The Mall has existed for well over 80 years, and many stores and food places have come and gone over the years.

  GadgetHut, a small electronics store that went out of business due to the rise of online retailers.

  CD Side, a chain of CD Stores that went out of business due to the rise of downloading music both legally and illegally.

  Novel Ideas, a bookstore that preceded Inkwell’s Bookstore. It went out of business simply because it failed to keep up with modernization.

  One of the newer places that opened inside the mall over a decade ago is a children’s pizzeria with both an outside exit and an entrance to the rest of the mall, mainly so guests can quickly buy a gift for the birthday child. Usually, this area is quiet at night, but in the pizzeria’s kitchen, an unknown toy was begging for its life.

  “NO! PLEASE DON’T YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! NO! NO! I CAN GET YOU THE REST I SWEAR! I HAVE A WIFE AND KIDS IN MY BACKSTORY, PLEASE! I PROMISE! I’LL GET YOU THE TICKETS! PLEASE I- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!” The unknown Toy was slowly crushed to death inside the pizzeria’s trash compactor. Becoming nearly indistinguishable from the trash that wasn’t cleaned from the closing shift the day before.

  Meanwhile, on the outside of the trash compactor, stood a moderate group of toys that ranged from plushies to cheap-looking action figures and even a few shoddily made army men toys. They all laughed sadistically as they listened to the unknown toys last pleading words before death.

  “What do you think of that, boss?” Pizzaconda asked the action camera strapped to his head, while holding onto a toy walkie-talkie with his wooden tail.

  “Not-a too bad, Pizzaconda. Scoop out-a the broken pieces and put them on display somewhere as a warning on what happens when they don’t-a pay their dues. Arrivederci.” The Action Camera’s red light shut off, and the walkie-talkie lost its signal.

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

  As the four Wonderkeeprs were violently dragged by Pizzaconda, slithering across the marble floors of the Mall. Hank, Mr. Honeybun, and Tomowa were struggling to break free from the wooden coil of Pizzaconda. But none could break free, as the wooden snake’s wonder was far stronger than the Quartet’s combined. Hank couldn’t even channel his Wonder through his hands due to the tightness of the coil grip. But that was hard for him to focus due to all of Dolly Dorothy’s pleading to the wooden snake.

  “Look! You can tell the Don that I’m good for it! You know it, and I know it! I'm guessing you guys are gonna be switching to digital tickets soon anyway! Wouldn’t my ticket debt be forgiven after that!?” Dorothy pleaded between her grunts of pain as Pizzaconda’s segmented wooden body pinched her all over.

  “SILENCE! You’ve been gone frrrrrrrrrrom the limelight forrrrrrrrrr farrrrrrrrrr too long! My boss will be pleased to see yourrrrrrrrrr prrrrrrrrrretty plastic face again! Of courrrrrrrrrrse afterrrrrrrrrr he rrrrrrrrrrips it off yourrrrrrrrrr body! Maybe yourrrrrrrrrr frrrrrrrrrriends will be lucky to just watch! Though, highly doubt it!”

  As Pizzaconda slithered across the halls of the mall with his prisoners coiled around his body, they had reached a part of the mall not yet seen by Hank or Tomowa: the Kiosk district. But to Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun…this place was not good.

  As Pizzaconda slithered across the floor, Hank and Tomowa looked upward to see all of the various types of products being sold at a kiosk.

  A pretzel kiosk.

  Hand-carved religious symbols and decorations.

  Jewelry from an unspecified part of the world.

  Pickory Barns stand selling their yearly Fall selection of meats and crackers.

  Even one selling various toys that Hank didn’t recognize. The toys adorning that kiosk looked… wrong, even uncanny. As if someone had taken the original toys, given them a half-assed examination, and recreated them from memory. They all stared down at the toys, but when Hank looked at the top of the Kiosk, he saw a strange blue shape slip out of view.

  Hank didn’t have time to ponder what exactly this shape was, for the mall’s quiet ambience was slowly being replaced by the ambiance of their upcoming destination.

  Hank, Dorothy, Tomowa, and Mr. Honeybun all looked forward to seeing a marquee light-up sign that flashed with a warm orange glow and a cartoon pizza chef twiddling his mustache and showing off the place’s logo.

  Papa Briccolini’s Pizza Time Theatre!

