting. But as soon as Mr. Wonder was out of sight from Chuck. He rolled his eyes, every store owner in the mall knows Chuck sleeps on the job and he still gets a paycheck for it.

    As he walked towards his Toy Store. He said good morning to a few more workers and patrons of the Mall¡¯s economy. Each of them gets ready to open for the day.

    Darcy, the young college student who works at the Jumbo Juice. He wouldn¡¯t get past the holiday shopping rushes without a Strawberry Banana Smoothie on occasion.

    Mr. and Mrs. Zhao, Co-Owners and workers of the InfinityG Smartphone store. He still needs to finish that Chess game with Mr. Zhao on his break today. The score was still Twenty-two for Mr. Wonder and Twenty-five for Mr. Zhao.

    Megan, owner of the White Lotus Boutique a few stores down from his Toy Store. He knows for a fact her business is gonna pick up in a few short weeks because if he recalls correctly, Homecoming season is coming up soon.

    But right before he walked into his store, he once again walked past the display setup for the X-Station Unlimited and looked at the digital countdown clock.

    5 Days

    23 Hours

    45 Minutes

    33 Seconds

    He took a deep sigh through his nose in annoyance at how agonizingly grand this countdown was. He still remembered when Amalgam Electronics was still Amalgam Arcade back in the 80¡¯s. Seems like his old friend forgot one thing when they both started to become entrepreneurs.

    He forgot to stay humble, and now the rest of the Mall¡¯s economy is starting to pay for it. Nobody in the Mall knows how this console¡¯s launch is gonna affect the mall¡¯s economy. But one thing they all agree on, it¡¯s not gonna be good. Especially for him because so many kids are switching to video games.

    Mr. Wonder then set his coffee down for a moment to lift the shudders to his toy store. He picks up his coffee and sips the last lukewarm gulp of it. Before he could toss the empty coffee cup in the garbage¡­he noticed something different in the room. He quickly scanned the main sales room. The old store owner quickly walked through each aisle and checked every section of the toys. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that there was something out of place¡­¡­He¡¯s been feeling that a lot more in his Golden Years. But he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it¡­ No money is ever missing or any toys out of place¡­He then looks at Handyman Hank in his display and realizes something is out of place!

    He picks up Handyman Hank and inspects him¡­¡­He was still in the same heroic pose he adjusted him into last night¡­.But then realized what was wrong!

    Mr. Wonder quickly adjusted Hank¡¯s hard hat back in the correct position and placed him back on the display shelf. As he finished the last bit of his doughnut, he switched the Closed sign to Open.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    As the hours ticked away for Handyman Hank. He remained perfectly still, unmoving and unblinking. He saw everything. It was like he was looking at an entirely different world, the quiet of the mall corridors was now replaced by the constant chatter of people from all ages and the quiet, distant sound of music from the radio being played over the PA system. Occasionally the music would get interrupted by a womanly sounding voice announcing a big sale happening at a certain store or a missing child being found.

    He saw the elderly taking a normal stroll through the mall, to adult men and women carrying shopping bags from various stores. A few logos on the bags he recognized by seeing them when meeting the Founder with Dorothy yesterday. But there were still many he still didn¡¯t recognize. Like ¡®Cold Subject¡¯ or ¡®Eternally 25¡¯.

    Then in the late afternoon, he saw teenagers being the rambunctious sort. They mostly walked past him without noticing. Some were too busy talking with their friends or romantic interests, or their eyes were hyper-fixated on their smartphones in front of them. He even saw one teenager walk directly into one of the pillars of the mall itself. He¡¯d wince if he could move.

    But a few hours until closing time, he had one encounter with two people. A Father and a Son. The Father pointed at Handyman Hank through the glass and the kid looked interested in what he had to say¡­..unfortunately he couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying because he was behind thick glass. But judging by the father''s face¡­he was excited to see him, and even more excited to share it with his son. But then, Handyman saw something appear over his head¡­.it was Mr. Wonder taping a piece of paper to the glass of the display window¡­..He couldn¡¯t make out what it said. But he can barely see the lettering on the other side of the paper.

    ¡®!htnom siht ht51 eht no elbaliavA¡¯

    Both father and son looked disappointed after reading the paper sign¡­.and walked off. But the look of excitement from the father stuck with him. As if he had seen him before¡­.maybe Greenbolt was right? Maybe his origin does come from a cartoon series of some kind? He couldn''t wait to tell Dorothy about this new clue¡­..come to think of it¡­Where did Dorothy go when it was time to open again? She didn¡¯t go back up onto the shelves of Wonder City¡­nor did she leave the toy shop. He would just have to see for himself when it¡¯s closing time again.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    After the clock finally struck 10 PM, the patrons began to leave the now-closing Mall. The Janitors were riding across their floor buffers and sweeping any debris. One of them he recognized as the very same floor buffer the Cryptid Critters hijacked last night. Then the Security Guards began to do one final sweep before they punched out for the night. Then finally all the lights dimmed down. Before turning on again¡­..

    Handyman Hank finally decides to move again and take a closer look. He touched the storefront window as he looked to his left, then his right. Greenbolt and Dolly both told him it was the Storefront Toy¡¯s duty to give everyone the all-clear¡­so¡­

    ¡°A-¡­.all clear!¡± He meekly shouted.

    No toys began to move.

    He cleared his throat and shouted again with a little more power.

    ¡°ALL CLEAR!¡±

    All the toys began to move once again and began to go about their day. Some gave a good stretch as they had been standing for 12 long hours, while others spread the word of Handyman Hank¡¯s all-clear.

    Before he went to see Dolly Dorothy, He had to see if that catalog was still there. He jumped down from the storefront shelf and ran towards the backroom door. The Doughboy Jack soldiers quickly gave him a salute and opened the door for him.

    As he ran to the other end of the room, he then realized that the rat king¡¯s whole beanbag body was missing¡­.only a few foam beans were left and clung to the floor via static where his body once was the night before. Could the Rat King have survived the fatal and admittedly brutal wound from Dolly Dorothy? Did he escape somewhere and was now getting stronger to later come back for revenge?!

    Hank then looks and sees some of the Doughboy Jack Soldiers patrolling the area. He ran to the one leading the patrol and asked in a panic tone. ¡°What happened to the Rat King?!¡±

    The patrol leader told his platoon to TEN HUT, and said ¡°Private Hank! The Rat King¡¯s carcass was swept up and promptly discarded by Mr. Wonder around 0700 hours!¡± He points to the garbage bin by one of the shelves near the wall¡­the Rat King¡¯s tail is sticking out. ¡°Mr. Wonder was exceptionally confused about why the Rat King was cut open and in the middle of the floor! But he just chalked it up as actual rats!¡± The Patrol leader concluded. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Oh¡­.Thanks.¡± Handyman Hank mumbled as he breathed a sigh of relief. The Patrol Leader moved out and resumed his patrols with his platoon mates. Handy Hank quickly ran to the desk and jumped back onto the top¡­..But the catalog was nowhere to be seen, the only thing there on that desk were piles of receipts that needed to be filed away...He sighed in disappointment.

    ¡°HA! Get a load of this boys! Builder Boy here thought he could learn his story by reading a catalog!¡± A familiar voice boasted.

    Hank looked down at one of the shelves, specifically one of the shelves that was lined end to end with metal frame baskets. He jumps down and walks to the source of that voice and peers into one of the darkness¡­..and sees three familiar eyes, but then giant palms try to grab onto him from the darkness! Hank was quick on his feet and backed away!

    ¡°If it ain¡¯t Builder Boy! Come to see your old friends in the slammer huh?¡± Gigafoot asked. Handy Hank noticed he was still missing his arm after Dolly Dorothy blew it off.

    ¡°What? Here for the other one!?¡± He asked, outraged.

    ¡°¡®No! I¡¯m here to find out my story! Now, where does Mr. Wonder keep all the catalogs?!¡± He demanded.

    ¡°Psh. Like we¡¯d tell you after you did all that uncool shit to us?¡± Jersey Dave answered as his tiny clawed fingers held onto the bars of the metal basket.

    ¡°Not that it matters¡­.Those catalogs only tell you the bare minimum anyway¡­the only thing they give you is a suggested price¡­.I remember Mr. Wonder murmuring something though ... .You''re a little more on the expensive side¡­¡± Mothdude Ranted in a mocking tone. ¡°A solid thirty big ones in adult money!¡± He added.

    ¡°Good luck getting a kid with that price tag on ya head!¡± Gigafoot Concluded!.

    Handy Hank grew frustrated with the Cryptid Trio¡¯s jabs at his predicament. He made the mature choice and turned around and walked away¡­.but the leather of his gloves tightened with his grip in anger as he walked away. But not before adding one last thing.

    ¡°Greebolt himself became Charity Trash! So did Dearie Dorothy! And it¡¯s gonna happen to you too eventually! We¡¯re all gonna be charity trash! I hope you¡¯ll join us pretty soon!¡± Jersey Dave warned as he let out a hardy and venom-filled laugh.

    As Handyman Hank exited the Storeroom. He began to walk directly under the hole in the ceiling tiles where Dolly Dorothy disappeared. He pondered to himself¡­.how is he gonna get up there?

    As he continued to ponder¡­.a long string of yarn began to fall from the hole. He looks up and sees Dolly Dorothy signaling him to climb up. He was quick to understand and grabbed hold of the yarn string¡­.he was then pulled up at a quick but steady pace, and soon he was right inside the ceiling tile hole.

    Handyman Hank quickly scanned the inside of this new area and looked around. The floor..or¡­opposite end of the ceiling was completely covered in dust, except for a few specific areas that had been carefully dusted¡­.but he could make out strange shapes in the dark.

    But the darkness Hank was viewing was quickly replaced by very bright lights by a series of LED light strips adorned across the insulation above them. He was quick to cover his eyes due to all the sudden brightness. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the new brightness, he saw Dolly Dorothy in a new outfit. Instead of her cyan-looking pantsuit from yesterday, she was now wearing a black turtleneck sweater and white bell-bottom jeans, an artful rose pattern going on the bottom of the left side of the leg. Her left foot was on the switch that controlled the lights.

    Hank had to admit¡­.despite all the marker marks and her warped arm, she had serious style.

    ¡°Go on, make yourself at home.¡± She commented as she walked towards one of the more furnished parts of this new place. Now that Hank has a better-luminated look, he sees a ton of plastic furniture that looks like it was broken and glued back together. Considering how all these items are organized he could tell there was some kind of theme with each area.

    An assortment of items covered with old sheets and blankets.

    A Pencil sharpener, presumably to sharpen the colored pencils she uses for spears.

    A Living Room area

    A Kitchen

    A Dress Rack that featured over 10 different outfits, each one having different themes or occasions.

    Even a Dining Room Area, but sitting in the chairs of this dining room were three different hastily drawn cutouts of three different characters. A girl with long smooth hair, a mean-looking girl with her tongue out, presumably blowing a raspberry, and finally a guy with perfect hair and an inviting smile¡­.

    ¡°Is¡­.Is everything alright?¡± Hank asked as he examined the three cutouts.

    Dorothy quickly collected all three of the cutouts and hastily rolled them up into a single roll!

    ¡°That was nothing! You saw nothing! What do you want anyways!?¡± She demanded going on the conversational offensive.

    Handyman Hank paused for a few seconds and pondered just what the hell was that all about¡­.but he chose not to ask about it¡­.not yet at least. He cleared his throat and answered:

    ¡°Uh¡­.before the Mall opened¡­I saw in the catalog pages that talked about me that said I was ¡®One of Five¡¯...can you tell me what that means?¡±

    The tension left the dining area and she then took a quick sigh. ¡°From what I know¡­that can mean one of two things¡­One, there are four more of you walking around in the Mall Storeroom somewhere. But that probably isn¡¯t the case because Mr. Wonder doesn¡¯t just sell 5 of one toy unless they¡¯re over 200 Dollars.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­according to some other toys my price is around ¡®Thirty Solid Big-Ones!¡¯¡± Hank added as he tried to mockingly mimic Mothdude¡¯s speech mannerisms.

    ¡°Well, I''ll be damned¡­I was around Thirty Dollars too¡­.¡± Muttered Dolly Dorothy as she briefly remembered her days as the storefront toy. Handy Hank noticed her non-deformed hand¡¯s grip tighten around the rolled-up cutouts.

    To break the awkward silence. Handy Hank then added ¡°Oh! I also saw two people walk by, A father and son¡­they looked kind of excited to see me¡­mostly the dad¡­¡±

    Dolly Dorothy snapped back from her reminiscence from hearing that disclosure. ¡°You see? You do have a backstory¡­of some kind. If a Dad recognized you. Chances are you¡¯re a toy from way back when to give a new generation of kids the power to be inspired and to wonder.¡±

    Handy Hank didn¡¯t think of it like that¡­..now this new revelation was beginning to fuel his mission to find out who he is¡­.

    ¡°Alright! We got the first Spark of Wonder last night! All we need to do is give the founder proof we have it¡­.but how?¡±

    ¡°Leave that to me.¡± Dolly Dorthy walked over to one of the items covered in a small blanket and pulled it off with a quick jerk. The quick pull sent dust floating in the air causing Handy Hank to sneeze and cough. But under that old blanket, was an Instant Camera.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°Alright, everyone! We only have a few shots on the roll! Let¡¯s do this right!¡± Dolly Dorothy shouted as she set the camera¡¯s timer to take a picture in under a minute.

    ¡°MEN! FALL IN!¡± Doughboy Jack commanded with gusto and authority.

    All of Doughboy Jack¡¯s soldiers fall in and stand behind Hank and Dorothy, who are posing in the foreground with the first Spark of Wonder. Dolly Dorothy was sitting on top of it with her legs crossed and arms behind her back while Hank was leaning on its side with his wrench over his shoulder.

    3¡­

    2¡­

    1¡­

    ¡°AH-CHOO!¡±

    The photo was printed out and it revealed that the photo came out just perfect¡­..except for Hank being nothing but a motion blur because the camera snapped Hank in mid-sneeze.

    Dolly Dorothy looked at it with a deadpan expression and said ¡°Well¡­..It''s good enough. You¡¯re grays and blues are there. So the Founder should know you¡¯re there too.¡± Dorothy turns to Doughboy Jack and shouts in an authoritative tone ¡°Can We trust you to hide and Guard the Chroma Sphere until we need it?!¡±

    ¡°MA¡¯AM! YES MA¡¯AM!¡± The action figure soldiers gave a salute to Dolly Dorothy¡­and surprisingly Hank too. This confused Hank for a second. But Doughboy Jack came forth and presented Hank with a new emblem.

    ¡°For defeating the Rat King. I Sergeant Major Doughboy Jack hereby promote the two of you. Corporal Dolly Dorothy, you are hereby promoted to Sergeant¡­and Private Handyman Hank¡­you are promoted to Private First Class!¡±

    Dolly Dorothy gave a salute, and Handy Hank did the same a second later.

    ¡°We won¡¯t let those Pixelated Polygonal punks lay a finger on the Chroma Sphere¡­Move out and find the next Spark of Wonder!¡±

    As Hank and Dorothy began to move out of the toy store, riding inside Ol¡¯ Betsy once more. As they drove to the mall center once more, Handy Hank saw that the promotions for the X-Station Unlimited had spread a little more, covering up more of the mall¡¯s normal advertisements. Even the mall¡¯s ambient music was then cut sort and bombarded with a message advertising said console.

    ¡®X-STATION UNLIMITED! THE ULTIMATE HYBRID CONSOLE! DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL VARIANTS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! LAUNCHING IN 5 DAYS! GET YOURS AT AMALGAM ELECTRONICS WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!¡¯A Dynamic voice recording said over the P.A. System.

    Handy Hank looked quite intimidated.

    ¡°Daunting isn¡¯t it? That started playing all over the mall this morning. It started as a simple poster taped to the glass to the window of Amalgam Electronics over a year ago¡­and it all spread like a plague¡­.¡± Dorothy recalled.

    ¡°....Dorothy¡­do you move around during the daytime?¡± Hank asked as they drove past the X-Station Unlimited¡¯s display once again.

    ¡°Yeah. ¡®Dolly Dorothy¡¯ the toy hasn¡¯t been popular with children in over a decade. I often go all over the mall and stay out of sight of the adults. When you¡¯re perfectly still you tend to hear things from all the adults¡­.I hear things here and there from petty gossip to useful information. One of them is the fact that all the adults are worried about this X-Station stealing revenue and business from everyone in the mall. Even all the food stand owners are worried¡­¡± Dolly Dorthy kept her eyes on the road ahead as she explained this. But Hank could tell that she shared the same worries.

    Handy Hank pondered this information as they passed the X-Station¡¯s display. He knew the stakes of what would happen to Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyshop¡­But he didn¡¯t even realize what this console¡¯s launch would do to the rest of the Mall¡­.

    But Hank couldn¡¯t ponder on this thought for long, they had already arrived back at the Founder¡¯s Fountain. Luckily for them. He was awake this time around.

    As Hank and Dorothy both climbed up to the Fountain¡¯s edge. Hey could hear the founder humming a jaunty tune. Hank decided to get into practice again to raise his voice.

    ¡°D-Down here founder sir!¡± He shouted. But the founder didn¡¯t even hear him.

    Dorothy Rolled her eyes at Hank¡¯s wishy-washy attempt and shouted ¡°HEY FOUNDER! DOWN HERE!¡±

    The Founder jolted as he looked down at the source of the sudden disturbance¡­and there he Saw Hank and Dorothy. He adjusts his glasses and realizes it is them. He quickly reached down with both of his hands and picked up both of them, bringing him up to his eye level.

    ¡°Ah! It appears my visitors from last night have come back eh? I¡¯m so glad to hear another voice after listening to the P.A. System play that damned console recording for the hundredth time! Have you gained the first Spark of Wonder?¡± The Founder asked as he squinted at Dolly Dorothy, then realized she was wearing a different outfit than yesterday.

    Before Dolly Dorothy could show him the photo¡­.The Founder looked away from Hank and Dolly and immediately gained a serious look on his face.

    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± He tells them both in a deadly serious tone.

    He then hides them both inside his now cupped hands and sits perfectly still in his iconic statuesque pose.

    Hank and Dorothy look through one of the holes in between the Founder¡¯s fingers and see two Arcadians on patrol.

    One of them looked like a cartoony-looking anthropomorphic marsupial wearing pants, while another looked like a quadrupedal yellow dragon with cartoonish-looking eyes.

    They both stood and stared at the fountain for a few seconds¡­and resumed their patrols.

    As they patrolled past the Fountain, Dolly Dorothy could deduce that those two were part of the older Arcadians from a few generations back.

    Once the polygonal duo disappeared around the corner. The Founder began to move once more.

    ¡°Sorry, those blasted Arcadians have been doubling up on their patrols. Chances are they did that because word got out that you managed to defeat Grumpybear. He is one of their top Arcadians¡­.¡±

    ¡°....How do you know this?¡±¡¯ Hank asked, recalling that the Founder couldn¡¯t leave his fountain.

    ¡°When you¡¯re a statue. You tend to hear things when you blend into the background. A lot of the arcadians out on patrol are all pretty chatty. Especially one they call Herbie, but all night you hear him say the same word over and over again. All he says is ¡®Gallo! Gallo!¡¯

    Dorothy cleared her throat to get the Founder to focus. She held up the taken photo. The Founder adjusted his glasses and squinted as he looked closer¡­.Handy Hank noticed something peculiar¡­..the Founder doesn¡¯t have lenses in his glasses¡­.so him just adjusting his glasses was just¡­confusing.

    ¡°Ah! I see you perfectly in this shot Hank¡­But why is Dorothy and the Chroma Sphere all blurry?¡± He asked. Dolly Dorothy looked mildly annoyed at the founder¡¯s description when the exact opposite was true.

