Scouting Troubles 2015

[Imagi]

Scouting Troubles


“Are you sure that’s right?” Canary Yellow questioned looking at a large mixing bowl dubiously. The insides contained a grainy yellowish brown substance that made her stomach turn slightly.

Patty O’ Green and Buddy Blue, who had also volunteered to help in the kitchen that morning, seemed to share her opinion.

Brian abandoned his own bowl; this one filled with a sticky dark brown liquid and walked over to the yellow color kid. After a quick inspection he smiled.

“Yep that’s a good batter.” His friends exchanged a look as their earth friend carried the bowl over to something called a griddle and proceeded to put scoops of the stuff onto its metal surface.

To their surprise, the runny mixture started to bubble and turn into firm and fluffy disks. After a moment Brian turned them over with a spatula. “So these are pancakes?”

Buddy Blue questioned as he looked at the light brown disks. Brian nodded. “Yep!” He said simply.

“Can pancakes be done in any shape?” A soft and sleepy voice questioned from behind them. Everyone looked over at the new arrival and smiled.

“Good Morning Moonglo!” Canary Yellow said brightly. Moonglo smiled back before yawning. “Morning.” She said gently before yawning again.

“Normally I’d still be in bed now, but it smells too good down here to sleep.” Indeed the night keeper was right. Anyone who had passed by the kitchen had immediately stopped in their tracks and peeked inside.

Brian of course was used to it. He quickly transferred the steamy disks onto a plate and reached for the batter before remembering.

“Oh! Moonglo I’ve got my cookie cutters in my backpack if you want different shapes.” Brian gestured offhandedly to a battered brown bag lying nearby.

The tiredness momentarily disappeared from the moon girl’s eyes and she walked over to the pack. After a minute she smiled.

“Are these what you wanted Brian?” Moonglo questioned as she brought them over. Each of the cookie cutters were a different shape and had a handle on them. Brian smiled. “They sure are. Now what shapes do you want?”

Not far away from the castle, a pair of eyes watched the activity happening inside. The eyes growled out their annoyance and darkened with hate. “Color Brats.” A low voice said venomously. For a moment everything stood still from the declaration.

“Hey look Murky a picnic!” A familiar voice declared out joyfully. Murky who had been spying on the group from inside a large bush, jumped out momentarily in his surprise.

“Hey that looks like fun!” Look Murky I can do it too!” Lurky announced happily as he jumped up and down in plain sight. Murky didn’t share the large sprite’s enthusiasm. “Get in here Banana Brain!” He growled out. “Duuuhhh…Okay Murky!”

Murky immediately regretted his words as his bumbling partner dove into the bush and right on top of him. “LURKY!!!!!!!!” he yelled out angrily.

Murky was so intent on chewing out his sidekick that he was oblivious to the sound of someone whistling. Had they been listening they might have noticed the whistles sounded almost like laughter….

Despite the star and moon shapes of the pancakes, most of the inhabitants of Rainbowland stared warily at the strange food on their plates. A few of the braver ones had even dared to cut the pancake into pieces.

Rainbow Brite was lifting a part of the fluffy star to her mouth when she noticed everyone’s eyes were on her.

“We did promise.” She said firmly before placing the bit of food into her mouth.

Slowly each color kid and sprite did the same. Smiles spread across their faces as they reached for another piece. Just then the doors to the color castle opened and the cooking crew came out carrying more plates teeming high with pancakes.

“It’s a good thing we made more.” Brian commented brightly as he set the plate down on the table next to Red Butler. The red color kid smiled. “These are really good Brian!” he complimented. Brian smiled back as he sat down on the long bench. Next to him Twink frowned slightly.

“They seem a little dry though.” Twink commented out loud before gulping down a glass of orange juice.

Patty O’Green who had just come out of the castle, had spun around in shock at the blunt remark and had almost lost control of her plate. Buddy Blue hurriedly set his own down and ran over to help balance.

Rainbow meanwhile stared at her sprite with horrified eyes. “Twink!” Rainbow said appalled. She quickly turned to Brian to apologize. To everyone’s surprise the earth boy was grinning. “You didn’t try the maple syrup did you?”

