It was a pretty average day in the Rec Room, the sun shining through the massive open window. On the floor just in front of the TV, Vanellope was drawing random sketches with Hilda, Iris and McGee. On the couch, Ruby bobbed her head a bit as Corey and Laney quietly practised their guitars, and Gretchen was with the Powerpuffs trying to best one of the arcade records.
It was getting closer to when the Summer Nights festival was set to happen, so all the adults were busy with helping get everything perfect. Yes, it meant there were a lot of clashing ideas, but they did reach agreements eventually.
It was why all the young ones tapped out. They didn't want to get dragged into flame wars, and didn't find the idea of planning all that interesting. So they'd wait till they could do all the fun stuff on the day itself. So they found themselves trying to lazily pass the time, even though it wasn't that effective.
Vanellope let out an impatient huff and sat up, dropping her crayon. "Okay, I'm kinda starting to go stir crazy. I need to do something more engaging or I'll jump out the window."
Her drawing partners all looked up at her. "Well, what do you want to do, Vanny?" McGee asked. "Because I'm having fun."
"Anything that doesn't mean sitting around here!" The racer glitched on top of one of the arm chairs, posing like an explorer. "We have a whole multiverse to explore, plus a bunch of the weird places we've heard about around here. And we barely see any of it! So I say we go out and have a good ol' classic adventure!"
Laney paused her strumming and looked up at the candy president. "I get you like moving around, Vanny, but you know we can't take over a city or anything."
"That is correct", an echoing voice said. All the kids looked up at Star Dream, who was watching them like a guardian angel. "Without adult supervision, you are strictly prohibited from leaving the castle premises. Understand it's for your own safety."
Vanellope groaned and flopped onto the arm chair's cushion, looking bitter and defeated. "Yeah, yeah, I get it…" She huffed. "I just want to do something new…"
Hilda frowned at her sister in sadness, but sadly couldn't think of anything. So she picked up the TV remote and turned on the news, just so there was some sort of background. As the commercials played out, a new Encanto trailer played out amongst them, and soon the news started back up.
On screen sitting behind the desk were two news anchors.
"Good morning, people of the Capital!" The man said professionally. "I'm Gerald Hoffman…"
"And I'm Helen Gladly!" The woman finished. "We've got plenty of amazing news for you today, including some information on some upcoming events!"
"First", Gerald began. "This is your reminder that in a week, we're holding our yearly Summer Nights festival! And this one is special, as the son of Mistress Rainbow and Virus is spearheading the planning for this one, which will be interesting to see."
"I heard about that", Helen said with a nod. "So yes. I will love to see what the young prince comes up with."
That made Ruby perk up. "The people who live here treat Caleb like a prince?"
"Well, he is technically Rainbow and Virus' kid", Corey said with a shrug. "So it makes sense."
"In other news", Gerald continued. "A new amusement park is set to hold its opening ceremony later today at noon." That made everyone in the Rec Room pause, and look over at the screen. "Spearheaded by castle staff, it's intended to be our own Disneyland. At least that's based on reports I've heard…"
As the news anchor shuffled through his papers in uncertainty, his co-anchor continuing on, all the kids shared wide eyed looks. An amusement park on that level was exactly what they needed to kill time and smash through the day. The only issue is they needed an adult to go with them, and they knew Jeremy was way too busy to be babysitter for the day.
As they brainstormed what to do, elsewhere in the castle, the adults were all hard at work with planning for the festival in the main event planning room. Jenny and Galacta were flying about with supplies and different sketches, while everyone else bickered and discussed what would be best for the whole thing.
Off to the side, by a massive corkboard/whiteboard combo, was Maria looking over the whole thing and everything that was guaranteed to be set in stone. Or she hoped. Honestly it was hard to tell, with how heated things currently were. So she just remained silent and looked over the proposed plans, seemingly formulating a plan of her own.
When she was at that boarding school, she did still find a way to have fun even if she was supposed to have it squeezed out of her.
As her eyes landed on a particular part of the proposed ideas, Manolo walked over and put an arm around her shoulders, looking a bit tired.
"You've got your thinking face on", he said with a smile, although it didn't fully meet his eyes. "If it's a crazy plan to get us out of here and away from… this…" He subtly gestured to the chaos behind them. "I'm in."
