Skyline Gang

Chapter 8

Small trigger warning for implications of emotional and verbal abuse.

Game on!

That's the first thing that everyone thought.

Play nice, play by the rules and win.

It sounded easy enough on paper. However there was this feeling that it wasn't going to be that easy.

Sprout internally shook his head. Don't think like that. He can't think like that. Just try to think about things that are funny and any jokes he wants to tell everyone. Jokes are always good to cheer people up. Laughter is good when used correctly.

"Hey! Before we start, can we know your name please? Pretty please?" Candi asked, putting her hand up. Pip immediately pushed it down, feeling like that action was not a good idea.

"You're annoying! Dawn, my name is Dawn." The woman sighed, exasperated.

"Nice to meet you, Dawn!" Candi smiled, waving her hand. Pip pushed it down again, seeing that this woman was going to explode in the next second.

"Be silent!" Dawn yelled, her voice amplified by the echo in the building. The group flinched back, Candi's smile instantly disappearing. Rainbow growled protectively, warning the woman to not try anything else. Dawn snapped her long fingers. A black cloud surrounded the stage for a few seconds before clearing away. The teens looked at the stage in confusion. There were different props that were doubled: juggling pins, whoopee cushions, a small bag that seemed to be filled with something and a chest. There also seemed to be two meters, one on each side of the stage.

"You need to choose one to do this challenge." Dawn says. She waved her hand and a chair that looked more like a throne manifested. She proudly sat down on it, but stared impatiently at the teens.

"It's a solo thing?" Pip asked scratching her head.

"More like a one-on-one thing. There's an opponent." Dude said, pointing to the stage. Sure enough there was someone there. But no one could tell who it is. The figure standing on the stage had the outline of a man, but it was more of a shadow. It didn't even have a face. That's what made it more unnerving.

"What's with the set up?" Candi asked, pointing at the props on the stage.

"By my observation, it looks like a form of a competition. Judging by some of the props, possibly something that relies on comedy." Bud spoke, pushing his glasses up a little. Sprout's ears suddenly pricked up and his eyes went wide with excitement. Comedy eh? This was the challenge for him. He did think that laughter was good when used correctly. So what better way to prove it than this?

"Comedy is my middle name! I've got this!" He beamed, already coming up with some clever quips in his head.

"Yeah right!" Pip said doubtfully.

"Oh, give him a chance!" Candi argued, stamping her foot a little. Sprout grinned at that before he started to head towards the stage. He felt confident. Maybe a little too confident, but he knew what he was doing.

"Sprout, be careful." Dude warned, taking a step forward. He was going to try to grab Sprout to give him more advice but then a misty grey barrier suddenly appeared. It forced Dude to stop in his tracks. He pressed his hands on it. Solid as a brick wall. He turned to Dawn, noticing how calm she seemed to be. "What's this for?"

"To make sure that you don't interfere." Dawn says, looking at the stage. She seemed to be bored before it even started. It was like she believed that she was going to win. She wasn't wasting her energy in excitement or worry at all. This didn't seem like it was going to be as easy as everyone initially thought. Everyone watched as Sprout had stepped onto the stage. The second that both of his feet touched, the challenge was already underway.