“I don’t really see how this is necessary.” I run to keep up with the tall councilman. “I recommended we focus our efforts more on—,”

Archivist #5 Zuid Refductin, with his hands folded behind his back and his hair slicked back into a low ponytail, looks over his shoulder to pierce me with his stare. His features where sharp, a long snooping nose separating his dark brown eyes.

“Afraid you don’t have any say in the matter, Archivist Ravenwriter. The Council has already decided.”

He faces forward again and starts his long strides again. His white and golden uniform looks so clean and pressed that it had to be uncomfortable. But he showed no sign of emotion, his features seemingly stuck in a permanent deadpan state.

I sigh and drag a hand though my hair. My nerves were shot and the feathers of my wings were bristling and puffing up. Archivist Refductin showed up out of the blue at my office. Saying something about inspection of the castle. Then he dragged me out of my mushroom with no other explanation.

I growl, “Sir…Even though I may not be on the council, I am still Head Archivist for the DCA Castle—,”

“For now. You are Head Archivist for now.” He turns a corner sharply, having me scramble to make the corner. He waves his hand dismissively, “The position shouldn’t have gone to you anyways. You are much too young. It should have been given to someone with immense experience.”

He places his hand on his chest, “Someone like me.”

I give him a strained smile, speaking through clenched teeth, “But it DIDN’T. And you cannot change the past—,”

“Perhaps…but I can change the future.” He muses, eyes glinting and his lips twitching. He stops abruptly, causing me to walk straight into him.

I grunt and rub my nose while backing up. I shoot him a pointed look, “What?”

“October is coming.” He states taking in the grandeur of the large entry way of the castle. It was more elaborate than the smaller backdoor entrance we came in and brighter too.

I nod my head, dusting off the sleeves of my coat. “Yes. As it does every year…”

“I could do without you sass.”

“I could do without you and your pompous as—,” I bite my lip when he turns his head sharply, warning me with his pointed stare.

I roll my eyes and start to tend to my feathers. Preening them slightly so that they wouldn’t stick up as much.

He nods his head then looks around the room again while holding his chin in thought. “The little…Halloween Festival is also coming up, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir.” I nod again, crossing my arms, “It’s a major event for the castle.”

“Hmm…Is security adequate during these festivals?” He lowers his hand, raising a brow as he levels me with his stare once more.

“Yes, sir. I have many Creators with their Y/ns and DCAs who help out with maintaining the Castle’s defensive during festivities. No Trolls or Frauds ever sneak in.”

He nods, “I would like to meet one of these Creators that you hold in such high regard.”

“Well, before you RUDELY dragged me out from my office.” I narrow my eyes before pulling at the helm of my tunic to straighten it. “I was actually preparing to meet up with the one of the Creators who help out with the festival preparations—,”

“Marvelous!” He smirks, “Lead the way.”

I shake my head, crossing my arms as my wings fold close to my back. “I can’t do that—,”

He scoffs “As one of the High Council Members, you have to follow my orders. It’s part of the law—,”

My wings spread out as wide as they can and I bark out a laugh. “According to that law, as Head Archivist for this Castle, I have to protect every single Creator that resides in these halls. I can’t not bring a stranger, Council member or not, to a Creator’s room unannounced.”

 “Why you insolent—AH!” He flinches and jumps back, holding his arms over his head to shield him from something.

I whip around, hand outstretch and pulsing with my purple-colored mana. I blink and lower my hand when I take in a familiar face. I sigh and offer a small bow to the animatronic.

Standing there was a fairly small, seemingly wooden tiki bot. Their main colors being of a deep chocolate brown, their two round eyes being a darker shade. With slightly coral pupils, which turn into upright crescents as if they were smiling.

Causing Councilman Refductin to flinch and take another step back.

They also had beautiful, seemingly carved, teal-colored marks on their chest, arms, legs, what made up their nose, and their little head crown-piece. I always loved their Polynesian look.

And to top it all off, the little guy wore a pair of moss green swim shorts with a pink palm leaves pattern.

 I chuckle as the Tiki Bot doe a little spin that ends in a bow. They straighten up, shoulders shaking as they cover the spot where their mouth should be. Laughing. They look behind me and tilt their head, pointing.

I shake my head, “No one to worry about, I assure you. This is Council Member Refductin. He is inspecting the Castle today.”

The bot nods their head in understanding while the Councilman peaks over my shoulder. He eyes them up and down.

“An…An OC Staffbot?” He mumbles quietly. “I thought that they would mostly stay to the canon design…not—,”

“Come up with an entirely new ensemble? Please.” I roll my eyes, gesturing to my small friend with a wave of my hand, “Now apologize to our guest here.”

He harrumphs and quickly moves from his hiding spot behind my wings. He straightens the collar of his uniform, “I do not take orders from you.”

I roll my eyes once more before turning my attention back to the Tiki Bot. “How is your Creator? Okay I hope?”

They nod and start to sign with their hands. I activate my mana to better translate what they say, the Councilman copying me almost immediately.

-Creator is well! They are very busy planning and preparing for the festival. They sent me to find you because they want to go over some plans. Is that alright?-

“I would have to bring along old sour puss over here.” I jerk my head in Refductin’s direction. The man turns redder than a tomato.