    ¡°Uh¡­.I¡¯m not sure sir. But the fact of the matter is the fact we found the first Spark of Wonder and we¡¯re ready to find the next one¡­¡± Hank replied. Trying to sound more professional, much to Dolly Dorothy¡¯s dismay.

    The Founder gave a sincere smile gave a hearty chuckle and said ¡°Very well¡­you both have earned it.¡± He clears his throat.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...

    This is the tale of the Spark of the Storyteller. He was a boy who appreciated the written word, the teller of the story, and of course, delicious hot cocoa. In the moments when he told regaling tales to all his friends. He let them hang on to his every word with his narration voice and many tales to tell. The Spark of the Storyteller was a storybook containing 1,001 Tales from all over the world! Now it rests in a place where the written word is worshiped with a bow and a prayer!

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    ¡°The Written word¡­..¡± Then Dorothy Realized¡­ ¡°That¡¯s Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore!¡±

    ¡°Precisely Dorothy but unfortunately I have good news, and I have bad news¡­.¡± The Founder declared. He raised his right arm to point directly at the southern wing of the Mall, which was blocked off by a mass of metal shutters.

    ¡°The Good news is: There aren¡¯t any TVs for the Arcadians to appear from inside Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore!¡±, The Founder excitedly exclaimed. ¡°But unfortunately as you can see, the bad news is¡­Chuck the Security guard finally remembered to close all the mall¡¯s shudders¡­¡±

    Dolly Dorothy sighed as she pitched her plastic forehead. ¡°God Damn it¡­.¡± She said in mild irritation.

    ¡°....That sounds bad¡­.is it bad?¡± Handy Hank inquired. But quickly understood that Dorothy¡¯s reaction meant¡­it was a bad thing.

    ¡°Yeah Hank¡­..That means we need to go¡­.¡±, Dorothy gave another deep sigh. ¡°To the Security Office¡­¡±

 The Storyteller Arc: Chapter VIII: A Fluffy Friend

    Another day concluded in the Mall as all the stores began closing. The first to close was always the Food Court district; the last to close was Amalgam Electronics. As all the store lights flicker off and the security lights switch on, Chuck the Security Guard rode on top of his Segway doing his nightly sweep of the mall. Making sure nothing was suspicious or out of the ordinary.

    As Chuck rode down the mall halls, he said goodnight to all of the Custodial team, the last to leave the mall. He escorted the team to all of their cars in the parking lot and made sure they all drove away safely. The security guard then locks down all the front doors followed by the lowering of all the shudders.

    ¡°The one thing I get to do on this job¡­.¡± he uttered under his breath¡­as he rode back to the Security Room. But as he passed Santa¡¯s village setup he saw something peculiar sitting on Santa¡¯s chair¡­.a caramel-colored teddy bear with beady black eyes. Around the teddy bear''s non-existent neck, sported a lavender bow tie that looked like it was neatly and lovingly tied with delicate hands.

    Chuck stepped down from his segway and walked towards the teddy bear. He picked up the bear and carefully inspected it. He saw on the palm of the teddy bear''s right paw a name written in permanent marker.

    ¡®Abby¡¯

    ¡°Poor kid¡­can¡¯t imagine how devastated she¡¯s gotta be¡­¡± Chuck sighed as he took the teddy bear back with him to the security room.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    As Hank and Dorothy sped down the concourse of the Mall on top of Ol¡¯Betsy. Hank had to ask ¡°What makes the Security room so bad? Wouldn¡¯t that be the safest place in the Mall?¡± Hank looked up at Dorothy and saw her enjoying the top speed and wind blowing through her chestnut brown hair. This was the first time in the past two nights since he had known Dorothy¡­the first time she genuinely smiled. But when she noticed Hank staring, she immediately focused on the halls again and answered.

    ¡°You¡¯d think so, but no. The Security Room houses the only adult in the entire mall. Chuck the Security Guard. We need to be extra sneaky if he¡¯s awake!¡± Dorothy Explained as she took a hard turn at the corner leading to a less illuminated hallway between the concourses of the mall. Little did they know¡­something was trailing them both¡­they were out for revenge¡­

    As Dolly Dorothy Parked Ol¡¯ Betsy. She put her finger on her one good hand to her lips. Signifying Handy Hank to shush. They both climbed down and Dolly Dorothy quickly armed herself with her quiver of sharpened colored pencils.

    She signaled Hank to come closer to her, and he obliged.

    ¡°Here¡¯s hoping he¡¯s asleep.¡±, Dorothy whispered. ¡°Keep your voice down and stay as quiet as possible.¡± She channeled Her wonder into her feet and jumped right up to the door handle. She used her weight to pull the handle down and the door slowly swayed open. Hank slowly peered inside, and immediately the smell of coffee and pizza wafted near Hank¡¯s nose.

    A set of lockers adorning the left side of the wall, each having nameplates for the last names of the currently employed security guards. Hanging on the wall in front there was a whiteboard with all the current schedules for the week. Chuck signed up for the night shift for the entire week, it looks like the marker used to write his name was almost worn out.

    On the right side of the office, there was a small table with a coffee maker, the pot was half empty. Next to the coffee machine was a half-empty Pizza Box from ¡®Squally¡¯s Pizza!¡¯

    Then finally in the corner, there was a mass of computer monitors, some sitting on a computer desk while many others were hardwired to the wall. Each one displays various camera angles across the vast mall. One of them was positioned in front of Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyland¡­and another in front of Amalgam Electronics. Hank stared at the monitor displaying the electronics store and saw various Arcadian characters coming in and out through the doors leading into the Mall. But his fixated peering at all the computer monitors was interrupted by a loud nasally snore. He immediately turned his head and saw Chuck the security guard, fast asleep sitting on an office chair.

    ¡°Thank goodness¡­he¡¯s full of coffee and pizza¡­he¡¯s out like a light.¡± Dorothy softly said as she silently walked inside.

    ¡°Quick Question.¡± Handy Hank silently asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t anyone worried this Chuck guy might see the footage of everything and expose us?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly, the mall doesn¡¯t record footage like that 24/7, it''s too expensive. Besides¡­Chuck is always doing the night shift since the Summer of ¡®87. On rare occasions when he isn¡¯t on the night shift. Bigger toys stay put while smaller toys like you and I can avoid the cameras by using the blind spots. There¡¯s hundreds of them.¡± Dorothy quietly explained as they both made their way to the console controlling all the shudders. They climbed on top and then stared at the console¡¯s control panel. They both looked at all the switches controlling each one of the shudders.

    ¡°Well¡­one of these has to be the right one¡­.¡± Whispered Dorothy as she was about to reach for one of the switches but hesitated. But before she could even touch it¡­she felt something strike the back of her head. She snapped her head around and saw Hank looking at another set of switches.

    ¡°What the HELL was that for!?¡± Dolly Dorothy asked with quiet outrage.

    Hank turned around, confusion was painted on his face ¡°What are you- ACK!¡± Handyman Hank¡¯s reply was cut short as something struck his head also. His hard hat protected him from the initial impact, but it was still strong enough to knock him off balance.

    They looked at what had struck him as it landed between two switches on the control panel¡­.a rubber ball that¡¯s often found in a capsule machine?

    Both toys then look in the direction in which the rubber balls came from and see something extra behind the door, something they didn¡¯t see upon entry to the Security Room.

    A vintage, rectangular black textured trunk with brass-colored metal accents, corners, hinges latches and leather straps on its sides fit for carrying. A piece of paper was taped to the top of the trunk, in crudely scribbled marker the paper said ¡®Lost & Found¡¯. It opened quickly shut close..as if something was inside it.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­.new¡­¡± Dolly Dorothy uttered under her breath with a quizzical expression. Hank and Dorothy looked at one another and agreed to quickly investigate this. After all, they can¡¯t have whatever is inside that chest and keep on throwing things at them while they are trying to figure this out. They quickly and quietly made their way down from the control panel and walked towards the Lost & Found chest.

    Hank stepped towards the chest¡­and cautiously knocked on the side of the chest.

    ¡°Who¡¯s theeeeeere?¡± A childlike voice asked.

    ¡°Uhh¡­..Handyman Hank and Dolly Dorothy?¡± Hank quietly answered. He was very confused about where this was going.

    ¡°Hank and Dorothy whoooooo?¡± The childlike voice asked in an almost songlike manner.

    Dorothy quickly picked up on the tone of voice being childlike and decided to act accordingly, she raised her hand to Hank to silence him. She knows what to say.

    ¡°Can you come out?¡± Dorothy asked in an almost motherly tone.

    ¡°Mmmmmmmmmmm¡­¡­..Okay!¡±

    The chest opened up again¡­ Hank and Dorothy then saw something¡­cute and fluffy. Popping out of the top of the chest was a classic caramel brown Teddy Bear with a round face and a lighter brown snout, two small, beady black eyes, and a stitched-on smile. A lovingly tied lavender bow tie tied around its neck. The palms of its paws are detailed with stitched-on patches resembling paw prints. This teddy bear¡¯s whole aura just screamed friendly and inviting.

    But without any kind of warning, the teddy bear quickly grabbed both Hank and Dorothy and pulled them into the Lost & Found Chest. The sudden closing of the chest almost woke up Chuck¡­.he then stirred back to sleep.

    Inside the chest, they are greeted by total darkness.

    ¡°Dorothy? Are you okay!?¡± asked Hank in a concerned tone while he felt around in the darkness.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine! Keep your voice down! Chuck might still hear us!¡± She said through gritted teeth and frustration.

    ¡°Don''t you worry about your fluffy hair Miss Pretty Dolly! He can''t hear us as long as the chest is closed!¡± The teddy bear excitedly exclaimed.

    They both were blinded by the light of a mini flashlight snapping on. There they both bear witness to not only the teddy bear right in front of them but the various assortment of recovered lost items found throughout the daytime of the mall. Sweaters, hoodies, shoes, various now-dead electronics, even an unclaimed shopping bag or two.

    ¡°Oh! It¡¯s so nice to see new friends after so long! I haven¡¯t seen a new friend since forever! I¡¯m Mr. Honeybun The Stuffiest and Fluffiest bear of them all!¡± The teddy bear exclaimed once more. Pulling both Hank and Dorothy in a soft yet INCREDIBLY tight hug.

    Hank and Dorothy could feel their nonexistent bones being crushed under the tightness of the affectionate hug. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Glad¡­.to¡­hear¡­that¡­.¡± Hank wheezed in between exhales of much-needed air.

    When Mr. Honeybun finally released them of their hug, they both took deep breaths and winced from pain.

    ¡°Sorry! I¡¯m just¡­so excited to meet new toys! What are your names!?¡± Mr. Honeybun asked as his feet fluttered with excitement.

    Dorothy answered first. ¡°I¡¯m Dolly Dorothy. The Doll of all Trades and fashion extraordinaire.¡±

    Hank hesitated for an answer for a moment to think about but Dorothy shot him a glance to answer fast to not be rude. Once he thought of a quick response he cleared his throat and answered.

    ¡°M-my name is Handyman Hank¡­I am¡­.the Handyman Extraordinaire?¡± Dorothy winced at how weakly Hank delivered that title.

    ¡°Oh? Oh! A pretty model lady and a Fixit guy! Abby¡¯s mom and Dad had those adults over all the time!¡±

    ¡°Abby? Who¡¯s Abby?¡± Hank asked, perking up at the mention of a new name.

    Mr. Honeybun raised his right arm and revealed on his Pawprint, written in permanent marker was the name ¡®Abby¡¯.

    ¡°Abby is my child. She accidentally left me behind when she went to go see Santa Claus a while back!¡± Mr. Honeybun lovingly looked at the marker signature on his paw print and lovingly put it to his chest where his heart should be. ¡°Mr. Chuck found me and put me in the box, he¡¯s so nice. Whenever a lost child is waiting for their mom or dad, he lets them play with me to make them feel better.¡±

    This new info took Hank and Dorothy by surprise. They both thought Chuck was as lazy in the daytime as he was at night¡­.apparently not.

    But one statement from Mr. Honeybun caught Dorothy¡¯s attention. ¡°H-¡­How long Have you been waiting here for Abby?¡±

    Mr. Honeybun put his right paw to his mouth to think.

    ¡°Hmmmm¡­..I¡¯m not sure¡­When Mr. Chuck found me, the Santa chair and Christmas tree were being taken down by the janitor people¡­¡±

    ¡°.....How many times did they put it back up and take it back down?¡± Dorothy Inquired. Hoping his answer would be small¡­

    ¡°Hmmmmm¡­.They put it up and took it all down nine more times since then!¡± Mr. Honeybun happily exclaimed. Excited at the fact he could count past a certain number.

    The realization made Dorothy quietly gasp and Hank¡¯s eyes opened wide with quiet surprise¡­.Mr. Honeybun has been waiting for Abby for over 10 Years.

    So¡­.you¡¯ve just been in this chest¡­.all alone?¡± Hank questioned, trying to get a better grip on the teddy bear''s situation.

    ¡°I used to be alone¡­.But It turns out I¡¯m not alone at all! I have the sweater monster who likes to hug, The Shoe Village, and my impenetrable Fort Smartphone!¡± Mr Honeybun pointed at all the items in the chest surrounding them. The Sweater Monster was just a pile of lost sweaters and hoodies, the Shoe Village was just a pile of shoes, and Fort Smartphone was just a pile of dead smartphones carefully stacked sideways to look like a fort.

    Hearing this nearly made Dorothy cry on the spot¡­..Hank on the other hand was having a hard time accepting this¡­.this whole time he was told about how the greatest honor a toy could have is being there for a child¡­yet Mr. Honeybun''s child just¡­.left him.

    Without thinking¡­.Dorothy wanted to know¡­.¡±Do you¡­.wanna come with us?¡±

    This question took both Hank and Mr.Honeybun off guard. ¡°You could search for your Abby while we¡¯re on our mission¡­doesn¡¯t that sound fun?¡±

    Mr. Honeybun then thought to himself and pondered the question. His face scrunched up as he tried his hardest to ponder if he should¡­

    Hank immediately side-barred Dorothy and said in a whisper out of earshot from Mr. Honeybun¡­.reluctantly inside Fort Smartphone.

    ¡°Dorothy¡­I don¡¯t know if this is such a good idea¡­we¡¯re dealing with some seriously powerful forces here¡­I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to bring along a toy so¡­.soft.¡±

    They both look at Mr.Honeybun once again and they see him idly sitting down. He was absentmindedly humming a happy little tune.

    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t just leave him here! He¡¯s starting to go crazy from loneliness!¡± She silently hissed back.

    ¡°If we take him and he doesn¡¯t find his Abby¡­what then? It¡¯s gonna destroy the boor bear¡¯s heart!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll cross that bridge when-¡± Dolly Dorothy¡¯s retort was cut short when they heard the clasps of the chest unclip open¡­Hank and Dorothy duck down inside Fort Smartphone¡­and Mr. Honeybun shuts off the flashlight and starts to go limp like a normal teddy bear again¡­

    Hank quietly peered through one of the small holes in Fort Smartphone¡­At first thinking all their ruckus had somehow awoken Chuck¡­but no¡­something else opened the chest¡­. with a shiny spindly three-pronged claw¡­..was Prong. The very same claw machine that helped attack the Toy Store last night! The claw slithered inside the chest and looked around¡­.its searchlight emanated from the center of the claw¡­..Hank and Dorothy quickly ducked down when the searchlight shined on Fort Smartphone¡­.but then a very fluffy sight startled Prong¡­. As it turned around to scan the whole chest it was given an eyeful of fluffy fur! It was startled as it slithered back¡­but I saw Mr. Honeybun giving a happy grin.

    ¡°Hiiiiii! Are you a new friend t-¡± Mr. Honeybun¡¯s greeting was cut short as Prong latched onto Mr. Honeybun with the speed of a cobra and quickly dragged him out of the chest!

    Panic instantly settled into Hank and Dorothy as Mr. Honeybun was dragged away! They both jumped out of the chest and ran out of the security room¡­.all while Chuck let out another snore¡­

    Hank pulled out his Buzzsaw and cranked it up to the Highest RPM, and Dorothy pulled out her precision blade. Ready to fight this monstrous claw machine that took this innocent Teddy Bar!

    As soon they turned the corner ready to fight¡­.they were instantly dumbfounded at the sight before them¡­.The Handyman and the Dolly see Mr. Honeybun¡­Planting his feet on the ground¡­and not moving an inch! Mr. Honeybun was a mere few feet away from being completely pulled inside the Prize shute of the ravenous claw machine. But he refused to be swallowed by it! The teddy bear then stomped his plush feet on the marble floor¡­and his eyes began to flash a bright orange as he channeled his Wonder through his body! Mr. Hunybun¡¯s Wonder construct took the form of actual bear claws! Said bear claws then wrapped around the wire of Prong¡¯s claw¡­And he started to pull back! Each pull jerks the whole claw machine back a few inches!

    In between each pull, Mr. Honeybun began to speak in a more growling and rage-filled tone.

    ¡°YOU!...ARE¡­..NOT¡­.A¡­FRIEND! YOU¡­.ARE JUST¡­.A¡­.BIG...MEANIE!¡±

    The final pull from Mr. Honeybun started to make Prong tip over and fall¡­said sound would not only wake Chuck up¡­but also probably get more authorities as well! Hank reacted quickly and swiftly and quickly cut the wire between Prong¡¯s claw and the rest of his machine body! Causing the claw to go limp and let go of Mr. Honeybun! The wire then began to quickly squirt hydraulic fluid all over the place as it retreated inside the Claw machine and it rolled away in a panic!..... Prong¡¯s Claw quickly stood up..and skittered away like a creepy spider.

    ¡°Holy Hell¡­.that was incredible!¡± Dorothy proclaimed as she walked around the puddles of red hydraulic fluid on the floor.

    ¡°Yeah¡­what kind of Wonder was that?¡± Hank asked Mr. Honeybun¡­.but he didn¡¯t answer back as he remained breathing heavily and was full of rage.

    ¡°Uhh¡­Mr. Honeybun?¡± Hank asked again¡­getting close to him. But he snapped at Hank, swiping his claws at him. Hank was quick enough to back away¡­.Dorothy took a different approach to calm him down¡­.she placed her hands behind her back¡­walked up to Mr. Honeybun¡­and gave him a big hug¡­.his breathing slowed down as his Wonder claws dissipated¡­.he picked up Dorothy and hugged her back! He gave a sorrowful hum as he did it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I almost hurt you! I didn¡¯t mean to!¡± His soft and inviting tone of voice had finally returned. He quickly scooped up Hank and gave him another crushing hug!

    Once he let go¡­Hank tried again.

    ¡°What kind of Wonder was that?¡±

    ¡°You mean the fighty claws? Abby always said that I made her feel safe when she went to sleep! She told me I was the biggest, strongest, and most artistic bear in all the woods! So I made sure every night the Boogeyman, scary clowns, and creepy crawlies never got close!...... Oh, dear¡­.I better get back to the chest!¡±

    As Mr. Honeybun began to waddle back to the security room¡­.Hank raised his arm towards the teddy bear.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Hank exclaimed, ¡°How about¡­.Do you want to come with us? We¡¯re on a journey that¡¯s gonna take us all over the Mall¡­.maybe¡­you can find some clues on where your Abby went?¡± Hank then looked at Dorothy, giving her a signal to help him out by joining them.

