As the Mall had reached the final ten minutes before opening, the Arcadians were in much more of an uproar this time around. Once word had gotten out that the Wonderkeepers had secured the third Spark of Wonder, the assorted collection of popular and obscure video game characters all clamored and argued with each other once again. But as soon as the Console Overlords began to power on, all three of their respective logos flashed onto the screen once more. All of the Arcadians fell silent, fearing punishment if the noise continued.

  The three overlords could sense that the Glitchy Figure was kneeling before them.

  “Speak. Tell us why you hadn’t intercepted the Spark of Wonder before the opening day?” Redtendo Shift asked in a tone that implied they did NOT want to hear any excuses.

  “Dah-Hahahaha! By the time I got there, they were already long gone; that DJ guy you hired had already been beaten. However, the good news is that we are now in control of Critical Quest. None of those nerd pieces and anime figures will try to threaten you all now! That DJ Guy will make sure of it, he said somethin’ about a never-ending party.” The Glitchy Figue stated as he recalled the events that occurred a mere hour ago.

  “Hmm. Incompetent enough to lose that Spark of Wonder, but still competent enough to run a conquered territory…. Do either of you see the logic in that?” Arcstation V asked his brethren consoles, urging them both to see what was wrong with the picture.

  “I told you that a measly little party game host wouldn’t get the job done! We should have commanded the Hellbreaker from Ruin! He would have easily shredded and mauled his way through the entire toy army!” shouted the Z-Cube as gameplay footage of the upcoming Ruin game was displayed on their screen. All the surrounding Arcadians belonging to Z-Cube let out a cheer as the gameplay showed the said Arcadian shooting demonic beings in the face.

  “Oh, give me a break! His player base is all just a bunch of adrenaline junkies, and the Wonder they provide could barely sustain any form at all! Ratus from the Lord of Rage franchise could have easily destroyed them all as easily as a single quick time event! Not to mention, his style of fighting is a lot more elegant and backed up by an actual orchestra and not a chainsaw through a microphone!” Arcstation V fired back as they displayed gameplay of the newest game of Lord of Rage! This time, he’s in Egyptian Mythology!

  As the arguing between the two sides continued, the Redtendo shift stayed silent for a few moments. If they had eyes, they would be rolling them right now. To quiet everyone down, they played an alarm sound on their display screen, calming every last Arcadian inside the mall, especially his two brethren consoles. The announcement alarm for Crossover Clash will always do the trick, always hoping they will be next in the very popular fighting game.

  “Are we all silent now? Good. We still have one Spark of Wonder in our grasp, and yet there are still three more for the taking! If we can take the remaining Sparks, we can tip the scales in our favor once more! You will go to the next one and take it no matter the cost! Bring us the head of all of the Wonderkeepers and DO NOT return until you do! IS THAT CLEAR?!” Redtendo Shift concluded as all the surrounding Arcadians looked at the glitchy one, waiting for their answer.

  “Dah-Hahahahahah!....Yes…My overlords…” They sadly concluded. The Glitchy figure stood up and turned around to walk to the sliding doors leading back to the rest of the mall. As they took a few steps back into the mall, some more glitches left their body, now revealing that they’re wearing not only brown vinyl boots, but also blue pants.

  “Power from our Players!” Chanted the Console Overlords.

  “POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!”

  “POWER FROM OUR PLAYERS!”

  “POWER FROM-” The chant was once again interrupted as the manager unlocked the front doors of Amalgam Electronics.

  As he and a few of the opening staff poured into the store, the manager looked around the main gaming area and at the demo setup of the X-Station Unlimited. He sighed in annoyance; the manager knew they would never meet the high demand, and then there would be endless weeks of annoying customers bickering at him and his staff about when the next shipment would arrive. Thank goodness this only comes every 7 to 10 years.

  ………………………………………………………………………….

  As the staff from stores all across the Mall began to clock in, Chuck said, "Good morning, everyone." But he stopped the Manager of Critical Quest.

  “Chuck, for the last time. Your ’90s Baseball card collection isn’t worth anything. Especially since they all have washing machine damage!” The Manager quickly answered as he tried to walk in, but Chuck quickly signaled him that it wasn’t the case.

  “I checked the status of Critical Quest this morning before I opened up. It’s neat for the first time in weeks! I don’t know what you did, but keep it up, and I’d be happy to let the Mall Owner know you’re listening to complaints.” Chuck said as he climbed into his Segway. He rode away to begin unlocking the front doors as the day started, another day at the mall.