The tiki-bot just nods their head, -That’s alright! The more the merrier!-

Refductin folds his hands behind his back, “Very well. Lead the way then.”

“PLEASE.” I press, shooting him a pointed look.

The tiki-bot nods their head again and jumps up to spin around. They head down one of the large hallways to the side. The councilman and I follow dutifully behind them. I smile, watching as the little tiki-bot skips and does a little dance while walking.

I nod my head to its cute rhythm, trying to ignore the stupid tsks Refductin made as he inspected the hall.

Thankfully the trip was a short one!

The tiki-bot stops in front of a pair of one simple door. Nothing too outlandish or having any special patterns. Just a nice plain door that strangely brought a sense of calm to my mind. I step forward and inspect the wooden mailbox hanging on the wall right next to the door.

The name carved into the wood was painted white.

“This is it?”

Both me and the tiki-bot look at him with tilted heads.

-What did you expect? It’s just a room…-

I snort at the bot’s retort while Refductin huffs. The tiki-bot pulls out a key from his shorts and unlocks the door He steps inside, waiting patiently as I inspect my boots for any sign of dirt. Once I’m done, I step in, keeping my wings close to myself.

Refductin steps in after me, paling as he takes in the room.

“What is this?!” He gestures to the eerie room.

Black polished tiles make up the floor, some fur-skin rugs here and there to provide some warmth to the chilling stone. Some pillars made of the same material hold up the corners of the room. The walls are lined with dark oak paneling. The wallpaper was old, some of it chipping off the wall itself. The color was faded, the baby blue flora pattern barely visible.

Long, raggedy, and old curtains cover the bay windows. Giving little natural light to the living room. The room itself full of Victorian style furniture, the wood a dark brown and the cushions a simple dark red color.

On the little side tables were small vintage lamps with stain-glass shades. The yellow, blue, and green lights giving the room most of its light. Music fills the air thanks to a brass phonograph. It plays a tone I’m VERY familiar with.

I hum the tone to the Daycare Theme while following the tiki-bot to one of the couches. The little guy claps their hands in delight while running off. Heading into another room off to the side.

“What kind of person lives here?” Refductin shivers as a cool breeze drifts in from some open vent. “A horror writer or artist? Some monster Creator?”

I scratch my chin, “Not exactly—,”

“Then who?” He crosses his arms and raises a brow.

I go to answer when I hear a few familiar voices.

“Oh! We can have a giant pumpkin filled with fairy lights and it dispenses candy every ten minutes!”

“That sound like a bunch of fun, Sunspot! We can set up some buckets around the pumpkin that way the passing person could grabs some candy if they so happen to miss the dispensing!”

A tall animatronic steps out into the room, a bright contrast to the otherwise dreary living space. His metal seemed to be made of stone. The material having playful patches of bright teals, yellows, oranges, and small bits of red that made up his feet. On his forelegs, forearms, shoulders and chest where patterns that seemed to be Aztecan in origin.

And like the tiki-bot, he wore a pair of swim shorts. These being a dark teal green and having the same patterns as his metal. Flower-like petals fan out around his face. Giving him his namesake.

“Yes, yes. But what about my idea for a haunted water slide?” A deeper voice asks, the body belonging to that said voice steps out.

“Moonie~…” Sun rolls his eyes, crossing his arms.

“What?”

Another animatron with darker colors and instead of a stone-like metal, this one had a more wooden texture to it. His shorts made of a red fabric with white flowers as a small pattern. But they were ripped a bit in the back part of the leg-sleeve-things.

His colors were a dark brown, a dark teal and a light blue. His metal’s patterns wasn’t Aztecan-themed but instead a Polynesian pattern. Much like the tiki-bot.

Then finally, the person I wanted to see!

“Sun-e-chips!” I get to my feet, smiling brightly, “It’s so nice to see you again!”

The creator in question looks at me, blinking for a second before they smile as well. They wore a simple pair of black boots, that look like they’ve seen better days. Their dark blue bootcut jeans pairs well with their dark green turtleneck.

Their long brown hair was done up in a high ponytail, with a small flower clip holding back some of their bangs.

“Raven!” They run forward at full speed towards me.

My eyes widen and I back up, wings outstretched, “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa—!”

They tackle me to the ground and my wings poof up and surround us out of instinct to cushion our fall.

“Archivist!” Refductin shouts in shock. “What is the meaning of this?!”

Sun-e-chips pops their head out form my feathers. “Who’s your stuck-up friend here?”

I just plop my head down on the floor, sighing heavily. “Friend is such a STRONG word…”

Refductin clenches his hands and turns red again while grinding his teeth. Sun and Moon snort, Sun covering his mouth.

“He’s redder than some of our worst sun-burnt customers.” Sun chuckles.

Moon joins him, hissing slightly. He walks deeper into the room, scooping up Sun-e-chips as if they were a cat. And they didn’t seem to mind all that much.

Sun walks over and offers his hand, “I take it the tiki found you?”

I nod my head and yelp as he pulls me up. I rotate my shoulder and sigh, “I keep forgetting how strong you guys are.”

