Time seemed to slow down as DJ Vortex rolled the die. The trio of toys tried to reach to stop it before it landed on any side, but failed as it tapped the battleboard.
The die landed on the board and bounced momentarily before landing on the side of 3. Hank, Dorothy, Frank, and the Samurai anime figurine are all locked into the Disk Jockey’s game! Logos appeared over the heads of the toys, signifying they were locked into the game of the DJs.
P1: Foundation Frank
P2: Tomowa Wakebe
P3: Handyman Hank
P4: Dolly Dorothy
“Tomowa?” Dorothy inquired as she looked toward the figurine in question.
“That’s right, you smooth, unrealistically proportioned doll! I am Tomowa Wakebe! Main Lo-...Leading Assassin of the hit anime series Abracadabra Academia!” She answered in an almost regal manner.
Dorothy chose to ignore that comment on her body, considering it was BLOODY RICH coming from an Anime figurine. But she quickly recalls the anime she originates from. Something didn’t add up there.
Meanwhile, Mr. Honeybun was using his Fighty Claws to try to scratch his way into the game, but nothing he did, no matter how strong, worked! DJ Vortexx floated right near Mr. Honeybun and pointed his stylus right at the bear.
Declared DJ Vortexx as he spun his turntables, channeling his glowing dark purple Wonder to spread across the mall. Rising from it, a 64-bit game board rose high and began to reshape itself to fit the inside of the entire store. Rising up
The board began to span all around the entirety of Critical Quest, starting right behind Foundation Frank and the Samurai Anime Figurine and looping right back behind Hank and Dorothy. Each space on the Wonder Construct board began to take shape and color. Each space looked reminiscent of a spinning LP with different colors amongst them. But a select few spaces on the board had unique symbols, such as two swords crossing, a light bulb, and even a boom box.
Hank drew his wrench and tapped it on the ground again, allowing Dorothy to share in his Wonder, welcoming her to his crew again! Dorothy pulled her precision blade, and they both nodded in agreement as they looked at one another. Both the toy Handyman and Dress-up Doll jumped high into the air, ready to take on the Arcadian Disk Jockey.
Unfortunately for them, they were playing HIS game. DJ Vortexx raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
Hank and Dorothy quickly felt around their person; all of their weapons and individual items had disappeared. But they glanced upwards, floating right above him. They were both caught by an unseen force and stuck in mid-air. They were lowered towards the DJ’s eye level.
Declared the DJ as he shook his finger in Hank’s face. Hank swatted the hand out of his face, surprising Vortexx, Frank, and Tomowa.
“So the rumors are true. You and I have the same variant of Wonder.” Frank stated as he observed Hank.
Frank pulled out his girder accessory and squeezed the side on which he was holding it. He pressed it so hard that it bent to the shape of his fingers. He gripped it, turning it into a makeshift club. He pointed it towards Hank and Dorothy and explained.
“Here’s how the game goes down, Hank: we go three rounds on three different challenges chosen by the Good DJ here. It’s me and my protege versus you and your little Dolly Girlfriend! Whoever wins two outta three will get their end of the wager; the other must honor their end!” Frank explained as he started stretching and flexing his massive plastic muscles.
Tomowa drew one of her katana accessories and threateningly pointed it right at both opposing toys.
“But heed this warning! If you break the rules and cheat, the Good DJ will ensure you don’t cheat again.” She warned. Her big anime eyes dared both of them to try her.
Exclaimed the DJ as he itched to give a demonstration.
“Soft-Locked?” Hank pondered, slightly tilting his head as he read that.
“It’s a video game thing.” Frank deadpanned.
DJ Vortexx spun his turntables, began an arguably catchy beat, and crossfaded into the first challenge. The logo appears above their heads, followed by a short calming jingle.
The DJ scratched the turntables again, and two podiums with buzzer buttons on top materialized right in front of Dorothy and Frank. Dorothy approached cautiously while Frank strutted toward them confidently. The dress-up doll didn’t like this; he had a lot of arrogance for a traitor! He belonged to Hank’s toy line, wore similar clothes, and had tools like his. But the difference was night and day in behavior.
They both faced the DJ, ready to answer his quiz questions.
Dorothy perked up as she realized she knew this one. She quickly hit the buzzer and answered:
“It’s called the New Millennium!” She answered with her whole chest.
Her answer was quickly followed by a hard buzzing noise, signifying she was wrong.
Frank quickly hit his buzzer and answered with his smug sense of accomplishment.
“You, the Arcadians call it ‘The Great Silence’.” he crossed his arms, knowing that was the right answer.