  Upon entering the pizzeria, their senses are overwhelmed by a mix of colors and smells. The air is filled with the scent of plastics and rubbers, along with a faint aroma of pizza lingering nearby. Everywhere they looked, the Wonderkeepers saw the pizzeria’s mascots displayed on posters, plushies, and even a couple of bobbleheads sold near the secondary exit to the parking lot.

  Along the main floor of the pizzeria, there were various arcade games of different levels of skill and luck. Skeeball, whack-a-mole, a few skill and luck-based games, but the thing that caught Hank’s attention was the fact that even a few arcadians were working at this pizzeria.

  A group of wondergoers was standing around a ‘Spin-to-Win’ arcade game. A white teddy bear with a black bowtie and a ‘400 Tickets’ tag on its foot stood on top of the glass dome of the spin-to-win machine. He was holding a small plastic cane and using it as a pointer to get all of the Wondergoer’s attention.

  “Alright, place your bets, toys, trinkets, and assorted! Tickets play, losers don’t stay!” He declared as he signalled his fellow prize toy to insert the token to start the game. All the surrounding players wagered various numbers of tickets. Some less than a hundred, and one player went all in!

  The light began to race around in a circle in a swift motion. All the wondergoers who placed their bets began to shout and chant at the light, telling it to land on their side. Then, as fast as it started, it stopped right in front of the anime figure, wielding a sythe.

  “Good for you, Akiro the Vengeful Reaper!! You just won 18,000 tickets!” The White teddy bear dealer just declared, as the tickets immediately poured out from the machine.

  “OH GOD! I’M RUINED!” Shouted a BRIKKO Figurine as he cried, now in serious debt.

  “Abby’s mom and dad took her to a place like this a bunch of times for her birthday! But there was more fun and pizza, less gambling!” Mr. Honeybun Yapped as they continued to be dragged towards the main stage.

  When Pizzaconda made it to the main showroom, he tossed the four onto the top of the long tables specifically reserved for the big birthday parties. This particular table had already been decorated with dinosaur-themed cups, plates, and even a box of candy bags at the end of the table. On a small whiteboard, it was crudely written by one of the day employees:

  ‘Reserved For Georgie, Age 3!’

  Before the Wonderkeepers could make a break for it, Pizzaconda hissed at all three of them in warning.

  “Stay Herrrrrrrrrrre! The Show is about to Starrrrrrrrrrt!” he hissed as he slithered back down the table.

  As they all stayed on the table, each member of the Wonderkeepers had their weapons ready for a fight, but Dorothy was still trying to find a way to escape. The Dress-Up Doll was frantically running towards the various edges of the table, trying to find an opening through which they could escape. Hank, Mr. Honeybun, and Tomowa lowered their weapons at seeing their friend acting so out of character.

  “Miss Dorothy? Are you feeling alright? Do you need to tinkle?” Mr. Honeybun innocently asked as his ‘Wonder Claws’ vanished from thin air.

  Dorothy snapped out of her panic after hearing that, her fear quickly giving way to embarrassment. Now flushed in her plastic face, she turned to face him, stammering, “N-no! We can’t even- N-no!” She kept scanning around for any sign of an escape.

  “Why does that pinchy snakey know you, and why are you so scared?” Mr. Honeybun asked as he slowly approached Dorothy.

  “I’m quite curious to know about that, too. If he still has a tag on him, why does he have so much Wonder that overshadows all of us combined?” Hank inquired as he leaned on a napkin dispenser.

  “Regardless, the Master of that wooden reptile of greasy food should not have taken us when we are on dire need to complete our mission!” Tomowa declared as she stood on top of the napkin dispenser, wielding one of her katanas towards the stage curtains.

  Dorothy wasn’t paying attention; she was still in a state of panic. Mr. Honeybun saw this and knew exactly what to do….He picked up Dorothy and hugged her. Not the vice grip hugs the teddy bear that the teddy bear had been giving the trio for a while now. But the type of hug that was needed was the one the receiver needed.

  “H-Hey! What are you-.....” Dorothy was at a loss for words. She never felt so safe and calm in any wondergoer's embrace before. Like all the worry, tension, and fear just disappeared.

  She looks up to see Mr. Honeybun channeling his wonder differently. Instead of forming claws to attack, he was transferring it to Dorothy to keep her calm.

  “Abby always had many bad dreams and would constantly toss and turn in her sleep. But I always made sure she slept well, keeping her calm so she could rest another day and face whatever fears she had. She was afraid of a lot — her first day of first grade, the monster in the closet, and even why her mom gets scary whenever she drinks from those fancy green bottles with the long necks. I know you’re scared, Miss Dorothy, but I want you to know that I, Mr. Hank, and Lady Tomowa want to help you.” He concluded as he gently caressed her head one last time before letting her go.

