A/N: Ahhh. A high-fiber diet, midday naps, quitting my job, and a week's worth of time passage have produced most wonderful results. I still cannot push myself, but a standard level of performance is sustainable now.

Anyway, today was busy. Hence the omake-length chapter. But it's still technically Sunday!

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General

The dolls knew little. They knew that their playmate had returned, but could not play with them. They also knew that something had happened in the world outside, and that one of the giants was still hurt. The giants read stories to them, but even so, the dolls could not help but become curious.

They happened to be left unattended for a moment. Warlic stood up and waved his arms for attention. The other dolls also stood. They ran to the window and opened it. A screen filled part of the window. One of the giants would not have been able to get past it without destroying it, but the dolls slipped easily out the narrow gap at the top. They floated down two floors, reached the ground, then ran around to where their skateboard was parked. They took it to the stone path and climbed on all at once. As before, they rocketed down the path towards the place the giants called "town."

They were very careful to follow all the rules that the stern giant had taught them. It made driving more fun. They took every opportunity to look around for clues to the mysterious change that had occurred. They knew that the change had something to do with the strange giants that passed them by.

Those strange giants looked at them a lot. Many stopped walking. Some pulled out tiny magic boxes. It was a mystery what the boxes were for, until two of them flashed a bright light after being touched. The dolls hurried away, thinking that the bright light might be a spell. Little One put anti-spell protections over them all.

They made their way to the green park-place and carried the skateboard to a wooden bench. There, they went over what they had seen. The giants had not looked at them so much before, had not stopped before, and had not pointed magic lights at them before. Why were the giants behaving differently? What were the lights for? Mysteries spawned yet more mysteries. Warlic was happy.

While the others sat on the bench and communicated with each other, Little One hopped down. He put the skateboard on its wheels and used it as a table, sitting with his legs underneath it and his arms resting on top. His back was supported by the bench. He felt very comfortable and happy in this position.

He would have stayed in that position for a long time if he had not noticed a small giant staring at them. Its guardians called it back, then bent down to pick it up. The small giant was about the same size as the dolls. Little One wondered if it might talk, give them answers. He tilted the skateboard up and leaned it against the bench before walking over.

The small giant's guardians had picked it up, but it wailed and kicked and made a great big fuss. The guardians went still when they saw Little One. This allowed the small one to nearly slip free and fall. After some indecision, the guardian who held the small one put it down. It stumbled towards Little One with its hands out. It fell into him, nearly knocking him over. Little One jumped backward and flailed his arms. The small giant fell and let out a short wail before getting to its feet and trying again.

By now, the others had noticed. They ran up and surrounded the small giant. It stopped and sat down heavily, unable to decide which of them to reach for first. Warlic tilted his head, curious.

"What the hell are those things?" asked the long-haired guardian giant.

"I don't know," whispered the short-haired guardian, who had held the small one. "They look like dolls."

"Dolls don't walk! …I think."

The small one lunged at Warlic. It grabbed Warlic's ear and the edge of his hair, clenching both in tight fists. Warlic flailed his arms. Manta and Solis leaped forward, grabbing the small giant's arms. The small one cried out and pulled Warlic's head towards itself. Warlic fell on his face. Little One jumped up and down frantically. The short-haired guardian giant knelt down and held the small one while speaking to it firmly. She pried its hands off. Warlic leaped to his feet and ran away with his arms in the air. Little One kept jumping, Solis flailed his arms, and Manta turned around and around in place.

"They're upset," the short-haired guardian said sadly.

At the sound of her voice, Little One stopped jumping. She sounded just like the orange-haired giant, their playmate, always did. Little One looked up at her. She looked at him back. He waved his arms.

"Let's get out of here," the long-haired one urged.

"Yes, of course." She picked up the small one, who cried out in protest but did not struggle. She spoke to Little One. "You have a mom, don't you? Go back to your mom."

"Karen, they're dolls."

Little One reasoned out that "mom" must refer to someone who used that special voice. He ran around catching the attention of the other dolls. By this point, Solis was sitting sadly while Warlic and Manta ran around. Little One created a forcefield in front of them, knocking them to the ground. He was in Warlic's face gesturing back the way they had come before Warlic could resume panicking.

"Holy shit! Did you see that, Karen?"

"Honey! Language."

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A/N: I love this chapter despite or maybe because of its shortness. It feels similar to the affection I sometimes feel for oneshots.

Anyway. Hopefully next week's chapter will be a bit longer.