Author's note
ARGH FINALLY- ;-;

On the matter my notifications thingy, still not fixed... On top of that, books by my senpais are being discovered by moi drastically later than they should, and then I get too nxxvoxs and feel like I've dxxapxxnxed them by being xaxe and I can't comment now or it'll be axkxxrx and they'll nxx cxxe xxyxorx and-

We should really be getting started, whoopsie! Got a lil off topic there. : D

EDIT: GUESS WHO JACKED UP AND REALISED HOW LONG THIS WAS WHEN SHE WROTE THE DOC-XISUMA-PYTHON FINDING PART AND KIBDA FREAKED OUT ABOUT IT BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW MUCH WAS LEFT AND IF SHE SHOULD SPLIT IT AND IF SHE WAS BEXXX XXXXX-

Headcannons in this chapter
- Joe is a good child. Dad. But also child.
- Wels' guard. It-it go... It go... Clang!
- Iskall is a dog guy. Doesn't take genius to figure out why ;3!
- Both Mumbo and Iskall are tol, even as kids. Iskall continued shooting upwards until now, whereas Mumbo sorta stopped for a bit until teenager-age came and he suddenly shot up as well. Mumbo is still currently growing, though at a slower rate.
- Ren can climb really well. He also leaps and latches onto tall objects when scared once, and immediately let's go once scared twice. Doc teases him with the nickname 'Rencat' because of this.
- Ren was kinda clumsy as a child, mostly because he doesn't pay attention to where things are.
- Hybrids don't got the hang of their lil hybrid parts yet!... And the kiddos in general have a lot more challenges to overcome. And in a server with hybrids, magic and a kid-admin, what could possibly go wrong?
- Fire demon can (mostly) control fire. Surprisingly. This fire is hot. Also surprising.
- Demons sense different emotions with higher accuracy. So, they're like an empath that may or may not absolutely destroy you when you're feeling the most down immediately.
- Did I cast the spell? Did vex magic cast the spell? Who cares, you got hot food whenever!
- Flower danger noodle.
- Science goggles totally make you look at least 20% cooler. Wear them whenever you're doing something even remotely scientific, they're literally that cool. Y'all have no idea whether I'm being sarcastic or not and that's... Kinda funny to meh :3
- The girls are fond of stories.
- Cub can't cook. Which is weird, since most of the other redstoners are mom-level cooks... Like, Cub isn't even at the 'ramen-noodle' stage, he'll somehow end up burning water, I swear-
- I can't sing. Or rap. But I can occasionally feel inspired enough to use rhyming couplets.
- We have a cookie loving boi. That definitely cares about us, I know he does!
—————————————————
It was... Quiet.

He himself was a quiet person, he supposed, but... Without the loud chaos of the usual server banter... It was... Quiet.

Not bad, but not quite good either...

And though he had always wished for nothing but a little quietness, Joe found himself missing everyone else.

From underneath big blanket he'd found earlier, TFC gave a small sound; the baby looked at him strangely, in the curious, innocent way all babies look at you. Then, slowly, he lifted his arms at him.

"... U... Up..." TFC babbled, much to the interest of the seven year old. Joe smiles, before complying and picking up the small babe in his arms.

"... I'm not as good as it as... Miss Wolfy is... B-But she told me to keep you, and everyone else once they come back p... Pro... Prot... Safe... So I will!"

So now, Joe expected the arrival of his friends with much more anticipation.
——————————————————
Ok. Where were they...?

...

It seemed that searching for the children would be harder than AC thought. Well, it was hard anyway, but this time it would be harder.

The server was huge... There were an endless amount of possible hiding spaces, and the kids had had quite a while to get to them. Potion hunting had taken a tad longer than she'd expected.

This was a catastrophe!

Oh, where would she even start-

From the distance, a sharp yell rung out of nowhere. Soon, it was accompanied by the sound of a pitiful cry, and what sounded like the clang of metal.

... Never mind then...

At once, AC dashed towards the sound, sliding the last few metres. There was Jevin, half stuck, half clinging on for dear life in a tall tree. On the ground was Wels, who had evidently been staring upwards but had fell over from his helmet's weight, and Biffa. The little two year old was crying.

"HE- HE- HE'S GON-NA- DIE-!" Biffa screamed, petrified past reason. However, he let AC hug him, brawling into her shoulder.

The wolf hybrid gave a reassuring sigh, patting the small bot on the back, before placing him down. Then, she transformed into her crow hybrid, leaping up and flapping her wings. She was getting better at using them now!... But that currently wasn't important.

As she reached Jevin's height, AC grabbed onto the tree branch he was stuck to, before gently plucking him off and lifting him into her back. The seven year old was, understandably, still quite scared; he gripped onto AC's back a little too tightly as she used her wings to glide back down.

Once on solid ground though, Jevin was instantly knocked over by a certain knight barrelling into him. Biffa took a slightly meeker approach and hugged both of them as they rolled about on the floor.