  Dorothy slowly slipped away from Mr. Honeybun's embrace and faced the three of them.

  “Okay, Okay….you all deserve an answer… After I was replaced as the Storefront Toy, I was on a pretty self-destructive path. I was looking for something to punch, to kick, or even a simple thrill…as you all saw in the gaming area, you can win and lose….I lost a lot and owe him a lot of tickets…”

  As the three paid attention to her story, Tomowa inquired. “Who are you referring to as ‘he’?”

  As soon as Tomowa asked for the lights to be turned off, the various multicolored stage lights flickered on all at once, decorating the stage with a mix of colors.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! ARE YOU READY TO PARTY WITH PAPA BRICCOLINI & THE OVEN TONES?!” An automated announcer asked the nonexistent partygoers.

  The Wonderkeepers remained silent; Mr. Honeybun himself resisted the urge to shout.

  “GET READY BECAUSE IT’S TIME TO PARTY!”

  The stage curtains opened to reveal a fully animatronic band standing on stage. Each is moving in a very rigid and robotic way, yet still seems uncanny.

  The first Spotlight shone on an animatronic owl girl with sprinkles painted on her wings that doubled as her arms. A glowing birthday candle resting on the top of her feathered head, along with some thick, round glasses. Judging by the drumset in front of her, it was clear she was the drummer of the band. Each part of her drum set was painted and decorated to look like various kinds of birthday cakes, and even the drumsticks she wielded were painted to look like burned-out candles.

  “Hoo-Hoo Whooooooo’s ready to par-tay! With Me, Dizzy the Owl!” The animatronic owl asked the audience of four. She then proceeded to give a steady beat to the music playing over the speakers.

  The second spotlight shone on an animatronic crocodile, wearing brown overalls and a white shirt, along with cool shades. As he was tapping his croc foot to the beat of the music, he began to play a smooth yet methodical baseline with his bass guitar.

  “Now now, Dizzy. I’m sure these cool cats…and bear probably just wanna chill and relax with me. Chomps the Crocodile! Am I right, boys and girls?” Chomps continued.

  … nobody answered.

  The third spotlight shone on, revealing an orange and white tabby cat animatronic in a Sparkly black vest and some lightning bolt face paint across one of her eyes. Holding an electric guitar shaped like a cheese wedge and playing some upbeat guitar riffs.

  “MEE-YAO! What’s crackin’, you guys! You know Meowzarella loves a good cheesy pizza at a party! Whose birthday is it anyway?” Meowzarella asked her two companions.

  “I don’t really know pretty Kitty! How about we ask the boss! Say it with us, kids! Say: OH! PAPA BRICK!”

  Again…nobody answered. The Wonderkeepers looked actually unfazed, only Mr. Honeybun really wanted to play along.

  Then the final spotlight shone on the last of the animatronic band, revealing a jolly cartoon animatronic hat with a tall chef's hat, big curled mustache, and a red-bricked apron with a ‘B’ emblem on the front wrapped around his body. As his animatronic body whirred to life, his mechanical hands began to go ham on the keyboard in front of him.

  “So nice-a to see the birthday boy, I think their name is- [INSERT NAME RECORDING HERE!] Now Lets’-a sing the birthday song! Now follow along with Papa Briccolini as I see the birthday paizano and sing them their song!” The jolly pizza baker bellowed as he pointed towards the door next to the stage. The stage lights dimmed, and all four animatronics shut down, becoming eerily quiet. The Wonderkeepers had varying amounts of confusion and fear. Most confused being Hank himself, while most fearful being Tomowa

  “I literally fought the King of Nightmares for an entire saga, and yet that was still the most horrifying thing I had ever seen in my life…” Tomowa stated as she took a knee to steady herself.

  “Wait…is something supposed to come out of that door?” Hank questioned as he casually pointed towards the door on the other side of the stage.

  “I think this is supposed to be the part when the adult wearing the really scary costume comes out and scares all the kids…or he’s supposed to sing happy birthday. I dunno, I could never hear over all the screams.” Mr. Honeybun added as he walked towards the table’s edge.

  “Who the hell said-a the show was over?” a much deeper and sinister voice hissed.

  The eyes of all four animatronics started to glow bright white as the stage lights flickered back on. The entire animatronic band twitched and moved disturbingly as they then stretched their metallic joints in unnatural manners.