Maria simply hummed in agreement, her eyes still glued to the one photo. "That amusement park is opening today, right?" She asked offhandedly.
Manolo blinked and looked at the photo, nodding slowly. "I think it is… Why, do you want to check it out and see if it's a good spot to host the festival?"
"Partially that. But mainly to get away from all of this. I think it's going to give me a headache…"
The musician chuckled and removed his arm off his wife's shoulders, taking a closer look at the photo. In fact, there were a few, handed to these not-so-competent party planners by castle staff for potential help. Maria glared at the arguing group behind them as her husband came back over to her side.
"I think it could work", he said, earning her attention. "Plus, it'd just be nice to get out of here. All these heated debates on what colour of streamer is the best is kinda choking me."
The wooden woman smiled and let out a quiet giggle, taking her husband's hand and walking towards the exit. Unfortunately, Katania spotted them and stopped in front of them, looking at them in concern. Even though she just got here, she could tell there was a reason for the Sanchez' suddenly leaving.
"Is everything okay, you two?" She asked honestly.
"Everything's fine, Kat, don't worry", Maria said reassuringly. "Me and Manolo just thought to go and check out that new amusement park that opened to see if it could work for a location."
The general's daughter smiled in relief, only to gain an expression of remembrance. "Oh! If you two are doing that, could you take Vanellope and the others with you? They asked me if they could go earlier, but with everyone busy there wasn't anyone available to watch them."
Manolo looked upwards in thought, then shrugged. "I don't see why not. We could use some help testing the rides… in a way. Is that okay, Maria?"
Maria nodded. "That's perfectly fine."
"Cool thanks guys!" Kat ran back into the warzone, which was enough of an opening for the couple to slip out of the room. When they closed the door behind themselves, they both let out massive sighs of relief and swiftly started to make their way to the Rec Room.
Back at the main hangout spot, all the kids were laying around in dejection. All their motivation to do other activities was zapped out of them, all thanks to the prospect of not being able to go to an awesome new theme park. Vanellope herself was particularly crushed, looking even more bored and deflated than before.
She stared up at the ceiling at where Star Dream once was, having long vanished. Now all she could see above was Voltula's many webs up above, the Galvantula crawling along them with ease. Glancing towards the wall at the back of the chair, she saw all the Pokemon were resting on their raised platform bed, with Twig snuggled with them. Below that, Viz was keeping careful watch of the other unhatched egg.
With a tired sigh, she rolled off the chair, stood up, and started making her way towards the door to the hallway. But before she even reached there, Maria and Manolo walked in with smiles on their faces. All the kids looked over at them, confusion painted across them all.
"What're you guys doing here?" Corey asked.
"Well, we were going to head out somewhere…" Maria said in a happy tone, shooting her husband a light smile from the side.
"And we were told you guys would like to tag along", Manolo finished.
That made all the kids perk up. "Where were you going to go?" Hilda asked cautiously.
"To that new amusement park that just opened!" He said triumphantly.
The kids all sprang to their feet and looked at the two adults in shock, then bolted over to them and started all speaking at once. Maria smiled and raised her hands, making them all quiet down. "We're doing this to see how good this place can be for the festival, and we needed someone to test the rides… And Kat said you wanted to go, so it's a win-win for all of us."
"So you kids go and get ready!" Manolo said. "We'll meet you at the front of the castle."
The kids all nodded quickly and sped out of the room and into their rooms, nearly knocking the adults down. When they recovered, they watched them go with fond smiles before heading down the hallway towards the entrance. This was going to be a hectic day, so they wanted to make sure they had more than enough to have all the fun they could.
~X~
As Manolo stood outside the limo, watching the kids all filing in overflowing with excitement and anticipation, Maria was talking to their driver for the day.
"So you'll come back to pick us up around 9?" The wooden woman asked.
The driver nodded with a smile. "Since this is the grand opening, there's going to be a lot going on. So you guys get to enjoy yourselves!"
"Thanks." Maria walked to the back of the limo, nodding at Manolo, and they both entered simultaneously. Inside the vehicle, they kids were all bouncing around like crazy, their hype obvious.