    ¡°Uh¡­Y-Yeah! Hundreds of people come into the Mall during the daytime..and chances are your Abby might have come through more than once! Maybe she¡¯s come back to look for you!¡± Dorothy added., ¡°Maybe she doesn¡¯t know being in that chest is one of the places you¡¯re being kept in?¡±

    Mr. Honeybun started thinking super hard about the points both Hank and Dorothy were bringing up¡­. Comically his thinking face looks like he¡¯s having a stomach ache¡­.but after a few more moments of thinking on his part¡­.Mr. Honeybun responded with a simple answer.

    ¡°Kay!¡±

    The simple answer caught both Hank and Dorothy off guard¡­.

    ¡°Wha-...wait..Really? Just like that?¡± Dorothy said with a befuddled expression.

    ¡°Yeah! I wanna see Abby again¡­If there¡¯s a bunch of Monsters and nightmares like that scary claw robot guy, Then maybe If I help you beat them all Dorothy could come back! Then she could give me a big hug and give you both big hugs too!¡±

    Dorothy gave a warm smile to the idea¡­..but her eyes said another message. She knew no guarantee would bring Abby here¡­but anything to keep this lonely innocent teddy bear out of that chest again.

    ¡°Well¡­.Welcome aboard!¡± Hank happily and proudly exclaimed!¡±

    Mr. Honeybun pulled them both into another crushing hug once again¡­.

    ¡°Do¡­you think you can help us raise the shudders? Are you strong enough to lift them?¡± Dorothy asked. Barely breathing for the third time tonight.

    ¡°Lift them? Why would I do that? Why not just flip the switches?¡± Mr. Honeybun said as he tilted his head in confusion. Hearing this, implied only one thing, Handy Hank had to confirm;

    ¡°You know how to work the controls!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah! I saw how Mr. Chuck does it a bajillion times!¡± The teddy bear explained as he waved his arms in an arc motion.

    The trio quickly made it back to the security room. Hank and Dorothy were about to struggle to get up to the control panel once again, but Mr. Honeybun quickly picked them both up and tossed them upward. Dorothy landed with style and grace¡­.Hank landed flat on his face¡­.Mr. Honeybun climbed up and looked at the panel. All the switches flipped to various places looked honestly intimidating¡­.until Mr. Honeybun looked at one in the far left-hand corner.

    ¡°Boop!¡± He whispered as he flipped the switch. On the camera feed the shudders leading to the next section of the mall raised upwards.

    ¡°Oh! This is gonna work out great! We could use some muscle like you!¡± Hank stated as he and Dorothy jumped off the counter and walked back to Ol¡¯ Betsy outside the security room¡­.But before Mr. Honeybun left¡­he looked at Chuck still asleep¡­and gave a quick but meaningful hug to his leg.

    ¡°Thanks a bunch¡­Mr. Chuck¡­I¡¯ll do what you do every day¡­and keep this Mall safe so Abby can come back!¡±

    As Mr. Honeybun just left, Chuck the Security guard¡­..let out one last loud snore.

 The Storyteller Arc: Chapter IX: A Illustration of Silence

    The store known as ¡®Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore¡¯ was completely muted with only the chilling hum of the store¡¯s AC unit. This hour of silence is very much needed when the land inside the Bookstore awakens. But sadly, in this hour of silence¡­anything can break in¡­.

    Busting through one of the AC vents¡­was an 11-inch tall figure cloaked in Pixelated and Polygonal darkness. Their wide frame made it a tight squeeze as they pushed themselves through the vent hole¡­once they had finally broken free. They landed hard on the ground with their steel toe-booted feet. They looked around ready to fight whomever they had woken up with that loud entrance¡­.but no¡­all the books on the shelves were still closed.

    Once they were sure they were still incognito¡­.they walked to the far back of the bookstore to the children¡¯s section. Like any other children''s section of any bookstore there were crayons and printed-out coloring pages on tables, a few colorful construction paper cutouts taped to the wall, and even a shag rug of a cartoonish town adorned the hardwood floor, and stacks on stacks of children''s books¡­Those too were thankfully unopened. None of these was their target¡­.their target was hidden behind the puppet theater in the corner of the Kid¡¯s Section¡­. They walked behind the curtain of the theater and saw a cartoon toy animatronic lamb wearing the visage of an old lady. The Shadowy figure was not interested in the old animatronic toy¡­but the old Audio Tape next to her¡­.

    The Figure gave a big, crooked, square toothy smile as they picked up the tape and quietly took their leave¡­.as soon as they were out of earshot¡­they let out a laugh of twisted glee.

    ¡®Dah-Hahahahahaha!¡¯

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    As Hank, Dorothy and now Mr. Honeybun began speeding across the halls of Ol¡¯ Betsy. Mr. Honeybun riding and holding on to the very back of the electric toy car! He was over the moon feeling the wind in his fur at a maximum of 7 Miles per hour!

    ¡°WEEEEEEEE-HAHAHAHAAA!¡± Mr.Honeybun excitedly yelled as he looked around. He¡¯s seeing the mall for the first time again in over 10 years! Seeing all the new stores and equally familiar sights was so exciting¡­.but his smile slowly fell as they began to pass many more advertising posters for the X-Station Unlimited.

    ¡°Miss Dorothy¡­what are all these posters for? They look like the posters Dorothy¡¯s older brother hung up in his room¡­.¡± He asked a little weary¡­they gave a bit of intimidation to Mr. Honeybun¡¯s childlike mind.

    ¡°That¡¯s the bad guy''s big bad plan¡­the big bad console is gonna be very bad for everyone in the mall. The worst case is that all the shops in the mall close down forever!¡± Dorothy explained, doing her best for Mr. Honeybun to understand. As soon as they drove towards a corner, Dorothy turned Ol¡¯Betsy hard to meet the corner.

    ¡°Oh no! If there are no stores, that means Abby won¡¯t come back!¡± the teddy bear gasped as he let go of the bar¡­but quickly grabbed hold again as he started to lose his balance. Hank and Dorothy remained silent at Mr. Honeybun¡¯s realization, unsure if the two could realistically correlate.

    As soon as they were close, Dorothy gave the signal to hit the breaks¡­Hank quickly locked down his monkey wrench to the brakes¡­and there they stopped right in front of the aforementioned bookstore¡­ A very inviting bookstore with already a massive abundance of bookshelves spanning all forms of genres.

    But they noticed that the shudders were down¡­and all the books were still closed¡­.

    ¡°That¡¯s not right¡­.their downtime was supposed to be hours ago¡­.¡± Dorothy mumbled to herself¡­.as she climbed out of Ol¡¯ Betsy. Hank and Mr. Honeybun followed suit. When the trio of toys walked to the shudders of the store they could feel the eerie quiet from the store.

    Mr. Honeybun looked up and gasped in joy. ¡°Ooh! Look!¡± The teddy bear points upwards to a tiny switch on the side of the header box of the shudders. ¡°That switch opens up the shudders!¡±

    Dolly Dorothy raised an eyebrow and just had to ask. ¡°Why would they put a switch on the outside of the store these shudders are supposed to protect?! That''s such a stupid design!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s for emergencies only. You need a special hook to flip it. Mr. Chuck uses it all the time when the Banker lady comes to take all the money to the vault!¡± Mr. Honeybun replied as he continued to look at the switch.

    ¡°Well¡­.how are we supposed to reach it? I can¡¯t even jump that high!¡± Dorothy confessed as she pondered. But Mr. Honeybun looked at Hank and gave a mischievous grin. Hank looked back at Mr. Honeybun¡­he didn¡¯t like the look he was giving him. Before Hank could even react, Mr. Honeybun grabbed him straightened him out¡­.and did a quick windup spin and threw Hank like a javelin!

    He hit his head on the ceiling and quickly grabbed the small switch as he fell back down¡­he was now dangling off it.

    ¡°Hank! You okay!?¡± Dorothy hollered in worry.

    Hank took a moment to focus his daze and said ¡°Y-yeah¡­.Thank goodness I was wearing a hard hat¡­.¡± Hank then took another moment to register what Mr. Honeybun had just done. ¡°HEY! Why didn¡¯t you throw Dorothy?! She¡¯s much more lightweight than I am!¡±

    Mr. Honeybun gave a huff of disappointment at Hank¡¯s declaration.

    ¡°Mr. Hank¡­it¡¯s rude to comment on a lady¡¯s weight and it¡¯s rude to bearhandle a lady too!¡± He stated as he crossed his arms.

    Dolly Dorothy was honestly touched. ¡°Aww¡­what a fluffy little gentleman.¡± She looks upwards to Hank ¡°You could learn a thing or two!¡±

    Hank gave a grumble in annoyance as he then shifted all his weight to flip the switch¡­but the switch shifting downward forced Hank to let go causing him to fall! Mr. Honeybun reacted quickly and jumped right under the place where Hank was going to land¡­.and completely cushioned his fall. Making an audible squeak.

    Hank gave a defeated sigh and said ¡°.....Thank you Mr. Honeybun¡­.¡±

    Mr. Honeybun gave a quick hug as they both stood up.

    As the shudders rose upwards. The trio of toys witnessed an amazing sight as the lights automatically flickered on. At first, they see just the normal bookstore, shelves with books of all different genres from child-friendly to adult-oriented, to self-help books and autobiographies and everything else in between.

    But in an instant, All the books on all the shelves opened up and all the pages began to fly out and fly around the bookstore¡­.but they all soon began to fold and crease themselves and began to piece together¡­.to form whole buildings and different constructs all made of paper.

    ¡°Woah¡­.¡±Hank uttered.

    ¡°Never gets old¡­.¡± Dorothy mumbled.

    Mr. Honeybun didn¡¯t say a word¡­he just gasped in amazement with stars in his eyes.

    But it wasn¡¯t done yet¡­certain words and phrases that described the characters in every book began to float right off the pages and began to combine¡­.and with a flash of light¡­small eight to ten-inch tall paper-thin beings began to appear from the words and phrases. Some look like regular people, others look more fictional and whimsical.

    A cartoony-looking humanoid, anthropomorphic dog wearing a striped top hat was walking alongside a woman with a braid holding a crossbow. One comes from a child-friendly book while another comes from a book meant for teens to young adults.

    A fully armored, black and white sword-wielding, spikey-haired character emerged from one of the manga books from the manga section¡­.he met a pastel-colored grizzled detective-looking character smoking a cigarette, said character just emerged from a grimdark graphic novel.

    Then finally, they see characters from pop-up books constantly fighting for who gets to pop out of the book. Each page of the book is fighting over dominance!

    ¡°....Miss Dorothy¡­what are they? They don¡¯t look like toys like us¡­¡± Mr. Honeybun questioned as he looked at a children¡¯s book and saw a cutesy-looking bear eating from a jar of honey emerging from the very pages.

    ¡°Hank¡­Mr. Honeybun, Welcome to Manuscript City, home of the Illustrations ....¡± Dorothy said with hidden excitement. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    But their amazement was cut short as a whole fleet of paper airplanes descended from the city and quickly unfolded to take the form of a whole slew of knights, soldiers, cowboys, and even a few cavemen illustrations surrounding them. Each aiming their guns, spears, and clubs at them all. Hank and Dorothy quickly raised their arms to show they weren¡¯t gonna be a threat¡­Mr. Honeybun raised his arms a second later.

    ¡°HALT! State thy business in raising our defensive shielding!¡± demanded one of the Knight illustrations.

    Hank put on the best confident front he could, standing up straight, cleared his throat, and stated ¡°We are here on behalf of the Founder! We seek the Spark of Wonder you look after!¡±

    The slew of guardsmen all raised their weapons once more. Ready to fire, stab, and bludgeon them if any of them made one wrong move.

    But The Leader of this Team of guard illustrations stepped forward and squinted at something pinned to Hank¡¯s shirt. The soldier looked closer at the item in question and realized this was Doughboy Jack¡¯s emblem System. He raised his hand to signal his guardsmen to lower their guns, spears, and clubs.

    ¡°You all are a part of Doughboy Jack¡¯s Army?¡± The soldier asked in a deadly serious tone. Hank could tell he was not in a joking mood.

    Hank quickly glanced at the emblem on his shirt and said ¡°Y-Yes! Yes, we are! Private First Class Handyman Hank and Seargent Dolly Dorothy!¡±

    All the soldiers gasp in astonishment and all salute in respect. Mr. Honeybun mimicked all of them, even sucking in his bear belly.¡±

    Dorothy cleared her throat and placed her arms behind her back. ¡°At ease gentlemen! As my private stated we are here on official business by the Founder to seek the Spark of Wonder under your Queen¡¯s protection¡±

    ¡°UGH UGH OOOG!¡± One of the Cavemen grunted.

    ¡°W-what do you mean the Queen isn¡¯t taking visitors right now?¡± Mr. Honeybun asked. Hank and Dorothy both give a glance at the teddy bear, realizing he understood what the Neanderthal guard illustration had said.

    ¡°....Maybe it¡¯s better if we show you.¡± The leading soldier illustration began to lead the trio of toys across Manuscript City. Hank took notice of the range of genres that all the various illustrations in the city.

    A couple on a horseback carriage ride, a man and woman wearing similar skin-tight suits running away from a giant worm, a kid with glasses soaring around on a broom, even a strange square-headed statue was repeating the number ¡®Forty-two¡¯ for some odd reason.

    ¡°You must be new here, huh Toolbelt?¡± The Leading Soldier illustration asked.

    ¡°Well¡­.I did arrive at the Mall last night¡­.do Illustrations also use Wonder to help children?¡±

    ¡°Negatory. We use the power of Wonder to inspire our potential readers. Inspiration is a powerful feeling that can allow people to do various things. The common children¡¯s book can inspire a kid to learn to eat their vegetables or tie their shoes, while an adult-oriented book can inspire someone to do better in their lives or even do something they normally wouldn¡¯t do¡­Our illustrations never know. We tell our stories and hope for the best.¡± the Illustration soldier explained as they finally made it to the children¡¯s reading section.

    The Children¡¯s reading section was a small area of Inkwell¡¯s bookstore where kids could read, color in coloring books, and play with all the plushies they could want. All while their parents or more accurately older siblings could browse for the books they wanted.

    As they walked close to the small tree trunk in the shape of a stage, a small group of preschool-level book illustrations blew tiny trumpets in a grand and elegant fanfare. Then a brightly colored stuffed rabbit came out of the curtains of the tiny theater and declared ¡°PRESENTING! The Floofy, the Tender and Loving, The Narrator Queen Herself: Queen Granny Lamby!¡±

    As the curtains opened, it revealed a one-foot-tall animatronic lamb toy. She was wearing a Blue Maxi skirt and no shoes. Hooved feet exposed at the bottom of her skirt, a cream-white long-sleeve sweater, and her platinum gray hair was styled in the way of a bun¡­. but on top of her head was an origami paper crown that barely fit the top of her head. Her long skirt lightly dragged across the stage floor as she walked to the edge, each movement made a small machine whirr from inside her mechanics¡­ She had a very inconsolable expression on her face.

    She sat down on the stage edge¡­still retaining the same expression.

    ¡°......¡± She silently looked at the trio of toys in front of her. She bowed her head in greeting.

    Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun bowed to her royal self. But Mr. Honeybun Noticed something was upsetting her.

    ¡°Miss Queenie¡­.Can I ask what¡¯s wrong?¡± Mr. Honeybun asked. Hank and Dorothy tried to shush the teddy bear for speaking out of turn. But it was too late.

    ¡°How DARE you speak out of turn in the presence of the Queen! You will be punished for this-¡± Rainbow Bunny stopped his rant when Granny Lamby raised her hooved hand to tell him to cease his prattling¡­.and instead tell him what was wrong.

    The Rainbow Bunny quickly bowed and said ¡°A Hundred pardons my Queen¡­¡± He turned to the trio and said ¡°If you must know, the Queen¡¯s voice¡­.has been stolen by an Arcadian. We have been on lockdown trying to track down the culprit and make sure nothing else went missing!¡± Granny Lamby looked like she was ready to cry¡­.the trio knew this must have taken a heavy toll on her.

    ¡°Her¡­voice?¡± Dorothy inquired, looking visibly confused.

    ¡°Precisely¡­the same cassette tape that allows her to speak contains all of her very memories¡­.You say you want the Spark of Wonder. But only our Dear queen knows of its location within this store¡¯s walls¡­and her memory of where it is is on it!¡± Rainbow Bunny exclaimed.

    ¡°That Arcadian¡¯s gotta be using it to find out where it is!¡± Hank declared.

    ¡°Yeah¡­.it¡¯s kind of obvious.¡± Dorothy deadpanned.

    Mr. Honeybun took a moment to think about this predicament¡­.his face lit up as an idea flashed in his cotton-filled head.

    ¡°Is there a para-meter in the store¡¯s entrance?¡± He asked Rainbow Bunny.

    ¡°....You mean a perimeter? If so, yes.¡± Rainbow Bunny answered. Confused at the sudden random question.

    ¡°Did any of the other paper guards say anyone left when we came in?¡± The teddy bear continued to question.

    One of the soldier illustrations stepped forward and answered ¡°NEGA-TORY!¡±

    Mr.Honeybun took a moment to deduce these factoids here and there. But then he came to the realization. ¡°Then that means¡­.the bad guy who took Miss Queen¡¯s Voice is still here!¡±

    All the surrounding guards and stuffed animals began to murmur between one another at Mr.Honeybun¡¯s conclusion¡­the guards slowly began to realize he was right.

    Hank and Dorothy looked at each other, wholeheartedly surprised at how well Mr.Honeybun pieces that together.

    ¡°How¡­how did-¡± Dorothy quietly inquired.

    ¡°Mr. Chuck does this same thing every time a momma or poppa loses their child. He always finds the lost child because he thinks smartly!¡± The teddy bear said with pride as he recalled all the times that Chuck had done this.

    Handyman Hank turned to Queen Lamby once more and ¡°Well¡­Your majesty¡­If it would please the court¡­if the entire city is covered already and searching¡­what place haven¡¯t you looked yet?¡±

    Queen Lamby thought about it for a moment¡­and raised both her hooved hands.

    ¡°Two Words?¡± Hand asked.

    Queen Lamby happily nodded. They then started doing a sipping hand motion, followed by a perk-up face.

    Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun began jumping in to guess what she was saying.

    ¡°Drink?...Beverage?.....Juice?¡±, Mr. Honeybun enthusiastically guessed. But then realized she was drinking in a specific way! ¡°...Coffee!¡±

    Queen Lamby happily nodded once more¡­.Then proceeded to start moving her hooved hands in a square motion. Now it was Dodothy¡¯s turn.

    ¡°Box?¡­.square?¡­.cube?¡­..present?¡±, Dorothy¡¯s guesses were way off¡­but then saw Granny Lamby point to an empty part of the children¡¯s section¡­.but then it was made clear! ¡°Corner! The Caffeine Corner on the other end of Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore!¡±

    Queen Lamby clapped her hooved hands together and happily tapped her feet! They got it right! The trio high-fived one another in celebration of solving her game of charades.

    ¡°Wait¡­why didn¡¯t you check there yet?¡± Mr. Honeybun inquired, cocking his head slightly to the right in confusion.

    One of the knight illustrations stepped forward to answer.

    ¡°We as illustrations come from paper! If we touch the wet scoundrel known as water! We cease to be! The Corner which serves caffeine is the only place in the store that serves any kind of liquid!¡±

    The Toy trio then took notice¡­ it was kind of obvious in hindsight. ¡°Oh¡­that makes sense¡­.But not to worry your Wollyness! We will get your voice back!¡± Mr. Honeybun declared with a puffed-out chest.

    Queen Lamby waved her hooved hand¡­signaling all of her illustration guards to let them go, for they have her blessing!

