Chapter Text
Reborn AU Short Stories
Chapter 1:
The Amusement Park
…
It was a beautiful day on Shipshape Island as Cozette was busy preparing for a little trip to Merrygo Islands Amusement Park. Connie had never been there before, so Cozette thought it would be a nice surprise for her pupil who was quite busy being a Wattanist lately.
Reclusa who watched his caregiver from the sidelines in a cozy bean bag, yawned and stretched himself like a cat. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, the small entity curled himself up into a ball and fell asleep nearly instantly, snoring softly.
As Cozette was finished with her work, she called for Ecks, Shun and Ten, who were also joining them for today since the old Wattanist thought they deserved a little fun after having been so helpful lately.
It didn't take long for the three to appear, the one most excited for this was Ecks, he loved Amusement Parks, especially the rollercoasters there. How fitting that a new one had just opened on Merrygo Island, just waiting for him to try it out…
“Ready for our little trip, boys?” She asked, a small smile on her face.
“Are you kidding me? I can't wait to try out all the stuff there! Last time I had no chance at all to enjoy this place…which sucked. So I want to try out everything!!!” Ecks replied, being his usual giddy self. Ten shook his head while Shun already looked forward to all the snacks they could eat there. “I heard they have a new parlor where they sell the biggest cotton candy of all Concordia!” Licking his lips dreamily, Shun closed his eyes and smiled.
“Tasty…”
…
By now Connie had returned home and was visibly surprised seeing Cozette and the others all prepped up as if they would go out. Tilting her head, the young Wattanist came towards her teacher and put the little can she always carried around on a small table.
“What is going on here?” She asks, tilting her head. Cozette just smiled and caressed her head lovingly. “We are going to Merrygo Island´s Amusement Park! It's A present for you, dear. You always work so hard and deserve a small break now and then!”
The surprise had been a full success, Connie´s eyes started to radiate a happiness Cozette hadn't seen in a long time. “Really? Ohhh this is going to be wonderful! I always wanted to go there! As a guest and not on duty as usual!!! Thank you, Miss Cozette!!! "Thank you!!!” The young Wattanist jumped into her teacher's embrace, burying her head in the older Wattanists body. “We all are going to have a beautiful day today, you will see!” Cozette added, slowly releasing Connie from her hug. She went over to Reclusa and carefully lifted the small being into her arms, cradling him. He was still asleep and simply grunted as his face found his way to Cozette's chest, snuggling up to her.
“Is Reclusa also coming along?” Connie asked, slightly annoyed that she had to share her special day with her “little brother”. “Of course, I can't leave him alone, he's just a baby, after all! Besides all these new sights will help in his development of bonds, he is going to see other people than us through this and will learn to interact with them in a healthy way!” Cozette stated, rocking Reclusa back and forth while kissing his little TV Head.
Connie simply let out a sigh and furrowed her brows, not wanting to argue further with her teacher. “Don´t worry, I will keep a close eye on him, dear. Just try to relax and enjoy your day off, Connie!” The older woman said, motioning Ten to take the wicker basket she had packed for today's trip. “Alright then, everyone is here, it's time to go! Let's have some fun, shall we?” She cooed at Reclusa who simply continued to sleep, in the safe embrace of his maternal caregiver. Recently he had attained a few words and was proudly using them, of course they sounded more gibberish than anything but he was still immensely proud of it. One of these words was Ma-Ma. The word that caused Cozette to nearly faint every time she heard it. Maybe it was a relic of her time as Zokket. After all she had cared for Reclusa´s egg in this form already and while Cozette's memories were still a little shady, the feelings of maternal love never really left her.
“Last one is a grumpy old Turnip!!!” Ecks yelled, rushing out of the house in jovial joy. Shun followed closely, huffing and puffing to keep up with his team mate. Ten on the other hand slowly walked behind them, not feeling any rush at all. Cozette snickered as she followed them, beckoning Connie to do the same. She put Reclusa in his stroller, gave him a small Zokket plush(his favorite which she made from scratch) and walked out. Not wanting to be left behind, Connie quickly followed, closing the door behind her.
