Skyline Gang: Trial of Darkness

Chapter 10

"Misty! Where did you get that?!" Mimi shouted. She didn't know what happened. One minute she was perfecting a design for her nails, then the next, the sofa she was on had a somewhat violent bounce. Misty had jumped onto it, swinging something around. Everyone else, including Rainbow were surprised by her appearance. They were more surprised by what she was holding in her hands. Something long and black. No one could get a good look at it as she waved it carelessly, almost knocking Mimi in the head. She ducked and dived out of the way, accidentally spilling her nail polish on the floor. That was what caused her to shout in the first place. When she was a safe distance away, Misty just laughed and continued her antics. The more she waved the thing that she was holding, the colder the room suddenly became. Sprout tried to get Misty to come down, but she was fast like a whippet. She jumped down and went to the other sofa, almost jumping over Pip. Candi could see this getting out of hand, especially when Rainbow started growling. She immediately ran out to the back door. She had noticed that Dude and Bud went to the garden a minute ago. She spotted them instantly.

"Dude! Bud! Please help!" She begged, ducking back inside just as urgently. She could hear her red and blue friends following after her. When she got back to the den, Misty continued her cat and mouse game. However, the more she waved around this object, there were traces of a black mist coming from it. Mimi, Pip and Sprout kept trying to intercept her but she was too quick. Sprout even banged into Pip when they both tried to work together. Dude broke away from Bud as he was witnessing this. He went around to the other entrance for the den through the kitchen. As Misty jumped down again and started her mad sprint, Dude snuck up behind her. He immediately grabbed whatever it was she was holding, causing her to stop in her tracks.

"Thank you!" Dude smirked, yanking the object out of her hands. He suddenly got a violent jolt of cold run through him. When he looked down he recognised what was in his hands. All of his colour drained from him, even his clothes faded a little. The Sceptre of Shadows stared right back at him. Cold, it was so cold. This darkness. Why did it feel all too familiar? Everyone around him could be heard speaking, but he can't make out a single word. It was like he was drowning. It wasn't until someone laid a hand on his shoulder that he was brought back to the surface. It was Bud that got him to snap out of it. The darkness was lifted around Dude. All senses came back to him. Something cut inside him when he saw how worried everyone looked. It was so haunting. Even Rainbow had his tail tucked between his legs.

"Dude? Are you okay?" Bud asked, his voice ringing out clearly now. Dude glanced down at the Sceptre of Shadows and then back at Bud.

"Just...get this back upstairs..." was all that he could say. He hesitantly held it out for Bud to take, not sure how this could affect him. He thought that Bud would use something to act as barrier between the Sceptre and his skin again, but he didn't. He grasped it almost right away. He froze just as Dude had done. All of his colours drained a little. Before Dude could try to snap him out of the same thing that happened to him, Bud quickly did it himself. He ran back upstairs where the dark object would be safer and out of harm's way for now. As Dude got his colours back, he still felt this immense cold on his hands. Why was he affected like that? Misty held that thing with her bare hands, and she was running around like nothing was wrong. Either she held it long enough to not have a bad effect anymore, or she was immune to it somehow. Given how she was made by magic, there was a chance that the latter was true.

"Dude?" Candi spoke up meekly.

"I'll be okay." Dude answered, trying to keep the atmosphere as calm as he could. The others didn't look that convinced but didn't know if now is a good time to ask anymore. At least that's black mist that came from Misty's carelessness was all gone. And speaking of Misty. Dude was quick to grab her as she tried to escape to another room. "Misty, where did you get that thing?"