    The Handyman, The Dolly, and the Teddy Bear looked at each other and agreed¡­.the thief couldn¡¯t be far¡­so now that they knew where they could be¡­they couldn¡¯t stand there and let the queen be silent.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    The figure stood behind the counter of the coffee shop¡­.and knew they didn¡¯t have much time until they realized he hadn''t left the Bookstore just yet¡­.so they needed to give them a distraction¡­.then they remembered an item given to them by the Overlords themselves¡­.they reached into their glitchy and polygonal darkness, and pulled out a dark grey, old school handheld console device¡­..a Redtendo Joyboy!

    The figure then inputs the secret button code to summon them forth!

    Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, SELECT, START!

    The Joyboy¡¯s screen started to glitch out for a moment¡­but the 8-Bit beasts started to come forth! The Figure let out yet another hardy laugh!

    ¡®Dah-Hahahahahaha! Handyman Hank¡­you are a deadman!¡¯

 The Storyteller Arc: Chapter X: A 8-Bit Barrage

    As Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun traveled across the paper streets of Manuscript City. Hank was suddenly bothered by a question that popped into his head as he marveled at all the various illustrations from Children¡¯s literature to young adult fiction.

    ¡°Uhh¡­.Hey Dorothy, why haven¡¯t we seen any other Illustrations outside this Bookstore?¡± He pondered as an Illustration dragon soared over them followed by an illustration biplane that flew right behind it chasing after the said dragon.

    Mr. Honeybun¡¯s ears perk up at the question. ¡°Yeah¡­why is that? I always look through the cameras and never see them leave.¡±

    Dorothy looked downtrodden at the question. She looked at Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore¡¯s entrance and pondered how the shudders were recently opened up.

    Dorothy sighed and stated ¡°Fear. Plain and simple. Ever since the Arcadians started this war over Wonder with the Mall decades ago, they¡¯ve been slowly wearing every wonder-full being inside the mall. But after a while¡­all the societies inside the mall just¡­.stopped communicating. With all the Arcadians patrolling the districts, it¡¯s a miracle we haven¡¯t been attacked yet. Manuscript City is one of the more strict ways of keeping the Arcadians out. From Brickabrack I hear that his home store of Bricksenblocks is under some serious martial law.¡±

    ¡°Oh my¡­.friends just not talking with each other¡­.that¡¯s just so sad¡­.¡± Mr. Honeybun uttered as he began to sulk along with Dorothy.

    Hank interjected this sad scene by adding one simple yet powerful fact.

    ¡°But! We are collecting the Seven Sparks of Wonder to stop the Arcadians once and for all. We already have the Chroma Sphere, and now we just need the other six. It might sound like a lot. But I for one to see the rest of this big world we call a Mall.¡±

    The Handyman¡¯s words took a few moments to register with the Doll and Teddybear¡­.but they both perked up after a few moments.

    ¡°Yeah! I only saw the mall through the grey camera feeds¡­. It''s so cool seeing them through color AND on different sides!¡± Mr. Honeybun declared as he did a playful spin, only to get dizzy and fall on his rear.

    Dorothy gave a small chortle as she saw the silly bear fall and concluded. ¡°Yeah. Greenbolt always talked about how disappointed he was when all the stores stopped being unified, maybe that can finally change!¡±

    This new wave of positivity surrounding the Trio of Toys re-energized the three as they continued to make their way to the Caffine Corner. As they passed beyond the borders of Manuscript City, the scent of coffee and muffins began to pepper all three of their noses. An aromatic fragrance that Hank and Dorothy couldn¡¯t get enough of, but Mr. Honeybun was long since used to considering all the security guards constantly drinking the stuff every morning.

    The Caffeine Corner was right past the next aisle of bookshelves. The very bookshelf they were passing was labeled ¡®New Releases¡¯. On the shelves were small posters of book covers of upcoming books. The three looked at the impending releases in the next few weeks, but one exact poster caught Hank¡¯s attention, a poster of a steampunk heroine wielding a complicated-looking blade standing on top of the wreckage of a building with a burning logo flag in the background.

    ¡®Clockwork Dominion: The Ironclad Revolution! The Epic Conclusion launching in 4 Days!¡¯

    ¡°Ooh! One of the other guards talked about this book! She¡¯s excited for this one and hopes whatsherface chooses whatshisname over the other guy!¡± Mr. Honeybun says with giddy excitement.

    Dorothy rolls her eyes while shaking her head, Ever since the Afterglow series in the mid-2000s. Authors have been trying their damndest to take advantage of its popularity with love triangles that overshadow the story.

    But Dorothy¡¯s critiquing thoughts of that type of plotline were cut short as shadows began to soar directly above them all¡­.blocky and strangely shaped! The three couldn¡¯t get a proper look at these strange flying blocky objects soaring over them due to the store¡¯s fluorescent lighting. But soon they stopped as they began to loom directly above Manuscript City!....and they all began to drop individually! It was at this point, Dorothy realized what these flying shadows were!

    ¡°Oh¡­CRAP! PENTOMINOS!¡± She shouted pulling Hank out of the way of a falling P-Block! As it fell, multiple other blocks fell creating a straight line across from one shelf to another! A small, upbeat jingle played from seemingly nowhere, the perfectly aligned pentominoes flashed in and out of existence before vanishing completely¡­.and so did a small portion of the bookshelf!

    One of the soldier illustrations saw this and shouted ¡°WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! SOUND THE ALARM!¡±

    An illustration of a bear put down their marmalade sandwich and quickly flipped a switch, alerting all the Illustrations across Manuscript City and Inkewll¡¯s Bookstore for the upcoming attack, some stayed and hid between the pages of their books, while others stood their ground and prepared to fight!

    The pentominoes fell at rapid speeds, some even spinning to land perfectly flat on the floor, creating walls to block off the Trio of Toys from reaching the Caffeine Corner! A small group of Pentominoes began to assemble once again, this time creating a series of words to make one simple yet threatening message!

    The Pentominoes began to take shape once again¡­and this time formed a blocky, pixelated fist! There they began to separate and fly all around the trio! Each trying to individually place themselves next to each other!

    ¡°Don¡¯t let them form a straight line between you! If they do you¡¯ll vanish along with them!¡± Dorothy ordered Hank and Mr. Honeybun as she drop-kicked an X-Block from forming a solid line!

    Hank quickly pulled out his sledgehammer and began smashing the various oddly shaped letter blocks into pixelated pieces! A Yellow F-Block fades in from the right, but he quickly backflips and counters with an overhead sledgehammer smash, A Green V-Block tries to crush him from overhead but he quickly sidestepped and full-body swings his sledgehammer. It Knocked the V-Block into both a W and P-Block that were about to sneak up behind Mr. Honeybun.

    As the fight raged on, Hank took notice that Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun were barely fighting at all. Dorothy was dodging all the Pentomino''s maneuvers while Mr, Honeybun was hardly fighting back at all¡­.before he could ask why, Hank immediately remembered something that Nurse Ruby had mentioned the night before.

    ¡®Wonder Power is fickle thing, some days you have it, some days you don¡¯t¡­¡¯

    Hank remembered that they all lost so much Wonder power over the years that they couldn¡¯t even touch the Arcadians anymore. He wanted to help them both, but he had to still cover his rear!

    But then, in that split-second moment of thought¡­..Hank¡¯s pupils began to glow cyan once more¡­and realized¡­he could help them out!

    Hank raised his hand and in a split second¡­.raised his Sledgehammer and slammed it down HARD on the carpeted ground, sending a shockwave of Wonder in all directions! Causing some of the surrounding pentominoes to fall, undoing the wall surrounding the trio of toys.

    Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun stumbled at the massive expulsion of Wonder coming from Hank¡­but then a new wonder construct appeared at the top of their heads¡­.Hard hats bearing resemblance to Hank¡¯s hard hat! They both look at Hank for some kind of explanation. Hank was breathing heavily as he was still gripping his sledgehammer tightly. He looks up towards the confused Doll and teddy bear and simply explains to both of them. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Welcome to my Building crew! I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s gonna last!¡±

    Dorothy and MR. Honeybun looked at each other with confusion, but Mr. Honeybun quickly saw in the corner of his beady eye, that a Purple U-Block tried to fly right up at Dorothy from behind to scoop her up. Mr. Honeybun reacted quickly and created his Fighty Claws to slash at the U-Block!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    When he slashed at the U-Block¡­it made contact! His claws were now sunk into the U-Block deep! He slammed the U-Block down, shattering it to pieces!

    Dorothy had to do a double-take as to what she had just witnessed. She needed to see for herself!

    She grabbed her precision knife and slashed downwards at two upcoming T-Blocks trying to hammer her down¡­.they got sliced in two!

    Once Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun were both sure they could harm them now, Dorothy turned to Hank and said ¡°We¡¯ve got this! Find the source!¡±

    Hank quickly nodded and ran through one of the holes in the Pentomino wall before they began to seal back up. He looks up and quickly deduces where they are all originating from and sees they are all flying from the Caffeine Corner. As the determined Handyman ran towards the coffee stand, he continued to slam and drill clean through more and more Pentominoes. But they were never-ending.

    As soon as Hank reaches the Caffeine Corner, the rich, nutty, and earthy aroma begins to waft in his nose. But his eyes saw an unearthly glow on top of one of the barista¡¯s tables behind the counter. He ran up to the metal table and used the magnet in his back to crabwalk upwards toward the top. Lo and behold, he saw the source of the Pentominoes. They were constantly emerging from a small handheld console labeled the ¡®Redtendo Joyboy¡¯

    He pulled out his wrench and got ready to smash it¡­this should be easy enough for him. But before he could even strike the handheld console¡­he was sucker-punched by a glitched-out fist! Sending him across the barista table and crashing into one of the jars of coffee beans.

    ¡°DAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!¡± Laughed the glitchy figure as he cracked his knuckles.

    Hank took a few moments to get out of the daze he had just knocked into¡­and when he emerged from the pile of coffee beans, he spat out one of the beans and got a good look at the glitchy stranger. He stood a clear few inches taller than he was and was also way more bulky as well¡­.But he couldn¡¯t tell exactly what this being was right in front of him! But, that thought can wait, whoever this was was in the way of him and the next Spark of Wonder!

    The Glitchy Figure began to jump high in the air with an audible sound cue and tried their damndest to stomp on Hank. Leaving visible dents in the table. Hank quickly rolled to the side avoiding the Glitchy Figure¡¯s massive boots. Hank drew his wrench to attack the Glitchy figure right to where his face should be¡­he couldn¡¯t tell, all the dark glitchiness was covering his face.

    After a few solid Wonder-charged hits to the glitchy figure¡¯s face and body. He stopped to see if there was any reaction.

    ¡°..........¡± The glitchy figure wasn¡¯t amused. ¡°You will get crushed now!¡±

    The Glitchy Figure grabbed Hank¡¯s arm wielding his wrench..and bent it backward, placing stress on his elbow and shoulder points of articulation. Hank let out a scream of pain as he struggled to get him to let go. But the Glitchy one had an ironclad grip on his arm!

    The Glitchy Figure threw Hank towards the wall and punched him so hard it cracked the tiles behind Hank! Hank was badly damaged at that point¡­he tried to grip his wrench again¡­But he couldn¡¯t.

    He tried to get up and fight again, but the Glitchy figure grabbed him by his overalls and dragged him toward one of the barista machines. Specifically, the Electric coffee grinder.

    The Glitchy Figure turned the coffee grinder¡¯s dial to its highest setting¡­and began to dangle Hank over the grinder. One coffee bean that was stuck inside his overalls fell out and into the coffee grinder¡­shredding it to grounds! The fear immediately strikes Hank down to his core. He slowly begins to lower Hank into the grinder!

    ¡°WAIT! WAIT! DON¡¯T!¡± Shouted Hank as he struggled in vain.

    But before he could get shredded, a precision blade gets thrown inside the grinder. Jamming up the machine and breaking it in the process!

    ¡°No Toy will EVER die on my watch again!¡± Dorothy exclaimed as she readied a sharpened colored pencil to throw.

    ¡°LET MR. HANDYMAN GO!¡± Mr. Honeybun yelled with rage, a grizzly growl undertone in his voice. His Fighty Claws are fully out and sharper than ever.

    The Glitchy figure stood there for a second to weigh his options¡­and tossed Hank towards them both. He was barely conscious.

    ¡°Too weak¡­.not worth it.¡± The glitchy figure stated as he turned¡­and jumped back through the vents¡­and squeezed through.

    As Dorothy switched to her Nurse Wonder Power to help Hank, Mr. Honeybun began to work on shutting the Redtendo Joyboy down¡­.and quickly ripped the Pentominos cartridge out of the handheld console.

    Back outside the Caffine Corner and into Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore¡­..all the Pentominoes glitched out like crazy and vanished in less than a second. All the illustrations that stayed to fight looked around¡­and realized they won¡­and all began triumphantly cheer in victory.

    As the cheering happened¡­.hank lost consciousness¡­.the last thing he saw was Dorothy beginning to use her Nursing wonder power to fix him, and Mr. Honeybun finding something under the Joyboy.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    Hank was sitting on a girder¡­.enjoying a typical lunch on his lunch break. He was enjoying a meatball sub with some Purple Cola. But he saw three others sitting beside him too¡­..their faces and bodies were foggy¡­.but he could see key shapes.

    One was wearing a mechanical gauntlet with a jackhammer attached to it.

    Another wore a belt with various jars of paints clipped to it.

    The third wore a welder mask and was using a blowtorch to heat some unseen food.

    The four of them sat on the girder of this unfinished building, eating their lunch while staring at the sunset.

    Hank¡­.was happy being beside these unseen figures¡­.but their lunchbreak was interrupted when they felt something shake¡­.They all looked down as they saw something shaking the very foundation of the unfinished building.

    ¡®DAH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡¯

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    Hank immediately snapped awake as he looked around seeing he was back in Manuscript City.....and realized he was lying on something soft and fluffy.

    Mr. Honeybun grabs Hank from his back and gives him yet another tight and crushing hug.

    ¡°Mr. Hank! You¡¯re awake! I was so worried! Dorothy was too!¡±

    Dorothy blushed as she immediately corrected Mr. Honeybun.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t worried! I knew he was gonna pull through!¡± She said as she took another look at Hank.

    Mr. Honeybun puts Hank down¡­.his joints are still aching, but he can still move in a sense.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Hank asked still woozy from his beating.

    ¡°After you fell asleep. I found Miss Queenie¡¯s voice. We¡¯re on our way to give it back! We should be back any moment now!¡± Mr. Honeybun happily exclaimed.

    But before they entered the Kids Section, Dorothy needed to ask. ¡°What happened back there?¡±

    ¡°I-....I don¡¯t know¡­.he overpowered me¡­.something about that glitchy mess felt¡­familliar¡­¡±

    Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun looked at each other in worry¡­.but they soon set those thoughts aside as they began to face Queen Granny Lamby and Rainbow Bunny once more.

    ¡°Have you returned with the queen¡¯s voice?¡± Rainbow Bunny asked. The trio could tell he was in no mood for games. Dorothy held up the cassette tape¡­.the entire court gasped in excitement. Granny Lamby herself happily took it and turned around. She lifted her dress skirt to input it.

    Hank and Mr. Honeybun looked confused¡­and Dorothy dope-slapped them both to mind their P¡¯s and Q¡¯s to look away. When granny lamby turned around¡­and spoke.

    ¡°Thank you all so much. Manuscript City is in your debt¡­¡± She spoke in a loving, motherly voice, and all through the filter of an old speaker. She turns around once again and walks to the back of the stage, each step you can hear the animatronic humm of her inner mechanics. She pulls out a small tile of the stage floor¡­and reveals the next spark of Wonder¡­was under their noses the whole time. It was a very thick pop-up book titled ¡®1001 Tales from Across the Globe!¡¯.

    As she walked towards the trio¡­she sat down on the stage¡¯s edge once again¡­.and said

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot let you just leave with My kingdom¡¯s sacred treasure¡­..You must earn it.¡± She opened up the book to a specific page.

    The three looked at one another for reassurance and agreement¡­noticing Granny Lamby¡¯s voice shifted from loving¡­.to sinisterly threatening. Queen Granny Lamby¡¯s eyes went from half-lidded¡­.to fully open.

    ¡°Please follow along, As I read the story aloud¡­¡±

 The Storyteller Arc: Chapter XI: A Grand Story to Tell!

    ¡°Attention Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore Shoppers! It¡¯s time for storytime in the Kids Corner with Granny Lamby! Today¡¯s story is ¡®The Three Little Pigs¡¯. If you have a child with you, maybe they¡¯ll like the free prize at the end of the story!¡± The female announcer said it with some notion, but no adult in the store could tell she was phoning it in.

    All the adults with children began to make it toward the Kid''s Corner of the store; all adults let the kids into the corner. The Children ran in to get a good place to sit down and cross their legs right before the small stage. One of the Bookstore Employees handed each child a paperback version of the Three Little Pigs.

    Behind the small stage, one of the employees picked up Granny Lamby from her small chair and lifted her dress skirt to access the tape player in her back. The employee looked at a printed paper sheet to see when to rewind or forward the tape.

    Tape 1:

    Cinderella: 00:00 - 6:35

    Wizard of Oz: 6:35 - 13:41

    Jack and the Beanstalk: 13:41 - 19: 22

    Goldilocks and the Three Bears: 19:22 - 22: 53

    The Three Little Pigs: 22:53 - 26:22

    Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: 26:22 - 32:55

    Peter Rabbit: 32:55 - 36:06

    The Raven(HALLOWEEN ONLY!!!): 36:06 - 45:00

    The employee began to rewind the tape and ensure it was in the exact time slot. He then placed Granny Lamby in her chair again and walked off. As soon as he walked away from the stage, Granny Lamby shot an annoyed glare at the employee and rewinded her tape for a whole minute. These new millennium employees must learn how to handle a tape player, which shows.

    When the curtains began to open, she faced forward and put on her warm smile again. It was Showtime!

    ¡°Hello Children, today¡¯s story is The Three Little Pigs. The story tells you that taking the time to do something right will always pay off." she said in her soft, motherly, and static-filled tone.

    The Children happily cheered.

    ¡°Please follow along as I read aloud.¡± Granny Lamby said as she opened her book.

    Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun were puzzled at Granny Lamby¡¯s sudden tone and body language shift.

    ¡°What Gives Lamby! You were supposed to hand over the Spark of Wonder after we got you your freaking voice tabe back!¡± Dorothy exclaimed with outrage as she pulled out her precision knife, slightly dented from its earlier tumble in the coffee grinder.

    ¡°You LIED to us! Liars don¡¯t get dessert!¡± Mr. Honeybun growled as he drew his Fighty claws once again.

    Hank took a second to register the ¡®dessert¡¯ line confusingly from Mr. Honeybun.  But he continued by demanding. ¡°I thought a royal¡¯s word is law! You made a promise, and you are supposed to honor it!¡±

    ¡°SILENCE!¡± Rainbow Bunny demanded. ¡°Did you honestly believe we would give you Manuscript City¡¯s most sacred treasure to a bunch of nomadic hunks of plastic, cotton, fabric, and-¡± Rainbow Bunny looked over Hank and looked visibly confused for a split second. ¡°-I don¡¯t know what in Cottontail¡¯s name you are made of, but I''m sure you''re just as worthless! The point is, Queen Granny Lamby isn''t going to just hand over her storybook unless you can prove to her you can defend it with your very lives!¡±

    The pages of the Storybook began to flip rapidly until Granny Lamby stopped the pages at the beginning of a particular story.

    When Granny Lamby turned the page, one of the books flew off the shelves of the Kid¡¯s Corner and landed right in front of the toy trio. The very book titled The Wizard of Oz. The book opens up with the first chapter, titled The Cyclone.