"YOU'RE NOT-"

CLANG!

"-NOt again!"

AC giggled, lifting up Wels' guard to reveal his pouting face. This only fuelled AC's giggling, much to the happiness of the three younger boys.

"PFFFT... OK... Ok... Ok... Calm. I am calm. I am currently calm enough to say this... You guys are coming with me back to the portal you used to come here." She explained, walking along and letting Biffa hold her hand. Wels and Jevin excitedly skipped a little ahead, though still keeping close to her. AC smiled at them before continuing.

"After that, I'm going to take you into another portal to get to our good friend Joe and TFC. They're in a big, huge building that looks like a castle. It can be a bit dangerous in some places, but it's where you MUST stay and stay safe... Listen to what Joe tells you guys too. Ok?"

"... O-Ok!"

"Sure! But race you there~!"

"Onwards then, let us lead our fair missy! to the castle!"

"... Wait wha- h-HEY! COME BACK, THAT'S CHEATING, WELS!"

"Ha! Slow poke!"

"HEY-"
—————————————————
The two older children tumbled out of the portal noisily, landing in a pile. The younger would've stepped through normally, if he hadn't accidentally tripping over too.

Now the dog pile consisted of three kids.

"WELS! JEVIN! BIFFA!"

And all of a sudden, an extra body was added. Along with a baby, babbling excitedly as he crawled onto Joe's leg.

Then Jevin complained that he couldn't breath, though winning was totally worth it, and the 'tranquility' was burst once again.

This time, Joe let it happen.
—————————————————
The scent should've given it away.

Overwhelming, the scent was overwhelming, alive, excited and emitting energy like a oil fire. With extra gasoline.

The scent of a chase.

A hunting werewolf's scent.

At once, AC bounded onto a building rooftop with a few flutters to help. Once on top, she sniffed the air roughly, expression and movements ready. Her eyes narrowed instinctively, ears flicking this way and that until they tuned in, tuned into something, tuned into something running and bounding and chasing. Chasing for the sheer joy of it, chasing for a nicer purpose, chasing a person.

And they were coming her way.

Kneeling to a crouch, AC placed her hands to the solid roof. Her feet slid into the right position smoothly on the even 'ground'.

Prepared.

The raucous patters and helps of two sets of feet, following each other in an uneven rhythm, quickly grew louder. They were nearing. Nearing. Fast.

Steady.

A familiar flash of green and brown burst into her side view, about to pass her...

... If she hadn't pounced on both of them.

"AHHHH-"

A scream and an animalistic yelp were heard upon contact, before all three (now three, once Ren changed back due to shock) children started giggling madly. Then Iskall elbowed Ren in the stomach, and AC had to reach into the scuffling pile of limbs again.

As she held them up by the scuffs of their necks, she fixed them with a grin, setting them down.

"... What are you-" Iskall's question drowned out as AC transformed fully, and an elated Ren soon copied. "DOGGO!- TWO DOGGOS!!!"

A small yip was all the invitation the small swede needed, hopping onto the ebony wolf's back at once before both animals started running. The wind seemed to whip through his hair differently, eyes and skin stinging in a whole new way as they ran...

Bordering the edge of something wild.

(Author's note: I DREW HIM TOO CLOSE TO THE GROUND- FRIGGIN- IMMA SORRU-)
————————————————
"... I'm hungry." Jevin pouted, prompting everyone to stare at Joe expectantly. The seven year old stared back wide-eyed, with an expression that screamed being caught off guard.

Soon, that expression soon morphed into one of excitement. "Wait! I remember- the big girl said that there's hot soup in a pot in the kitchen! Bowls and spoons... Are in... A cupboard? Y-Yeah!"

"What are we waiting for then? To the kitchen... Wherever that is!" The slime whooped, leading the new 'quest'. Wels ran after him at once, leaving Joe to stumble along with TFC in his arms and Biffa meekly following.

Eventually, Jevin slid into the kitchen. Wels skidded in behind him, narrowly missing the kitchen island in the middle of the room.

There, on top of a load of floor cupboards, was the said shiny pot of soup. The two boys exchanged a high five just as Joe and Biffa walked in. Joe stared at the pot, before staring at himself, Wels and Jevin in turn and sighing.

"... What's the matter?" Jevin turned around, patting the poet's arm to get his attention. Joe sighed again, gritting his teeth, and stomped his foot more childishly than he would admit later.

"I-I-I'm- We're too short to reach up there!"

(Author's note: ... Heh...)

... Oh...

"... W-Well, maybe we could-"

Out of nowhere, a distinctive crash was heard, before a familiar laugh echoed through the hallways. A smattering of footsteps followed shortly after. Joe was about to go and check on them, but stopped.

"... Are... The footsteps becoming... Louder...?"

The footsteps were becoming louder.

