Title: Nightmares and Dreamscapes- Chapter 16/?
Fandom: Lazytown
Pairing: Sportacus/Robbie
Rating: T
Summary: There is no such thing as magic...right? However, when Robbie starts noticing something strange about Sportacus and unusual things start occurring in Lazytown, that belief just might have to be changed.
Author's Notes: This is gonna be somewhere between 20-25 chapters I think. Thanks, guys, for all the reviews, alerts, and favs!
The bright orange ball spun through the air in a somersault, straightened, and then stuck its dismount. "Tada!" shouted the orange-clothed Robbie, throwing his hands up in the air. He spotted the three of them, two personae, one elf, and waved frantically at them. "Hi, guys!"
Sportacus glanced around. Wisdom was shaking his head, though there was a slight, amused smile on his face. Sadness wasn't shaking anymore, but his skin had gone a sickly shade of grey. "I'll…I'll just be going now," he croaked and hurried away before anybody could get in a word edgewise.
This new personae pouted. "Hey, why's Sadness leaving? He always does that when I get here."
Wisdom actually let out a little laugh. "You are Happiness. He is Sadness. Of course he leaves when you get here."
Happiness let out an enlightened, little, "Oh."
So, that was Robbie's Happiness? It fit, what with the bright grin and bright clothes. Those grey eyes lighted on him and the bright grin somehow got even brighter. "Hey, it's Sportacus!" The personae bounded over and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Wow, I am glad you're here," he said when he pulled back, completely oblivious to Sportacus's shocked expression. "It's so weird having the All actually inside the mind."
Wisdom was now snickering into his hand as Happiness continued to babble. Sportacus was simply trying to restart any of his thought processes. His brain rebooted enough to hear something about "cake" and "sugar" before it crashed again. Robbie as pure happiness was…so different, so energetic.
Wisdom must have caught his frazzled expression because he stepped forward and placed a hand on Happiness's shoulder. "Slow down," he ordered, a smile still lingering on his face. "The elf isn't used to an infusion of pure happiness."
Happiness grinned. "Sorry, I'm a little much I know. Only children get the full intensity of happiness."
Sportacus shook away his shock long enough to turn to Wisdom and ask, "Why is that?"
Wisdom stepped away from Happiness. "Mature minds are tempered by other things—"
"Like you, you big stick in the mud," Happiness threw in.
Wisdom stopped, glared, and when Happiness said nothing more, continued with, "Yes, by other things such as wisdom, responsibility, or restraint."
Happiness looked around, his cheerful expression fading away to neutrality. "Why are you here, Wisdom? This isn't a nice place."
"We are looking for the All," Wisdom said exasperatedly. "I told you that when you tackled me in the first place."
"Still, you didn't say you were taking the path through the forest," Happiness replied quietly, eyes moving from trees to shifting shadows.
"What other way would there be?" Wisdom bit out.
Happiness's gaze went distance. "I don't know," he said slowly. "Go over the forest?" he suggested.
Wisdom looked ready to kill somebody. Sportacus stifled his laughter just in case Wisdom turned that look on him. So…Robbie's creativity and ingenuity stemmed from Happiness? Interesting.
Happiness's eyebrows furrowed together, mouth not quite in a frown. "So does that mean you're going even deeper into the forest?" he asked.
"Yes." Wisdom narrowed his eyes. "Unless you want to suggest a different way?" he offered snidely.
"Not really." Happiness's eyes landed on one thick tree. "It's just scary, you know?"
"No," Wisdom drawled. "I don't."
Sportacus swallowed down his laughter as Happiness took a step towards one of the trees. "I mean, look," Happiness cried as lights flickered over the thick trunk.
A memory. The light flickered, and then steadied. The view steadied on pale hallways, fluorescent lighting illuminating the area. Robbie's eyes panned across and landed on his father, head in his big hands. His father's head came up, eyes bloodshot and tired. A wan smile came onto his face as one big hand reached out. The bangs in front of the view ruffled with the movement.
"She's gone, Robbie," the man muttered. Tears started leaking from the brown eyes. "Gone," he repeated sadly and then the head dropped again into his hands.
The light flickered and was gone again, the memory vanished.
Happiness made an unpleasant face at the tree and wiggled his fingers at it. "You need something better," he muttered. As if a cue, light flickered on the tree again, the view finally evening out to a scene of a plain bedroom and Lily Rotten, smiling happily.
"Be happy," she said, smile widening. "The Rottens have a long, rich history." She tapped one finger on Robbie's nose and the view scrunched as he narrowed his eyes and twitched back from the touch.
"Well, what is it?" the small-child voice asked.
The scene jumbled and shifted as she picked Robbie up and settled him on her lap. "Well, our name comes from something called the rotten stone. See the Rotten family started out as jewelers. And a rotten stone is a stone where you polish gems. And our family spread out and traded the jewels that we made and we grew wealthier as we continued moving. Then we finally settled up here a few centuries ago and put all our valuables in those vaults I showed you."
She bounced Robbie up and down, still grinning. "The vaults are empty now, but we have still have the property. One day I'm going to clean one up and we'll have a play area, okay, Robbie?"
The view scrunched up again. "But people are still gonna make fun of me, mamma!"
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Robbie's cheek. "Be proud of your name, though, Robbie." She leaned back again, eyes going past Robbie as she frowned bemusedly. "There's even a pirate in our family," she baited.
"Cool," Robbie whispered. Then the whine came back, "But they call me rotten!"
She laughed. "You're not rotten; you're only misunderstood, Robbie!" And they laughed together as she tickled him. The light flickered and died out.
"See?" Happiness asked excitedly, bouncing on his toes.
"Thank you," Wisdom drawled and adjusted his glasses self-importantly. "Now we must be going, Happiness. We need to find the All."
Happiness actually frowned, the expression so out of place. "Okay," he said uncertainly. Then he bounced back over to Sportacus, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then bounded away, calling over his shoulder, "Have fun!"
Shocked, Sportacus raised a hand to his cheek. Wisdom rolled his eyes, grabbed his wrist, and growled, "Come on, elf. We need to get through his forest before something else attacks us!" When Sportacus dragged his feet, eyes still distant, Wisdom barked, "Stop mooning and let's go!" Sportacus stepped up the pace, but a smile was on his face.