    ¡°Settle down, children¡­.we are about to go on a Journey to a beautiful land of awe and astonishment! The Wonderful Land of Oz! Turn the Page!¡±

    As the pages began to turn, the words on each page began to fly right off the pages and began to circle the trio. Each noun, adjective, verb, adverb, and even conjunction added to the circling word pile made it all spin faster until an actual cyclone began to pick up! Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun readied themselves to prepare for anything. But that quickly went to pieces as they all got swept up in the cyclone¡¯s current, along with wooden blocks, papers from the drawing table, and a few markers, too!

    The Toy Trio was entirely at the mercy of the cyclone. Hank was getting sick from all the spinning and motion and getting hit from all sides by wooden blocks. Luckily for him, he wore a hard hat; he just wished he had one in other places, too.

    Dorothy herself discovered her outfit was quickly changed into a blue and white dress with a fitted bodice and straps fixed at the front and back by two mother-of-pearl buttons with pinafore worn over a high-necked cream blouse and sometimes incongruously paired with ruby slippers.

    ¡°What the hell is this!?¡± Dorothy furiously asked as she tried to keep the cyclone¡¯s winds from blowing her skirt up.

    ¡°I just couldn¡¯t resist. The main character is Dorothy, and your name is Dorothy!¡± Granny Lamby cheekily remarked.

    Mr. Honeybun quickly grabbed Dorothy and Hank in a tight embrace.

    ¡°Let my cuddles be your shield!¡± Mr. Honeybun declared as he held onto the both of them. Items repeatedly struck him, but he barely showed any pain.

    ¡°Dorothy! What do we do!?¡± Hank shouted over the cyclone¡¯s powerful surge of wind!

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! I wasn¡¯t expecting to be swept into a paper cyclone today!¡± Dorothy retorted in aggravation.

    Granny Lamby let out a soft giggle as she watched the trio struggle. ¡°You three are entirely at my mercy. How can you possibly beat the one narrating the story?¡±

    Hank paused to process what Granny Lamby had just said arrogantly. He looked in all of the chaos of the cyclone and saw one sentence floating above all the others.

    ¡®The cyclone raged on!¡¯

    Then Hank looked at Dorothy¡¯s quiver of sharpened colored pencils, like a switch flipping on in his head. He had an idea!

    ¡°Dorothy! Hand me a colored pencil!¡± He asked.

    ¡°Why?! It¡¯s impossible to hit anything in all this!?¡± She retorted.

    ¡°JUST DO IT!¡± Hank demanded. Dorothy quickly obliged and handed him a blue colored pencil.

    ¡°Mr. Honeybun! Throw me towards that sentence!¡± Hank commanded as he pointed at the sentence.

    ¡°Yes Sir Mr. Hank!¡± Mr. Honeybun nodded and grabbed Hank in his grip! He began to wind up and spin for a few moments, and then he threw him higher into the cyclone. Hank pulls out his wrench and uses it to grip right onto the sentence! Hank shimmies towards the right word and says, ¡°Please let this work!¡±

    He scribbled out two words and wrote down two new ones.

    ¡®The cyclone raged on calmed down!¡¯

    In less than a second, the cyclone died down. All the debris swept up began to cascade slowly onto the floor. Mr. Honeybun landed first and caught Hank and Dorothy, cushioning their fall with his soft, plush body.

    Granny Lamby couldn¡¯t believe her animatronic eyes. She looked at the trio in bewilderment and said, ¡°Impossible! How in the Seven Sparks did you manage to break the narrative!¡±

    ¡°Seems to me like the story isn¡¯t set in stone as you think!¡± Hank proclaims as he tosses the sentence near Granny Lamby.

    Granny Lamby huffed in anger as she began to turn a few pages ahead, and her tape began to fast-forward through the story.

    ¡°Turn the Page! As Dorothy and friends continued their journey to the Wizard, they were suddenly under attack by the evil minions of the Wicked Witch, the Flying Monkeys!¡±

    The Book in front of the trio rapidly flipped through the pages until it reached Chapter 12.

    Flying right out of the pages and into the air of the Kid¡¯s Corner was an entire squadron of Illustrated flying monkeys! One of them ferociously roared as they began to surround the three. Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun readied their weapons. Dorothy looked to Granny Lamby, annoyed, and said, ¡°Excuse me! What exactly is putting us through this whole story gauntlet supposed to prove anyway!? All you¡¯re proving is that you¡¯re not a toy of your word!¡±

    ¡°You DARE Compare her majesty to you heaving hunks of plastic!? You are irrelevant compared to her! She is still entertaining children every week!¡± Rainbow Bunny retorted. ¡°ATTACK!¡± He shouted. The Illustrated flying monkeys started to swoop down and tried to swipe at all of them with their sharp claws.

    One of the illustrated flying monkeys swiped at Mr. Honeybun, cutting at his soft exterior and causing a hole to open up. He lets out a bearlike growl in pain as his wonder begins to take over. He was enraged again!

    Hank and Dorothy notice this and know to stay away from him while he¡¯s raging. He tried to swipe at the monkeys, but since they were so high up, they just stayed in the air and laughed at Mr. Honeybun¡¯s futility. Dorothy wouldn¡¯t stand there and let a bunch of paper mutants bully her friend! She looks around the floating words and phrases and sees one complete sentence in the swarm.

    ¡®The Flying Monkeys were having too much fun!¡¯

    She pulls a red pencil from her quiver and gives a determined smile.

    ¡°Hank? Think you can give me a distraction?¡± Dorothy asked, signaling Hank to see the target sentence in the air. Hank nodded in her direction and shouted, ¡°Hey, Monkeys! How does it feel to be only in four or five pages of a book!?¡±

    This insult enraged the Monkeys, who started attacking Hank in a swarm. Hank began to run toward the carpeted floor, where all the building blocks were strewn about.

    ¡°Mr. Honeybun! One of the Monkeys perched on the floor near here! Now¡¯s your chance!¡± Hank shouted. Mr. Honeybun, still enraged, jumped up like an enraged cat and slammed his wonder bear claws on the ground; the resulting shockwave sent all the wooden blocks into the air. There, Dorothy made her move.

    She channeled her wonder into her feet again, jumped high up, and used the mid-air wooden blocks and even a few illustrated flying monkeys as jumping-off points. One of the Monkey¡¯s even tried to grab her ruby slipper, but she was too quick on the reflex. As soon as she made it to the floating sentence, she grabbed ahold of it and positioned her red colored pencil over it. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Time for a rewrite!¡± Dorothy said in a boastful manner.

    But Dorothy blushed in embarrassment as she realized she was now doing one-liners, thanks to Hank. She brushed it off and simply crossed out two letters from the sentence.

    ¡®The Flying Monkeys were having too much fun!¡¯

    The illustrated Flying monkeys stopped mid-air, began to unfold, and quickly refold themselves to take on a new form. They were no longer flying monkeys; they were now illustrated winged human men and women wearing robes and tunics, some even sporting prayer beads, and their heads wholly shaved of hair. They were no longer attacking. Fighting was the last thing that was on their minds.

    ¡°You Fools! RIP THEM ALL TO PIECES!¡± Rainbow Bunny commanded the newly transformed Monks.

    ¡°We refuse¡­.we are now in a vow of pacifism.¡± Said one of the Illustrated Monks.

    This sudden change to the story made Granny Lamby huff again in frustration. She fast-forwards her tape again, but there are clicks and pops this time. Rainbow Bunny notices these strange noises and begins to look concerned.

    ¡°Turn the Page! If Dorothy and company wanted their heart''s desire, they must slay the Wicked Witch of the West! But sadly for them, the wicked witch was not leaving without a fight!¡± Granny Lamby¡¯s motherly tone was now getting replaced with stern aggravation.

    Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun also noticed the sounds coming from Granny Lamnby¡¯s tape. Mr. Honeybun even calmed down enough to say something.

    ¡°Uh¡­.Miss Queen Lamby? Are you okay?¡±

    ¡°DO NOT INTERRUPT THE NARRATOR!¡± She shouted! The speaker in her voice gave some high-pitched feedback for a split second as she shouted. Making the trio wince at the noise.

    The Booklet in front of them now began to flip towards the near end of the book. Rising from the pages was the Illustrated Wicked Witch. She began to ride around on her broom and cackling wickedly.

    ¡°I¡¯LL GET YOU YET, MY PRETTIES, AND YOUR LITTLE BEAR TOO!¡± She cackled.

    Her right hand started to crackle with green lightning surrounding her fingertips. She shot a bolt of her wicked power right at the feet of Dorothy. She grabbed one of her colored pencils and tried to find the right moment to throw. But the witch was simply too quick on her broom.

    The Illustrated Wicked Witch sweeps down and rams right into Hank. The tip of her broom managed to snag on one of Hank¡¯s Overall straps, forcing Hank to dangle helplessly. The Illustrated Wicked Witch was flying around like an out-of-control fruitfly.

    ¡°Look for the right sentence!¡± Hank shouted down to Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun as he tried to avoid motion sickness.

    Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun looked up and around the swirling storm of letters, frantically trying to find the correct sentence. Until Mr. Honeybun sees a complete sentence floating lower than usual, could this mean that Granny Lamby was weakening?

    ¡®The Wicked Witch flies rapidly on her broom!¡¯

    ¡°I wanna try one!... Miss Dorothy, May I have a colored pencil?¡± the teddy bear politely asked.

    She handed him a brown pencil and replied, ¡°Yes, you may!¡±

    Mr. Honeybun quickly ran up and began climbing up the kiddie chairs and the small table. The Illustrated Wicked Witch noticed this and started firing her lightning blasts at Mr. Honeybun. Some attacks missed, while others directly hit him, painfully tearing tiny holes in his fluffy body and lightly singing the fur.

    Mr. Honeybun Didn¡¯t have time to cry. Hank, his friend, was in trouble!

    He crossed out and added a new letter when he reached the sentence.

    ¡®The Wicked BWitch flies rapidly on her broom!¡±

    The entire court gasped at such a vulgar change in the story.

    The Illustrated Wicked Witch began to fold and get reshaped, turning from a wicked witch to a Wicked Dog. This change in form caused the broom to lose control and start its freefall. Hank quickly grabbed the broom to try to pull up, but unfortunately, without the Wicked Witch¡¯s power, it was just a regular broom again!

    Mr. Honeybun quickly began moving his stubby bear legs towards the impact site, close to where they were about to land! Then, with one dynamic long jump over a block, he stuck the landing!

    The Illustrated Wicked Dog lands right on Mr. Honeybun¡¯s soft belly, cushioning her fall, all while Hank lands on a pile of blocks. He lets out a groan in pain.

    The Illustrated Wicked Dog gave a happy bark and excitedly licked Mr. Honeybun¡¯s snout as a thank you! The court watching gave an exchange of adored cooes at the sight. As soon as the Illustrated Wicked Dog disappeared back into the book, its effect on the surrounding area wore off. Even Dorothy¡¯s outfit changed back.

    Hank groaned as he got up from his painful landing. He faced Granny Lamby and declared, ¡°We made it to the end of your story! That means we can walk away with the Spark of Wonder, right?¡±

    Granny Lmby huffed for the last time as she rewound her cassette tape at an alarmingly fast speed. She stood up from her small chair, stomped towards the edge of her stage, and retorted to Hank.

    ¡°ABSOLUTELY NOT!¡± Granny Lamby shouted. ¡°I WILL NOT LET OUR SACRED TREASURE BE- BE- BEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBEBE-¡±

    ¡°Your Majesty, Are you alright!?¡± Rainbow Bunny asked with peaking concern.

    Rainbow Bunny¡¯s question was quickly answered as Granny Lamby ejected her story cassette from her rear tape player. The cassette fell on the floor right in front of Hank¡¯s feet. The film was utterly strewn about and could tangle up if not careful. The whole court of Kiddie Toys and illustrations gasped.

    Granny Lamby stood in shock, staring at her now ruined cassette tape. A few moments of silence had passed. Dorothy covered her mouth with her hands in shock. Mr. Honeybun looked wide-eyed as if someone had taken a cookie from the jar, and Hank was confused.

    Granny Lamby finally reacted. She fell to her knees and began to cry quietly without a voice. Rainbow Bunny quickly ran to her aid and started to comfort her.

    ¡°Not to worry, your highness¡­ it''s a Big mall out there. Maybe we can find another cassette for you, one with better stories that children will adore and-¡± He quickly stops after seeing her face of anguish¡­he was only making it worse.

    Hank looked down at the ruined cassette again, and his eyes glowed blue again. The Toy Handyman knew what to do. He pulled out his wrench and switched to his screwdriver tool. He gently stuck the tip of his screwdriver into the cassette''s supply and twisted it counterclockwise. The tape slowly began to reel back inside the cassette. Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun quickly realized what Hank was doing and ran to help him.

    Dorothy spreads the tape out on the floor so it doesn''t tangle, and Mr. Honeybun clears a path to ensure no debris gets in the process. The whole court begins to watch as they perform this delicate action. As soon as Hank rewound the last bit of tape into the cassette, he stood up with the cassette in hand, walked onto the stage towards Granny Lamby, and held it out to her to hand it to her.

    Granny Lamby was utterly yet quietly surprised at this act of kindness. She humbly took the tape and reinserted it into her rear tape player. Hank and Mr. Honeybun now understood and did the gentlemanly thing, looking away while she did it.

    When she was sure, the cassette was working again. She spoke to Hank.

    ¡°W-why? Why did you fix it?¡± Granny Lamby asked, relieved to hear her own voice once again.

    ¡°Short answer. We just fought a whole legion of Pixel Block Arcadians, and I personally was almost turned into coffee grounds to get ahold of this, so leaving it broken would be a massive waste of effort. The long answer: If what Rainbow Bunny said is true, you read to kids all the time. How can you inspire any kids without a voice?¡± Hank answered as he clipped his screwdriver to his belt.

    This answer touched Granny Lamby. She never would have thought she would meet someone who understood. At that point, Dorothy stepped forward to speak.

    ¡°Your Highness? May I ask you a question?¡±

    Granny Lamby signals her to do so.

    ¡°Are you afraid? Are you scared of becoming irrelevant to children when you still have so much to give?¡± Dorothy somberly asked the animatronic toy lamb.

    ¡°Y-yes.¡± She woefully answered. ¡°Do you¡­have any idea how long it has been since I had an authentic audience once again? I¡¯m very sorry for putting you through the story itself. It¡¯s unbecoming of both a Storyteller and a Queen. In truth¡­I don¡¯t read to the children daily like Rainbow Bunny said; I used to. But now¡­I¡¯m lucky to read to anyone once a month. I was¡­I was so afraid of an empty show again. I simply didn¡¯t want it to end. Do you know what playing second fiddle to a glowing rectangle is like?¡±

    ¡°Glowing Rectangle?¡± Hank asked, puzzled.

    Mr. Honeybun quickly perked up and realized what she was talking about. ¡°Oh! Oh! She¡¯s referring to Smartphones and Tablets. They get lost in the Lost & Found box all the time! I don¡¯t know what they look at when they¡¯re on¡­I only see them when they¡¯re off or dead.¡± He puts one of his stuffed paws under his maw as he mulls over what they could be looking at.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. But I didn¡¯t just test you for that selfish reason¡­look outside the Kids Corner¡­¡± The trio of toys look and see something they didn¡¯t call attention to on their way back. Multiple illustrations were severely injured or reduced to just the words that described themselves. They were gone.

    ¡°If an Illustration dies, they can no longer inspire or form a connection to the reader. They won''t even be worth the paper their words are printed on.¡± She mournfully explained.

    This explanation made Hank quietly realize the total weight of Greenbolt¡¯s death. It didn¡¯t matter if he got fixed. Because to any other kid, he was no longer Greenbolt, Leader of the Herobots. Without Wonder, He was just a hunk of plastic.

    ¡°I tested all of you to make sure the Sacred Treasure of Manuscript City was safe in your hands. This particular Spark of Wonder wields the power of the written word. If anything were to happen to it, All books would inspire no one¡­¡± She picks up the Pop-Up Book and closes it. The book now had a glowing cyan aura surrounding it.

    ¡°Perhaps you have earned it¡­Take it.¡±

    Hank hesitates for a moment, thinking it was another trick. But that distrust falters when he looks at Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun; they nod at him for assurance. The Handyman walks towards Granny Lamby, gently taking the book. As soon as his gloved hands touch it, the power of Wonder begins to surge through him again, and he begins to see visions like the Chroma Sphere. But this time, the visions are different.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    The First memory is of the Storyteller as a young boy having a book read to him by his mother. She always did the voices of all the characters and gave the book a flare appropriate to the tone. She always asked him what the takeaway was to see if he had learned a lesson from the story.

    The Second memory of the Storytellers is of Christmas morning. He unwrapped the only present under the tree: a pack of yellow notepad paper, pencils, a pencil sharpener, and a few erasers. He gave his mom a loving hug.

    The Third Memory was the Storyteller submitting his short story for a story contest scholarship contest. He used the same Yellow notepad paper and pencils to write the story. He won.

    The Fourth Memory was the storyteller who graduated from university with high honors. His mother was sitting in the stands, clapping with a smile of happy approval.

    The Fifth Memory is him submitting his Manuscript, ¡®The Clockwork Dominion,¡¯ to a major publisher. All the other major publishers rejected him, and this was his last chance.

    The Sixth Memory was of the Storyteller sitting near a white table in a major New York City bookstore. His hand was getting cramped from all the autographs, but the last woman did have some notes, which intrigued him.

    The 7th Memory was a happy one. It revealed that he is now happily married to the woman and welcoming his newborn daughter to the world, and his mom is glad she''s finally a Grandmother.

    The 8th Memory was tragic; the room was dim and quiet. The Storyteller touches the smooth, mahogany surface of the closed casket. He looks down and sees his young daughter grasping his pant leg and looking up at him. She had tears in her eyes. He picks her up and gives her a reassuring hug.

    The 9th and Final Memory, The Storyteller¡¯s now Adult Daughter, cuts the ribbon to Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore opening. The Storyteller was so proud she found her calling in the world. He handed her a memento passed down from her Grandmother¡ªa Pop-up Book titled ¡®1¡¯001 Tales from Across the Globe!¡¯ She hugs her dad.

    Handyman Hank was deeply moved by this whole life flashing before him. The Power of Wonder has changed The Storyteller¡¯s life for the better. But before he faded from the vision, he heard a sound...a sound that was akin to breathing.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°Hank!? HANK!¡± Dorothy shouted, trying to get the entranced handyman to snap out of his trance. Hank quickly becomes conscious again after hearing Dorothy¡¯s voice.

    ¡°Snap out of it!¡± Mr. Honeybun shouted as he slammed his plush paw onto Hank¡¯s head. This knocked Hank onto the ground as he got his bearings again.

    ¡°.....Ouch¡­.I¡¯m awake¡­.¡± Hank groaned as he stood back up.

    ¡°You did it again. You touched the Spark of Wonder, and you blacked out¡­.Is this going to happen all the time?¡± Dorothy asked, slightly annoyed but with a hint of worry in her voice.

    ¡°Maybe the Sparks of Wonder like you?¡± Mr. Honeybun suggested with a shrug.

    ¡°You have been chosen¡­¡± Granny Lamby murmured.

    ¡°Sorry, your Lambyness?¡± Mr. Honeybunasked as the trio looked at her.

    ¡°You have been chosen to be a Keeper of Wonder! It recognized you as its protector and has bestowed on you a fraction of its power.¡± The Toy Lamb explained as she looked down at Hank.

    ¡°So¡­I¡¯m a Guardian of some kind?¡± Hank asked. Unsure of this new revelation.

    But Dorothy realized something about this new piece of information. It explained why Greenbolt was so strong. He was a Keeper of Wonder.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t Keeper of Wonder sound too words-y? Can¡¯t we say Wonderkeeper?¡± Mr. Honeybun asked.