  The Manager of Critical Quest couldn’t believe what he had heard. So he quickly hurried to the second floor of the Mall to check and see if it was true.

  He grabbed his keys and unlocked the shutters of the store. He steps in and instinctively steps over any products that were on the floor. Once he reaches the light switch in the back and flips it. Lo and behold, in front of his very eyes, Chuck was right. The store looks much better than it did the night before, just after he had finished cleaning. Not a single toy, board game, or card pack was on the floor, nor were any of the miniatures out of place!

  He looks at the main attraction of the store. The Laverynths & Legends/ Spearhead 10K Display. The miniatures were all still there in their iconic poses, but the biggest difference was that Commander Aurora and King Augustus were no longer posing as if they were about to attack one another; they were giving each other their respective gestures of respect. Commander Aurora is standing up straight with her right hand across her chest, while King Augustus is on one knee, bowing in respect.

  “....Well, I’ll be damned...” the manager uttered as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone to take a picture of the scene before him. As he began to post the photo on social media, he didn't notice in the background that Mr. Given stood perfectly still on top of all the Given’s Game board games. If he weren’t softlocked at the moment, he would be screaming with rage.

  ……………………………………………………………………………………………

  As the day began to unfold for all the toys of Mr. Wonder’s Toy Store. Hank stood perfectly still once again for many passersby to ogle him, now deep within the lunch hour. He isn’t sure if he’ll ever get used to being this still for so long, but he can’t complain now.

  As soon as he had finished his thought, something changed in his field of vision. A little girl no older than three or four walked along the mall’s halls alone. Her eyes were on the verge of tears, and her hands were close to herself. Hank wanted nothing more than to calm this little girl down until her mom came by, but he knew he couldn’t leave his position.

  But like divine intervention, Chuck the security guard rolled in on his Segway and got down to comfort the little girl. Hank couldn’t make out what Chuck had said to the little girl, but he pointed to the badge clipped to his button-up shirt, which seemed to calm her down a little bit. Hank could still see some mistrust in the eyes of the little girl, but Chuck reached into the zip-up bag velcroed to the Segway. He pulls out none other than Mr. Honeybun, with a security badge sticker stuck onto his fur. Chuck moved the teddy bear's arms up and down to simulate movement. It was clear he was also making him talk. The girl's tears stopped as she began to giggle at the sight before her. Mr. Honeybun managed to calm her down completely. Chuck held his hand out to take her to the security office.

  A few minutes after they both had disappeared from Hank’s vision, an emergency announcement rang over the Mall’s P.A. system.

  ‘We have a lost child here in the security office. Brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a purple hoodie and jean pants. If this is your child, please come to the security office immediately.”

  Not even a second later, A woman carrying a fancy bag from Mysteria’s Closet hurried towards the security office with a worried expression on her face. Hank hoped that was the little girl’s mom, and a few moments later. He got his confirmation. The Mom and daughter were seen walking towards one of the Mall’s exits.

  Seeing this whole scene unfold before him, it answered a question Hank had in the back of his head since he first met Mr. Honeybun last night.

  Why did he have such a high opinion of Chuck when the rest of the Wondergoers saw him as a lazy dullard? He gave his all during the day, and Mr. Honeybun was one of his tools to help lost children.

  As soon as he finished pondering this thought, a group of teenage boys walked by and saw him in his display. A few of them were overdramatically acting surprised to see him, and even one of them mimicked his pose. One of the teenagers even snapped a picture of him with his phone as soon as they walked off.

  ‘First the Father and son, Now teenagers…What decade am I from!?’ Hank thought with frustration.

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………

  As the day continued in the toy store, Kids were coming in and out of the store with their parents, and the occasional collector was coming in to talk Mr.Wonder’s ear off. Watching the day unfold through a hole in the ceiling tiles is none other than Dolly Dorothy and her new… acquaintance, Tomowa Wakebe, an anime figurine from the Critical Quest.

  “This is… very bizarre. I have never seen so many children in one place before!” whispered Tomowa as she didn’t want to alert anyone to their presence.

  “What do you mean by bizarre? Don’t you get a bunch of kids walking through Critical Quest, too?” the dress-up doll whispered back as she saw one lucky kid with their parent walk out with a new Marbel Movie action figure. Dorothy quickly picks up the cover to hide the hole in the ceiling with a printed sheet of paper showing the surface of the ceiling tiles, perfectly concealing the hole in case Mr. Wonder or any of the customers decided to look up.