“Maple Syrup?” Twink questioned. In response Brian removed the spoon from a bowl filled with dark liquid. Each of the color kids and sprites watched as the taller boy dribbled a little bit of the deep brown liquid on the pancakes.

“Not too many people like dry pancakes. That’s why I made the syrup as well.” Brian said answering the unasked question.

Twink hesitantly put one of the pieces in his mouth. After a moment he looked at Brian surprised. “It’s sweet!” At the head sprite’s words the others curiously tried some as well. As they munched happily they were unaware they were being watched.

Murky grumbled to himself as he spied on the gathering. “One of these days. He snarled. “One of these days!” Next to him Lurky looked confused. “Hey Murky! Who are you talking to?” Murky quickly silenced his partner.

“Do you want to get caught!” he quietly hissed. Beneath Murky’s covered hands, Lurky tried to mumble out his answer. Murky looked skyward for a moment. “Why me?” he questioned to the sky. Fortunately for Murky, a split second later there was a loud crash. Quickly he looked back at the party.

“You sure lived up to your name!” Patty O’ Green said giggling. During cleanup one of the indigo sprites had somehow managed to spill an entire bowl of maple syrup on top of himself.

“Are you okay Comedy?” Indigo questioned softly as she removed the now empty bowl. She frowned slightly as she noticed the bowl partially sticking to her hands.

“Don’t worry Indigo. A little soup and water will get rid of the stickiness.” Brian said as he walked over.

Comedy in response chirped animatedly in sprite, completely unaware of Brian’s inability to understand. Indigo noticed the lost expression on the earth boy’s face and smiled gently.

“Comedy said the syrup was good, but he liked it better on his plate. Brian grinned. “I’ll help you.” Indigo took Comedy’s hand and Brian took a few plates as they headed towards the castle.

Other color kids and sprites took their lead and started gathering up the dirty dishes and bringing them inside. The rest had left for the color caves. In no time at all the area was abandoned. Murky took advantage of the lull and climbed out of the bush.

“Finally there gone!” he gloated as he rubbed his hands together. “Now Lurky…..Murky trailed off and stared in disbelief as his large partner grabbed one of the remaining pancake stacks and proceeded to dump maple syrup over the top.

“What are you doing dodo brain?” He questioned as he grit his teeth. Lurky was blissfully unaware of his partner’s annoyance as he munched on a moon.

“Lurky!” The brown sprite smiled back. “Gee Murky! You should really try these!”

“Duuhhoooh!” Murky clenched his fists tightly and forced a smile on his face. “Why are we here?” Lurky scratched his head as he thought.

“Duuuhh…Cause it’s so pretty and colorful?” Murky’s fists became tighter as did his smile.

“Think Lurky. Who is the one who got Rainbow and those color brats out of the pits? Who took the blast from the Monstromurk allowing Rainbow Brite to use those…..COLORS on us?”

Lurky took another bite of pancake unaware of smoke starting to come out his cohort’s ears. “Duuhh… Now don’t rush me Murky I’m thinking….” Murky lost it. “It was that Earth Brat you Banana Brained Dope! We came here to kidnap him!” He yelled out lividly.

“Duhh…Oh yeah!” The bright smile left Lurky’s face and was replaced with one of confusion. “So what are we going to do with him Murky?” Fortunately Murky’s answer was interrupted by voices. Quickly they hid once more.

“Well at least most of it’s done.” Brian commented looking at the tables. All that remained were a few dishes. Rainbow smiled. “You did the cooking so we’ll finish the rest. Do you have everything Brian?”

Brian showed her his brown backpack. “Well everything but the griddle. I’ve got another one at home so you can keep it if you like.”

Rainbow smiled back before calling Starlight. Before they could leave Red Butler and La La Orange ran out of the color castle. “Brian Wait! La La Orange cried running up with a strange key.

The head was shaped like a rainbow. Brian’s eyes went wide. “My key!” Automatically he pulled out his necklace and discovered the problem.

“My clasp must have broken.” Red Butler frowned. “You’ve got to be more careful Brian! Without that key you wouldn’t be able to visit us.” Brian nodded sadly.

“I know.” Gratefully he took the key from La La and carefully tucked it in one of his pockets. “Thanks, La La. I’ll get a new clasp when I get home.”