    The court murmured in agreement hearing this name.

    ¡°Well then¡­.Rainbow Bunny¡­My Ruler!¡± Granny Lamby ordered. He hopped away behind the stage and came back with a ruler covered in stickers.

    ¡°Please kneel.¡± She asks as she takes the ruler.

    The trio kneel all on one knee.

    Granny Lamby lightly taps the heads of all three trio and declares. ¡°As Queen of Manuscript City and Keeper of the Wonder of Reading. I hereby sanctify you three¡­Keepers of Wonder, Or Wonderkeepers if you prefer.¡±

    The Court cheered as paper confetti began to rain down from seemingly nowhere¡­But one illustration watching from the distance wasn¡¯t so pleased at the turn of events.

    He stood at the end of an illustrated zeppelin. He huffed as he walked back inside his villainous-looking illustrated airship. Each step he took made a crinkled paper sound.

    ¡°The Wonderkeeprs¡­.Give me a break. They won¡¯t make it to the climax of their own story¡­¡±

 The Gamemaster Arc: Chapter XII: A New Game to Play

    The Mall was quiet. As it was every other night since the war with the Arcadians broke out. The only sounds that were occasionally heard were the distant soft hum of the mall¡¯s air conditioning unit, the involuntary beeps, and boops of any patrolling Arcadians, and unfortunately, the dying screams of an unfortunate stray Wonder being ripped to pieces by a patrolling Arcadian. But one sound that all the wonder-powered beings of the mall have long since drowned out was the never-ending civil war inside the store known as Critical Quest.

    But recently, a few weeks ago. A third party has entered the fray.

    As the civil war raged on between the two factions inside the store, they stopped as soon as multiple 8-inch figures in hooded robes carried something almost palanquin-like. The item in question they were carrying was an old-school Redtendo handheld console¡­one called the Redtendo MS.

    The Redtendo MS opened up like a book and three other screens folded out from its left, right, and top of the top screen. As the handheld console powered on, the Redtendo logo appeared on the Main screen. As the inserted game¡¯s logo flashed onto the screen, a maniacal yet hardy laugh roared from the handheld¡¯s speakers. Followed by a scratch on a turntable. The voice began to boom from the handheld¡¯s compressed speaker sound.

    Without any hesitation, he dropped the bass.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    ¡°WHAT?!¡± The trio exclaimed at what Granny Lamby had just declared. Mr. Honeybun winced in pain as Dorothy missed a stitch as she was repairing any tears in his fluffy body.

    ¡°DO NOT RAISE YOUR VOICE TO HER MAJESTY!¡± Rainbow Bunny shouted back.

    Granny Lamby raised her hoofed hand to calm Rainbow Bunny and said ¡°It¡¯s fine Rainbow Bunny. I do believe this calls for explanation.¡± She turned to the Trio and resumed ¡°That¡¯s correct, there is another toy out there similar looking to you Sir Handyman. According to rumors, he wore different colored overalls and was even wearing a hard hat that looked similar to yours. But wielded a shovel rather than a wrench. He seemed to be on a journey similar to yours, to find out what kind of toy he is supposed to be.¡±

    ¡°How long ago was this?!¡± Hank urged as he took a step closer, hoping for any clue. But quickly regained his composure when he remembered he was talking to a Queen. He cleared his throat and started again. ¡°If I may ask¡­How long ago was this?¡± He asked in a calmer tone.

    ¡°Unfortunately I do not know. But intel says he was heading towards the west wing of the Mall.¡± Queen Granny Lamby answered as she sat down on her small stage again.

    ¡°The West Wing?¡± Hank pondered.

    ¡°The West Wing is where Wonder City resides,¡± Dorothy responded as she double-checked her stitchwork on Mr. Honeybun. ¡°It¡¯s part of the Entertainment District.¡±

    Hank still needed clarification about how the mall''s layout worked.

    Mr. Honeybun quickly perked up and excitedly exclaimed ¡°Oh! Oh! I can tell him! The Mall is separated into four districts! The West District is the entertainment district where all things kids and adults find entertaining. Then the South District is where all the Food Courts and Clothes are so people can fill their bellies with greasy food and get clothes so they won''t be naked. The North District is where all the fancy jewelry, boutiques, and kiosks are, but a lot of kiosks are full of knockoff stuff according to Chuck. Then the East District is where all the technology stores and all the big expansions are like the Movie theatre and the Funzone Feast! But the biggest store of all is the home base of all the bad guys, Amalgam Electronics!¡±

    The Queen¡¯s court and watching Illustrations were all impressed at the teddy bear¡¯s knowledge of the mall.

    ¡°If we leave now, maybe we can catch up to him.¡± Dorothy said as she switched back from her Nurse outfit to her normal outfit again.

    Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun quickly bowed in respect to Queen Granny Lamby; Mr. Honeybun did the same a second later.

    Hank clears his throat to sound professional. ¡°Your Highness. We give our thanks for entrusting us with your kingdom¡¯s most sacred treasure¡­..eventually.¡± He concluded with mild offense.

    She embarrassingly cleared her throat and tried to get things back on track ¡°Farewell Wonderkeepers. If you ever need anything for your mission. Please do not hesitate to ask. ¡°

    The Handyman, the doll, and the teddy bear stood and walked out of Inkwell¡¯s Bookstore. Feeling quite proud that they defended the Store from an Arcadian invasion. But Hank himself couldn¡¯t help but ponder. He recalled back to seeing the dead illustrations from earlier. If an illustration could no longer connect with its reader, and a toy will no longer inspire wonder in a child if they die¡­.What happens to an Arcadian when they die? They want control of the Wonder for a reason, so what was their reason?

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.

    Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun sped out across the Mall¡¯s hallway at high speed! Mr. Honeybun was over the moon happy!

    ¡°The Wonderkeepers! We have a team name! That¡¯s so cool!¡± The teddy bear shouted with a starry-eyed smile.

    ¡°Still think we should workshop that name,¡± Dorothy remarked as she focused on the road ahead. ¡°Besides, before we see the founder gain, we must drop off the Pop-up book at our home!.¡±

    As soon as they turned the corner. Once again, they were passing the display of the X-Station Unlimited. The Launch countdown still ticking downwards.

    5 Days

    3 Hours

    22 minutes

    16 Seconds

    The looming feeling of the unknown overtook all three of them. Mr. Honeybun even stopped grinning with joy.

    Dorothy cuts through the tension by pointing out a small factoid ¡°We should gun it. We have less than three and a half hours left before the mall opens.¡±

    Hank uses his wrench to squeeze down harder on the gas pedal to speed up. After a minute of quiet cruising, they made it to the front of Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyland. Through one of the security gate holes, one of Doughboy Jack¡¯s privates saw Ol¡¯ Betsy parked up front. He signals the other soldier toys to raise the security gates. Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun stepped out. Mr. Honeybun was slightly confused at the sudden change in authority.

    As the toy store''s gates rise, Doughboy Jack and a squadron of his best soldiers march right out to the trio.

    ¡°ATTENTION!¡± Doughboy Jack commanded. All of his soldiers stood up straight. Dorothy and Hank stood up straight upon hearing his gruff, commanding voice. Mr. Honeybun quickly mimicked their pose.

    Doughboy Jack stepped towards the three toys and sternly said ¡°Sergeant Dolly Dorothy and Private First Class Handyman Hank. Have you secured the second Spark of-...¡± The Sergeant Major¡¯s question was cut off as he turned to look at Mr. Honeybun. One look and it was obvious Mr. Honeybun stood a solid four inches taller than Jack. The Teddy bear refuses to meet the stare of the action figure.

    He quickly looked up and down Mr. Honeybun¡¯s fluffy brown body and asked ¡°Now¡­who is this cotton stuffed tun of fun?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m Mr. Honeybun, your lordship!¡± He happily replied. Every toy in the immediate area was ready to reel back from one of Jack''s iconic verbal lashings. Dorothy herself was ready to step in if he were to make the teddy bear cry.

    Jack¡¯s eyes narrow at Mr. Honeybun and he takes a step closer. Mr. Honeybun was trying not to look him in the eye, his eyes were piercing.

    ¡°Teddy bears normally don¡¯t have any names. Tell me, who gave you your name?¡± Jack questioned, not letting his intense stare on the teddy bear drop for even an instant.

    ¡°I-I got my name from my little girl. Her name is Abby!¡± Mr. Honeybun admitted as he perked up a tiny bit.

    ¡°....You have a kid?¡± Jack uttered, his stare softening a bit.

    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m still waiting for her! But these bad guy Arcadians are making her not come back! I¡¯m now part of the team called The Wonderkeepers! We are gonna get all the Sparks of Wonder and use them to beat the bad guys!¡± the Teddy bear excitedly declared.

    The silence following Mr. Honeybun¡¯s declaration was deafening.

    Hank and Dorothy felt embarrassed that this new team name was shared with Doughboy Jack¡¯s Army and the rest of Wonder City. But the thing they didn¡¯t expect was Doughboy Jack leading a salute.

    ¡°ATTEN-TION!¡± The Sergeant barked to his soldiers. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    He reaches into one of his pockets, pulls out a Private Emblem, and sticks it onto Mr. Honeybun¡¯s chest.

    ¡°As Sergeant Major of the Doughboy Jack Playset¡­I hereby declare you. Private Honeybun!¡± He slute¡¯s Mr. Honeybun and the rest followed suit.

    Hank and Dorothy shared the same look of confusion. Jack wasn¡¯t like this when he swore them in.

    ¡°Men! Secure the Spark of Wonder and set up a perimeter guarding it 24/7 MOVE IT!¡± He Barked once again. All his soldiers ran and lugged the Pop-Up Book inside the toy store. A second group of soldiers surrounds the group of soldiers carrying the Spark of Wonder, each one wielding a Wonder-charged plastic machine gun.

    ¡°I and the rest of Wonder City are already aware of your new Team Name. I gotta say, it¡¯s fitting.¡± Jack admitted as he now faced Hank and Dorothy.

    Dorothy herself pondered how exactly he heard about it, but then she quickly remembered.

    ¡°Wait¡­.You¡¯re using the walkies again!?¡± She exclaimed.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, the storeowner¡¯s walkie system is slowly getting back on the air.¡± Doughboy Jack then points to the cashier''s desk. Revealing some of his soldiers were adjusting the dial on Mr. Wonder¡¯s walkie-talkie. The same one he uses to communicate with security and the other storeowners.

    ¡°You are starting something amongst yourselves. All communications with the other stores have been cut off for well over a decade. But When word got out you safely made it to Manuscript City. I had my men reestablish radio contact with the city to make sure you got in safely. But I presume my man answered too late.¡±

    The looks on the trio¡¯s faces were proof enough, but Hank quickly interjected by saying ¡°Queen Granny Lamby¡¯s Illustrated guard, they recognized your emblem and allowed us to see her!¡± He stretched his left overall suspender to show his Private First Class Emblem.

    Hearing this reassurance helped Doughboy Jack gain some faith in his strategy again.

    ¡°But please try a little sooner. We could have been stuck there and not even seen the queen.¡± Dorothy added with a sense of urgency. Dorothy then signals them both to get back into Ol¡¯Betsy.

    Doughboy Jack gave one final salute to the trio as they all climbed back into Ol¡¯ Betsy once more. He Walks back into the toy store.

    ¡°Godspeed, Wonderkeepers.¡± he sighed.

    A few minutes pass as they speed down the mall''s halls to the center once more. But this time the patrols of the Arcadians were a lot more aggressive than last night. Word must have gotten to Amalgam Electronics that they¡¯ve secured the second Spark of Wonder.

    As they heard chiptune music speeding down the hallway, Dorothy quickly made a hard U-turn and parked Ol¡¯Betsy under one of the mall''s many wooden benches. The trio ducked down and stayed as quiet as possible. Hank peeked up and saw the two Arcadians patrolling.

    A Polygonal tanuki that¡¯s wearing a purple hat, sweater, and shoes and is wielding an oddly shaped cane. Upon closer inspection, they looked to be dressed like a thief. Next to the tanuki was an elf man wearing a dark purple pointy hat, tunic, and black boots. The elf man was wearing a fancy white sword and a wooden-looking shield.

    Hank looked at the stark difference between the two Arcadians. One looked like it was more modern while the other looked more similar to what the Arcadians he¡¯s seen so far. More blocky or polygonal¡­.He couldn''t help but ponder why they looked so different in terms of realism. The tanuki one has a more cartoon-like appearance while the other looked neigh indistinguishable from a person¡­minus the pointy ears and spiky style of course.

    As Hank slowly lowered himself back down, he accidentally slipped. Making a loud squeak from his boots across the hard plastic dashboard of Ol¡¯ Betsy.

    The two Arcadians stopped patrolling, standing there for a brief second. One after the other they slowly turned around and scanned the hallway behind the both of them. The Tanuki scurried close to the bench they were hiding under. His tail flicked with every third step and with each step, a strum of a bass guitar was heard. Hank and Dorothy covered their mouths to mask their breathing and Mr. Honeybun started shaking with fear as the footsteps approached. Dorothy placed her non-deformed hand on Mr. Honeybun¡¯s face and turned his head to face her. Her reassuring eyes made Mr. Honeybun understand that everything was going to be alright.

    As the Tanuki thief Arcadian scurried closer, he turned slightly to the right and walked towards the fake potted plant next to the bench¡­and grabbed the unlucky toy hiding on the inside of the pot. Upon closer inspection, both patrolling Arcadians and the Wonderkeepers saw that it was a Black and White patterned stuffed caterpillar toy that was no bigger than a baby''s arm. Just by looking at the helpless toy, the trio could deduce this was a toy accidentally left behind by a small child.

    The Tanuki Arcadian let out a sinister snicker and signaled the Elf hero Arcadian to get ready. The Elf Hero Arcadian drew his fancy, elegant, and polygonal sword at the ready.

    In the reflection of the Elf Hero Arcadian¡¯s sword. You can see the fear in the plastic eyes of the Monochrome caterpillar. It struggled to squirm out of the Tanuki Thief¡¯s solid polygonal grip. But alas, it was fruitless.

    Hank was ready to step out ready to help, but Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun grabbed Hank to stop him. He turns around about to ask why, but both slowly shake their heads. The way they did it was with a ping of deadly seriousness that he had not seen in either of them since the start.

    The Tanuki Thief tossed the Monochrome Caterpillar upwards toward the Elf Hero. He let out one savage yet iconic battle cry as he slashed down.

    In a split second, it was all over. The toy''s cotton entrails rained across the hall like snow briefly as they cascaded onto the floor. Hank and Dorothy saw the whole thing, but Dorothy quickly shielded Mr. Honeybun¡¯s eyes.

    The two Arcadians quickly tossed the now-deceased toy into a nearby trash bin. They both resumed their patrols now with a smug sense of sickening glee on their faces. As soon as they were out of sight and out of earshot, Hank¡¯s fist tightened as he stared at the cotton strewed about the floor.

    Dorothy takes notice of Hank¡¯s quiet rage and tries to calm him down by adding something to calm him down a bit. ¡°Those were both high Wonder Arcadians. As much as it sickens me to say it, we couldn¡¯t help him even if we tried. If we did, all three of us would be in pieces in that garbage can too.¡±

    Hank wanted to tell Dorothy off at this moment. Especially since he had overheard Dorothy say she wasn¡¯t going to let another toy lose their Wonder on her watch. Was that proud declaration just a lie declared in the heat of the moment? Hank took a deep breath and sternly grumbled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just get to the Founder.¡±

    Dorothy quickly switches on Ol¡¯ Betsy once again and Hank hits the gas pedal with his wrench. The remaining drive down to the Founder¡¯s Fountain was quiet.

    After three long minutes of silence, they had finally made it to the Fountain. Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun look upwards to see the founder not in his usual pose, but this time he appears deeper in thought and worried.

    ¡°Woah¡­.I see him on the camera feeds all the time, but he¡¯s so much taller and marble-y in person!¡± Mr. Honeybun pointed out in awe as he climbed out of the back of Ol¡¯Betsy. The three then stepped onto the edge of the fountain. Mr. Honeybun took an extra step back from the edge, he knew he wasn¡¯t machine washable.

    Dorothy took concern in the Founder''s distracted look and decided to get his attention.

    The Fashion Doll grabbed one of her sharpened colored pencils in her makeshift quiver and took a deep breath, throwing one right at the shoulder of the Founder. He snaps out of his train of thought and jerks upward in surprise.

    ¡°HUH!? WHAT!? UNDER ATTACK!?¡± He ranted as he quickly darted around trying to see his attacker¡­but quickly looked down and saw Hank, Dorothy, and a brand new toy to their duo. He calms down and reaches downwards to allow the three of them to climb up on his hand. Hank and Dorothy were on his left hand while Mr. Honeybun stood on his right hand.

    ¡°Oh my, has it already been a few hours? Time does fly when you¡¯re bolted to the floor.¡± The Founder stated with a casual chuckle. He looks at Mr. Honeybun and asks ¡°-And who might you be little one?¡± He inquired.

    ¡°I¡¯m Mr. Honeybun Mr. Founder sir!¡± The teddy bear cheerfully declared.

    ¡°Wait a moment.¡± The Founder takes a closer look at Mr. Honeybun and squints. ¡°I recognize you! You¡¯re that teddy bear that Chuck found on Santa¡¯s chair in December 2015!¡±

    Mr. Honeybun perked up and cheerfully declared ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s me! Did Abby come back the next day?¡± Mr. Honeybun asked with hope in his eyes. The teddy bear¡¯s expecting stare burns a hole straight through the Founder¡¯s Marble head.

    The Founder¡¯s mind suddenly went blank at that question, he honestly couldn¡¯t remember because so many children come by his fountain every single day to toss coins and the occasional dollar into the water. He knew he couldn¡¯t answer that question without breaking the poor teddy bear¡¯s heart. The statue darts his eyes towards Hank and Dorothy. They both quietly signal him to make something up and FAST!

    The Founder quickly clears his nonexistent throat and answers ¡°Uhh¡­.Why Yes! Your Abigail came back a decade later and searched far and wide for you. But sadly you were already gone.¡±

    Mr. Honeybun pouted at the answer he was given. But he perks up again and boldly states. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be okay! Once all the bad guy Arcadians are gone! Abby will come back and we¡¯ll be together again!¡± His eyes sparkled with hope.

    The Founder quickly looks at both Hank and Dorothy again. This time he had a sense of disappointment in them both for not telling this poor bear the truth. But Dorothy¡¯s eyes said say it all. Neither she nor Hank wanted to break the poor bear''s heart. So instead, Dorothy quickly decided to change the subject.

    ¡°Founder. You seemed a bit distracted a few moments ago, you weren¡¯t even humming like normal either.¡± Dorothy asked with concern.

    ¡°Ah! Yes. You see Dorothy. I had just overheard some troubling news from one of the high Wonder patrolling Arcadains. One of their own has infiltrated a store where the next Spark of Wonder is located.¡± The Founder voiced with gravity.

    The trio quickly got serious and began to listen in. To the location of the next Spark of Wonder.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    This is the Tale of the Spark of the Gamemaster. He was a boy who mastered all the games he played no matter the board and no matter the pieces he played, whether checkers, chess, or even the game TRES! He was almost always the winner, but when he lost to any of his friends he was always a good sport who didn¡¯t even flip the board. The Spark of the GameMaster is the first pair of dice he had ever rolled in his life. It now rests in a store where your next move is always determined by the roll of the dice, the card you draw, or the amount of fake money you have. That very store is under a deadly civil war between two factions as we speak.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°A Civil War? Why? They all live in the same store. Why can¡¯t they all get along?¡± Hank asked with naivete.