  “Damn, it feels good to stretch the servos after a long day. You see that kid who tossed his pizza in the tubes?” Asked Chomps the Crocodile to his two co-stars.

  “Hoooo knew you could vomit after drinking half a gallon of soda and 7 slices of pizza!” Dizzy sarcastically hooted as she began to peck at her own feathers.

  “I’m pretty sure anyone would have guessed that Dizzy.” Meowzarella deadpanned as she licked her paws.

  But the three quickly took notice of the Wonderkeepers and realised that Dorothy was amongst them. The three turned their heads toward Papa Briccolini, as he was the last to wake up. The jolly and fun persona that the humanoid animatronic mascot presented a mere moment ago had vanished, now replaced with an era of authority that demanded respect. His animatronic hands were no longer positioned to the keys of his non-functioning keyboard; instead, his fingers were now interlocked together to signify his era of authority. But gave a warm smile when seeing Dorothy.

  “Dorothy…It’s-a so nice to see you again. How long has it-a been? Two? Three years, maybe? Are you here for another round of luxury and-a fortune? Are you here to show your new friends around?” The animatronic Chef’s tone quickly changed from friendly to deadly serious. “-or are you finally here to pay off your outstanding debt of 4 million tickets?”

  Hank, Mr. Honeybun, and Tomowa all look at Dorothy with varying mixes of surprise, shock, and ire as she scrambled to find a good answer to give the boss.

  Dorothy put on a nervous fake grin as she approached the edge of the table to face Papa Briccolini head-on.

  “So nice to see you, again, Don Briccolini! You’re looking awfully jolly and fully…charged? Is that a new apron? I bet that’s a new apron! Something changed that makes you look like a brand new kid’s masco- please lower your fist!”

  Don Briccolini slammed his animatronic fist hard onto his fake keyboard. Making a series of wonder-powered off-key piano notes.

  “I’m not-a one for ass-kissing, Dorothy! It’s only a pale reminder that I have-a NO ASS-A TO KISS!” Fumed Don Briccolini. Hank, Tomowa, and Mr. Honeybun quickly glanced down to see that he wasn’t joking. The legs and feet were clearly not attached to his waist, and the stool he sat on was clearly bolted to the ground. To Hank and Tomowa, it was kinda humorous….but to Mr. Honeybun he let out a tiny, measly borderline noiseless giggle. Upon realizing what he had just done, the teddy bear quickly covered his mouth. Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Wonderkeepers, the animatronic pizza chef Don heard it.

  All four animatronics slowly turned their heads towards Mr. Honeybun as Pizzaconda pushed him forward towards the edge of the table next to Dorothy.

  “Mee-Yao!Someone’s in trouble!” Meowzarella boasted as she and her associates leaned forward to see the show.

  Papa Briccolini leaned forward to face Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun. His gaze of boiling anger began to feel like they were under a magnifying glass; the heat of his gaze was so intense that they could melt or burst into flames at a moment's notice.

  Hank and Tomowa quickly reacted to seeing how afraid Mr. Honeybun had become and quickly drew their weapons to channel their Wonder through. But Pizzaconda quickly intervened and re-coiled both of them, forcing them to helplessly watch.

  “Mind telling me what’s-a so funny?” The animatronic boss queried. “I mean…I must’ve said-a something funny. After all, I am a kids' entertainer by day. But do I look-a like a jester? Do I look-a like some rat bastard that recycles their pizza!? DO I LOOK-A LIKE SOME KNOCKOFF BEAR IN A TOPHAT THAT BITES HEADS OFF OF KIDS!? HOW AM I-A FUNNY TO YOU!?” Exploded the Don as his mechanical eyes glowed red with rage. Outraged that this little dress-up doll and teddy bear were making a fool of him.

  Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun stayed quiet, afraid that if they even breathed wrong…it would be curtains for all of them.

  It was there that Mr. Honeybun promptly remembered that he had something from last night that could actually help them in this moment.

  Mr Honeybun pulls out a wad of play money from seemingly nowhere. The play money was seemingly in the millions.

  “Mr. Honeybun…where did you get that?” Dorothy questioned as she looked at the huge wad of play money.

  “I got it from that bad guy, Mr.Given. When Chuck was busy buying more baseball cards from Critical Quest this morning. I slipped out of his bag to shake him down. He promised us ten million of his moneys and we earned it. Let me help you out of the ticket hole!” Answered Mr. Honeybun as he happily presented the wad of money to the Don.