Murky from his hiding place fought the urge to jump for joy. “That’s it!” He cried out gleefully. “Duuuh what’s it Murky?” Murky ignored him as he continued.

“We’ll sever ties! We’ll find out where that Earth brat lives and get that key from him! He’ll never go to Rainbowland again! And with him out of the way nothing will stop me from turning Rainbowland into the way it was always meant to be….THE PITS!” Murky laughed fiendishly.

“Duh…Murky? Murky? Hey Murky?” The insistent taps on his shoulder finally got to the evil genius. “What is it Bozo Nose?!” He growled out. “Duuuh…shouldn’t we follow them?”

Lurky suggested pointing to Starlight who was already charging up the rainbow. “Nohoooho!” Murky wailed out as he ran towards the waiting Grunge Buggy.

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Brian smiled tiredly as he closed the door and walked into the kitchen setting his backpack down on one of the chairs. “What a morning.” he said out loud before opening the large windows. In the distance he could see the rainbow climb out of sight causing a smile to tug at the boy’s face.

Humming happily he started to open the various cabinets that stored his baking equipment before going to unzip his bag. Without looking he reached for his mixing bowls. But instead of the cool metal he had expected he felt something warm and furry.

“Whoa!” Brian yelled out in shock as he jumped back. The bag had been dumped onto the floor in the process, emitting a surprised whistle in the process. Wide eyed the earth boy moved slowly towards the overturned bag and slowly removed it.

A familiar gray fuzz ball with a circle spot over his right eye stared back at him smiling. Brian looked back with a dumbstruck expression causing the sprite to twitter with glee. To make things worse he could hear footsteps heading towards the kitchen.

In a flash the bag was back over the sprite. Brian ignored his indignant whistles and turned to greet the person. “Hi mom!” He said cheerfully. His mom frowned slightly sensing something amiss.

With her eyes she looked at the kitchen. Except the upside down backpack and the open cabinets nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. She smiled back.

“Your father and I will be gone until 6:00 this evening. Can I trust you’ll be good until then?” Brian grinned. “You can count on me mom. Is it okay if I go down to the field?”

His mother looked at him for a minute before smiling. “Make sure you have your key. And if one of your friends invites you somewhere, make sure you call me and let me know this time.” Brian had immediately noticed the warning note in her voice and quickly nodded.

Once his mother had departed and the door had closed did Brian sag with relief. “That was too close.” he muttered. The sprite shoved the bag off and quickly blew into his hand creating a series of melodic yet almost completely incomprehensible sounds. “A turkey sandwich is after you? Brian said looking at the sprite in confusion.

The sprite looked at him with amusement as he blew on his mitt in a string of shrill high and low notes that sounded suspiciously like laughter. Brian frowned.

“Slow down. I can’t understand you when you rush like that.” The grey sprite tried again between breaths but his continued mirth made it impossible. Sighing Brian reached into his pocket.

“I don’t know why you decided to hide in my backpack, but we need to get you back to Rainbowland before anyone sees you.” Brian said as he removed his hand.
He opened it revealing a pair of keys. A grey house key that been painted brown and the Rainbowland key.

He reached for the latter key which to his surprise was no longer there. Quickly he turned his pockets out and searched the area. “Where did it go?” Brian said worriedly. “Ooooovvvvveeeerrr….Heeeeerrrre!”

The whistle words that set the sprite apart from the rest had Brian quickly turn his head towards the windows.

To his horror the sprite was sitting on one of the window ledges waving to him cheerfully while holding the rainbow shaped key.

“Oh no!” Brian yelled making a frantic grab for the sprite.

He was too late. The sprite quickly jumped out the open window and took off down the street. In a flash the windows were closed, front door locked and house key replaced as Brian ran after him.

The clear sky had fogged over and hid the sun from view. From his perch in the newly built Gloom Copter Murky grinned.

His newest invention combined his old balloon, propellers and an old bicycle he had stolen from Rainbowland. He also added one of the gloom machines to it. With each pedal from Lurky, the gloom cloud formula poured out of the device.

“Duuuh maybe it was this way! Or was it this way?” Murky for once ignored the comments from his bumbling partner as he watched the people and the animals down below.

