Skyline Gang: Trial of Darkness

Chapter 11

It took about two weeks for everything to be put together. It turned out that the Gang were allowed to leave the Skyline to go travelling. It wasn't uncommon for it to happen. The previous Skyline Gang also travelled a lot. They would get inspiration and even based their shows based on all their travels. What they need to do was give notice and temporarily hand over the Skyline to the Redcoats to take care of everything. They needed to give a reason. They just said that they needed new ideas for a show. They couldn't exactly explain the full reason. There might be a panic. Funding? Turns out that's taken care of too. Whatever money came into the Skyline was split evening between two different accounts. One for the upkeep of the park and staff pay, while the other was funding for travelling. When everyone found out how much was in there, they believed that they could travel the entire world on one trip and still have some money left over. And passports? In a surprising twist, after snooping around the house, Pip was able to find passports for everyone. Even Rainbow and Misty had their own passports. Stroke of luck? Or was it the magic of the Skyline? Maybe the Gang will never know. The only thing that took time was getting tickets for an immediate as possible flight.

During those two weeks, Bud worked hard to build a vessel to carry the Sceptre of Shadows in. With a lot of materials that he was able to acquire, it was trial and error. If Dude or any of the others were to carry it, they can't risk getting affected by it. Thankfully, all that hard worked paid off. Whenever Dude held it, he wasn't affected. Same rang true for everyone else. If customs asked what it was, he'll just say that it was a prop that they were returning. It wasn't technically a lie, but he desperately hoped that there wouldn't be any further suspicions. There didn't appear to be any time crunch. That had to be a good sign, right? This "darkness" was probably still coming, building up like a bottle of fizzy drink ready to explode. This bomb won't stay unexploded forever.

Everyone was ready when the time finally came. It just took Mimi some convincing to not pack the equivalent of a high end shopping mall. Essentials only. Not the amount that she had originally tried to bring with her. It was ridiculous to say the least. Thankfully as the time got closer to the time to leave, the less of a fight she put up. In the end, she miraculously ended up having to take the same amount as everybody else. The flight would be long, so everyone made sure that they were prepped for sitting still for the equivalent of twelve hours. Again Mimi kicked up a small fuss about not sitting in first class, but given the urgency of the situation, she quickly surrendered in that fight as well.

Misty, much to everyone's surprise, behaved on the plane. If anything she was just looking around curiously and even paid attention to the safety talk. It was her first time on a plane, so no one decided to question her. The only trouble she caused was messing around with Sprout's movie when he used the seat screen in front of him. Dude quickly put a stop to that, which thankfully was enough. Misty remained to be curious and even watched the world outside the window. Nothing eventful happened after that. Just a peaceful flight.

The bus ride from the airport could've been better. At least they've arrived to where they needed to go. Or at least close enough. No direct route to the temple, but this small village will do for the time being. Just a quick stop. Pick up what they need. Then go into the jungle. That's the plan at least. Non perishable food? Check! Extra water? Check! Rainbow being found after he ran off when the bus stopped? Check! Trying to pull Mimi away from the market and stop her from buying unnecessary stuff? Erm...not quite...

Map? Not yet either.

Bud did calculate a general area for the temple, but it's still a wide area. Better get a map that might have a more definitive location, otherwise the Gang will be stumbling through the jungle forever. The Gang had split up. One half search one part of the market, while the others check the other side of it. They meet in the middle and hopefully have something worth while. Dude split off with Pip, Misty and Sprout. Meanwhile Rainbow followed after Bud, Candi and Mimi. Dude carried the Sceptre for the time being. It was strapped to his rucksack, with Pip keeping an eye on it in case someone got too curious about it. As much as it would affect him the most, he'd rather be the first to catch it until he couldn't anymore. Bud's container worked like a charm for now, but there was no way to tell if it's permanent. For the time being, look around, get any last minute essentials, and stay out of trouble.