…
A short trip later and everyone was at Merrygo Island. Busy people all around, children screaming and yelling high above as the rollercoaster with them inside rushed down mercilessly. Connie couldn´t wait to get inside and looked around giddily.
“Where to go first? There are so many options” She muttered, furrowing her brows. Cozette pulled out a small pamphlet and began to study it. “We should start here, this is the beginning and it leads to all the attractions in order! We can split up if you wish, I bet Eck´s wants to try out the rollercoasters first, am I right?” She turned to the aforementioned person, nodding towards the other with a knowing smile.
“Yessssssssss, let's split up and meet up again later!” Ecks agreed, grabbing Ten´s arm, pulling him towards the first attraction. “Come on, Shun, you too." He yelled. “Fun awaits! Kekekekekeke. See ya all later!!!!!” And with that he was gone, together with his other comrades. “Have fun you three!” Cozette yelled after them, shaking her head amused.
“Well, that only leaves us then, don´t you think? What would you like to do first, Connie?”
Given the choice, the small Wattanist went for the animal merry-go-round first. Cozette followed her with Reclusa who by now had woken up too. Seeing this strange new environment made him recoil in fear and he began to whine.
“Ohh someone woke up, huh? What's the matter, hon?” Lifting Reclusa gently, cradling him in her arms, Cozette cooed at him which calmed the small entity visibly. Big eyes stared at the woman full of trust and adoration. He cuddled his Zokket plush even tighter, burying his head in Cozette´s shoulder to hide away from all these new sensations. The noise and laughter irritated him, be it that he was still tired or in general preferred the calm and serene more than loud stuff. In all that trouble, having Cozette was the only ray of light for Reclusa in that moment. While he continued to hide, Connie had taken a seat on a fearsome looking horse and waved towards Cozette with a bright smile.
“Do you want to ride with me?”
This question made her think for a moment. She had Reclusa in her arms and from the looks of it he wouldn't leave her alone any time soon. Not wanting to give Connie the feeling of being cast aside in favor of Reclusa, she nodded her head and got up on another animal right behind Connies. It was a little awkward positioning the small entity in a way that he currently lied on her chest, but in the end she managed it after all. As the merry-go-round started to make its turns, a symphony of laughter and excitement filled the air, causing Reclusa to open his eyes, looking around flustered.
He could feel all these emotions full of joy and fun. Unlike before though, it didn't bother him so much anymore. Maybe it was because of Cozette´s close proximity or the gentle movement of the merry-go-round in general, Reclusa had no idea. What he knew though was that both Connie and Cozette visibly had fun with it and thus decided that he would have fun too! He uncoiled from his position and took a full look at the ride they were on. Connie turned around, staring at him but in the end giving him a small smile and a thumbs up.
She was his big sister after all…so she had to play the part.
“This is fun, isn't it, Reclusa? This is a merry-go-round!” Listening to her explaining all the stuff that was going on, caused the other to grin. What a funny thing to do, he thought, giggling happily. “Roooooound!!!!” Reclusa exclaimed, waving his arms in joy.
…
With Ecks and the others:
After the third round of the Death Coaster as the new ride was called, both Ten and Shun were white as a sheet and stumbling around in a dizzy state.
“That's so awesome, let's do it again guys!”
“How about NO!” Ten yelled, sitting down on a near park bench, his legs all wobbly and weak. Eck´s simply shrugged his friend's reaction off, turning to Shun instead. “What about you, big guy? Want to join me for another round?” Like Ten, the big guy shook his head quickly, not wanting to experience that thrill ever again.
“Come on, you guys.” Ecks exclaimed, visibly frustrated. "You're no fun at all!”
“Not everyone is made for the thrills of rollercoasters, Ecks. Why don´t you go for a break too, you look white as a sheet!”
The truth was that he really felt nauseous, but still had not enough, adrenalin was coursing through his metallic veins, making him ignore the other feeling he had. “I´ll go again!” He exclaimed, getting on the ride once more.