    ¡°Just because you live in the same store doesn¡¯t mean you have to get along. That¡¯s the sad fact of free will Handyman.¡± The Founder stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

    Hank was ready to retort, but then he recalled all the trouble he got into with the Cryptid Critters the night before.

    ¡°A store where chance and random rules¡­.That¡¯s Critical Quest on the second floor!¡± Dorothy exclaimed as she pointed to the second floor just above the three of them.

    As soon as the store¡¯s name was mentioned. Mr. Honeybun¡¯s smile fell once again a second time.

    Hank took notice and immediately asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± as he placed his hand on the bear''s shoulder. Mr. Honeybun looks up towards Hank and tells him, Dorothy and the Founder.

    ¡°There¡¯s been a lot of complaints from that store from the sweaty adults who go there. Chuck said that if that store doesn¡¯t get it together, the Mall Owner is gonna shut the store down.¡±

    In less than a second, this next journey took a grievous turn.

 The Gamemaster Arc Chapter XIII: A Mayors Plea

    Inside the very walls of Amalgam Electronics, the Arcadians were in a massive uproar once more. The Glitchy Figure had returned through the sliding doors and returned empty-handed, which only meant one thing. He had failed to steal the Spark of Wonder from Manuscript City.

    The Arcadians ranging from 256-bit to measly 8-bit began to demand and shout for them to storm the toy store and take them by force!

    The three display consoles turned up the volume on all their monitors and held back for a few moments. Then they all released their outrage.

    ¡°SILENCE!¡± The three Console Overlords shouted in unison. The crowd of Arcadians went silent, some even retreated into the TVs out of fear.

    After a minute of pin-dropping silence, the Glitchy Figure stepped forward towards the display consoles and bowed down.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry my Lords, I have failed you. Dah-ahahahahahaha!¡± He sadly and instinctively laughed.

    ¡°Stand.¡± RecStation V commanded. The Glitchy Figure quickly obliged.

    ¡°Why have you failed? You are fully powered and completely aware of your abilities?¡± Asked Redtendo Shift. Even though the three consoles were fixed to their display shelves, the Glitchy Figure could feel their collective Wonder and Scorn mixing, making a near-intoxicating cocktail of power. But despite this overwhelming force of energy, he could tell all three of them weren¡¯t happy.

    They were pissed, in fact.

    ¡°It¡­turns out he can extend his unique power of Wonder to other toys when he does that, the other toys can damage Arcdians again.¡± The Glitchy Figure slowly uttered hesitantly.

    The Console Overlord¡¯s screens began to glitch out in rage. The surrounding Arcadians began to glitch out as well, but they all started to groan in pain as their coding began to get repeatedly ripped apart and pieced together.

    But for the Glitchy Figure, their cloak started to fade just a little bit from the bottom of their feet. It dropped just a little to reveal¡­.worn brown vinyl boots.

    As soon as they stopped glitching out, Z-Cube resumed the discussion.

    ¡°Perhaps I should send my Roman Warriors from Nimbus. Monarch Overlord has been raring to go, he also has been recently upgraded with the Advanced Weaponry DLC pack, and the new story content gives him a better and deadlier assortment  of weapons!¡±

    ArcStation V scoffed at Z-Cube¡¯s suggestion.

    ¡°Those blasted First-person Shooter Arcadians are always your first and only suggestion! I have an entire library of Arcadians ready to fight and have Wonder to spare!¡± Arcstation V proudly boasted.

    Z-Cube scoffed at their suggestion and retorted ¡°Oh Please! You haven¡¯t even looked at half of those Arcadians since the early 2000s. All you care about now is overly complicated stories and remakes of older Arcadians!¡±

    ¡°BE QUIET THE BOTH OF YOU!¡± Redtendo Shift screeched in annoyance. Both Green and Blue color-coded consoles were immediately silenced as their equal forced the pair to focus.

    The focus shifts back to the Glitchy Figure and the Shift commands them. ¡°You will remain vigilant of this Handyman Hank and his inner circle. But once you see a weakness you will strike them dead. Understand?¡± Redtendo Shift slowly explained

    ¡°Y-Yes my Lords¡­.¡± The Glitchy figure stammered.

    ¡°Good, and make sure our agent in Critical Quest is ready for extraction when he secures the Spark of Wonder. He is one of the best Masters of terrain in my library of Arcadian. But unfortunately, he isn¡¯t that great in a fight.¡± The Redtendo Shift explained as a full list of all the console-exclusive games that appear on the display screen of the Redtendo Shift. The list stopped scrolling as soon as it hovered over the old title known simply as:

    ¡®DJ Vortexx: Smooth Grooves!¡¯

    The Glitchy Figure stood, nodded, and walked towards the sliding doors leading to the Mall.

    The three Consoles concluded their meeting. They shouted their chant once more.

    ¡°Power from our Players!¡±

    The Arcadians all shouted in unison.

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!¡±

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!¡±

    ¡°POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    Following the founder''s new objective, Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun parked Ol¡¯ Betsy at the base of the nearest pair of escalators to Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toystore. There were only a few hours until opening, and they needed a quick getaway if things took too long.

    Hank climbed each step with a hurdle with little to no struggle.

    Dorothy acrobatically and skillfully jumped each step like a slinky in reverse.

    Mr. Honeybun was about five escalator steps behind both of them and was nearly out of breath.

    As soon as they reached the top of the escalator, they made it to the higher levels of the mall. Hank quickly looked around and saw that none of the X-Station Unlimited advertisements had spread to the upper level¡­.yet.

    ¡°This is it¡­what the mall is supposed to look like. No cheap ass- advertisements every three steps, no constant bombardment of booming music. Just true peace for us and the shoppers.¡± Dorothy calmly stated as she looked around, letting the nostalgia take her.

    As soon as Mr. Honeybun caught his breath, the teddy bear added ¡°Mr. Chuck gets complaints from all the store owners all the time because of all the posters and loud advertisements. The Toy store guy always rips off any posters near the toy store, making the big game store owner mad.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Wonder does that?¡± Hank inquired with a raised eyebrow.

    ¡°Yeah. He does. The Manager at Amalgam Electronics is slowly buying out all the ad space in the mall to advertise that stupid console. But Mr. Wonder refuses to give up his space. Ever wonder why you still have a view to see people walking by on the display window?¡± Dorothy claimed as she pointed downward at the surrounding stores on the lower level.

    Hank and Mr. Honeybun looked out to the stores below from the edge and could only see three stores from where they stood.

    Popular stores such as The Bride and Groom Wedding Store known as Blissful Threads had posters plastered all over the front display windows, covering the fancy wedding dresses and groom suits. Then there was the generously large shoe store called Laced & Loaded, its storefront window showing off this year''s newest pair of Snuggs. The pair of comfy-looking women¡¯s shoes was blocked off by a pamphlet explaining the X-Station¡¯s new and original features. Then finally, a candy store titled The Sugar Shack. The delectable, teeth-melting sweets in the store window weren¡¯t blocked off by anything. Except for a laser projector that displays the X-Station¡¯s Logo over the glass and reflects right into people¡¯s eyes as they walk by.

    ¡°Be grateful Mr. Wonder is stubborn when it comes to business. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t even have a display with a view¡­Man, I miss that view¡­¡± Dorothy lamented as she trekked onwards. Hank and Mr. Honeybun quickly follow behind.

    Mr. Honeybun had noticed Dorothy¡¯s downtrodden state and nudged Hank to say something. Hank shrugged, not knowing what to say, so Mr. Honeybun quickly intervened and implored ¡°Hey Miss Dorothy? What does it mean to be a Storefront toy?¡±

    Dorothy perked up for a moment and asked ¡°Why? Weren¡¯t you a storefront toy too?¡±

    ¡°Nope. When I first met Abby, I was just a teddy bear in a pile of other stuffed stuffed animals. I never sat in front of a window, I only got to sit at the top of the pile of other stuffed friends in a bin! It was comfy!¡± The teddy bear exclaimed as he twirled around.

    ¡°Y-yeah. To be honest, I¡¯m wondering why it¡¯s such a big deal too. Yeah, I need to tell everyone in the toy store when it¡¯s all clear. But I doubt you, Greenbolt and the Cryptid Critters would make a big deal out of just that.¡± Hank added, jumping into the conversation.

    Dorothy turned her head briefly and peered into the eyes of Hank and Mr. Honeybun. Mr. Honeybun has his typical childlike curiosity that she''s grown fond of in the past few hours. But Hank¡¯s eyes were full of¡­comfort and care, just like his were.

    Dorothy gave a warm smile and said ¡°Alright¡­.¡±

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    It was the late ''90s when I was first unpacked, I didn¡¯t know what it meant to be a storefront toy, either. I was just as confused as everyone else in my line. I was packaged with an entire massive playhouse, an amazing sports car, and three fellow dolls I considered my¡­family.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    My best friend, Dolly Darcy, was what the kids say nowadays my ¡®Ride or die¡¯ she always had my back and I hers.

    My rival in all my hundreds of careers according to my backstory, Dolly Deedee. She was snooty, rude, and had the occasional conniving scheme. But she was always there to help me if I needed it.

    And then¡­There was Tim. He was my boyfriend according to my backstory. He was kind, supportive, and considerate, and I''d be lying if I didn¡¯t call him ¡®An absolute dreamboat¡¯ like I would used to say.

    That¡¯s when Greenolt approached us and told us all about what it means to be Storefront Toys. You were chosen, not only because you¡¯re believed to bring the store a lot of money. But you¡¯re chosen because Mr. Wonder believes you have the potential to spark wonder in kids. To inspire them and teach them to do great in the future. I¡¯m a doll that inspires little girls that they can have any career they want. My friends and I held that spot for four long years until¡­

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..

    Dorothy¡¯s explanation ground to a halt and her breathing pace quickened. The Doll even started to grip her melted hand and she began to grow hysterical as the memory began to flood back.

    Hank walked ahead to walk beside Dorothy. He recognized the look in her eyes from the night before after she saw his burn wound. At this moment, he knew he had to do something, but what? Hank took a deep breath and simply told Dorothy.

    ¡°Dorothy. You don¡¯t need to tell us anything else if it¡¯s too heavy for you. You can tell me and Mr. Honeybun when you¡¯re ready.¡± Hank tenderly said as he hesitantly placed his hand on her shoulder.

    Dorothy glanced at Hank and saw the sincerity in his eyes. She quickly walks ahead at a quicker pace. As that happened, Hank wondered if he had offended her with something he said.

    Unbeknownst to both of them. Mr. Honeybun held in a squeal of delight seeing the tender moment between the two toys. The naive teddy bear had to wonder just how long that¡¯s been going on! But his thought process was cut short when He, Hank, and Dorothy quickly overheard hard sobbing in the distance, just two stores away from Critical Quest.

    Hank pulled out his wrench, Dorothy quickly drew out her precision knife blade, and Mr. Honeybun channeled his Wonder into his paws again to create his Fighty Claws. They quickly run into one of the detour hallways that lead to the locked door leading to the mall¡¯s underground maintenance halls for the mall¡¯s custodian workers, and the restrooms for everyday shoppers.

    Sitting on the bench across from the restrooms was one new face, and four similar faces.

    The new face was a foot-tall, hard plastic statuette depicting a cartoony old man wearing a fancy black suit and green bow tie. He also wore a green monocle and tightly clenched his tophat as he bawled his eyes out.

    Surrounding the fancy-dressed statuette were a slew of anime figurines. The most detailed one was busy comforting the crying statuette.

    But one on the far left, sporting green hair, perpetually crying, and dressed like a lowly medieval squire glanced at Hank. His sad disposition quickly changed to being alarmed at the sight of the toy handyman.

    ¡°IT¡¯S HIM! WE GOTTA RUN AWAY!¡± He shouted in a fearful and shrill tone.

    The taller, shaven bald, more arrogant-sounding anime figure dressed in an all-red suit of armor growled ¡°Like Hell, I''m running with my tail between my legs! I ain¡¯t letting him smack me with his girder again!¡± He drew his massive sword that really shouldn¡¯t be classified as a sword, just a big hunk of metal on a stick.

    The villainous-looking girl anime figurine with long, dark purple hair dressed in a provocative mage outfit and an excessively large big-brimmed mage hat drew her staff and declared ¡°Let my power of the Allmother course through me to make our foe suffer!¡±

    Standing in front of all three of the anime figures was the most detailed anime figurine, wearing golden armor from head to toe and wielding a sword that glowed a little too bright. His hair was spiky and light blue and his eyes were piercing green. With his blade raised towards the Wonderkeepers. This leading anime figure boastfully declares.

    ¡°I won''t let you hurt any of my friends you construction grade fiend!¡±

    Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun each had their own specific reactions to this whole display. Hank was confused and briefly lowered his wrench, Mr. Honeybun was completely starry-eyed, thinking this was the coolest thing he had ever seen, Dorothy¡­. inhaled deeply and exhaled in annoyance.

    ¡°Uhh¡­are we supposed to know who they are?¡± Hank asked as he looked amongst all the anime figurines.

    ¡°No¡­.They never make it easy¡­.¡± Dorothy groaned as she pinched her forehead.

    Before the two groups could start fighting, the well-dressed statuette got between the two and exclaimed ¡°Wait! Wait a second on 5th Avenue!¡± This isn¡¯t the same construction worker! Look! He¡¯s shorter and wears all blue and grey! He¡¯s not even wielding a girder!¡± The persnickety statuette started pointing out the differences right at Hank. The anime figurines lowered their weapons but still kept their guards up, ready to strike if one of them even tried something.

    Hank stepped forward and started to question this strange group.

    ¡°Let me start, are you all okay? Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s dangerous to be out in the Mall¡¯s halls like this?¡±

    The fashionable statuette stood forward, readjusted his monocle, wiped his metaphorical tears, and answered in a formal but still worried tone ¡°We are all fine, we were all just banished from our home store, after all I had done to keep the peace, they decided to follow that Arcadian and his warmongering ways!¡±

    After this explanation, Dorothy perks up for a second and quickly recognizes who this statuette is supposed to be. She remembered when Greenbolt told her and Doughboy Jack of his many journies to the upper stores. His well-dressed demeanor, his references to streets, and the dollar sign on his top hat.

    ¡°Greenbolt talked about you! You¡¯re Mr. Given from Given¡¯s Game, and the Mayor of Critical Quest aren¡¯t you?¡± Dorothy guessed.

    ¡°Y-yes! Actually! Going strong since 1935! And over three hundred editions so far and counting!¡± Mr. Given pridefully adjusted his blazer, happy someone recognized him in the modern day. He cleared his throat and then signaled his Anime figure associates to step forward.

    ¡°These are my bodyguards. Figurines from the annie-mae¡­Oh dearie me, My old memory.¡± He sighed as he turned around to face the anime figurines to ask them.  ¡°Do you mind giving proper introductions yourselves?¡±

    The golden armored anime figurine stood forward and said ¡°With Pleasure sir. My name is Ren Raikuro and these are all my friends.¡± He casually points to all of his friends who are ready to introduce themselves. But Ren quickly resumed before they could give their proper introductions.

    ¡°We are very valuable and incredibly expensive figurines from the very famous anime series known as Soul Slayer Knighthood! Ren exclaimed as he raised his sword skyward.

    ¡°Thank goodness that title isn¡¯t a full sentence this time¡­¡± Dorothy muttered under her breath. But then she quickly realized. ¡°Wait! You¡¯re all speaking fluent English! Don¡¯t anime figurines normally speak Japanese?¡± Dorothy questioned.

    Mr. Honeybun winced at her comment and quickly chimed in by saying ¡°Uhh¡­Miss Dorothy. Doesn¡¯t that come off as a little insensitive?¡±

    ¡°No, No. It¡¯s fine, we get this a lot. My associates and I are normally packaged in Critical Quest¡¯s storeroom. We often hear the part-time workers watch our series in the English Dubbing¡­.Please don¡¯t ask about the subs. We hear that silly debate enough already. ¡° Ren disclosed in a matter-of-fact tone.

    Mr. Given nodded in agreement at the brief explanation and then realized ¡°My Lord! Greenbolt send you!? He promised he would come and assist me in reclaiming my town!¡±

    Hank and Dorothy went quiet after that question. Mr. Honeybun followed suit by looking sorrowful as well.

    Mr. Given sees all of their crestfallen faces and quickly understands what has happened.

    ¡°Oh¡­Oh, dear¡­ I¡¯m terribly sorry. He truly was a heroic and wonderful toy. I supposed I should call off his debt of 200 Given Bucks. The Wonderless don¡¯t pay any debts after all.¡± He adjusts his monocle and faces Hank.

    ¡°Now¡­who might you be and why do you look like Foundation Frank?¡± He sternly asked.

    ¡°What? My name¡¯s not Frank it-¡± Hank then connected the dots in his mind then quickly continued. ¡°Wait! I¡¯m looking for toys in my toy line! Are you saying he¡¯s in your store?!¡±

    ¡°Yes actually. He¡¯s much taller and lanky, in beige-looking overalls, and a red plaid collared shirt. He even has an old black pompadour for a hairstyle and wields a giant metal bar shaped like an elongated letter-I.¡± As Mr. Given articulated Foundation Frank¡¯s description he started framing the dimensions of Frank.

    ¡°Either he¡¯s wielding an I-Beam or a Girder...depending on how big it is.¡± Hank pondered as he started to imagine Foundation Frank in his head.

    ¡°So you ARE a part of his line! Sorry for such late introductions but¡­Who might you be?¡± Mr. Given implored the handyman for his name, a tad embarrassed he waited till now to ask for his name.

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m Handyman Hank. I¡¯m trying to find out what my backstory is.¡± He stated in a hopeful manner. Hank gestures to Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun to do the same.

    ¡°I¡¯m Dolly Dorothy. Everyone¡¯s favorite dress-up doll and toy woman of a thousand careers and counting!¡± Dorothy said in a more enthusiastic and girly tone before resuming her original demeanor.

    ¡°And I¡¯m Mr. Honeybun! Strongest bear in the woods and fighter of all Nightmares! And together we are-!¡± Mr. Honeybun quickly grabbed Hank adjusted him in a cool dynamic pose and placed him next To Dorothy. Then stood behind the both of them to flex his nonexistent muscles!

    ¡°-The Wonderkeepers!¡± Mr. Honeybun excitedly concluded.

    Dorothy¡¯s face of exhaustion says it all. She did not agree to that name, and still believes it¡¯s not going to catch on, no matter what Doughboy Jack said.

    Mr. Given applauded the three, as did his anime figurine bodyguards. ¡°Wonderful! Just Wonderful! You might just be the ones who can help end the Civil War in my home store!¡±

    The trio perked up when ¡®Civil War¡¯ was said.

    Mr. Given noticed this and continued. ¡°That¡¯s right. For the past few weeks. I¡¯ve been keeping the peace between the two newest tabletop board games. A Fantasy Roleplaying game known as Laberynth¡¯s and Legends, and a Science-Fiction war game known as Spearhead 10,000. They¡¯ve been feuding for weeks now and I¡¯ve been keeping the damage to a minimum. But a few weeks ago, an Arcadian entered the fray and used his strange Wonder power to brainwash a great deal of them. The fighting got so out of control, that I and my associates had no choice but to leave. We¡¯ve managed to sneak back in before opening, but they always chase us out at closing.¡± At a single glance, Mr. Given looks like he is about to start crying again.

    Hank quickly started to connect the dots once again. If what Mr. Given said is true, then Foundation Frank is under his brainwashing too!

    ¡°So I ask you, If you defeat that wretched Arcadian, I will be in your Debt.¡± Mr. Given solemnly swore.

    ¡°...Will you give us the Spark of Wonder?¡± Dorothy carefully asked.