  “You would think so, with all the Kawaii and Sugoi things all over my home. But no. All we get at Critical Quest are adult men who obsess over one franchise or adult women who talk the shopkeepers' ear off bout why two specific characters should be in a relationship even though they hate each other. A few teenagers come in here and there, but they only buy the manga in the back or the cute accessories.” Tomowa confided as she sadly walked to one of the plastic playset chairs and sat down. Resting her sheathed katana blades right on the table.

  Dorothy, ignoring the anime figurine’s poor table manners, had to know.

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  “What series are you from again?” She inquired as she took a seat across from Tomowa. Dorothy picked up a small teapot accessory from her Rodeo Princess Playset and poured imaginary tea into her teacup, as well as one for Tomowa.

  Tomowa was initially hesitant to drink this non-existent tea, but she ironically didn't want to seem rude. She took the teacup, but didn’t drink any yet.

  “I’m a vinyl-based anime figurine from a series known as Abracadabra Acedamia,” Tomowa Confided. “-Specifically, I come from the first Story Arc of the series. When I was still an up-and-coming samurai in a world full of magic. My mother was a proud seamstress, while my father was a noble samurai warrior. I joined Abracadabra Academy of Magic and Sorcery to prove that Might is stronger than magic ever will be. Even now, I still believe that is the only truth. I traveled and trained-.......”

  Dorothy sat silently across from Tomowa as she began to hear a white noise and continued to listen to her long, convoluted backstory. Dorothy knew many anime were lengthy and overly complicated, but a story this long for one character must have taken years to develop over a long series of-.

  “But that’s merely the short version of my backstory.” She concluded. “I am still a figurine first and foremost, priced at over One Hundred and Fifty Dollars. What about your backstory?” Tomowa concluded as she took a sip of the non-existent pretend tea, pretending it tasted sweet, yet with a hint of nostalgia. The Anime Figurine adjusted herself to get comfortable listening to her host’s own long and dramatic backstory. She’s hoping for Dorothy to swear revenge on someone.

  “Oh? OH! Uh….You already know me as Dolly Dorothy. According to my backstory, I was born in Dollsville, U.S.A. My Mom is named Dakota Doll, who’s a famous country singer who can charm the heart of any man. Then there’s my Dad, named Sailor Gus, a rough and tough Sailorman. I have had over three hundred careers since 1959…and I recently had a live action movie starring Marble Gobby as me.” Dorothy casually explained as she herself began to relax.

  Tomowa's face slowly changed from curiosity to intrigue, then to just downright confusion. She carefully put down her teacup as if it were still full of liquid.

  “Are you? A figurine specifically from the very beginning of your story or a flashback?” Queried Tomowa, trying to understand Dorothy’s backstory.

  It was now Dorothy’s turn to feel confused.

  “No? Why?” Dorothy answered back.

  “You…You never mentioned your parents' death; you have BOTH of them? Not to mention you said you have had HUNDREDS of careers and a live-action movie. Judging by how casually you said it, that live-action movie wasn’t terrible?! How do your fans follow your story!?” Tomowa demanded as she stood up. Hoping the answer will be worthwhile.

  Hearing Tomowa’s mini outburst, Dorothy realised the confusion. It was a simple case of Pop-Cultural differences.

  “Oooh, Okay. Like I said last night, I’m not an anime figurine. I’m a Dress-Up Doll. I specifically come from the Dolly Dorothy 2002 Summer of Fun BBQ Playset?, and aside from where I came from, I don’t really have a full-on backstory. I began as a toy first, nothing else. I inspire little girls to show them that they could be absolutely anything. From being a babysitter, an Open-heart surgeon, or even an astronaut. Nowadays, that message is common, but in the late 50’s. It was very much needed.” Dorothy explained as she pointed to all the various salvaged playset pieces. She had acquired over the decades. All next to the newer stack that’s slowly building up, three out of seven Sparks of Wonder. The Chroma Sphere, the 1001 Tales Storybook, and now the Wooden Dice.