Many had run from the grey smokes as the noxious fumes descended. Others however weren’t as fortunate. Murky cackled with delight as he watched the murkiness took effect, their bright colors and smiles fading only to be replaced with uncaring grey.

He wiped a tear from his eye. “It’s sooo beautiful!” The joy he felt turned to wicked glee as heard hoof beats approaching. “Murky!” Rainbow Brite cried out touching her belt. A rainbow appeared from it and flew towards him. Murky grinned evilly as the rainbow flew closer. “Wait for it….Wait for it…..Now Lurky!”

The Gloom Copter suddenly darted downward creating a heavy cloud of smog in its wake. The following rainbow quickly vanished in the dark mass making Rainbow Brite frown. She touched her belt again and altered the path of her own rainbow allowing them to bypass the dangerous smoke.

As if sensing the failed trap, the Gloom Copter picked up speed. Starlight glared at the retreating vehicle.

“I’m a leader not a follower!” Starlight snorted as he charged forward in pursuit.

The race between the two enemies took them across the sky. Unlike past times Murky had gotten smarter and he and Lurky used the surrounding area to their advantage.

Twink shrieked and closed his eyes tightly as they went under a bridge barely missing colliding with a car. Cautiously he opened them. “Starlight! Can’t we go a little higher?”

Twink begged before quickly closing his eyes with a mitt. The white horse with the rainbow mane frowned. “Anyplace that clunky vehicle of Murky’s can go I can go!” Starlight declared arrogantly as he ran faster.

Rainbow winced as Starlight came close to hitting a building, but inwardly she frowned. “I don’t get it.” She said out loud. Twink reluctantly moved his hand and looked at her questioningly. “What’s wrong Rainbow?” In response Rainbow gestured below.

“Murky could have turned this whole area grey and gloomy by now…or went back to the pits when he saw us, but instead he keeps leading us all over the place!”

Twink blinked and looked forward. Not far ahead was the Gloom Copter where both Murky and Lurky were looking down at the ground below.

“You’re right!” Twink said in surprise. Starlight let out another disgusted snort. “Those two are up to something alright.” But what?” Rainbow wondered.

“HEY MURKY! LOOK WE FOUND HIM!” Lurky’s joyful cry had the trio look downwards in confusion. Their looks of confusion quickly turned to horror as they spotted a familiar person running towards a large group of buses.

“Oh no! Brian!” Rainbow Brite cried out horrified. There frozen state gave Murky the opportunity he needed. He cackled gleefully as the Gloom Copter dove.

Starlight quickly recovered but it was too late. Not even the rainbow could reach Murky in time. “Brian Look Out!” Twink yelled out as loud as he could.

Brian came to a sudden stop just as one of the buses departed. He frowned and looked around carefully before running into the crowd of buses.

Starlight looked down in alarm. “What is he doing?!” Rainbow gasped. “Oh No! He must not have heard us!” The young girl tried again screaming at the top of her lungs and silently urging the rainbow closer.

In the midst of all the unseen joy and anguish, another bus started to depart. Unnoticed, one of the bus’s windows was pushed open and a grey arm stuck out.

Murky grinned wickedly as the buses came in range and readied his newest weapon the Mega Gloom Launcher. The Mega Gloom Launcher would release a net that would instantly murk out anything it touched. Before he could press the button, there was a sudden sharp and piercing whistle.

Murky quickly covered his ears to block out the sound. “LURKY!!! Knock it off!” He growled out. Lurky turned his head in bewilderment. “It wasn’t me Murky!” Murky’s glare became darker.

“Then whose was it Snail Brain?” Lurky pointed down at the ground. I think it came from there Murky!” Murky look down and noticed the last of the buses departing.

Nooooo!!! He wailed out. “After them Lurky!” Lurky grinned widely at his cohort. “Right away Murky!” He announced before the Gloom Copter flew off.

Rainbow Brite and her friends had also been caught unaware by the sudden whistle. Twink had been handing his partner star sprinkles, but accidentally dropped them below. Like Murky and Lurky they raced after the ground vehicles.

Rainbow let out a gasp as they finally caught up to the buses. Several of the whitish grey buses had started to break off into different directions, but among them…..