I dust off my uniform and wave a bored hand in Refductin’s direction. “Before he blows a blood vessel, may I introduce High Council Member Refductin.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mx.?”

“Sun-e-chips is my creator title.” They bow their head still held aloft by Moon, who looks very content holding them like that. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yes the pleasure is all mine. Now I would like to—,”

“So Raven!” Sun-e-chips wiggles out of Moon’s hold, grabbing my hand and leading me back to the couches. “Which would you prefer? A candy puking pumpkin or trauma inducing water slide?”

“Rude…” Moon grumbles.

I shrug, smiling as I take my seat. “Still caught up on that?”

They plop down next to me, sighing loudly. Refductin stares blankly at us while Sun and Moon join in the festival planning. Sun sits in the chair next to the couch while Moon sits on the armrest next to Sun-e-chips.

“Raven is obviously on my side,” Moon puts a hand on his chest, “A haunted waterslide will gather the most screams for the Halloween Festival.”

“Moon.” Sun deadpans, rolling his eyes, “We don’t want to scare away Residents…”

“Shh!” Sun-e-chips, turns their attention to me. “So what do you say, Raven?”

“Why not both? You’re already going all out this year, so if you need more supplies or funds, just say the word and they’re yours.”

I yelp when they hug me again, “THANK YOU! This is going to be AMAZING!”

“EXCUSE ME!” Refductin loudly clears his throat. Sun, Moon, and Sun-e-chips looks at him with raised brows.

“Yes friend?” Sun asks with a cute tilt of his head.

“I have a few questions regarding your life in this castle under Archivist—,”

“OH! That reminds me!” Sun holds his chine and looks at me, startling me slightly. “Will you be visiting the park again with your little siblings? It was so much fun last time!”

I chuckle and rub the back of my neck, blushing from embarrassment, “I-I would like too—EEP!”

Sun is quick to hug me a well, “OH I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE LITTLE BIRDIES!!!”

“Sunny~.” Moon snickers, “Let the bird breathe.”

“Oops!”

I gasp as he lets go. He even pats my back as I cough. He smiles sheepishly, “Sorry, sunshine…”

“I’m fine.” I give him a small smile and pound my chest, “Takes more than that to keep me down.!”

“Does no one here have any manners?” Refductin pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Sorry about the boys.” Sun-e-chips rubs the back of their neck. “They’re very animated.”

“I see…Creator?” Refductin steps closer, eyeing me as I let Sun play with my feathers. “ I would like to discuss the upcoming festival with you—,”

“What about?” They tilt their head and count off things while holding out their fingers, “We can talk about security, rides, contests, the buffet table, decorations, the weather, new attractions?”

He blinks at them, mouth closing and opening like a gapping fish. “That is…”

“A lot.” I shoot my friend a concerned look, “You know if you ever need any help—,”

“It’s fine! Everything is going smoothly and we should be finished with preparations ahead of time! And my Auroa helps with keeping my strength up!”

To showcase their point, they hold out their hand and snap their fingers. Refductin and I shiver as a building coolness seems to gather at their hand. A glowing orb of shimmering blue lights (looking like an orb of water) hovers over their opened palm.

I look over at Sun and Moon and see their eyes glowing the same color as the orb. They seem at peace, shoulders sagging as if a weight as been lifted off their shoulders. Their Creator, splits the orb in half and hands one to each of the animatronic twins.

They take their halves and hold them close to their chest. Their markings glow bright as they absorb the Auroa. They slink onto their seats, sighing happily.

I smile and get to my feet, Sun-e-chips joining with me. I turn to face them and hold out my hand, “I fear we have taken up much of your time.”

They take my hand and smile as they shake it, “don’t worry about it so much! I enjoy the company!” They turn and face Refductin, bowing their head a bit while folding their hands behind their back. “And it was an honor to meet you, Councilman!”

Refductin sighs but returns the bow, “The honor was all mine.”

I snap my fingers, remembering something. “I forgot to bring the blue-prints for the ‘Exploding Star-Disco Ball’! I’ll make sure to send a raven by later today.”

“No prob!” They smile, “Take your time. October is still a month or so away.”

I nod my head, “Thank you again for helping plan the Festival.”

“You know I love this stuff! And I have to beat last year’s Festival record. Me and the boys are going to blow it out of the water!”

Refductin pales, “Not literally, correct?”

Sun-e-chips and I exchange long glances before we burst out laughing…hysterically. Sun-e-chips doubling over and holding their stomach while I cover my mouth as I cackle. Sun and Moon snort, the glow in their eyes dying down slightly.

Refductin looks back and forth between the four of us, confused. “You aren’t going to blow up the Festival are you? Why are you laughing? It’s not funny…”

I and Sun-e-chips collapse to the floor, cackling like crazed witches.

We were like this for THREE HOURS…

And I enjoyed every second of it!

***

THANK YOU SO MUCH @sun-e-chips!!! If you haven't checked it out already, go check out their Waterspark Bay AU! The same AU featured in this episode.

I'm so sorry that this took so long Chips! I hope my writing is up to your standards! Stay awesome!