Maria just leaned against her husband in the back seat as the limo started up and began to move, which did little to deter their excitement. As they ran around, Manolo pulled out a pamphlet and started to look over it, Maria catching a few glances at it as he read. It was all on the new park, and from the sounds of it, this park was something else.
"You think the kids will have fun?" The wooden woman asked quietly.
"I know they will", the musician responded warmly. "This place looks to be right up our speed, and they have it all. There's a go-kart track, multiple roller coasters, a few impressive looking dark rides… Like Ralph would say, 'the whole kit and caboodle'… whatever that means."
The woman snorted and laughed, pushing her husband lightly. "Don't start taking up that sort of slang, I have a headache enough as is."
Manolo chuckled and hugged Maria close, the two of them falling silent as the vehicle continued down the road. Vanellope, having spotted the pamphlet, glitched over and snagged it out of the musician's loose grip, And glitched back over to Hilda and Iris.
As they looked over all they could find at the park, the Lakebottom duo and Grojband duo both chatted across from them.
"So, what are you guys looking to get on first?" McGee asked the others quietly.
Gretchen shrugged. "Honestly, just anything that's high, fast, and good at pumping blood."
"I'm hoping there's a sort of stage show to flex your musical skills", Corey said, flexing his arm with a grin. "That way I can have fun while also getting some practice in!"
McGee nodded, then looked at Laney. "What about you, Lanes? What ride are you hoping will be there?"
"Oh, you know, maybe something like what Gretchen said…" She leaned against Corey and flashed him a flirty smile. "Or maybe some kind of Tunnel Of Love…"
The guitarist blushed and let out a sheepish chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. McGee gagged jokingly as Gretchen rolled her eyes with a smile. Elsewhere, the Powerpuffs and Ruby were watching the whole interaction play out. All of them giggled teasingly, except Buttercup. She just looked indifferent to it all.
"Here's hoping they don't make goo-goo eyes at each other", the green-clad Powerpuff said flatly. "Because I'd rather not throw up before getting on the roller coasters."
Blossom smacked the back of her head lightly. "Buttercup, shush. They're happy together, and you should be too. Who knows, maybe you could find someone for yourself?"
"I don't see it happening. I talked with Kat a while back, and turns out I'm… I think she said Aromantic? Never though all that mushy love stuff was cool."
Ruby looked up at her friend in surprise, then smiled. "Discovering more about yourself, huh? I'm the same. Turns out I'm Bi, at least that's what I learned when I looked online."
Bubbles and Blossom blinked, glanced over at Iris, then looked back at Ruby.
The rag doll girl nodded. "It's no surprise I have a crush on Skullboy, but after all this time… I realised I really like Iris that way too… I don't know how to tell them, though…"
Bubbles smiled and hugged her now blushing friend from the side, while Buttercup shot her a smirk, and Blossom giggled. "We'll help you out with that, Ruby", the pink-clad Powerpuff said. "Don't worry."
Gloom nodded, and the limo fell into a comfortable silence as each of the groups broke out into their own conversations to pass the time. At some point, Vanellope got bored and poked her head out of the sunroof, trying to gauge where the park was. But much to her surprise, they were leaving the city. She turned around and looked at the Capital as it got further and further away, and her curiosity peaked even more.
"How close are we, Vanny?" Iris called up.
"Uhhhhhhhh… Well, all I know is that this place is outside the city, and by a lot…"
Hilda and Iris shared a look, then joined their friend to watch the city grow more distant. "Okay…" The blue-haired adventurer said in surprise. "Now I'm wondering if that pamphlet was being honest at all…"
Iris turned around, and started to poke her friends. "I think you were right, Hilda…"
The other two girls turned around, and gawked at the sight before them. The theme park was absolutely massive, with multiple of the themed structures visible over the high walls. Massive parade balloons flew overhead, while cheery and upbeat music got louder and louder as they neared.
"Holy cow…" Corey said in shock, the others were all poking their heads out the windows, staring at the massive park in awe.
"I'm already thinking this place is perfect…" Maria whispered to Manolo. he nodded back before returning his gaze to the park as the driver pulled the limo into the parking lot. It was massive, and there were already all sorts of vehicles filling all the spots they passed.
