The scent of Aunt Kara's famous cobblers filled the air as Aleck and Jareth helped Aunt Kara set up the booth for the annual town fair. The aroma alone was enough to make Aleck's mouth water, and she couldn't help but laugh as Jareth pretended to sneak a taste of the warm, freshly baked dessert. Aunt Kara, with her keen senses, immediately rapped him on the knuckles with a wooden spoon, causing Jareth to yelp in mock pain.

"You know she's all-seeing, right?" Aleck directed to Jareth telepathically, knowing that Aunt Kara had a knack for catching anyone trying to sneak a piece of her cobbler when she wasn't looking.

"But they're sooo good," came Jareth's mental complaint, causing Aleck to chuckle even more. Despite their playful banter, Aleck couldn't wait to dig into the sweet, gooey treat that Aunt Kara had spent hours perfecting.

“I’m surprised you didn’t try to buy all the cobblers from her.” Laughed Aleck as she put price tags on each dessert.

“I did offer, but she said I shouldn’t be stingy and that much sugar wasn’t good for me.” Jareth sulked mentally.

"Is that Ben and Odett?" Aleck asked Jareth, who was also watching their friend with interest.

"Yeah, it looks like they're finally bringing out all of Ben's inventions," Jareth replied, a hint of admiration in his voice. "But what on earth is that following him?"

Aleck's eyes widened as she realized that the table-like object had spider-like legs and was carrying various items for Ben's booth. She had never seen anything like it before.

"You're late," Jareth called out as Ben arrived at their booth. "You're not going to get everything set up before the festival starts."

"Says you," Ben retorted with a grin. "Watch and be amazed. Team Ben, assemble the booth!"

Aleck and Jareth watched in awe as Ben's robots scurried around, quickly setting up tables, sorting out the toys he had made, and putting price tags on each one.

"Wow, I had no idea you made so many different things," Aleck remarked, impressed by how organized everything was.

"Oh yeah, I've been working on these for months," Ben replied proudly. "I have to thank Odette for helping me bring them all here today."

Ben gestured towards his unusual invention, which was now serving as a makeshift display table for his creations.

Brock's eyes widened as they landed on the Marvorles Warlord action figure in Ben's hands. His excitement was palpable as he jumped up and down, begging to see it. With a chuckle, Ben pressed a button on the back of the mini robot before handing it over to Brock. “Here, you can have this one,” he said.

Aleck watched with amusement as Brock eagerly started playing with the moving figure, gasping in surprise as it responded to his conversation with key phrases from the show. “Thank you so much, Ben!” Brock exclaimed, beaming with joy. Ben simply nodded with a smile. As the festival began and people flooded into the park.

"Ben, isn’t your family here?" asked Uncle Donny as he approached their booth.

Ben nodded. "They're running an ice cream stand near the other end of the park."

Uncle Donny looked around at the busy festival and then back at Ben. "I tell you what, I'll watch your stand for a bit so you kids can enjoy the festival some."

"That would be great!" Aleck exclaimed with a smile.

"Thanks, Uncle Donny," Ben added gratefully.

With that, Uncle Donny slid behind the booth, shooed Ben, Jareth, Odette and Aleck out, and handed them some money. "Have fun!"

The friends walked through the bustling crowd, taking in all of the sights and sounds of the festival. Booths selling everything from fried candy bars to face painting sessions lined the path. The smell of cotton candy mixed with savory foods filled the air.

"I'm definitely getting some fried Oreos," Aleck declared as she ran towards a nearby booth.

Jareth laughed but followed obediently. They stood in line and soon had plates full of deep-fried deliciousness.

"This might not be good for my health," Jareth remarked after taking a big bite of an Oreo.

"But it's good for your soul," Aleck replied with a grin before devouring another treat.

Aleck froze as she came to a doll booth. "No way," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the sounds of the festival. Her gaze was fixed on one particular doll that sat on a high shelf, surrounded by other handmade dolls of various sizes and styles.

"Can I see that doll right there?" she asked the booth manager, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

The booth manager nodded and reached up to grab the doll. As he handed it to Aleck, she felt a rush of emotions wash over her. The doll was just like the one her Father had given her when she was a child.