“Look how colorful those buses are!” Twink stared down at the vehicles in astonishment. “The star sprinkles I dropped must have landed on them!” A bright smile spread across Rainbow’s face.

“Good work Twink! Now it will be easier to find Brian!” Starlight looked down doubtfully at the disappearing colors. “There’s so many of them! How will we ever find him in time?

Rainbow smiled as she touched her belt causing the beam of color to rise. “With a little help!” She announced cheerfully. “Now come on we have to hurry!” Starlight shook his mane proudly before running back up into the clouds.

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The interior of the large vehicle was filled with activity. The long pathway that led to the exit was already packed with tourists, each carrying enough stuff to last a week rather then a day. From his seat in the back, the grey sprite frowned slightly in annoyance. After a few more minutes he had had enough.

A young girl stopped pulling on her dad’s arm for a moment and stared wide eyed at a strange fuzzy creature climbing over and bouncing on the padded seats. She smiled happily and tried to do the same, but was quickly caught.

“Fuzzy Monster!” She explained pointing at the sprite. Her father had looked, but saw nothing despite the girl’s protests. “Just your imagination.” He stated firmly.

The sprite in response stuck his tongue out at the dad causing giggles from the young girl. The grey sprite then continued with his task. A few more seat climbs brought him to bus exit.

“Bye Bye Fuzzy Monster!” The little girl cried out as she waved. The sprite smiled and returned it before he left the bus.

Almost immediately the monochrome sprite was drawn into a crowd of people moving towards a small building. The wave of people carried him inside and quickly dissipated. His eyes abruptly widened and he let out an awed whistle.

The search for the buses had not taken long at all. To their dismay, the buses had returned to the station… all empty. Stormy crossed her arms in a huff.

“This is just great! Brian could be ANYWHERE by now and we’ve LOST the only way to find him!” Shy Violet ignored the storm kid’s rants as she studied the colorful buses and then a large sign. After a moment she smiled.

“It’s not the color that’s important though it does help. Look at the colored vehicles.” Shy Violet pointed. The other kids looked back towards the buses. After a moment Red Butler frowned. “There everywhere! There in front, there in back, the middle….”

“Exactly Red! Shy Violet’s smile became brighter as she focused her attention on her leader. “Rainbow, where did you see Brian?” After a moment Rainbow suddenly gasped. “The red and yellow buses! Brian was in between them!”

The other kids started to smile as well. So all we have to do is figure out where they went and we’ll find Brian!” Patty O’ Green said cheerfully bouncing up and down.

“So let’s follow them already!” Stormy cried out as she climbed back onto Sky Dancer. “Uhh…actually Stormy, it’s 6 buses… once you count the length of the whistle, the recovery time and the amount of people.”

Shy Violet corrected. Stormy’s annoyed reply was fortunately drowned out by the roar of yet another bus rolling into the station.

Murky was in a lousy mood. Thanks to Lurky’s short attention span, the Gloom Copter had crashed right in the middle of a construction zone. While it could be eventually repaired, it would take time.

And tools...the reason he was on the wretched vehicle in the first place. To his surprise and delight, the unexpected stop worked in his favor.

“The Gateway? What’s that?” Twink questioned as he scratched his head. The other kids seemed similarly befuddled. “The place all of the buses are going to!”

Red Butler declared before frowning slightly. “I think.” He added softly before studying his guide again. As the other kids studied their own guides, they were unaware of a bus door opening and a short grey clad man carefully sneaking by.

Rainbow Brite smiled brightly at her companions. “Well we won’t find him just by standing here!” She closed her guide. “According to this the yellow bus leaves first.

Patty O’Green… you and Shy Violet will ride it over. Both color kids beamed and started to run for the sunshine colored bus. Meanwhile Rainbow continued her orders.

“Red Butler you’ll take the next one.” Red nodded and headed for the green bus. Stormy scowled. “And just what are we supposed to do?” She complained.

“We’re going to find Murky and Lurky before they can cause anymore trouble.” Rainbow Brite declared as she prepared to let loose her belt’s power. Cries of surprise followed by a roar of an engine stopped her. She looked over towards the buses and gasped.