BANG!
—————————————————
Hmmm... Surely if there was an Iskall, the other two members of the Architechs should be nearby?

It was unlikely that this wouldn't be the case: they were inseparable... Though... AC was unsure about whether or not the kid versions would be so inseparable.

Iskall was mostly the same, perhaps with more urge to mess about though. Grian and Mumbo, on the other hand, were strikingly different. The blond, usually very talkative, builder was almost as shy as Biffa turned out to be. His redstoner friend, however... AC couldn't believe how cold the underlying tones were in his speak, especially how quickly they appeared.

Actually... Maybe they wouldn't be together...

Yet what if they were?!

What places would be super interesting to a child? Let's think...

-Spinny clothes racks in clothing stores
- The highest part of climbing frames
- That chair
- Someone else's property
- Ikeas, absolutely, no doubt
- Echoey places
- Morri -wait a second-

IKEAS- there were none of the huge furniture stores in this server, granted, but there was the next best thing.

Sahara.

The massive, bulky build still stood as intimidating as ever to the youngest... Usually youngest girl. As she stumbled down from an uneven landing, the giant monotonous walls leered over her, casting shadows the size of storm clouds. Looking through the smoky glass window, she could spot the unmistakable individual yet united redstone machinery.

AC still didn't understand how any of it worked.

The machinery would never fail to bring a sense of wonder to the smol author anyway. How could it not? AC knew that though she saw only complex lines of condensed energy, someone else would see intricate plans of efficiency, and that was ok. It was precious to the Architechs, and whatever made them happy made her happy!

Speaking of which, if she craned her neck just a bit...

That was a mess of raven black hair, belonging to the now-oldest child on the server (this was also the point in AC's life that she found out exactly when Mumbo grew so tall). And... Yes, yes just visible through the holes of one of the redstone components, an infamous red sweater could be seen as well.

AC started in a mad dash towards the two, before slamming a hand out and sliding (aka. tripping over) to a stop.

Hold on... Should she tell them off in some way? Not a normal way, that was usually scary... Was there another way to teach them not to hide between complicated and tight machinery?

... Yes there was. A smirk replaced her smile, as AC transformed herself into a chameleon hybrid. At once, she blended into the grey glass, scaling the walls and stifling her giggles as she crawled ever closer to the two boys.

From where they hid, Mumbo and Grian had no idea of what was happening.

The former of the two was forced to almost fold into himself to remain hidden, while his companion sat comfortably on the circuits. They spoke in hushed tones; it was interesting to note that this was the most they'd spoken to another person thus far. It was... Nice, in a way.

Too bad she was going to ruin it.

"I've just always been a kinda quiet person... I don't speak a lot, and I don't make a lot of-"

"HIIIIIAAAASSSSSS!"

"AAAAAAAIIIIIEEEEE-"

"OH MY FREAKING GOSH-"

"Hey, did you know that chameleons can hiss? Because I didn't until two screams ago. Or... One scream and a drawn-out sentence ago..." AC chuckled, crawling down to face the two boys she'd just scared. Grian was covering his mouth with an sheepish sort of look, while Mumbo simply looked torn between anger and confusion.

Yet, after a moment or two of calming down, AC was able to persuade her now-younger friends to come and see the others. They would have traversed back to the portal in a much quicker time if they had not needed to literally pull Mumbo out from where he'd sat before.
———————————————
"What do you mean you can't reach it either?!"

"I mean what I said!" Iskall huffed, blowing a raspberry at Jevin. "Just because you're supposed to be taller than me doesn't mean I'm suddenly a giant!"

"Iskall! That was mean! Say sorry!" The current oldest in the room lectured. Though, Iskall was, indeed, the tallest of the other six-year-olds: the only other six-year-old was Ren, who was 'just as tall as Iskall if you counted my-his ears!'.

No one had yet to have the heart to confess to him that, even when counting the extra inches his floppy ears gave him... He was still a few millimetres from meeting Iskall's height.

TFC was actually playing with Ren's fluffy tail right this second, in his place on top of a chair.

'You can't tell me what to do!' Was what the said swede wanted to say; alas, arguing with Joe would surely lead on for hours and end in the big wolfy girl being upset at him. It was with reluctance that Iskall bit back that response, muttering a 'sorry' out instead.

... Actually, on the subject of wolves, where did his immediately-best-wolf-friend go...?

"... Ren- REN OH MY GOSH GET OFF OF THE CUBOARD-"

"NO, THIS IS GREAT-"

"IT IS NOT-"

"... What on Earth happened to the rest of you little brats?"

Every single pair of eyes immediately swung towards EX, staring in childish horror. However, Ren really shouldn't have been not looking at where he was grabbing next...

CRASH!
—————————————————
AC started marching her way to the beach.

Why?

Well, you know what they say. Follow the trail of scorch-marks, suspiciously warm charcoal and fire and you can nab yourself a demon. Along with his less-than-mature best friends.

Future AC, remember to clean that up.