Bells rang out as digital confetti rained on top of Frank, signifying he was correct. Dorothy and, by extension, Hank looked on in confusion. Hank understandably didn’t understand, but Dorothy felt like she should have known this.
Dorothy quickly tagged out with Hank as the Arcadian Disk Jockey geared up for the Second question.
Hank quickly pressed the buzzer, but Tomowa was faster than him by a second. The scary part was that he didn’t even see her raise her arm.
“The answer is:...a sword that seals the darkness of your enemies and leads to a new era of peace across all realms!” Tomowa confidently answered in her passionate tone.
The silence following her answer was deafening. Even the DJ felt secondhand embarrassment before he signaled it was incorrect. Even Mr. Honeybun cringed a little. It reminded him of Abby’s older brother and how he constantly spoke bad Japanese and folded his arms behind his back while leaning forward to run.
In the confusion, Hank quickly pushed his buzzer to steal the question. He remembers the story the Founder told him, Dorothy, and Mr. Honeybun earlier, and answers.
“I- It's a pair of Wooden Dice!” Hank’s answer loomed in the air for a few moments, the suspense was so thick you could slice it. But then, the DJ marked that answer as correct with the same bells and confetti that rained down a moment ago!
Hank and Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief while Mr. Honeybun and the gathering crowd of miniatures all watched. Mr. Honeybun saw that both sides of Spearhead 10K and Laberynths & Legends weren’t fighting for once.
Both Commander Aurora and King Augustus watched as these interlopers determined their fate. They looked at each other and looked away, gesturing with hate. Yet…as they looked amongst their opposite battle boards from their height close to the ceiling, they had to admit, some of it was particularly alluring.
Tomowa slams her fist on the buzzer once again, waving her right arm and pointing it at the DJ in an almost childlike manner. Her face began to turn red as a vein appeared over her head.
“SON’NA NO USODA! KIMI WA WATASHI NO MIKATADEARUBEKLANONI!” Tomowa shouted in anger at the top of her voice.
Hank, Dorothy, Mr. Honeybun, and the rest who were watching were confused about what she had just shouted with such rage. But Frank, DJ Vortexx, and the rest of the anime figurines reeled back at her outburst, a few even gasped. The DJ’s Helmet displayed a red X symbol.
He floats down close to the profanity-spouting anime figurine and slowly says to her as a warning.
Tomowa metaphorically shrinks behind the podium. She nods in understanding, knowing what will happen if she has another outburst like that.
As soon as the DJ floats up towards his turntables once more. He spins and scratches them to resume the party beat. The last question of this round was about to be announced. Hank and Tomowa stepped off the podium as Frank and Dorothy tagged in to answer the final question.
As soon as the short yet catchy beat ended, DJ Vortexx announced:
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
This question raised some suspicion among the Wonderkeepers. Why would their enemy simply share that kind of information?
Dorothy looked towards Hank and Mr. Honeybun for some kind of idea on what the answer could be. The Handyman and Teddy bear continuously guessed numbers until both of them finally agreed on one answer. Hank made the number zero with his hands, while Mr. Honeybun used his whole stubby arms to make the shape of that number.
Dorothy quickly hit the buzzer and gave her answer with confidence.
“The answer is ZERO! The Arcadians have Zero Sparks of Wonder and we intend to keep it that way!”
There was no silence to keep everyone guessing this time around; Dorothy’s answer was given a hard buzz. She was wrong!
Frank casually hit the buzzer himself and stole the question and answered, “The Arcacians have approximately ONE Spark of Wonder to themselves.” The bells rang, and the confetti rang out over Frank. This Round belongs to Frank and Tomowa!
Without skipping a beat, DJ Vortrexx played a longer yet catchy dubstep beat; this time, the beat was less about listening and more about DANCING! The quiz podiums faded into thin air, reshaping into a full-on disco dance floor. This was followed by the Second Challenge Logo popping up!
DJ Vortexx began to play the music, and the funky beat flowed through the entire store. The first to start dancing to the beat was none other than Mr. Honeybun. It began as a little shoulder shimmy, then a shuffle, and culminated in a full-on breakdance! All of the surrounding miniatures began to start dancing as well, with a varying degree of success. Some looked like shuffling zombies, while others looked so well coordinated as if they had practiced it for weeks beforehand! Hank, Dorothy, Tomowa, and Frank looked around and saw all the miniatures dancing. A mere few hours ago, they were trying to kill each other; now, they’re simply dancing without a care!