    ¡°Of Course! If you truly are the heroes you say you are. I could even throw 10,000 Given Bucks as well!¡± Mr. Given reaches into his blazer and pulls out a whole stack of play money with his face printed on it.

    Hank and Mr. Honeybun were transfixed by the money in his hand. But Dorothy¡¯s line of sight was fixed on something else. She was looking directly at Ren Raikuro. Behind his generic anime face and arrogant smile. She could see something else¡­ something disgusting.

    His eyes were unwavering. He wanted something, and she knew he would do anything to get it.

 The Gamemaster Arc: Chapter XIV: A Foundational Introduction!

    Another day passed in Critical Quest, and the store manager closed the shop for the day.

    The Store Manager shuts off the store¡¯s opening sign, puts all of today¡¯s profit in the backroom safe, reorganizes all the board games to their proper shelves based on genre, and then jigsaw puzzles by their picture and piece count. However, the Manager took more time reorganizing the anime figurines behind the counter. He organized them by height, series of origin, and even by color of hair.

    The manager took a few steps back to admire his hard work. He had a sense of self-satisfaction. Ever since corporate got the rights to sell these¡­annie-may figurines. Business has been booming!

    But before he could clock out for the night, the manager quickly remembered he still needed to set up the new displays for the latest expansion packs. He always hated this part of his job.

    He walks into the back room and wheels four boxes on a dolly. As the Manager begins setting up the new displays near the store¡¯s entrance on two opposing tables, one of the other displays watches him¡­and boy, were they green with envy.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°Wait¡­.so if Mr. Greenbolt got a call for help from Mayor Given weeks ago, why didn¡¯t he help?¡± Mr. Honeybun pondered as they walked closer to their destination.

    Hank and Dorothy were trying to understand this as well. Hank only knew Greenbolt for less than an hour before he died. But judging by how every wondergoer he¡¯s met so far keeps him in such high regard, it doesn¡¯t sound right for him just to ignore a cry for help.

    Dorothy knew for a fact Greenbolt wouldn¡¯t just leave a call for help unanswered. But she couldn''t shake the chilled feeling when that leader anime figurine looked at her. That disgusting look reminded her of those adults who often came into the toy store to buy toys not to be played with¡­but to be hoarded and collected. She shook her head to try and clear her mind, but the dress-up doll quickly remembered something Mr. Honeybun mentioned earlier.

    ¡°Mr. Honeybun¡­what did you mean before when you said the store is on the verge of getting shut down?¡± Dorothy asked trying to shake the uneasy feeling.

    ¡°Oh?Oh! For the last few weeks, Mr. Chuck has been getting complaints from everyone who goes in there. All of them complain about how the store is always a complete mess when it opens, but no matter what happens it¡¯s always a mess the next morning. The store is on its last warning, one more complaint and the mall owner guy shuts them down. There were stacks of paper complaints as tall as me and had a ton of words I didn¡¯t understand!¡± Mr. Honeybun explained as he waved his arms to exaggerate how tall the stack of papers was.

    Dorothy remained silent and focused after hearing this. Like many other old toys, she has seen the rise and fall of so many stores in the mall and the civilizations inside those stores falling as well. Wondergoers inside those stores can get lucky and be sold in a ¡®Going out of business¡¯ or Sale or like Mr. Wonder who donates any unselling toys, but those who aren''t so fortunate get thrown in the dumpster. Something she fears every day since she was left behind.

    As soon as they passed the ever-popular smoothie cafe known as Fruity Fusion. They began to hear the subtle sounds of a battle in the distance. The Wonderkeepers were now so close to Critical Quest that they could even hear some random orders being given.

    ¡°FIREBALL!¡±

    ¡°GRENADE!

    ¡°MAGIC MISSILE!¡±

    ¡°ORBITAL LASER!¡±

    As soon as they turned the corner to see the inside of Critical Quest, they were greeted with a simple store quite similar to the toy store they called home. But noticeably smaller, there were only four large double-sided gondola shelves stacked end to end with board games organized by genre and level of complexity.

    An entire wall in the very back was dedicated to trading cards alone. Spanning from sports trading cards, Mystic: The Hoarding, Duel Legends, and Port¨¦Mon!

    Close to the door leading to Critical Quest¡¯s storeroom, stood a medium-sized circular table with different versions of the same board game, artfully stacked in a circular formation. All the board games stacked on that table were all variants of Given¡¯s Game!

    Given¡¯s Game: Random 90¡¯s Movie Edition

    Given¡¯s Game: Broadway

    Given¡¯s Game: Anime Edition

    Given¡¯s Game: Electronic Bank

    Given¡¯s Game: Electric Boogaloo

    Given¡¯s Game: Ladies Night

    Given¡¯s Game: Trek Wars Edition

    Given¡¯s Game: Prison Rules

    Given¡¯s Game: Dolly Dorothy Edition

    Given¡¯s Game: Quiet Mountain Edition

    However, the toy trio did not have time to get a good look at the store surrounding them. Close to Critical Quest¡¯s front entrance, lay two large rectangular tables connected by stacks of unopened tabletop game boxes that bridge the gap between the two tables. Both tables had displays that were committing acts of war that can only be described in two words:

    Absolute Chaos.

    On the left table, is a 5 feet long castle playest surrounded by a moat with minuscule plastic clear blue balls to simulate water. Surrounding the castle was a small village, and even a dungeon. Miniature figures of Knights, Wizards, Barbarians, and many other classes and monsters fought and cast every spell in their deck to ensure a victory. One roll of the D20 dice at a time!

    The sign hanging under this table advertised the name of the tabletop game.

    Labyrinths & Legends: The Sorcerer¡¯s Court! $249.99!

    On the right table, was a model setup of a futuristic yet war-torn city. Surrounding the town was an entire futuristic army. Fully armored figured-piece soldiers. Some were hand painted while others were completely grey and unpainted. Various soldier figures were shooting at the frontlines, piloting tanks, or helping fellow soldiers return to the city for medical treatment rolling the dice and determining if their gunfire would even land a hit on the opposing table!

    The sign hanging under this table advertised the name of the tabletop game.

    Spearhead 10,000!: City of the High Command!: $249.99

    On both sides, 4-inch tall miniatures were attacking one another with both of their tabletop games respectable weapons, and listed spells. Each time either side launched an attack, whether fantasy or sci-fi, it caused collateral damage to the surrounding store: other displays were knocked over, shelves fell off the wall, and pieces of both displays flew all over the place!

    ¡°They need to be stopped. Don¡¯t they realize their store¡¯s gonna go under if this keeps going!?¡± Dorothy states as she looks up to one of the higher shelves. Anime figurines and stacks on stacks of Funky Figures and various other stuffed animals were cowering in fear.

    Without any warning, an RPG missile was shot off from one of the Spearhead 10K models. The Missile whizzed right past the toy trio and impacted the gumball machine base close to the entrance, startling the three. The gumball machine slowly began to tip over and fall, the loud impact of which could wake up Chuck.

    Mr. Honeybun acted quickly, got a running start, and slid directly under the gumball machine to prevent it from shattering. As soon as the gumball machine impacted the floor, Mr. Honeybun¡¯s fluffy body cushioned the impact.

    ¡°Mr. Honeybun!¡± Dorothy exclaimed as she ran to the teddy bear¡¯s aide, Hank following behind. Mr. Honeybun was completely pinned under the weight of a full gumball machine.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m okay! The hugs from the scared lost kids are WAY tighter¡­.But a little help, please? I¡¯m kinda sorta¡­stuck.¡± Mr. Honeybun tries to pull and wiggle free, but he does not move even a centimeter.

    Hank and Dorothy quickly get to work trying to lift the Gumball machine off of their fluffy teddy friend but to no avail. Hank looks around to see if there is anything in the store to help, but no dice. Strangely, a single 20-sided Dice was dispensed from the machine''s slot. Hank was confused about this and examine¡¯s the bowl. The toy Handyman noticed that the gumball machine wasn¡¯t full of gumballs, but various-sided dice. There was even a sign taped to the front, all bold and underlined letters. Stolen story; please report.

    ¡®DICE! NOT GUMBALLS! DO NOT EAT!¡¯

    ¡°Alright¡­You¡¯re gonna be okay Mr. Honeybun! We lift on three!¡± Hank looks to Dorothy for assurance, ready to lift on his command.

    ¡°Ready! One! Two! THREE!¡± The trio uses all their strength to lift the gumball machine off of Mr. Honeybun. The Gumball machine slowly began to rise.

    ¡°Holy crap. I didn¡¯t think you were that strong¡­¡± Dorothy stated in awe as she helped Mr. Honeybun stand up. But quickly grew concerned as she saw Hank¡¯s uneasy expression.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not doing this¡­¡± Hank stammered as he watched the Gumball machine rise to its original vertical position, but it began to wobble and soon fall again. But before the trio could react to catch it again, three bright orange Wonder girders fell and staked the gumball machine directly into the floor. Making sure it didn¡¯t fall once again.

    The Wonderkeepers stood in awe, confusion, and slight panic. But jumped at the sound of someone wiping their hands in a satisfied manner, the Doll, the teddy bear, and the Handyman quickly turn around to see the source of that sound. Only to see another toy Handyman. One look and they could tell that Mr. Given¡¯s description was accurate.

    A foot-tall handyman toy with a muscular build, a chiseled chin, and bushy eyebrows that take the shape of flexing muscles. He¡¯s wearing an orange plaid short-sleeved collared shirt and brown overalls, brown leather gloves, and black boots. He wields a massive orange girder that¡¯s connected to his back via magnet just like Hank.

    ¡°You know what they say: A fallen structure always lacked a good Foundation¡­¡± This new toy proudly states.

    ¡°Frank¡­¡± Hank muttered under his breath.

    ¡°Why Yes! Actually! Now¡­.I¡¯d like the three of you to come with me. DJ Vortexx wants to have a word with the three of you. We can do this the easy way.¡± Foundation Frank pulls out his massive bright orange girder from the magnet in his back and wields it like a one-handed club and channels his bright orange-colored wonder through it.

    ¡°Or I can lay the groundwork with your faces and drag the three o¡¯ you to him? Dealer¡¯s choice!¡± He warns the trio.

    Hank quickly glances down at the Single D20 die near his feet.

    ¡°Okay! Okay!.....How about we let the dice decide?¡± Hank quickly drew his wrench and slapped the D20 die like a hockey puck, hitting Frank right in the face!

    It just bounces right off of Frank¡¯s plastic pectorals.

    ¡°Goh-Hohohohophohoho! Do you think a simple die can harm me? It can¡¯t even-¡±

    Frank¡¯s gloating statement was interrupted when he saw the die landed on a certain side¡ªand glowing with Hank¡¯s wonder.

    Nat-20

    His arrogant smile quickly dropped and switched to a look of surprise.

    ¡°Oh, Shi-¡± He was then quickly and violently sent backward at high speeds, crashing right through a standee of a token shounen anime main character.

    The trio were confused about why that had happened, but they didn¡¯t have any time to ponder because Frank was already getting up. They had to run and had to run NOW!

    The three ran directly towards the battle board tables and climbed up the boxes between the gaps. They saw up close how damaged the two battle boards were. Some parts are even noticeably fixed with resin, glue, and poorly painted tape. But judging by the quality of the repairs, it was done by the store employees.

    The Fantasy-themed miniatures and the Sci-Fi military miniatures looked at the three outsider toys. Hank and Dorothy stood perfectly still, knowing that one false move would get them shot or fireball¡¯d. Only for Mr. Honeybun to shout in greeting:

    ¡°HIYA!¡±

    Hank and Dorothy quickly snagged Mr. Honeybun and pulled him behind one of the battle board set pieces to take cover, a busted-down brick wall. Both sides of the miniatures began to open fire towards the Wonderkeeprs. All three ducked down, Dorothy placed her non-deformed hand on Mr. Honeybun¡¯s shoulder to comfort the panicking teddy bear.

    ¡°ROLL FOR SLEEP SPELL SUCCESS!¡± Shouted one of the Sorcerer Miniatures.

    ¡°Sucess?¡± Dorothy silently asked in a muddled disposition. But neither Hank nor Mr. Honeybun could hear her over the rapid gunfire and spell castings!

    Another D20 die was thrown right over the fake brick wall and right at the feet of the toy trio. It landed right on 15 and glowed purple. Exploding purple Wonder energy surrounds the trio. Hank, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun all began to begin getting drowsy.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­not..bedtime¡­.Zzzz¡± Mr. Honeybun was the first to fall asleep.

    ¡°What¡¯s¡­happen¡­.¡± Dorothy stands up and tries to draw one of her sharpened colored pencils¡­but the wonder die roll takes its effect on her too. Hank quickly caught her before she touched the floor and gently lay her down.

    The L&L and Spearhead 10K miniatures aimed their respective futuristic and fantasy weapons at them. He drew his wrench ready to fight the surrounding miniature pieces, but soon succumbed to the Wonder-powered sleep spell. As the Handyman dropped his wrench and collapsed, he saw heeled boots step towards him.

    Outside of the battleboards, Foundation Frank watched as the trio got captured. He shook his head in disappointment.

    ¡°Hoo Boy, DJ Vortexx isn¡¯t gonna be happy bout this¡­¡± Frank mumbled as he rubbed the back of his head.

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    An alarm sounds off inside the headquarters, alerting all the members of the team. Interrupting their moments of leisure.

    The Orange member, the 2nd in command was hammering down a new fence while humming a merry tune.

    The Violet Member, the head designer was busy painting her newest piece. She studied her model and was unsure if this was the vibe she wanted for this piece.

    The Dark-Green Member, the head Welder. He was posing maniacally for the Violet Member¡¯s painting. Just one look and you can tell he¡¯s a tad bit unhinged.

    Finally, the team leader is busy drawing floorplans for their newest project. He hears the alarm sound off, and the PA system announces the emergency. He puts down his pencil and gets up from his desk.

    ¡®EMERGENCY! LEVEL 4 DEMOLITION DISASTER! CALLING THE-¡¯

    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­

    ¡°WAKE UP!¡± Shouted one of the miniatures who kicked Hank in the chest. Hank snaps awake and scrambles to get up. But both of his legs were taped together and his arms were taped together behind his back. He looked around and could tell he was inside the scale city on the Spearhead 10K side of the battleboard. He towered above certain buildings.

    ¡°Stand Up.¡± A more feminine voice commanded. A slight British accent hinted at.

    Hank looks up and sees a miniature taller than all the rest. All the miniatures stood four inches tall, but she stood 9 inches taller, the only miniature he had met in close to equal height. She wore Light blue armor similar to her commanding soldiers but much lighter in looks. Along the breastplate were many medals, and one emblem in the center bearing a golden lion head. She also wore a dark blue flowing cape with the same lion emblem. Her hair is snow white and braided, her eyes light blue, and a scar down her right eye.

    Hank could feel her authority and power in her presence alone. Despite his limbs being taped up, he squirmed and shifted his body to make sure he was at least sitting up straight on his knees. His points of articulation were put under severe stress trying to adjust to this new pose.

    All the surrounding miniature soldiers looked at one another seeing the toy handyman adjust to this, a few were even trying to suppress a laugh. The Leader even rolled her eyes in minor frustration.

    As soon as Hank was on his knees. The leading miniature asks him.

    ¡°State your business interloper!¡± The leader commanded.

    ¡°H-Handyman Hank! The Storefront Toy of Mr. Wonder¡¯s Toyland!¡± He nervously admitted.

    All the miniature soldiers slightly stepped back at hearing the name of Hank¡¯s store of origin.

    Hank hears this discourse amongst the crowd and quickly assumes that this will get him free, that Greenbolt must have done them some kind of major favor in the past and this would-

    The Leader quickly drew her chainsaw blade accessory and channeled Light-Blue Wonder that aligned the sharp edges of each tooth of the blade and placed it close to his neck. Hank could see his reflection in his blade, and the fear in his eyes.

    ¡°Perhaps you don¡¯t know your place interloper. I am Commander Aurora! Slayer of Omega Marlaux, Bane of the Battle of the Black Eye Galaxy, Leader of the Space Naval Army, and one hundred and fifty dollar statuette! Now I shall ask again Hank of the Handymen. Why are you here!?¡± She demands as she places her sword closer to his neck.

    ¡°I-I''m here to put an end to DJ Vortexx and me and my friends are-.¡± He quickly realizes and looks around to see that Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun are nowhere to be found.

    ¡°Wait!? Where are my friends!? Where are they?! What have you done to them!?¡± Hank called out, no longer showing fear to the blade to his neck.

    ¡°Steel your Tounge Hank of Handyman¡­.The minions of that dreaded King Augustus took away your associates. First, he steals the Spark of Wonder, and now he takes the other outsiders prisoner!¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you keeping me prisoner?...¡± Hank Questioned.

    ¡°SILENCE!¡± With one skilled flick of her sword, Commander Aurora cuts Hank free from his tape bindings.

    Hank quickly stands up, and the other miniatures ready their guns to shoot Hank down if he even tries to harm their Commander. But Hank promptly took notice of something Commander Aurora had stated.

    ¡°Wait¡­Are you saying that King Toy on the other side of the Battleboard has my friends AND the Spark of Wonder!?¡± Hank asked as he pointed to the fantasy castle on the other side.

    ¡°Our intelligence confirms it, the teddy bear even gripping onto one of the knight miniatures in his sleep.¡± One of the scout miniatures concluded.

    As soon as Hank heard of this, he realized that an opportunity to help him and get the spark of wonder. But first, he had to confirm something.

    ¡°Me and my friends here came to this store to get the Spark of Wonder. In less than a few days a new console will be released and destroy the economy of the Mall. The Founder believes that gathering the Seven Sparks and bringing them together will somehow stop it.¡± All of the surrounding miniatures of the Space Naval Army murmured between each other. But Commander Aurora lowered her blade at the mention of the Arcadians being put down for good.

    ¡°Is that true now? Does that include Arcadians who compel you to participate in their sickening games?¡± She asked.

    Hank slightly perked up at noticing his honest statement had worked.

    ¡°Why¡­Yes! Are you referring to DJ Vortexx?¡±

    Commander Aurora abruptly became quiet at the mention of his name. The games he forced them all to play brought out the absolute worst in all of them, including her. Friends turning on one another, everyone robbing one another, and the small wager battles made zero sense. But the worst thing of all¡­.was that even if you won, you still would never forget the betrayal.

    She quickly snaps back to reality and looks Hank right in the eye.

    ¡°Hank of the Handymen. If you truly are here to defeat the Arcadian menace, first you must help us gain victory over the Legends and Laberynth dogs once and for all! That includes rescuing your friends and securing the Spark of Wonder. If you do that, I might consider letting you leave with it¡­¡± Commander Aurora sheathes her blade and hands him a Golden Lion Emblem similar to her.

    ¡°You are now an Honorary soldier of the Space Naval Army. DO NOT¡­ disappoint me.¡±

    The surrounding soldiers saluted Hank and gave out their warcries. Even a few began to fire off their wonder-powered ammunition into the air.

    But outside of the battleboard on the lowest shelf next to the Chinese Checkers, Foundation Frank and a hooded anime figurine watched the whole thing.

    ¡°See? I told you, they don¡¯t know what they¡¯re getting into¡­¡± Frank stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

    ¡°Agreed Foundation¡­.they will feel the sting of my blade, I will ring their heads from their shoulders and melt them down and make plastic-¡± He placed a finger on her lips to shush her.

    ¡°What did we say about monolouging?¡± He asked in a fatherly tone.

    She gave a frustrated ¡®Hmph¡¯ in annoyance¡­and ran towards Critical Quest¡¯s stockroom. The battle was only just beginning. Who will win? It¡¯s all left to chance with a roll of the dice.