Trail of fire and warm charcoal lead her to the sandy shores... And extended upon it: the trail carried on, with big clumps of half-smelted sand and shoddily-smelted glass littered the floor. AC scrunched up her nose.

The crunching and movement of sand would always be a melancholy noise to her; she just didn't like beaches for what they were, rather than what they looked like. In her opinion, beaches were slightly overrated, though they could be fun at times.

Yet, if sand in her shoes lead to finding three lost and terrified kids, she would endure it for their sake.

All of a sudden, a bright flare of fire tore through the sky like a beacon beam, burning previous thoughts of 'terrified kids immediately. AC ran faster, occasionally tripping on pieces of glassy residue.

As she followed where hot flames seemed to erupt from a single source, every littered fracture of glass became warmer and hotter, until she was quite sure she'd narrowly avoided stepping right into a mound of molten mess. The shapeshifter promptly watched her footing far more from that point on.

Until a pattern between each blast arose, and she found herself transformed, bolting madly again.

"DO IT AGAIN! AND IT BETTER BE BIG!" His voice broke with laughter for the umpteenth time. Zed couldn't really remember when himself and the two five year olds had run here, but he didn't need to. This was still way too much fun. Impulse and Tango certainly agreed with him.

His little demon friend smirked, showing off baby canines, before bringing his arms around him. Instantly, fire rose in a near-perfect circle where he commanded. Tango smiled; clasping his hands loosely together, the demon seemingly drew in all of his conjured up flames into a single blazing ball.

Then he aimed upwards and opened his hands.

The sheer force of it was astounding: waves of heat expanded into the air while embers and ash spread out and danced in joy. Even the sand below the young boy looked as if it had turned to glass.

This was surely the coolest, hottest and biggest result they'd gotten yet!

... Actually, speaking of big, the power of the fiery blast was still just as immense. Tango's proud smile started slipping away as his hands started to shake from controlling so much of it.

Impulse -unaware of the horrible realisation that their third member had just come to-started running up to him, set on watching the spectacle from a closer angle.

And Tango fell backwards.

"IMPULSE WATCH OUT-!"

When the small boy hesitantly opened his eyes, he was being held in a tight grasp. Both of their hands had curled up in fists. Impulse looked up hesitantly into partially livid eyes. The exact pattern of burning coal.

"... What. On Earth. Were. You guys. THINKING?!" AC snarled, fixing them all with a glare that sent shivers down their spine. "YOU COULD EASILY HAVE- WHY?!"

The demand was met with silence.

Huffing at the lack of response, the newly transformed demon girl shook out the ashes from her wings. They fell to the floor in a sooty, black smattering, no longer dancing in the air.

Turning around to face Tango, AC stalked towards him, taking and inspecting his hands. The boy jumped as she did so, eyeing her much more intimidating claws, though didn't move to interfere. She seemed to be trying not to hurt him anyway.

"... Consider yourself lucky, sweetheart. Just a few scratches, nothing serious." Pausing, AC glanced at the younger demon to assure him of this fact. Tango silently noted how her eyes had stopped... 'Blazing'. "Now all of you, with me. I'm taking you back."

"W-Wait back... Back where?!" Stumbling over his words (and his feet), Zed pulled on the older girl's tail to get her attention. While said tail flicked away at once, the tone she used was softer.

"Home. Well, to the current holding place of you children. A few of your friends are there and I'm supposed to be gathering more of them... But I'm sure I can stay for a bit to tend to whatever injuries you may have." She added, feelings of guilt that weren't her own blossoming in her mind. "Hey, it's ok. I know you didn't mean for it, I was just... Worried. Now, are we all ready to see our friends again?"

Albeit with a little hesitation, Impulse and Zed nodded, with as much courage as a child could muster. Tango's eyes instead sparkled with questions.

"... Can... You become anything else?!"

AC only winked at him.
—————————————————
In the kitchen, nobody moved aside from TFC, looking around at his friends with wide eyes.

Even Ren stopped squirming about angrily as soon as EX had taken out his sword.

"Listen up. I've been trying for a day and a half to catch one of you while you were all small. And I'm not going to stop until every single one of you is behind obsidian." He muttered, enjoying the way the children's eyes lit up with unspoken emotions. "Starting with you. Aren't you a lucky pup?"

Ren growled, about to sink his teeth into EX's hand when suddenly the sword was placed very near one of his ears. The intention was clear; the werewolf whined sadly, stilling again.

But the blade continued edging closer.

At once, a collective chorus of outrage could be heard, not least by the pup himself. EX's expression remained neutral as the yelling grew louder, shoving back anyone who drew near. TFC started crying.

Then, out of nowhere, two arms yanked his leg out from behind him. The man, caught off guard, instantly toppled over, dropping both his victim and his weapon. Both of which were snatched up protectively by the two boys who had stopped him.

And that was how EX found himself staring down his own blade at a furiously protective Mumbo.

