Robbie Remembered

4:10

Sportacus flew through the air with sparks and smoke closing in around him. It stung his eyes so that Robbie was a lone smudge in the middle of the stage, washed out by the blinding light as the Forget-Me-Naught 6000 shook the world apart. He threw himself at Robbie—

But no one was there.

The festival was over. It was time to go.

Sportacus waved good bye to Bessie and Mayor Meanswell as they carted away what was left of the pies and other pastries from the festival. The kids had things under control sweeping up the garbage on the ground and putting away the games and decorations. That left LazyTown's hero to pick up the yards and yards of wires all over the stage. Pixel might have overdone it with the electronics, but it was certainly a celebration no one would forget.

He spooled the long black cables over his shoulder like a lasso. The coiled cords quickly grew heavy on his arm but once he'd cleared the stage of them he found they did not end there, rather continuing down the steps and all over the town square. Not one to leave a job half done Sportacus followed the electrical trail, winding it up as he went.

The wires took him all the way through Lazy Park where he had to untangle them from around the tree house. Someone had left a metal ladder nearby so it was easy enough to go up and collect them. Inside the little club house was a strange machine that took up almost all of the space inside. Some kind of relay station maybe for all of the electrical wires to pass through on their way to the stage where Apple Pi Day had taken place. Pixel must have left it in here and would be back for it, Sportacus reasoned. Once he'd gathered up all the cables he climbed back down and resumed picking up the trail.

All of the loops of wire weighed heavy across his shoulders and in his arms but still they went on, all the way back through town and towards the outskirts of the residential zone. Sportacus paused under the shade of the big billboard that stood out here and looked at the picture on it. Some sort of mean creature glared out at him, a dragon crossed with a cow. Was it some kind of warning to stay away? But the wires couldn't go on for much longer.

Sportacus followed the wires around the back of the sign and found a metal staircase. Hidden here in the back was a miniature silo, apparently the source of all of the wires. It seemed a strange method for storing wires but Sportacus shrugged. He hefted his heaping armload up and into the metal tube, hauling in yard after yard. Swinging the lid shut Sportacus dusted his hands and stretched the sore muscles in his arms.

He looked around himself once more. It was quiet this far out of town. In a way it reminded him of his airship, somewhere remote and private. He ought to be getting back to his airship, in fact... But it wasn't that far away, was it? Sportacus raised his head to find the bright blue dirigible floating directly overhead. Odd, he couldn't imagine why he would have parked it here and not closer to the festival, yet here it was.

There wasn't really any reason to hurry up there. Sportacus climbed the little ladder attached to the side of the silo and sat down on its roof. He kicked his legs, letting his heels drum a soft percussion against the metal. Eventually his fidgeting faded away and he stared at the back of the billboard, resting his eyes. The outline of a door stood out from all the supporting struts. A strange thing, to have a door leading to nowhere.

Something about this place was... comforting. He would do this on his airship sometimes, a rare moment where he wanted nothing more than to sit, and be still, and silent.

Maybe he would come back here tomorrow.

Sportacus hurled himself headlong through the thickening smoke and the stinging shower of sparks as the Forget-Me-Naught 6000 rent the air with a mechanical roar, fast reaching its crescendo. He could barely see Robbie, a wavering outline in the confusion of imploding machinery and deafening noise. With hands outstretched he made contact with the other man for one instant—

Robbie fell off the stage. He sat up, looking to see who had pushed him.

But no one was there.

The festival was over before it had even begun. It had only taken one food fight for everyone to give up and go home. Now that he'd made sure LazyTown would stay lazy, Robbie could rest in peace.

The townspeople were too lazy to even clean up after themselves. Robbie stepped over discarded pastries and kicked a few apples. He nearly tripped over all of the cords thronging across the ground like a nest of snakes. They led him all the way home to the edge of town, up behind the billboard. He was too lazy to clean up properly either. It took a lot of wriggling to squeeze past all the wires and down the chute to his lair.

Robbie stood in the middle of his cavernous home for a moment. The place could really use some picking up, but he didn't have the energy to do it. All these wires going everywhere, what had even been the point? Well, it didn't matter anymore. He stepped over boxes and bits of metal machines until he reached the ramp up to the control center. Robbie pulled down his periscope and took another look at the town.

Only one person had remained outdoors. It was the girl with the pink hair, walking along with her arms crossed and her head down. Everything in her body language told how bored she was, and for good reason. None of the other kids would come out to play when they had all the junk food and games they needed inside their houses. It made Robbie chuckle. As he turned away from the periscope, though, the laughter didn't last for very long. He was as alone down here as that pink girl was up there.

He walked back down the catwalk, losing vigor with every step. The world above him was quiet, offering no incentive for him to go back out when nobody would notice if he was up there anyway. With nothing else to do he headed for his recliner, a big fuzzy orange spot of color in his otherwise cold and dark lair. Once he sat down, there was no telling how long he might stay down here. Hours, days, maybe even weeks.

There was something else beside the chair. Robbie stood over the little end table, his nose twitching. A bunch of sunflowers lay on top of it. By all appearances they had been there for some time, the petals mostly dried up and the stalks withered, but their color was still vivid. And they still made him sneeze.

He sniffed and rubbed his nose. Flowers were such an annoying irritant... even so, sunflowers were his favorite. Just looking at them made something inside him relax, not in a lazy way, but rather more like a sense of well being. Their cheerful nature touched everything around them and made it all just seem more... happy.

It might not be a bad idea to go outside and get some more.

Sportacus surged forth at full speed, his momentum carrying him like a missile cutting through the clouds of smoke. He couldn't breathe the acrid fumes of burning electronics, could no longer see Robbie for the all consuming light blazing across of the Forget-Me-Naught 6000. Its overworked mechanisms churned so hard and fast that the deafening roar had crystallized into a waspish hum, like flash photography preparing to go off for one final frame.

He crashed into Robbie, the shock of his physical presence knocking them both off their feet and sending them sprawling to the floor where—

No one was there.

Don't come to LazyTown

You won't have a reason to stay

You'll meet no one with a rotten plan

And no one coming to save the day

Go on, go, forget LazyTown

It's the end of another long day

Things are not the same here in LazyTown

Adventure's just a lost memory...