This time around though, he didn't even get to the carriages, before he could come even closer, his equilibrium went totally south and he vomited on the ground in front of him, causing a couple of Twistee Island tenants to recoil in disgust.
“I knew this would happen…” Ten sighed and went over to the other, dragging him off the scene. Ecks was now sluggishly complying. His head was like a merry-go-round either way. If not for Ten, he probably would have stumbled to the ground by now.
“But the rrrriiiiide…i wanna ride it agaiiiiiin” Ecks slurred, barely able to keep himself in the air. In the end, Ten threw him over his shoulder and carried him back to Shun who was already waiting for them. Seeing as their rollercoaster ride was on hold for now, both decided to go eat a small snack instead before returning to Cozette, Connie and Reclusa.
…
Connie was enjoying the ride and added two more rounds on top of it. After it ended, she jumped off the merry-go-round happily, followed by Cozette who by now had trouble keeping Reclusa calm. All tiredness was gone fully by now and there was only one thing he wanted to do now, having fun.
Cozette put him back in his stroller and pulled out a bottle of water, handing it to Connie. “Take a sip, we don't want you to dehydrate, right?!” She said in a motherly tone, fully embracing her role as foster mother for both Reclusa and Connie.
After the first high was over, Connie was still full of energy and went over to a parlor that sold cotton candy. Seeing as they haven't eaten anything yet, Cozette bought a big cone for Connie and a smaller one for herself. Since Reclusa wasn't really able to eat like them, she went for a small data chip instead that she put in a narrow slit slightly below Reclusa´s main arms. It simulated the taste of cotton-candy so that Reclusa also could enjoy a little treat, like Connie. Designed by Technikki specially for the small entity, Cozette was able to give her charge the full sensation of food, in a way Reclusa could stomach.
“This is cotton-candy, it tastes really sweet, don´t you think?”
Reclusa was enjoying every minute of the bits and bytes that filled his digital taste buds. Waving his arms up and down, the little one's eyes became bigger as the digital sugar started to affect his processor. Cozette realized that it maybe was a mistake giving him the digital equivalent of a sugar rush and furrowed her brows…
Wiggling on Cozette´s lap, Reclusa whined and grunted, signaling that he wanted to move.
In the end, she gave in and let the small creature venture on the ground, his levitating abilities were still not back and thus his modus operandi was crawling, as tedious it was for him. Seeing that he now finally was free to explore, Reclusa quickly scuttled over to a couple of playing kids. Cozette followed closely, worried about how the small entity would react to the children in front of him. But seemingly her fear was unnecessary, the kids stopped playing, confused for a moment but then they threw the ball over to Reclusa who enthusiastically threw it back with one of his arms, giggling while doing so.
It made Cozette very happy to see him having fun like that, and without any bad intentions at all. He just enjoyed himself. Connie in the meanwhile had finished her cotton candy and was eyeing the next attraction already. It was a small rollercoaster, much slower than the other one, perfect for all ages.
She walked over to Cozette and tugged on her dress.
“Miss Cozette, can we go on this ride over there next? I want to try it out! It seems to be fun!”
Still observing Reclusa play, Cozette simply nodded, shortly turning around to face Connie. “You may, but please be careful, okay? I will join you in a couple minutes. I don't want to ruin your little brother´s playtime!. He really seems to be making progress in finding friends!!”
This caused Connie to roll her eyes. Of course, what else was new? Reclusa seems to be more important, as usual lately, she thought.. “I will see you later then!” She retorted, trying not to show her disappointment. Without Cozette now, Connie made her way over to the ride, getting in line with a gloom look.
After around ten or fifteen more minutes, the kids were called back by their parents, leaving a now very tired looking Reclusa behind. He swayed and then fell right on his back, letting out a weary sigh. Cozette came over and cradled her baby in her arms, putting him in his stroller again, making her way over to the other ride Connie had gone to.
As they joined up with the small Wattanist, she had already finished and was waiting at the sidelines with her arms crossed.
“What's the matter dear? Did something happen?”
Connie was silent for a moment, then a rare sight came to unfold as she stomped her foot on the ground angrily.