Commander Aurora and King Augustus looked at the newly electrifying atmosphere surrounding them. Both sides were dancing on different sides, but soon a sorceress miniature and a foot slider miniature bumped into each other mid-dance, and both quickly got into a fighting stance. They stared at one another for a moment, but they did something that shocked both the King and the Commander. The two miniatures began to dance with one another, dancing so fluidly as if they were moving at four frames per second!
This scene, unfolding right below the Commander and the King…started to make them think.
Back on the Wonder-spawned, 64-bit gameboard. Hank and Dorothy were clueless about what they were supposed to do next! But before they could ask, Dj Vortexx already answered:
They both look down at the dance floor and quickly see that there are circles that their feet need to tap in tune to the music. Frank and Tomowa stood on the opposite end of the dance floor ready to bust a move.
3.
2.
1.
The four stepped onto the dance floor and began to let the music flow through their plastic, vinyl, and acrylic bodies.
At first, Hank was having a hard time feeling the groove, but then he sees Dorothy channel her Wonder once more, her outfit quickly switched from her black turtleneck and white rose patterened bell bottoms, to that of a black leotard, with white tights, along with light blue leg warmers and a matching headband, even her hair got braided to a ponytail!
Dorothy caught Hank staring and gave a simple smirk. “Dance Fever set from ‘97. Fan favourite to a lot of collectors.” She bragged. “Now follow my lead!”
At first, Hank had a hard time following her lead. But soon he saw how Dorothy was perfectly in tune with the beat, her plastic feet gliding across the 64-bit dancefloor as if it were ice and she wore skates. Each circle she hit with perfect precision. Her arms were out, and her hips moved from side to side as if she was guiding the music instead of the music guiding her. Upon seeing how in tune she was to the music, Hank now understood what he needed to do, he just focused not on the competition…but the music.
He quickly started to move methodically in his way, hitting every beat in sync with Dorothy as their separate dance turned into a partner dance. They were so in tune that even Frank and Tomowa stopped dancing to see.
Unfortunately for them, it made them miss many beats and lose the lead.
Once the song ended, Hank finished the dance with one final dip. They stayed for a few moments, but soon separated when they realized their position as Dorothy switched back to her normal clothing. They looked upward to see the final score of this round.
Frank and Tomowa:
Score: 120,040
Misses: 43
Accuracy: 44.5%
Hank and Dorothy:
Score: 170,060
Misses: 34
Accuracy: 83.8%
Just by looking at the score alone, Hank and Dorothy knew this round belonged to them. The game the DJ made them play is now even. They looked up to wait for the final challenge logo:
They didn’t even need an explanation for this Final round, instead, the whole dance floor began to shift one last time, this time into a whole battle arena.
DJ Vortexx floated down from his turntables and stated one simple fact.
He floated back up to his turntables and gave a quick scratch. Both Hank and Dorothy’s weapons were restored to their persons. They began to wield them, ready for a fight.
On the other end of the arena, Tomowa drew one of her kitana accessories and channeled her wonder through it, allowing it to be as sharp as the real deal. Tomowa stares daggers right at Dorothy, while Dorothy herself looks at her with confusion. Frank pulls out his girder accessory and wields it like a club and flexing his pecs while staring right at Hank, meanwhile, Hank was staring right back at Frank.
The DJ spun the turntables, and more fast-paced, and action-packed music began to play.
Both pairs ran at each other full force, Dorothy and Tomowa clashed their blades while Hank sidestepped to dodge the full power swing from Frank’s girder. Hank countered by swinging his wrench with full power right at Frank’s face. But all that did was briefly stun him for a second. Frank grabbed Hank by his overalls and threw him like a ragdoll. He stomped his booted feet, and a wall of wonder constructed steel girders appeared right behind Hank. He crashed right into the girder wall, followed by Frank grabbing him by the face and slamming him hard through the girder wall.
Hank stumbled to get up from both his pain and Daze.
“What’s wrong? Life with the Dollys and Teddy’s makes you soft? The Hank I know wouldn’t take this!”Frank declared as he walked closer to Hank.
“H-Hank you know?! You know my backstory?!” Hank asked as he fully stood up and switched his wrench to his sledgehammer.
“Shit if I know. I don’t even know my own backstory! All I know is that you’re the leader, how a scrawny puke like you became the leader I’ll never understand!” Frank stated as he swung his girder at Hank once again. This time, Hank blocked it with his sledgehammer.
“How could you work for the Console Overlords!? You know they’re trying to steal all the wonder for themselves! Why are you doing this!?”Hank demanded as he struggled to keep his guard up and push back against Frank’s strength.
“Who says I’m working for those corporate jagoffs! I’m working for DJ Vortexx!” Frank declared as he pushed back.