“Violet! Patty! Are you alright?!” Rainbow cried out as she quickly dismounted. The color kids of violet and green didn’t answer. Motionlessly they remained lying down on the hard concrete.

With Red’s help they were able to get the pair out of the street. Red Butler clenched his fists as he explained what had happened. “Murky was on the yellow bus and ambushed Patty and Violet with a gloom gun when they tried to get on the bus!”

Rainbow frowned deeply. “I’ll stay with them until there unmurked. Red get on the other bus, and Stormy go after Murky!”

Brian had long since disembarked from the violet colored bus and was currently looking around the packed building.

Not far away was a raised stone step with a large stone lion….a popular spot for picture taking. Unknown to the smiling tourists, a grey ball of fur shared the lion’s perch.

The sprite waved at Brian cheerfully, but Brian didn’t share his enthusiasm. He waited impatiently for the tourists to leave before running over. “Hey Brian!”

Or at least he tried too. Sighing inwardly he turned to face the person…and a smile appeared on his face. “Hi Joey.” Brian greeted instantly recognizing his friend from the racetrack.

Joey Stargazer grinned at him from his wheelchair. “Check these out!” He said as he held up a pair of sunglasses with colored lens. “Uhhh…” Brian‘s attempt at a reply was quickly interrupted.

“Neat isn’t it! You put these on and they zoom in on distant objects!” Joey said excitedly.

Brian smiled at his friend as he kept looking off to the side. The sprite hadn’t moved and watched them curiously. Until there was a sudden crash… followed closely by a loud wail. The sprite let out a surprised whistle and took off down a pathway.

Brian quickly turned to Joey and tried to give a hasty goodbye, but the other boy grinned wider. “No way are you chasing after that thing without me!”

Joey declared as he propelled himself forward. Brian stared at the path the sprite and his friend had gone down before turning back towards the source of the noise. A little boy had knocked something over upsetting him. Brian sighed inwardly before he ran after Joey and the sprite.

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“Duuhh…the wheels on the bus go round and round…Duuhh…round and round….Duuhh….round and round…..Duuhh….”

Murky winced as he gripped his gloom gun tighter. Had he known he would be sharing the bus with a full load of day campers and their abnormally cheerful counselor he would have gladly taken another bus.

Just the sight of the children’s shirts, each a bright color and each bearing a huge smiling sun on the front made him grind his teeth together.

“Ooookay Campers!!! We’re just 300 mega mega jump jumps from The Gateway!”

Lurky and the campers cheered happily, but Murky had a very different reaction. “Mega Mega jump jumps?!” Murky repeated with obvious disgust on his face. Unfortunately the Counselor wearing the same shirt as his campers had mistaken his revulsion for a question.

“That’s just our funny fun way of saying we’ll be there in half n hour!” The man said cheerfully followed by more cheers from the bus.

Murky had had it and aimed the gloom gun right at the counselor who to his dislike only seemed to smile brighter.

“Oooh don’t be such a gloomy Gus!” The counselor declared as he took the grey clad man’s device away before continuing. “The sun is always shining if you just let it! And what better way to remember then to sing “You are my Sunshine!!”

“NOOO!!!” Murky wailed. The counselor’s smile grew. “Oh don’t worry! We’ll sing along with you!” More cheers from the bus before the song started. “You are my Sunshine my only sunshine you make me happy when skies are grey….”

Murky started to bang his head against one of the seats. Unknown to Murky outside the singing bus the sky started to darken and thunder. If he looked closely at the sky he would have seen a young girl on purple horse….

Much to Murky’s relief the bus soon pulled up to The Gateway. The moment the doors opened Murky sprang out eagerily. “At last!!! Now we can search for the Earth Boy!” Murky’s joy was short lived by the crowd of eager kids running straight for him.

“Nohoooho! Stop! Stop!” When the dust cloud finally cleared Murky was lying down on the ground groaning. Lurky walked off the bus holding the confiscated weapon.

“Hey Murky! That nice man gave me back your-” The enormous sprite stared at his cohort in confusion. “Hey Murky your down on the ground again!” Murky grumbled in response.

Stormy in the meantime cautiously scanned the area. She smiled seeing the bus drop off and the area was for the moment empty.