"Aleck?" Jareth said in concern, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's just like the one Father gave me," Aleck said, her eyes never leaving the delicate features of the doll in front of her.

"Father?" Ben asked, his curiosity piqued.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Yes," Aleck replied with a nostalgic smile. "The kind Rillian Man who helped us during the war."

"Do you need your Caja?" Odette asked in concern.

"No, it's a good memory," Aleck reassured them. "I don't even mind talking about it."

The group exchanged worried glances. "Not here," Jareth whispered urgently as he reached out towards Aleck before quickly retracting his hand. "Let's take a walk instead. The Mount Ker trailhead is close by, and no one should be on the trail since they're all at the festival."

"We'll bring the doll with us," Jareth spoke loudly to the vendor as he handed over his chip card. The four of them hurried away, constantly looking back in fear that someone may have overheard their conversation about Aleck.

They walked for a while until they reached an open meadow. "Let's go to the center of the meadow," Jareth suggested. "Ben, do you happen to have a robot that can patrol the perimeter with you?"

Ben pulled out what appeared to be a small bird and grinned. "Will a drone that can detect body heat work?"

"Um, yeah," Jareth replied. Ben tossed the drone into the air, and Aleck couldn't help but be impressed by his inventions. However, she trusted her own cybernetics more than any of Ben's gadgets - they were designed for combat after all.

“Area clear,” announced Ben. A few seconds later, her scan showed her the same thing. Was it her imagination, or did Ben’s little bird just out due to her scanning reading on speed.

“Ok, Aleck,” Odette said, sitting on a huge fallen tree trunk. “Tell us about your father and the doll.” They all waited patiently as Aleck stared at the sky, lost in memory.

“Clear” yelled the soldier.

“Yeah, for how long?” Aleck thought as she nervously scanned the sky for the ship that was supposed to be landing and bringing them badly needed supplies. The sun would set soon, and the fire from the fins of a shuttle landing at night would scream we’re over here, a lot louder than it would be landing in the day. At last, the light from the tail fin of the ship showed up. “Come on, Come on land quickly,” Aleck muttered. Time seemed to stretch for an eternity. At last, the ship landed.

All the soldiers rushed to the ship, ready to grab boxes, the minute the supply hold door opened. They loaded things as quickly as they could on the transport vehicle. The piolet of the small craft helped. He was a huge Rillian man who had come to visit the leader of the rebel base a few weeks before.

“They're coming!” Shouted her brothers Shem and Payton as they fired at the first Sharlacar troops to clear the distant ridge. Soon the whole Battalion was shooting as they each took turns disappearing into the forest. The Pilot pressed a button, and the ship blew up. Aleck looked around in irritation as she noticed no one thought to grab the pilot to lead him back to the rendezvous point at the secret base.

She ran and grabbed his hand, quickly dragging him towards the woods while her brothers covered her back, shooting any Sharlakar who came in sight. She motioned them to stop for silence as they disappeared into the underbrush. She waited until the sounds of the attract from the 2nd battalion started as they attacked the Shalakar to distract them from those escaping with the supplies. She then motioned them to follow her. Soon they arrived at what seemed to be a hole in the ground. The attached anchor lines to the nearest tree and slid into the hole into the vast cavern below.

She watched, impressed as the stocky Rillian moved down the rope as if he was a thin, light man instead of the 200-something slab of pure muscle that he was. The twins and her pulled off the camouflage caps they wore to reveal the flaming red hair and wiped the sweat off their brows.

“Can we talk now?” The Rillian signed, pointing to his mouth and moving his lips silently.

“Yes,” Aleck answered out loud. “We can talk now, Father.”

The children ran into the man’s arms. “You boy’s been staying out of trouble?” Shem and Payton’s sheepish grin told him they’d been doing anything but staying out of trouble.

He raised an I brow and looked at Aleck. She sighed.“They got creative with the bathroom stall doors, sound bite chips, and the intercom system.” They're still having to scrub the bathrooms for it.