"... As if a mere child would kill me." EX laughed and started to get up, swatting Mumbo's aim awry. Yet, in that brief moment of gloating, the oldest of the childrenified hermits immediately leapt. He threw the sword at the side of EX's helmet, with all the force of swinging the baseball bat in rounders.

... To be completely honest, Mumbo was aiming to swing that bat, but letting go was... Totally meant to happen too...

It hit with a satisfying clang, causing the glass visor to crack and pushing EX out of the room. This sudden action spurred him to sluggishly get to his feet, gripping onto a window for support.

This would have worked if the window was locked. Luckily for the kids -unluckily for EX- a certain girl had developed the unfortunate habit of jumping out of windows: now that she could glide down to the ground from a height of ten blocks, why not use it? She may as well widen a few important windows too, so they were easier to fly out of.

All of the present children winced at the pained cry.

"... H-Hey, is... Ren, are y-you ok?" Biffa probed, climbing out from where Wels had hid him under the table. As he did so, Joe took the crying TFC from the chair into his arms again.

Ren, held by the older Grian, made an odd sort of sound. Grian eyed the ear EX managed to nick, before hugging the boy for comfort.

No one quite heard EX get up, slinking away to get a new weapon. After all, losing a few hearts wasn't all that bad.
———————————————
The ZIT trio tumbled out of the portal with a laugh, waiting for their new friend to come through. When she did, AC found herself being dragged along by the excited bunch already.

"I SMELL A WEREWOLF FRIEND!!!" Tango shouted back, pointing them all in a single direction madly. Soon enough, they did reach the room where everyone was...

AC winced at their negative emotions.

"... Hey... Guys... What happened here?" Confused to what had happened, she let go of Impulse's hand to make her way over to where the majority of kids were. Under the table (a good place to hide, she noted).

Quietly, Joe used his free hand to move away a chair. All of a sudden, the scent of blood made its presence and Grian allowed AC to snatch up Ren from his arms.

"What happened?" The demand wasn't answered in time: AC was already sticking a hand into her inventory, pulling out a healing potion and tipping some onto Ren's ear. He growled, cringing at the sudden spike of pain before relaxing as his wound closed. A slightly messy bandage was then wrapped around his (still sore) ear.

"Thank you, Miss..." Ren muttered, smiling as Iskall hugged him. The demon petted his uninjured ear happily; she had already moved on to patching up the others now, including the newly come arrivals.

"It's not a problem. I'll be staying for a little while anyway, and... Wait, have none of you eaten anything?!"

"Well, I couldn't reach-"
"It wasn't my-"
"I hadn't-"
"I didn't know-"

"All of you. Sit! You're eating, right now, like it or not." AC fussed, crossing her arms and transforming back into a wolf hybrid. Once the pot was taken down, AC passed around bowls of food to the kids, who took it gratefully. As for TFC, she fed him herself, as he sat still to play with her fluffy tail.

There was more than enough for the others too, once they came back. Popping the lid back on started the heating spell back up too.

No one would not be cared for under her watch.

(Author's note: Including chu, senpai. Yes, I see you, take a break and/ or nap! Or drink water and eat something, other than sugar or caffeine! Please •^•?)

... "ACK-"

"... COME BACK-!"
———————————————
...

This wasn't...

How did...

How on Earth did she end up... Here?

"... Hey Scara. Your... teeth are... Looking real good from down here..."

"It has a name?!"

AC nodded. Then she did a double take, looking directly at more missing children. In the most ridiculous place so far. "Xisuma?! DOC?!"

"... Xisuma, when I said 'try and use your magic to get something that would help', I didn't mean trap them here with us..." Doc muttered, sitting up at her arrival. He was currently in a sort of kneel on all fours, so this feat was quite impressive.

Xisuma frowned at him, shaking his head. If it weren't for the fact that his helmet was slightly too big for him, this feat would have also been impressive.

"... Did... Xisuma, did you summon me here?" Asked AC, incredulous yet astounded. The little admin nodded with pride, ignoring Doc scratching against the wooden fences again. "I'm assuming that's where all the random items came from too... Goodness me... Little admins still have admin summons, I see~!"

Xisuma puffed up his chest at the praise. "I'm a big boy! I can summon lots and lots of really cool things... And every time, it's a surprise! I wish EX could see me now... Aw, but he'd probably just ask me to summon a cookie, he loves those things. I don't know why he couldn't just make them himself but I-!"

"When he says 'surprise', he means he doesn't know what he's gonna get." Doc cut in, though a silly smile overcame his features (four year olds were very excitable; could you blame him?). "But... Miss, could you please help us get out?"

"Sure. Just... Pass me that axe, sugar. No, that's a stick, the... One with the golden head and a twiggy bottom, looks a bit like a giant metal lollipop?" AC tried, clapping enthusiastically once Doc gave her the right tool. The little creeper grinned toothily, sneaking a high-five in with Xisuma while AC weighed the axe in her hands.