  Don Briccolini signaled one of his prize corner toys to bring it closer for him. A stuffed plush of Chomps the Crocodile quickly snatched the wad of play money from Mr. Honeybun’s claws and waddled toward the stage. The small plush handed it to Don Briccolini, who took it with his mechanical hands and ran one of his fingers through the individual bills.

  The silence in the main show area was so deafening for the Wonderkeepers that they couldn’t even hear the sound of the arcade just a few feet away. Mr. Honeybun was now smiling ear to ear, knowing he had just helped his friend in need.

  “....You DO realize you had just given me fake play money from a board game right?” Don Briccolini said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  In a split second, Mr. Honeybun’s smug sense of self-satisfaction was readily replaced by a sense of dread and despair, knowing he had doomed not only Dorothy, but him and the rest of his friends as well.

  All of the Prize corner toys were readily surrounding the Wonderkeepers, awaiting whatever command their boss gave. What would it be, they pondered? The Trash compactor? The Pizza Oven? Or worst of all, a dip in the unwashed ballpit!

  “HOLD IT! Where…did you get this-a moolah, little bear?” Don Briccolini asked, still not looking up from the wad of play money now in his possession.

  The Surrounding toys stopped to look at Mr. Honeybun to awit his answer.

  Mr. Honeybun cleared his throat and put on his best brave face to answer. “From the bad Guy called Mr. Given….me and my friends beat him after he tried to trick us into hurting others!” the teddy bear happily declared as he pointed towards Hank, Dorothy, and Tomowa.

  “...That-a fake mustache wearing capitalist figilo de puttana has been a pain in my servos ever since- my place of business opened up, are you saying he’s now one with the Wonder?”

  “Well….more or less. He’s now permanently ‘soft locked’ whatever that means. The bottom line is…he won’t be a problem for you anymore.” Dorothy answered on behalf of Mr. Honeybun.

  Don Briccolini took a deep breath to clear his nonexistent lungs and then began. “So that was you all, eh? The chatter about this-a new team of wondergoers, called the Wonderkeepers, has been circulating the mall, helping-a those in need and actually forming a plan. One of you even has-a the power to hurt those Arcadians now dont-a you?”

  Between the grunts of pain of being constricted and being so uncomfortably close to Tomowa. Hank grunted, “T-That would be me!”

  Don Briccolini signals Pizzaconda to let them both go. As soon as Hank and Tomowa caught their breath, they joined Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun at the table’s edge to speak to the Don.

  “Well, as you can see your….pizza-ness? We’re all swamped, and we really need to keep our journey going. Can we…please resume this when this is all over? please? “ Hank pleaded with his hard hat in his hands.

  Every toy in the area turned to look at Don Briccolini to await his answer.

  “You hunks of-a plastic and cotton did me a huge favor. For that, you may leave. But just-a know I have eyes and ears everywhere. Prize corner toys are unfortunately one of the of the most-a discarded toys out there and they’re left all-a over the mall. However….you have-a until the end of the night to get me my tickets…otherwise. You’ll all be ripped to-a pieces by my bare hands!”

  The Don taps his fingers, signalling two prize corner toys to come forth with an anime figurine of a wannabe superhero.

  “N-no! Please! I promised to pay you back! I swear on my powers that I didn’t earn, and my waifu, who has no characteristics outside of loving me! I’ll pay you back PLUS EXTRA!” The crying anime figurine pleaded.

  The Don rolls his eyes and grabs the figure with one hand. What followed was a sharp crack, sharp enough to freeze the air surrounding the Wonderkeepers. Followed by a brittle snap, allowing them to flinch at the sound. Then concluded with the pieces that were once limbs scattered to the floor, much to the Horror of Hank, Dorothy, Mr.Honeybun, and Tomowa.

  As the ripped-up pieces of the once-begging Manga illustration cascaded onto the stage floor below. The Pizza Chef animatronic said to himself and to anyone who would listen:

  “I never could stand crybabies….now GET OUT!” All the surrounding Prize corner toys laughed menially as Pizzaconda recoiled the Wonderkkpers and dragged all of them clear outside the Pizzeria.

  Little did they know, an illustrated figure had been following the group that whole time and gave an evil grin. He walks back inside his zeppelin once more, this time we see the inside. An entire legion of minions nd weapons at his disposal inside this illustrious airship.

  “Snivel…I believe it’s time I introduced myself to these…Wonderkeepers…”