Thankfully, there was a VIP end of the parking lot, which was reserved for castle staff and news reporters, based on the sign dividing the section.
As the limo parked up, the kids all started rushing out onto the cement, all standing together as a group as they stared up at a massive roller coaster that looped around a mountain with artificial clouds. Maria looked around as she stepped out, with Manolo letting out a low, impressed whistle.
"Okay, kids, come here", Maria began. The kids all ran up to her, looking up at her eagerly. "We'll stick together till we can get you all a map of this place. Then you can split off and check this place on your own. In…" She squinted at a nearby clock. "Four hours, we'll meet back up in the central square to head to lunch, and then do the same for dinner, got it?"
"You got it, MarMar!" Vanellope said with a salute. She led the kids ahead, leaving a stupified Maria behind.
Manolo was trying so hard not to laugh, but soon just broke down. The laughter made Maria glare at him, her face burning with embarrassment. "You shush! I've never had anyone call me that!"
"Then that just means I should take up that, huh?"
Maria weakly slapped him and pouted. "Don't you dare."
Manolo just smiled and kissed her, walking after the kids to make sure they didn't run off. The boarding school graduate watched him leave, her pout giving way for a light smile, before she faced the driver of the limo.
"So you'll try to be around here at 9?" She asked.
"I'll try to", the driver responded. "You know what the limo looks like, so just keep your eyes peeled."
Maria nodded and headed after the others, waving goodbye to the driver as they drove off. She smiled wider as she caught up to the group, who were just entering the flood of people that were heading through the park's front entrance. Looking up at the sign hanging from the massive open gate, Maria took a deep breath.
The Crazy Central Core Theme Park.
Blinking and nodding to herself, she marched in after her family, already knowing this was going to be a long day.
~X~
After they all got their maps and split up, Maria and Manolo decided to try and locate whoever was in charge of the park to hopefully see how they'd feel about it being the location for the festival. So they walked around asking staff, but they kept getting told the manager was busy because of it being the grand opening.
Supposedly, there was a connection to the worlds of old mythologies being made so tourism for the park was much higher. Supposedly, Maria doubted Rainbow would actually let that slide.
So with a dead end hit, the couple sat at an outdoor table at an ice cream parlour, deflating as soon as they landed on the chair seats.
"Okay, so a bit of a snag…" Maria said with a sigh. "But now the staff at least know, so hopefully someone will tell the manager…"
"I'm just worried the manager wouldn't think that what we have to ask is important", Manolo asked, leaning back and looking around the area aimlessly. "I mean… the staff could just think we're just visitors. so it's just a thought they'd drop before continuing along their day."
Maria groaned and planted her face on the table, knocking the items on it a bit. "You're probably right… But, I guess we did have a different reason for coming here…" She leaned back up and blinked, looking at her husband with a neutral look. "You want to check this place out more?"
Manolo nodded, and the couple headed towards one of the themed lands of the park. It seemed to be based around all aspects of fairy tale fantasy, with a smaller but very much still massive rendition of Disneyland's Cinderella castle. As the San Angel couple walked down the main road, they both looked over to a meet-n-greet in active use.
A family was happily taking photos with a cast member dressed up as Merida, which made the couple balk at the sight and quickly run off. "I don't think Merida's gonna have a fun time here…" Manolo said in worry. "I just know there's going to be a day we need to bail her out because of a screw-up…"
"That'll be fun." Maria sighed out, before turning her attention elsewhere. The whole area was very well themed, with a plethora of sturdy oak trees and filled flower beds. It made the whole place feel even more alive. As they walked, they paused to look at some of the rides this part of the park had, which included a variety of slower, lower to the ground coasters that fit the overall theme.
As they explored, the couple soon found themselves entering Cinderella's Castle, which wasn't just a simply glorified archway like in the actual parks. No, this one was a full blown palace, still smaller than the Capital's own castle, but impressively detailed nonetheless. They explored around top to bottom, checking out all the rooms they could before heading out towards the back entrance. But before they stepped back outside, Maria spotted someone.
"Hold on, I think that's the manager!" She said to Manolo, pointing to a decently buff young woman who was talking to a group of guests and staff. She ran over as the group dispurced, waving the manager down.