"Miss, how are you going to-"

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

"... Oh..."

In a moment of distraction, AC swung the axe into thin air, staring shocked when it got stuck right into wooden fence. It wouldn't budge either.

However, she laughed nervously and hurriedly picked up a pickaxe, breaking a block on the roof to jump down. She urged Doc and Xisuma topper themselves into her arms, and the girl ran back to the portal with them.

Let's hope no one questions the random axe the next time they see Mumbo's surrender flag.

At the exact moment AC let Doc and Xisuma go back to their friends, a drone whizzed past her head from a portal; zooming into another, an audible bang could be heard.

Along with a loud hiss...

... Welp. To the flower fields she'll go.

And to the flower fields she went. This was where she usually refilled the large flower supply in her inventory: a pretty flower could fix a lot of things. Like a lost smile. Or a unhappy mood. Such things a flower could fix right away.

Though, looking at the expanse of flowers, AC couldn't quite think of which child would come here of all places. Perhaps it was Stress? Or Cleo? The boys who may have been curious enough to wander in here were already back at Concorp, so who-?

In front of her, glowering at the crashed drone, sat Python. A badly made bunch of small flower tops were in his hands; most were soft petalled and soft coloured. It was absolutely adorable.

"That's absolutely adorable!" AC cooed, laughing as she caught the flower being thrown at her. Python hissed as she came closer, sitting down next to him, and clutched his flowers protectively.

"Leave me alone. Ssssshoo!"

AC ignored this, plucking her own from nearby flora. When she had had small pile of daisies, she started to thread them together, using her claws to dig holes into the thin stalks. Python watched in growing curiosity, absentmindedly trying to copy what she was doing.

The boy struggled with not damaging the stalks, huffing when for the third time one had pitifully broken in his hands.

Suddenly, a light presence sat upon his head. He looked up and found that AC had put her finished daisy chain on his head.

"... I can help you make more of you want?"

The wolf hybrid inwardly squealed at the happy little mlem Python did.
————————————————
The hermit children were mature. They were grown up. They did big kid things and had big kid responsibilities; when they didn't, they used all of their spare time in clever and productive ways.

Like drawing...

Iskall grinned proudly, adding the finishing touches to his masterpiece. With a few final doodles, the drawing of a cute slime now plastered on a cupboard. In fact, he was so happy with his work, he even signed it with his marker pen.

Using tools...

Brandishing a slightly-larger-than-normal fork was Doc. The creeper hybrid had dubbed it his weapon, aggressively jabbing the air and flicking stray water droplets at anyone who tried taking it off of him.

Collecting important items...

Impulse, on the other hand, had enlisted the help of one eight year old (Zed) and one demon hybrid (Tango) to get into the silverware drawer. He was currently hoarding every single spoon except the ladle, which Mumbo was keeping in case nasty-red-helmet man came back.

And-

Xisuma tripped over air for the fifth time today; luckily, he was able to catch himself on Wels' arm this time. Unluckily, this only brought the knight down with his.

-being social! And what better way to be social than playing games?

"I'm thinking of something that is... Round."

"Is it a cookie?"

"No. It is edible though-"

"Is it a small cookie?"

"No, no it is not a cookie, but it's sweet."

"I want to be cheesecake when I grow up..."

"... Ooo- is it cheesecake?"

"No, but-"

"COOKIE!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, IT ISN'T A-"

"No, I mean there are literal cookies in that box... I can smell them!" Ren yipped, a manic grin overcoming his face as he pointing up at said box. If only said box wasn't in a stupidly high place... Again.

However, the hermit children were mature. They were grown up. And they would 100% get this load of cookies even if Miss Wolfy wasn't here!

...

... Somehow...
—————————————————
What is it with these kids and tall places they shouldn't be messing around by?

The portal 'yeeted-drone-number-nine' lead directly to Scar's volcano. Yes. Scar's volcano.

And soon as AC had stepped out of the portal, her attention was immediately snatched to the small army of drones that were flying about in one area. A small cowboy and scientist stood beneath them, the after of which were controlling every single one with a familiar looking app.

(Small scientist was also wearing his new goggles too, for some reason. AC had no idea what they were protecting him from except possible dust clouds)

Cub could still mess around with his drones, so it seemed. Well, his password really wasn't that hard to remember... AC doubted he had ever changed it, to be honest, which was strange for how he was as a person now.

Still. AC breathed a sigh as she dragged her feet along to meet them, wondering what sort of antics she would need to do to convince her own small dads to come with her. Then, Scar turned around and spotted her.

"UMPH-" She cried, bringing her arms uselessly upwards as she was hugged suddenly by the little cowboy. His companion soon followed suit, quickly taking her hand and pointing upwards at the drones.

