Skyline Gang: Trial of Darkness

Chapter 10

"I found it!" Misty shrugged carelessly.

"In Bud's room per chance?" Dude asked again, his tone becoming a little harsher.

"...maybe..." Misty shrugged again.

"Misty!" Everyone else shouted at her, disappointed. How many times do they need to go over respecting others personal space and property with Misty? It's not the first and probably won't be the last time she'll do something like this. At least, she was caught before she could do any damage with the Sceptre.

"What?! If you didn't want me to find it, maybe Bud should've locked his door." Misty fired back with her arms crossed.

"Now that she mentions it, an electronic lock doesn't sound like a bad idea." Bud mused over as he returned. He couldn't count the number of times he came back to his room being disorganised because Misty decided to snoop around and mess with his tools and materials. Same thing for everyone else (other than Sprout because his room was always messy and couldn't care less).

"Do you two mind telling us something?" Pip immediately asked, looking back and forth between the blue one and the red one. Dude and Bud shared a glance. Guess there was no point in trying to hide the whole thing, especially now that they caught Misty playing around with it. They were planning to tell everyone else anyway. This just wasn't how they wanted to in the first place. Then Bud was sharp to spot something on the floor.

"As soon as Mimi cleans up her nail polish." He said, pointing at the specific spot. Mimi blinked a couple of times before looking at the floor. She let out a small shriek at Bud's discovery. There were two things that she was horrified by. One, that nail polish was expensive and was a limited edition. And two, the contents in the bottle was slipped out on the carpet.

"Oh my goodness! I'm sorry! Just give me a couple of minutes." Mimi spoke quickly, and left the room just as quickly to find her hairspray, some rubbing alcohol from the First Aid kit and a cleaning brush.

"Misty will give you a hand!" Dude shouted after her.

"What?! Fine..." Misty exclaimed, but gave up as she was given another disapproving stare from everyone in the room. This included Rainbow flashing her a hard stare. She knew that if she kept fighting this, the worse it'll probably be for her. She stomped off to the kitchen to get some water, while the room started to calm down a little from the chaos that had happened. Just one step at a time, and hopefully explanations will just go smoothly.

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As soon as the mess was being cleaned up (with Misty grumbling the entire time), Dude and Bud started giving their explanation. Right from when Dude found the Sceptre, right up until Misty caused her mischief. Misty did flash a small bit of concern when she heard the story behind the artefact, but it was only for a split second and went unnoticed to everyone else. She just had this glint in her eye full of mischief now. She's going to keep everyone on their toes and none of them were going to be prepared for it. Meanwhile, there was this air of uncertainty around everyone. Hairs stood up on end as their arms became bumpy from goosebumps. Hearts were racing from anxiety. Even if the Sceptre was safely back upstairs in Bud's room, the effects of it still lingered in the room. Just as Dude and Bud had speculated before, everyone wondered how on earth did something like stay in the attic for so long without them knowing. And why did it want to be discovered now? Did it want to take full advantage of the wrong person to unleash the darkness all over again? Or was it something that they haven't figured out yet? This whole thing was scarier than everyone initially thought after Misty's display of mischief five minutes ago.

"Imagine if I had found that Sceptre if you hadn't interrupted me, Dude!" Misty challenged, standing up from where she and Mimi had finished cleaning up the nail polish. Dude didn't respond to that. He had nothing to bite back with. Even if Misty had found it first, the result would still be the same. She'd cause a mess, the others would intervene, and Bud would still do his research. In the end, they'd all be in the den having this conversation.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Sprout asked, after having heard Dude and Bud's plan to go return the Sceptre.

"It's mostly theoretical but yes." Bud answered, wiping his glasses with a cleaning cloth. "We both came to a mutual agreement that it could be for the best."

"What about expenses?" Mimi suddenly asked as she was heading to the kitchen to return some of the cleaning items. "Travelling costs money. Not to mention the need for passports."

Dude and Bud had to admit that they didn't think about that. The only thing that they thought about was returning the Sceptre to its rightful resting place. Expenses and passports were the last things they had on their minds. They probably would've discussed it if Misty hadn't started the whole mess like she did. They weren't exactly rich at all. And there's no way that they would be allowed to use the money that the Skyline received from guests to go travelling. That would be embezzlement. Not to mention trying to get the right documents like passports could take some time. Time that the Skyline Gang might not have with this situation. This was quite a bit of a snag. Maybe the Redcoats would know a bit more about what they can do for travelling? Maybe the previous Skyline Gang went travelling occasionally too? There had to be a way to make things easier.

"Are we even allowed to leave the Skyline?" Pip asked while the pondering was still going on.

"I don't...wait a second. We?" Dude repeated in bewilderment. Pip smiled wildly with a glint in her eyes that was just as wild. Usually she gets that when suddenly hit with inspiration for her song writing.

"If you two think that you're hogging all the fun, you've got another thing coming!" Pip challenged, getting to her feet with supreme confidence. "No way I'm missing out on a rockin' adventure like this! Plus I need some inspiration for new songs!"

"I want to come too! It'll be well bonkers!" Sprout just as eagerly added.

"I've been stuck in this place since I arrived here! I want to see more!" Misty grinned. Her reason for going was sensible enough. Aside from a chaotic first outing in the town, Misty hadn't been anywhere in the week that she came into existence. But taking her abroad might be too big of a step. Then again, she wasn't allowed to come, Dude had a feeling that she would sneak onto the plane somehow.

"As long as you promise to behave yourself." He said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"I promise..." Misty smiled. She said the words, but will she have the actions to keep it? Best to keep an eye on her to the best of everyone's ability.

"Could I come too? And Rainbow as well?" Candi begged, kneeling down and giving Rainbow a hug.

"Please!" Rainbow barked as he and Candi gave everyone the best puppy dog eyes that they could. Their ultimate weapons that could stop an army. A deadly combination that was impossible to say no to. Only Misty hasn't fallen for it yet, but everyone else figured that it might be a matter of time.

"Mimi?" Dude asked cautiously as the fashionista came back to the room. Given how much she hates getting dirty, everyone thought she might say no. Bugs, sweat, dirt and anything to do with nature wasn't exactly Mimi's cup of tea. She'll admire nature at a distance, but up close might be a bit of a stretch.

"I'm not really a nature person...but I'm not being left on my own in the Skyline." Mimi pouted, taking everyone by surprise. Guess the thought of being alone trumped the proper of getting dirty. "Just pay for my next spa trip when we get back."

Guess it's time to prepare for an adventure.