"Oh, hello you two", the young woman said. "I hope the park is all that you hoped for, I made sure of it."
Maria glanced down at the manager's name tag, then smiled and nodded. "Yes, this park is absolutely wonderful! But me and my husband here", she gestured to Manolo, "are from the Castle."
That made the manager and a few nearby staff perk up and look at them in surprise. "Oh my, it's an honour to meet you two! A lot of the Capital just treats you all as a rumour most of the time, so meeting you in person is incredible." She shook the couple's hands, smiling bright. "My name is Magnolia. What brings you two here?"
"Well, we were thinking about asking you in regards to something", Manolo said as he crossed his arms. "Planning for the Summer Nights has been… I want to say a bit bumpy, mainly when it comes to location. But we saw how one of the suggested ideas was this park, so we were hoping to ask you…" He trailed off as a look of excited shock graced Magnolia's features.
"You want my park to be the location of the festival?!" She shouted in shock. "Of course! That would be such an honour, being able to lend my land to the prince and his friends-"
"Family", Maria interrupted. "We've known each other long enough for us to be considered family."
Magnolia was caught off guard for a moment, before nodding with a smile. "I understand. I'll give my staff the announcement after the park closes. Thank you for picking my park. Now, I need to deal with other things. Here…" She pulled out a business card and handed it to the boarding school graduate. "My contact information. Have a wonderful rest of your day!"
Magnolia ran off, leaving the couple standing there a little lost for a bit. But they both shook their heads and returned to their adventure through the park, Maria stuffing the card in her purse as they walked.
"So that went well!" Manolo said with a smile. "Looks like we can relax now!"
"Yeah…" Maria gave him a side smirk. "Because of that… C'mon!" She suddenly grabbed his hand and started to run ahead. Manolo cried in shock, making her laugh. "If we have all this time to ourselves, then I want to make the most of it!"
She continued dragging him along towards one of the more exhilarating rides, unknowingly passing by Ruby and the Powerpuffs. They were munching on cotton candy as the adult couple suddenly shot by, making the four girls look over in surprise.
"Dang, I didn't know Maria was that fast…" Buttercup said. "She should join the Capital's Olympic track team."
"I actually remember her saying that one time", Ruby said. "But she didn't want to because as much as she loved sword fighting and karate, she didn't really like the track fields."
"That's fair", Blossom said as she finished her cotton candy and tossed the stick into a nearby trash can. "But it would be cool to see her on TV like that sometime."
Bubbles, who was idly listening, blinked. "Do you think they talked to the manager?"
"I'd like to think they did. Because I do not see Maria being that happy when she's on a mission of any kind."
Buttercup snorted as she tossed her now vacant cotton candy stick. "Well, whatever. Let's go and find a ride or something, waiting here is making me bored."
The other girls all rolled their eyes and headed down a different path from the couple, Bubbles and Ruby still enjoying their cotton candy and they moved. Cheery, somewhat generic fantasy music was playing from the park's speakers, which added to the atmosphere. The girls all continued along their way, leaving the fantasy section and heading into the land based on the concepts of the future and such.
It was nearly identical to Disney's Tomorrowland, only with elements of other sci-fi worlds spliced in. It was crisp, clean and very high tech.
As they walked, Buttercup hummed. "I do hope this place is picked for the festival. It's freaking awesome!"
"Yeah, I hope so too", Ruby said with a light smile. "I can just imagine it… the warm lights, all the games, us taking a ride on the Ferris wheel and seeing the sunset…"
"That sounds like so much fun!" Bubbles cheered, discarding her finished cotton candy stink in a passing trash can. "Eeeeeee, I can't wait!"
"Just cool your jets, girls", Blossom said in a calm tone. "We don't even know if this'll be the place. Earlier, I wanted to see how the planning was going… And I instantly left after hearing all the shouting. It'll take a miracle to have the others agree on this."
"Ah, I can threaten them to agree", Buttercup said in a snarky tone.
"Buttercup!" The other girls shouted at her. The green-clad Powerpuff just laughed and flew off, sparking the others to give chase. Ruby did hesitate, however, as she looked over at the towering centrepiece of the whole park. With a hum, she followed after her friends at a brisk pace, hoping the day stays strong.