"Look look look! Look what I did! Is it good? Is it? Isn't it cool?!" Cub babbled, wildly animated in both speech and moments. AC nodded without sound, surprised at how affectionate the seemingly reclusive children were being.

"Y-Yes, sweetheart! They're amazing things, those drones, and what excellent control!" She supplied, patting the... Incredibly cute mastermind on the head. "... Maybe our very good friends would be really really excited to see such cool skills too? They're back at Concorp, and it's just through the portal there!"

Scar hesitated. "A-Are you sure?... I... I think I accidentally lost con-control of a drone... And-And it flew into the portal all wobbly... A-And-"

AC immediately hugged the eight year old as he started getting visibly upset. Cub frowned, and patted his friend's shoulder as the older girl reassured him that it wasn't bad: it hadn't hurt anyone, though it had given both her and Python a teeny scare.

With given time, Scar calmed down, agreeing the go and meet his friends. With Cub (commanded by AC as a safety precaution) promising to only take one drone with him, they set off.

Cub didn't tell AC that he had figured out how to use the claw on the one drone he took.
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It was just like using Lego!

As Joe watched with Biffa and TFC in frightened concern, the rest of the boys were either trying to get various stackable items into a pile... Or just trying to lift a slightly unwilling Xisuma over the ledge.

Mumbo was simply growing more annoyed with Impulse, who kept stealing the boxes.

"I-I still don't know why I gotta do it!" The admin whimpered, trying to grip onto the skippy countertop again. Python shrugged.

"You seem like the lightest person here that won't cry on me." He countered. Before Xisuma could protest anymore, Python pushed the younger boy over the edge. He stood up shakily, glaring down at the snake-creeper before making his way over very slowly.

To spite him back.

Xisuma places his hands on the box, jiggling the heavy thing, until the latch finally popped open. Inside was a large plate of cookies, and a note which Xisuma ignored as he passed the open box to the cheering children, with Zedaph and Grian helping him down. The note flew off of the stack as Ren immediately snatched the largest looking one off of the top.

Joe picked it up, reading it with a half nervous, half amused giggle.

'I know you've had actual food already, but I bet someone's stolen these too. Well. Enjoy stuffing your faces, and the food coma (Joe, that means 'deep sleep due to stuffing your face') afterwards! AC xxx'
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Final. Three. Kids.

Undoubtedly together, undoubtedly doing something not completely reckless: the darling girls of the server. Or...

A feisty, eight year old blonde...

A sweet, seven year old brunette...

And a sneaky, five year old redhead.

... The most ingenious part was was that they hadn't even left Tortilla. Supposedly a mistake made by portal-creating-mad-human, the last portal lead only a little way away.

Now was one of the times AC wished she had a parrot. Smirking, she kicked a leg onto the boat side, saluting an invisible captain.

"ARRRH! Invader!" Suddenly, a girl's voice rung out loudly, and AC turned to see a wooden sword held up at her stomach. False shot her a prideful wink behind it, as Stress and Cleo came forth silently.

"State your business, and make it snappy!" The youngest of them said. Stress gave her a look, so reluctantly, Cleo added the special word at the end. "Please."

"I hath travelled the land and seven seas, looking for three special girls to aid me in a long, and dangerous quest!" All three girls perked up at the narrative tone of voice AC had adopted. "Does one know of whom and whither they may be?"

"What do they look like?" Stress inquired, curiosity shining in her wide brown eyes. AC smiled at her sweetly, putting a finger to her chin.

"Well, I do believe the first girl I search for... Is a beautiful princess, with hair like chocolate and eyes warmer than honey... She has a love for all things pretty and pink... And she's so kind that even the finest of males are not fit to steal her away!" She winked. False's head whipped around to face an awe-struck Stress.

"That sounds like you!" False exclaimed, shaking the 'princess's shoulder.

"Ah, but that's not all! The second girl is a brace fighter, with hair like woven gold and such courage, she could make a lion bow!... Her best weapon is her trusty sword, though her true strength is how determined she is!" The wolf hybrid mined battle stances; one looked to be suspiciously similar to the one mini False stood in currently.

Stress faced False at the same time as Cleo. "That's you! That's so you!"

"Ah... But let us not forget the last girl I must find..." AC paused for dramatic effect. A grin wound unto her face at the anticipation flowing from the three girls. "The last girl is a hybrid like me, which means they have super cool abilities... And they're a great friend, even though they look a little different. This girl has hair as rich as crimson roses, and such wit that even clever foxes fear to cross her bad side!"

Now, she had three bouncing balls of joy, wondering what 'great quest' they were needed for. This was great!

"Why, the quest to get a wonderful treasure of course... Once we get to the treasure room, we must all stay with our friends first as we wait for the treasure to appear... And that treasure will be... Freshly baked cookies~!"

Needless to say, cookies are a really good method of attracting cute girls.
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When AC returned back to the kids, everyone was (as she had predicted) ready to fall asleep. It was getting rather dark; the recovering of the children had taken some time.