“Reclusa happened, that´s what is wrong here! Ever since he came living with us, all your eyes are only on him and him alone. And it hurts!” She indeed missed the times where Cozette and her were living alone together, without annoying little siblings that stole away all the attention. Of course Connie was still remembering what Reclusa had done and because of that had a hard time forgiving him in the first place.
The small baby that had rested in his stroller just a minute ago began to fuss. He could feel the change in mood and it clearly had upset him. Cozette was taken back by Connie´s sudden outburst but then felt guilty. Maybe she was right and her attention was really focused mostly on Reclusa…Biting her lip, Cozette went over to her trainee and engulfed her in a gentle hug. “I am sorry that I made you feel that way. I can only imagine how you must have felt at that time…” She truly was sorry and hoped Connie could find a way to forgive her.
Seeing how conflicted Cozette looked and her genuine hug, made Connie stop in her tracks for a moment, the anger slowly started to subside. “It's okay…I just want to spend time with you too! I understand that Reclusa needs a lot of attention but I really felt pushed to the sidelines by you.”
“I promise you that I will do better when it comes to this from now on…I love you just like I do Reclusa. You´re both very important to me and I would never want to lose any of you either. We are a family and will stay one, forever!” This caused Connie to tear up as well, she always had seen Cozette as more than a mentor, for her she always was like a mother figure. Hearing it from Cozette herself made this whole thing more impactful on top of it.
“Yes, staying together forever sounds wonderful” Connie hesitated for a moment before looking at Cozette who had tears in her eyes as well. She never had a mother, her own died when she was very young, only a few hazy memories had stayed and the older she got, the more those grew paler. “Thank you…Mama”
While this emotional moment came to its conclusion, Ecks, Ten and Shun reappeared as well, visibly tired. Eck`s was still out of order, hanging limply over the tallest member of the corps, feeling as his head was doing rounds on the merry-go-round.
Seeing everyone crying made the three of them wonder what had happened while they were away. Reclusa was able to escape his confines as well and joined Cozette and Connie, hugging both their legs with his larger arms.
“I think we should go home now, it was a long day” Cozette said as her feelings had calmed down and her heart had stopped making somersaults after Connie had called her Mama.
Ten nodded his head, pointing at Eck´s.
“I agree, the rollercoaster was too much for him it seems. He is out of order i reckon”
Cozette chuckles and picks up Reclusa from the ground, looking at Connie by her side, offering her hand. Without hesitation, Connie slipped her hand into those of Cozette and smiled.
“Maybe we can use the stroller for Eck´s, seeing that you carry Reclusa on your hip now.. He starts to get heavy on my shoulder…” Ten said dryly, causing everyone to laugh. “Put him in, i believe it will do him good for the time being” Cozette added amused while the unconscious young lad was trying not to vomit again.
“Today was really fun, I really enjoyed every minute of it!” Connie exclaimed while they walked out of the park and in direction of the transportation pipe that would bring everyone back to Shipshape Island. Cozette nodded, still feeling that cozy warmth inside her heart, all things considered and the small argument they had, this day truly was wonderful and a day to remember. The sun started to get down by now and everyone was starting to get tired. Reclusa had fallen asleep already and Connie was shortly before doing so as well. Eck´s was way ahead of them in the land of dreams, snoring in the stroller he was forced in by Ten who was sick carrying him around over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
“I believe dinner will fall flat today” Cozette mused, which caused Shun to gasp in shock. Waving her hand playfully, the tall Wattanist simply chuckled. “Don´t worry, I was just joking…let's make some nice dinner when we´re back home, alright?”
Shun had quickly recovered from his shock and was nodding eagerly. He never liked skipping meals. “Ohhh can we make that Hottato Stew again? It was really tasty last time!!”
“If you like, why not. I enjoyed it myself” Cozette agreed wistfully.
When they finally had returned to their home, the sun was gone completely. Everyone was tired and after a nice hot Hottato Stew, everyone literally fell into their respective beds, dreaming of the day they had spent together.