~X~
Vanellope, Hilda and Iris stood in the surprisingly short line for one of the park's break-out attractions: A massive and fast roller coaster that spiralled around a tall spire. It looked invigorating, exciting, awesome…
And terrifying in Hilda's case.
She was tense as a board as her little trio neared the entrance, their full access passed in hand. The blue hair adventurer's one was most definitely crumpled at how tightly she was squeezing it. Iris noticed her fear, and bumped Vanellope.
"Hey, Vanny, do you think this ride is a good idea?" The cyclops asked quietly. "Hilda looks a bit… tense…"
Vanellope discreetly looked back at her sister, and shrugged. "She'll be fine. I do this stuff all the time, so if you two just stick with me, everything will be fine."
Hilda shook her head and swallowed nervously. "I'm fine, g-guys, really. Just a bit… i-intimidated is all."
"See? Hilda can handle it." Vanellope brushed off Iris' worry as she took the blue-hair girl's hand and ran inside the loading area for the roller coaster. The racer flashed her and Hilda's passes, with Iris right behind and flashing her own.
As they got loaded up in the karts for the ride, Hilda gave the handle bars a death grip. Vanellope, sitting next to her, looked at her in worry. She glanced back at Iris, who was seated behind, then back to her sister.
"Hilda, you good?" The candy president asked warily. "I haven't ever seen you so scared before."
"I don't know what's wrong…" Hilda whispered fearfully in response. "I'm used to riding Woffs around like nothing, I've scaled a mountain, travelled under the ocean, and was even chased by a then big scary wolf. But this… This is just getting to me…"
"Hey, sis, look at me." The Trolberg kid looked at the Sugar Rush kid. "Just take deep breaths, relax, and you'll have fun, okay?"
Hilda silently nodded, squeaking a bit in fear when The train of carts started moving. The girl held her breath as it moved forward onto an incline, locking into the main catapult system. There was a moment of hesitation before they were launched up. Everyone in the carts screamed, Hilda in fear rather than excitement, as the coaster dipped over the top bump and started to spiral up towards the top of the spire.
As they went on, Hilda opened her eyes, and was surprised at how invigorating this felt, so she started to laugh and cheer, which infected Vanellope and Iris almost immediately. The girls all hooted and hollered as the carts made their way all the way up, and then started the rapid descent back down. It was so much fun, to the point Hilda lifted her hands up.
The ride soon hit the corkscrew part of the descent, which actually did jolt fear into everyone. But only for a second. Soon they were all back to cheering and screaming in excitement. It continued all the way down till the carts pulled back into the loading station, letting all the passengers disembark.
Vanellope, Hilda and Iris all stumbled out of the ride's exit with weak legs, wild eyes, and even wilder hair. They were breathing heavily, staring into space as they collected their bearings. After a moment, they all shared a look, and then cheered.
"Okay, we need to go on more of these rides!" Hilda said loudly, a beaming smile on her face."
"That's the spirit, sis!" Vanellope cheered. "C'mon, I saw a go-kart track on the way here!"
"I call dibs on a black kart!" Iris shouted as they ran off, the candy president leading the charge.
Not too far away, Corey, Laney, McGee and Gretchen were boarding the park's main form of transportation to check out more of the park. It was a train, both rustic and modern. As the group sat down, getting into the comfy red velvet seats, the train was off.
The band leader looked out of his window, looking over all the buildings and rides they passed. "I'm kinda bummed there isn't any sort of music themed ride so far, but honestly this place is killer! I wouldn't mind coming back sometime."
"Might be soon, if Maria and Manolo convince the others to have the festival here", Gretchen said, arms crossed and leaning back in her seat.
Laney looked out Corey's own window, and shrugged. "Eh, I'm fine with whatever. As long as we get to do our own song, then I'm happy."
"How have Kin and Kon been anyway?" McGee asked. "They haven't popped by for a while now."
"Eh, you know them, always experimenting with my generous loans." Laney gave her friends a flat look. "After the whole dream fiasco, I've been really careful with funding their stuff."
"Makes you wonder why they don't just work on it all here, honestly", Corey said matter-of-factly. "They'd have a lot more freedom here."