Hank channeled wonder through his left leg and sweeped Frank’s legscausing him to fall over. But while in mid-air, Hank reacted quickly and channeled his wonder into his sledge hammer. With one mighty swing, he slammed it HARD to his chest, cratering the battleground beneath him. All the surrounding miniatures and Mr. Honeybun winced hard at Frank’s hard fall.
When the digital dust cleared, Frank was down out cold. Hank took a few breaths and gave a soft chuckle. “How’s that for a scrawny puke?...I’m gonna set you free from this…”
……………………………………………………………………..
“ONE THOUSAND SLASHES OF FURY!” Tomowa shouted as the attack’s name appeared in the background.
Dorothy is dodging for her life as she avoids an onslaught of slashes from Tomowa. Some were close to cutting her clothes and, worse, her hair. She can’t lose what hair she has left!
Tomowa raised her kitanas, a wonder lightning bolt seemed to just strike them both out of nowhere. Giving them a lightning charge and an electrifying artful grid. Dorothy had to admit, it was kind of badass looking.
“SURGE SLASHES TECHNIQUE!” She slashed her blades in mid-air, sending bolts of lightning straight at Dorothy. Once again, Dorothy dodged with medium ease. Tomowa’s frustration was beginning to be noticeable.
Tomowa sheathed both her kitanas and did a series of hand gestures that looked familiar to Dorothy. Then a double of Tomowa appeared out of a puff of smoke. They both drew a kitana and slashed at Dorothy from different directions. One went high, another went low.
“DOUBLE CLONE TAKEDOWN!” They both shouted in unison. But Dorothy only dodged the slash from below by giving a small hop. She did a handstand and windmill kicked both Tomowa and her fake in the face; the fake quickly vanished in that same puff of smoke. But Dorothy did something by accident, she knocked Tomowa’s face right off her head. This made Dorothy reel back for a moment. But Tomowa picked up her face and put it right back on her head like a mask. She heard a click as if there were magnets behind her face.
Tomowa gave an irritated growl and demanded to know.
“How!? HOW?! How are you able to dodge all of my attacks!?”
Dorothy stopped her fighting stance for a second. Was she really asking her this?
“You serious? You make it so easy because you shout the name of your attack before you do it!” Dorothy explained in a matter-of-fact tone.
Tomowa’s rage subsided as she heard that “Wait….You’re telling me that you DON’T announce your attacks before you do them?” Tomowa asked, not fully understanding that concept.
“YES! We also don’t make random noises when we get hurt, and we don’t just wait for the bad guy to power up!” Dorothy pointed out.
Tomowa’s big anime eyes widened as she heard this. Dorothy could tell, judging by her reaction, she had just blown her mind.
“Sensei Frank was telling the truth….But no matter. I must finish this fight for my honor and the sake of-” Tomowa’s monologue was cut short as Dorothy was left hooked across her acrylic face, knocking her out cold.
“Another thing, don’t monolouge in the middle of a fight either,” the dressup doll stated like a disappointed parent.
As soon as it was clear that Hank and Dorothy won, the music stopped with a record scratch.
DJ Vortexx lowered himself and the turntables towards Hand and Dorothy.
“We won your game, that means we can fight you now, if we win, you leave and let us keep the Sparks of Wonder here!” Hank declared.
Before the battle could even start, DJ Vortexx’s turntables were slashed clean in half by a pair of familiar claws. Forcing the DJ to back away in fear. The one who did this act of vandalism was none other than Mr. Honeybun himself. DJ Vortexx was wondering how he broke through the barrier, but then he realized. The game was over, and now anyone can join in! He looks over to where his other anime figurines were supposed to be guarding, they’re all lying defeated in a pile, and both Commander Aurora and King Augustus were cut free!
He couldn’t restart the game now because his turntables were wrecked!
DJ Vortexx sees Hank tap his wrench on the floor to welcome Dorothy and Mr. Honeybun to his crew again. Hard hats appeared on their heads. They were now ready to finish him off.
He asked as he started to back away. They didn’t answer. Hank charged his Wonder through his Wrench.
He pleaded as he now realized he was surrounded by all of the Miniatures. As well, he had nowhere to hide, and the Redtendo MS, his game, was docked, he couldn’t reach to.
Hank raised his wrench and readied to strike him down!
“WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! I WANNA LIVE!” Shouted The DJ. Not through a text box, but this time through his actual voice.
The surrounding miniatures, anime figurines, and even the Wonderkeepers themselves gasped at hearing. The whole store remained quiet as his sudden words hung in the air.
“What? What did you just say?” Hank asked.
Were you taken off guard by the ending?