As she watched the girls join the rest of the group, she couldn't help glancing around at all of the kids. They were, and would still be, absolutely adorable.

AC walked over to the kitchen; it was one of the only routes she had actually remembered, due to her making random sweet treats soon becoming a habit. She started work on making more cookies.

Every so often, the girl could be heard acting out scenes from her favourite fanfics with passion, until the cookies had been made, baked and were cooling off on a plate.

Then a muffled thump came from right outside the door.

Startled, AC grabbed the whisk she'd been cleaning and carefully edged outside, starting in confusion at the sight that greeted her. EX stared back into her questioning eyes.

"... Hey EXy... How... Did you open that window...?" She attempted to ask, though he simply glared at her.

"Just... Help me." He grumbled as AC took his hand and pulled his remaining body up, into the hallway. He was about to say more until AC put a finger to her lips, using the whisk to point in the general direction the children were.

There was silence.

EX glared at her again. The current only adult on the server was completely ready to screech... Before AC rolled her eyes, placing a warm cookie in his hands.

"Shush. Look, it's not as good as Xisuma's, or Stress', or anyone else's except... A good few people like... Dad's... But you like cookies, right?" The girl held up a hand to silence him. "I was planning on sending you a few anyway, but... Don't wake the kids... Please? You've succeeded in tiring me out. You can attempt to kill me tomorrow though, when I personally deliver more cookies, ok?"

EX nodded, with nothing else to say. Giving him a grateful smile, AC walked back into the kitchen.

"I'll assume you're able to use your rope to climb back down. Have a good rest, EXy. Love you."

While she tiptoed back into the children's room, the wolf hybrid's ear twitched at the sound of EX silently clambering away. The window closed with a small click.

The door opened with a small clack. Just like she suspected, all of the kids were asleep... Except... One...?

"... Xisuma? Dearie? What are you doing awake so late?" AC whispered, placing the plate of cookies down and covering them in cling film. This let her wrap her arms around Xisuma, who pretty much tripped into the embrace.

"... I... I don't know, Miss..." His voice became muffled in her shoulder. "I-I just can't sleep... And TFC was looking at me... So... So I didn't know what to do..."

AC patted the small child on the back gently. "It's ok... I'll help TFC. For you, I think... You're being plagued by a bit of insomnia. The no-sleep bug. But don't worry, it will be better if you calm down... Ok? Can you do that for me, X?"

X nodded, with nothing else to say. So, he lay on the floor like everyone else, though remained watching AC. The older girl pretended not to notice.

Instead, she took off her hoodie and tied it around her waist before picking up TFC. The baby smiled at the temperature she was maintaining, even touching her cheek briefly. It seemed like it was almost all he needed.

Yet, in this short moment of sleep-drunken affection...

"Hush little baby, don't you fret
Momma's here and she won't forget
To let you trust and let you smile,
Though it may just take a while..."

TFC babbled happily, scrunching his nose as AC booped it.

"Hush little baby, if you're scared
Momma will remind you that she cares.
You're the most wonderful child she's seen,
So ignore the bad things in your dreams."

At this, AC looked at Xisuma. The once sleepless admin looked to be trying to stay awake, though his eyes kept drooping for longer and longer.

"Hush little baby, time to sleep,
No more hurt will make you weep.
Momma will protect you with all her might:
Seeing you happy is a gorgeous sight."

Placing down TFC, she felt the baby's breath even out. If she looked back at Xisuma, she would know that he too, had travelled to dreamland.

"Hush little baby, don't say a thing...
Momma knows when you start tiring
But tomorrow's just a blink away, and
Momma will be with you, through night and day."

The girl silently sneaked around the children one last time. At every one, she paused to feed them the potion cure and a little stroke of their hair. Everything was peaceful when she found herself back near the door.

As AC curled up on the floor, she looked past that door, past the glass window and gazed at what lay beyond.

It was a beautiful night. Stars littered the navy canvas sky, splattered like paint and sprinkled like fairy dust. Amongst them, the moon shone brightly, basking the world in a silver sheen.

And the girl fell asleep without even knowing she had.
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Author's note
YEAH IMMA REALLY SORRY-

TAKE THIS-

When your dads become kids and are ultra cute.

I was trying to give Cub one of those mini lab coats and plastic goggles you get in little school, lol.

Scar thought my hoodie looked soft, so asked if he could wear it. I said yes, so long as I could wear his hat as well. Cub let my hair loose so we 'could both look cute'. Scar wins, hands down ;3

(ALSO OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH YAAAASH-

I BEEN HOPING AND WISHING THIS COULD HAPPEN-

AND IT DID OMLLLL-

NOT SCAr dying for the... I lost count...

BUT DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?! DOC SAID 'AWWW MAN'- AND AHHHHHH-

CREEPER? AWWW MAN-)

Bonus is out! Stick around til the end of this Arc, lol.