  “My point being, your backstory doesn’t define you. You aren’t Tomowa, the anime character. You’re Tomowa, the anime figurine; you aren’t a slave to the narrative. For example. I’ve been fighting alongside the other toys since 2004 to beat back the Console Overlords and the Arcadian Forces.…. I lost a lot of friends that way…and much more…” Dorothy concluded as she looked at her deformed, melted hand. Dorothy, in her dispondent state, took a big sip of the non-existent tea.

  Tomowa saw Dorothy’s reaction to her hand, and she had honestly wanted to ask about her damaged hand ever since they first met. But now, knowing it was a sore subject for her, she decided not to bring it up until she was ready.

  Tomowa quickly changed the subject by saying, “It appears I really do have a lot to learn about the world outside my series, such as the odd way you and the one you call Hank show affection.”

  Dorothy’s self-reflection was cut short as she did a spit-take, hearing that. Considering the tea cups were empty, she spat out her breath.

  “...What are you saying?” she coughed, not liking the phrasing of that statement.

  “Well…You two are in a relationship, aren’t you? I saw how in sync you both were in the dance-off section of DJ Vortexx’s game, and how neither of you corrected Sensei Frank when he called you his ‘Little Dollie Girlfriend’.” Tomowa listed on her vinyl fingers.

  Dorothy thought back to those moments, even before, about how much he reminded her of Tim…

  “T-that’s just ridiculous! We just met two days ago!” Dorothy argued as an embarrassed blush appeared on her plastic-molded face. “How could you gin any kind of romantic feelings for someone in two days!?” Dorothy demanded to know.

  “It happens all the time, from what I have seen. The two meet one day, and then five hundred chapters of the sacred manga pages later, they’re in love.” Tomowa swooned as she recalled all of the many love stories her fellow figurines had told her over the months.

  “IT’S NOT LIKE THA-...Five hundred chapters? Good lord, they drag it on- n-no! We’re just friends and acquaintances at worst!” Dorothy’s embarrassed rant was cut short as they both overheard the Mall’s announcement jingle.

  ‘ATTENTION SHOPPERS! THE MALL WILL BE CLOSING IN FIFTEEN MINUTES! PLEASE FINISH BROWSING AND REPORT TO THE CLOSEST EXITS! OPENING TIME ON WEDNESDAY IS 7 AM! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATRONAGE!’

  “Okay. The Mall is about to close again. Give me a second to change. Dorothy said as she drank the last bit of her Wonder Tea and rushed her way to her dress rack. She browsed through several of the full outfits she had owned from past playsets. One of them was the blue pantsuit she wore two nights ago.

  White and black striped one-piece swimsuit from the Beach Bonanza Party Playset from 1959? Too old and not the right weather for it.

  Sorceress Princess outfit from the Dolly Dorothy and the Sorcerer King animated movie from 2008? Too Baggie.

  Her lavender colored biker jumpsuit from the Harvey Dodson Collab event. Man, she wished she could get that chopper… and the jumpsuit was too tight on her points of articulation.

  Then, finally, she came across the perfect outfit for tonight’s venture.

  “Perfect.” Dorothy grinned as she grabbed the outfit off the rack and disappeared behind a privacy screen. Tomowa couldn’t see behind the privacy screen; in fact, all she could hear was the ripping of velcro as she changed from her turtleneck and bellbottom pants to this new outfit.

  Her 1998 Tennis outfit from her Dorothy & Friends Sports Center Playset. A lavender polo shirt. ‘D.D.’ Initials are imprinted in cursive on the right side of said shirt. Also, a white below-knee skirt with black leggings and white tennis sneakers.

  Another question had plagued Tomowa’s mind. Dorothy’s clothes ARE NOT melded to her body!?

  ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  As Chuck did his final sweep of the mall on his Segway, and retired to the security room. Handyman Hank broke from his pose he had the past 12 hours and took a moment to stretch. Being in that pose for so long wasn’t good for his points of articulation, he was fully poseable after all. The toy Handyman walked up to the glass of the display window and checked around on his left and right sides. Nobody was around, but he could have sworn he saw something slithering behind the soda machines in the corner of his eyes. He shrugged it off as him being woozy from standing still for so long. He walks out towards the other end of the display shelf and cups his hands towards his mouth.

  “ALL CLEAR! THE MALL IS CLOSED!” Hank proudly declared.

  As the words of his declaration echoed through the toy store, every toy began to go about its day once more, only this time Hank could feel the positivity in the air. He guessed that securing the third Spark of Wonder would do that.

