"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.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

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...

image [https://i.pinimg.com/564x/8d/4c/c0/8d4cc0faa1f030d74c31ad45edf893a8.jpg]