"Eh, who knows", McGee said with a shrug. "But backtracking a bit… What were you guys planning on doing for the festival?"
"Well, we were hoping to do three songs. The first two are covers of songs Lanes felt fit the 'summer vibes', and the last one is a song written by yours truly."
"That sounds cool", Gretchen said with a smile. "I'll definitely be looking forward to it."
"You guys should head over to Core's place tomorrow", Laney said. "We were gonna do some practice, and we would like some extra opinions that aren't… Trina's…"
The Lakebottom duo nodded, only for McGee to gain a thoughtful look. "How is she anyway?"
"Eh, she's still the same", Corey said, a bit of a frown on his face as he looked out the window. "After realising she basically locked away the old her just so she could be mean… I don't know, it's been weirder to be around her. And makes me glad I finally started writing my own song lyrics."
"I'm with ya', Core…" Laney said. Things were quiet for a moment before the bassist shook her head and faced the summer camp duo again. "How's Squirt and the others at Lakebottom been?"
"Pretty good! This is our third summer there, and I honestly am surprised there's still so much more to do."
"Like the fact there's a whole subterranean city of mole people", Gretchen said, leaning forward a bit. "Turns out they've been stealing stuff from both our camp and SunnySmiles, but with a bit of elbow grease we made sure they didn't steal from us ever again."
Corey and Laney looked confused. "Elbow grease?"
"Rose and Gretchen dealt with it", McGee said. "What they did, I have no idea." Gretchen pouted, which made the group all start to laugh. Afterwards, they went on with a new conversation to pass the time, eventually hopping off the train and heading towards the central area for lunch. The sun was high, and their smiles were bright.
~X~
The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Because of all the rides, shows, activities and such everywhere, the group was absolutely exhausted come time to head home. All the kids were fast asleep as the limo drove back to the castle, with Maria and Manolo having moved them all closer to the front and into more comfortable positions so any bumps didn't hurt them.
When they both relaxed in the back most seat, Maria's phone rang. Instantly, she picked it up and held it up to her ear. "Hello?" She whispered.
"Hey Maria!" Caleb's voice sounded off. "Just checking up on you guys since you've been MIA all day. How was the park? And don't worry, Kat told me you, Manolo and the kids all went."
"It was great, Caleb", the wooden woman said with a happy sigh. "We were able to talk to the park manager, and she'd love for the festival to be held there. And after checking everything out… Yeah, it'll be perfect."
"I see… Hmmmmmm…" The other end was silent for a moment. "Honestly, yeah. We'll do that. That way we can also focus more on just general set up and stuff… Okay, thanks Maria. Oh, and just so you know… I would've gone with you. All the shouting was also giving me a headache."
Maria was in shock as Caleb hung up, looking at her phone screen with wide-eyes. Manolo gave her a look of concern. "Is everything okay, Maria?"
The boarding school graduate just shook her head and laughed. "Just Caleb knowing exactly what's going on, mi amor. He's too smart for our own good."
The musician chuckled and leaned back, pulling his wife into a hug as they headed back to the castle. They were ready to end off the day with a comfortable sleep that even gods would be jealous of…
~X~
And that's chapter 9 done just before Halloween! Dang, this was a fun one. Whole new locale, some new development with the characters, and just some dumb fun fluff.
So, yes, we have some new sexualities for the cast confirmed! Ruby is Bi, and Buttercup is Aro Ace. It might seem weird for the latter, but remember that as my AU goes, these characters do naturally age if that's how it works by their own rules. I'll get more into it at a later point, but yeah, Bi Ruby and Aro Ace Buttercup!
Also, we got a new location! The Crazy Central Core Theme Park! This was a very cool place to design and plan up, so expect more of it to show up. And not just for the festival, either!
But this is it. Next chapter will be the big 10, which will signify the end of the first arc of this story! Yeah, I doubled the length of the first DCT's first arc, lol. I just wanted to have a lot of more episodic stuff that just expands the group as a whole before more of the dramatic and important stuff happens. For the most part…
Look forward to the next chapter, trust me. You won't want to miss it…
Up next: It's time for the Summer Nights festival! With so much done to celebrate such an important time, all the group break off to do their own things as they reflect on how far they've come.
Of course, it's not without its surprises…
~Caleb~