“Now’s my chance!” The storm kid said raising her hand to the sky and concentrating.

The sky started to darken once more and thunder rumbled ominously before she threw down her hand.

Murky had just managed to get back onto his feet when Lurky clapped his hands in delight. “Look Murky! There’s a pretty light!” The bumbler of the pair smiled happily at the bolt of lightning coming straight for them.

However the shorter villain had a different reaction and quickly dove out of the way. “Is this some kind of fun game Murky? I like fun games!”

Murky noticed the weather child gearing up for another attack. Already the sky thundered dangerously. He spun around and smiled at Lurky. “Yes banana brain this is a game.”

Lurky in response jumped up and down clapping his hands. “Oh Goody! Duuhh… how do we play?” Murky smiled. “Well first we…..RUN INTO THAT BUILDING OVER THERE BEFORE LIGHTNING STRIKES US!!!”

Lurky stared confusedly at Murky’s rapidly retreating figure, before he frowned. “Duuuhhh…….that’s not fair Murky! You forgot to say Ready Set Go!”

The dimwitted sprite chased after his friend, while Sky Dancer landed. His young rider shook her fist angrily, before smiling. “Don’t worry Sky Dancer we’ll get them!” A loud rumbling behind them announced the arrival of another bus.

The shock and minor panic on Stormy’s face was replaced with relief seeing Red Butler run out of the bus. “Come on! We have to catch them!” The red color kid cried out as he darted past his friend. Wasting no time Sky Dancer raced after him.

“Nohoho!!!” Murky wailed out in anguish as he gazed around the room. In the very center of the room was a large granite statue of a lion on a dais that was surrounded by various paths.

The passageways wound around and away from the sculpture eventually descending down a ramp leading to one of several doors all identical to the last.

His evil mind boggled at the sight. Rainbow Brite’s friend Brian had undoubtedly gone down one of these trails, but which one? “Gee Murky! Look at all the different paths!” The happy go lucky sprite proclaimed gleefully knocking him out of his thoughts.

“LURKY!!!” Murky hissed out violently as he continued to study the pathways in hopes of discovering a clue leading to the earth brat’s location. Nothing yet just a bunch of troublesome earth children and Lurky entering one of the various doors and….

Murky abruptly paled as he spun back. Moments later the sound of someone screaming at the top of their lungs echoed throughout the entire building….

[Imagi]

The crowds entering the cavernous building seemed endless. The noise level a calamity of droning voices, laughter, screams and the sounds of baby cries interspersed with bright flashes of light as well as the slamming of doors.

And no matter how much the pair wished otherwise, they had to keep a low profile. And unlike the racetrack they had visited so long ago, sudden beams of colored light as well as clouds conjuring themselves from the building’s ceiling would be all too noticeable.

Like it or not, the invisible wielders were stuck smack dab in the middle of the chaotic madness… a seemingly unending sea of people all incapable of seeing the duo.

More than once the Rainbowland dwellers found themselves shuffled from place to place and in opposite directions as the tourists rapidly stopped, changed directions and just as quickly changed their minds yet again.

“And here I thought Lurky couldn’t make up his mind!” Stormy snarked as for the umpteenth time she had bumped into yet another human tourist group who had abruptly stopped this time in front of a lion statue staring at it eagerly.

“Oh! It’s the Gateway Lion! Camerton reunion family pictures everybody!” One of the adults announced happily causing the enormous Camerton assembly to surge forward almost causing the storm kid to fall over.

“A little warning would be nice!” Stormy shouted out indignantly after them watching as the humans crowded as well as fought for places both around and on the lion’s platform.

Not surprisingly no one heard her. Stormy was so intent on watching the Camerton’s that she didn’t realize the mob behind her was moving until it was too late.

“Not again!” Stormy moaned as she started to become swept away once again. Before she could move too far, an arm shot out anchoring her. Startled, she looked up to see Red Butler.
“Grab on Stormy!” The red color kid insisted reaching out with one arm while the other was firmly wrapped around one of the stone lion’s legs. With Red’s help, Stormy was pulled onto the platform.

“Thanks.” Stormy said simply as she let go of Red’s hand and she took a step forward to also grab a hold of the lion’s leg. She didn’t get that far. A sudden shriek of outrage caused both her and Red to look over…

WHAM!