“Well, I suppose it’s better than messing with the food supply and environment by catching every Vera rat they could find to release it into the cafeteria.” The Rillian man the children called father said with a sigh.

“We never did release them.” The boy’s said with mock inocent eyes.

That is because “I caught you trapping them humm. And that joke would not have been so funny once food supplies ran low.”

“Now, the bathroom one has my interest.” The boys told them with wicked grins what they did and how they made it sound like the person in the next stall was having interesting stomach issues and broadcasted over the whole base along with dialog like it was a sporting event. “There you go, that is a good prank. Everyone may be grossed out and discussed, but no one is harmed. But here I have something for you.” He pulled off his bag and started pulling out different toys to the delight of all the children while sayin thing like, “no, that’s not it. Ah, here we go. A book of the best pranks pulled in history.

“Father, don’t encourage them.” Said Aleck in exacerbation.

The Rillian just laughed, pulled out a doll, and gave it to Aleck, “here, little one; this is for you. My daughter, who is about your age, wanted you to have it. The doll was beautiful with long hair, long lashes, and eyes that seemed to almost really see. Now the other toys are for the other children on the base. You can get it to them, yes?”

"Yes, father," the children responded in unison. "There aren't many of us left, because the Sharlakar tend to prefer eating the young ones."

"I am well aware, my little ones," their father interrupted, "but let us put the war aside for now. I have brought a book with me. Would you like me to read it to you?"

Excited nods were exchanged among the siblings. "But first, we must check in with the commander," Aleck said, taking charge as usual. "Then we can go to our secret cave and read."

"Aleck is always so responsible," their father smiled sadly at them. "Yes, even these two troublemakers are way to responsible for there age hum." he added, ruffling their hair.

"Yes, Father," Aleck replied solemnly. "Even the twins understand when they need to be quiet, when they have to fight, and when they must steal. So yes, even them." She gestured for their father to follow as they made their way through the underground Cave system, avoiding hidden traps and pitfalls and climbing up steep passages that would challenge most individuals.

The commander was overseeing the supplies that came in. Father turned to the children. “Go deliver the toys while I talk to the commander.” Aleck and the boys went out and then hid in the tunnel above so they could hear the conversation. It came in broken through the tunnel, but this was its gist.

“....do not approve of you using children in... way.”

“Those kids stopped being children a long time ago… There are too few of us; we need anyone who can hold a gun and shoot, and those kids are some of the best leaders we’ve got… Unnaturally brilliant for their age… the tactics they come up with….”

The conversation moved on to more boring things, so the children moved out to deliver the toys.

As they approached their small cave, the children could hear the faint sound of father's heavy sighs as he followed behind. "What's wrong, Father?" asked Shem, concerned. His younger brother Payton stood beside him, eyes wide with worry.

"It pains me to say this, but I cannot protect you from the war that rages on outside these walls," replied father, his voice heavy with sorrow. "But perhaps I can teach you some survival skills that will give you a fighting chance."

He led them up to the surface through a hidden hole in the back of the cave, which opened up to a lush meadow. This was their secret spot - a place where they could escape and forget about the harsh realities of war.

"First, I'll show you how to defend yourselves when someone bigger and stronger gets too close for comfort," father as he demonstrated various techniques. Shem and Payton watched skeptically at first, but when their father challenged them to try coming at him with there best moves they were shocked to find themselves flat on their backs within seconds in spite of the speed of their cybernetics.

They trained for hours until night fell. At night as promised, Father read them a story. Aleck put her arms around her new doll and fell asleep to the sound of father's voice.

Aleck ended her story. “Father used to visit every two months to bring us supplies, until the General took over. He refused to let any outsiders in, and we never saw Father again.

"What happened to your doll?" Odett asked.

"The General destroyed it," Aleck answered with a sigh, gazing at the new doll Jareth had given her. "Thank you for this one, Jareth." She reached out to touch him but quickly pulled back, remembering that physical contact was forbidden.

"We should head back to the festival before we're missed," Ben suggested. They all silently agreed and walked back together, lost in their own thoughts.