  As soon as Dorothy and Tomowa descended from the hole in the ceiling tiles via rope. They were both immediately greeted by Doughboy Jack and his main Platoon.

  “ATTEN-TION!” Doughboy Jack barked as all of his action-figure troops stood straight. Dorothy instinctively stood straight as well. But Tomowa, on impulse, placed her hands on her katanas, ready to fight. The action-figure troops readied their guns and charged them with wonder, but both Dorothy and Jack told them both to lower their guns and sheathe their blades.

  “RELAX! They’re friends and defenders of Wonder City while we’re out!” Dorothy explained as she kept her hands on Tomowa’s wrists. As soon as all of the soldier' action-figures lowered their guns, she sheathed her blades.

  Doughboy Jack stepped forward and asked Tomowa. “Name and Rank! Madam!”

  Tomowa looks down to see Doughboy Jack. His three-inch-tall action figure body stood before her 8-inch-tall anime figure self. Tomowa quickly answered by saying, “Tomowa Wakebe. Anime Figurine from Abracadabra Acedamia!”

  “Anime Figurine, huh? I served with your type before. The Doughboy Jack X Battle Beetles Crossover Event of ‘09 never got along with that Ren Kurusu, but his actions spoke louder than words. He saved so many of my men. Normally, we are wary of non-toy outsiders, but if Seargant Dolly Dorothy can vouch for you, then you are an honorary member of Wonder City. ATTEN-TION!” All of his action figure soldiers gave a salute as Doughboy Jack presented Tomowa with a Private emblem.

  “As General of the Doughboy Jack Army, 7th Generation now with karate chop action. I hereby swear you in as a private! Work hard, and you may become a sergeant like your ally Dorothy here! MOVE OUT! DOUBLE-TIME!” Jack ordered his men to go on normal patrols as he led the pack.

  “Was he a chibi figurine?” Puzzled Tomowa as she watched Jack move out.

  “No, He’s….I’ll tell you later,” Dorothy replied as they walked towards the front to meet Hank.

  As soon as Hank saw the emblem badge attached to Tomowa’s Gi. He pointed to his badge and proudly said, “Welcome to the Club.”

  Hank, Dorothy, and Tomowa began to pile into Ol’Betsy, ready to pick up Mr. Honeybun at the security room, but to their surprise, confusion, and concern. Mr. Honeybun was already at the front of the shutter gate to the toy store, happy to see the three of them.

  “Mr. Honeybun! How did you get here!? Did you get spotted!? Are you hurt?!” Dorothy asked like a concerned parent. Signalling the action-figure soldiers to open the gate.

  As the gate opened, Mr. Honeybun answered Dorothy’s motherly concerns.

  “I got help from a friend of yours, Miss Dorothy! He said he wanted to play a game with you!” He excitedly clarified.

  The Handyman, the Dress-Up Doll, and the Samurai Anime figurine looked at one another in confusion and back at their teddy bear friend, and Hank asked slowly.

  “W-What kind of game?”

  “He said he had a score to settle with Miss Dorothy!” He happily said with a level of naivete that was hard to get mad at.

  In less than half a second, a 6-foot-long wooden toy snake darted into the store and instantly whipped its tail across the floor of the toy store, disposing of all of Doughboy Jack’s foot soldiers and wrapping its wooden body around all four of the Wonderkeepers.

  All four of them struggled to break free, but their arms were tied down, rendering them unable to channel their wonder. But Dorothy recognized this toy snake, how its body had pizza ingredients painted onto its wood, and the tag on the tip of its tail signalling its worth 1,000,000 tickets!

  “P-Pizzaconda! Nice to see you! Again!” Dorothy sheepishly greeted between her groans of pain.

  “You know this thing!?” Hank asked as he struggled the most of the four.

  “Be Quiet, Handyboy! The Don wants to speak with little Dollie!” Pizzaconda answered for her. But Mr. Honeybun took notice of something.

  “Hey…if you’re a snake! How come you aren’t rolling your s!?” The teddy bear demanded to know. This only made Pizzaconda squeeze harder on the four.

  “Don’t be rrrrrrrrrrediculous! That is a negative sterrrrrrrrrrrotype!”

  As he slithered out of the toy store at high speeds carrying the four in their grip, Hank, Mr. Honeybun, and Tomowa were wondering where they were being taken, why Dorothy was suddenly so afraid to get there…and why the path reeked of…pizza?