Stormy let out a cry of surprise as she was knocked off the stand by the overzealous Camerton kids. Red Butler barely caught her in time and he fought hard to keep his grip on both her hand and on the lion’s leg.

“Barty! You did that on purpose!”

“No I didn’t! YOU lost your dumb balance Joe!”

“I’ll show you you…you…balance taker!”

It was made worse when one of the Camerton boys got into a shoving match with another Camerton boy causing said boy to unknowingly land harshly on Red Butler’s arm.

“Oh come on! Do I LOOK like Buddy Blue?!” The red color kid snapped out, his voice tinged with pain as he struggled to pull Stormy out of danger for the second time winching from both the strain and the throbbing bruising of his arm.

“This is crazy! How can we find Brian or for that matter Murky and Lurky if we can’t even get through this madhouse?! This must be the most crowded place on Earth!” Stormy said angrily as she held on for dear life.

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“Now remember chaperons, boys and girls…The Gateway is one of the most popular attractions in the state if not the world so it can be very and I stress very VERY crowded. So to prevent Murphy’s Law… I, Ms. Bloom the official group tour leader for The Gateway have of course taken the liberty -”

Patty O’Green yawned in boredom as she fought to keep her eyes open even as the monotone and highly unenthusiastic voice droned on seemingly sucking out both color and life from the passengers of the blue bus.

Unlike Shy Violet, she had chosen to ride on the final bus, rather than with Rainbow and Twink on Starlite. After all if by some chance the bus was going somewhere other than The Gateway, someone had to go…Brian was important to them.

That and she didn't want to miss the opportunity of riding a bus.

Patty’s excitement over her very first bus ride, however quickly dimmed the moment she spotted the diminutive grey skinned lady dressed entirely in grey and carrying a towering stack of pamphlets.

Clearly related to the Dismals and shorter then even Murky himself, Ms. Bloom’s long white hair was straight as a board and she wore both colorless gloves as well as a pair of thick over-sized shades.

The worry that Patty had felt when she had discovered she was trapped on a bus with an unknown relative of Murky’s had faded the moment that Ms. Bloom had spoke.

“These maps are of course very helpful to navigating the unsure waters of The Gateway which I shall now explain. Once inside, The Gateway, as aptly named…you shall pick a door at random…”

Other then the crime of boredom the lady was harmless.

“I don’t know what’s worse…Murky with his gloom rays or Ms. Bloom with her gloom voice.” Patty muttered to herself yawning as Ms. Bloom droned on and on while she walked up and down the bus aisles passing out papers to likewise bored riders.

Letting out another yawn, the green color kid tuned out the dreary lecture and turned her head to the left to stare out the window of the blue bus watching the scenery zip by.

Unknown to the green haired girl, Ms. Gloom was smiling behind her wall of paper.

****************************************************************************

It had been a long time coming, but finally though there was blissful silence. The insane amount of crowds that had kept them trapped were now gone…at least for a few precious moments.

Spotting their chance, both Red Butler and Stormy abandoned the safety of the lion statue and raced down the ramp…to stare at the half circle of doors in disbelief.

Experimentally, the red color kid opened the door closest to him to be greeted by a dark dimly lit corridor. Opening the other doors showed the exact same thing.

“It’s never easy with Brian is it?” Red Butler complained to Stormy staring at the likewise indistinguishable entryways before them each bearing an identical brown handle.

The storm kid nodded with a frown. “Let’s just get this over with! I don’t want to leave Sky Dancer outside any longer then I have to!” The purple haired girl scowled again. “Dumb small entrances.” Stormy muttered under her breath.

Stormy then strode over to one of the white doors and touched it. Closing her eyes she concentrated causing a tiny bolt of energy to appear from her finger. Carefully she carved the image of the lightning bolt on it.

Looking over she saw the red haired color kid pull out a few star sprinkles. Red calmly held them against his door until it turned a bright red color after which he opened it.

“Be careful Stormy… Brian’s not the only one who went through these.” The red head warned before charging down his corridor. Stormy smirked in response.

“You should take your own advice.” She said to herself as she opened her door and vanished into the darkness.