Guy Diamond and the Rainbow Roundup (DreamWorks Trolls) Read online

  “You’re welcome,” said Leif. “I liked your song.”

  “Thank you!” Cooper said. “It’s a work in progress.” He turned to Karma, who had picked a flower and was tying it into her hair next to several others. “Karma, I’m sorry I interrupted your story. Please continue!”

  Karma smiled. “Oh, no problem, Cooper! Anyway, as I was saying, early this morning, just as the sun was coming up, I was walking in the woods, when—”

  Branch came running up. “Did someone say something about the rainbows being stolen? That’s GOTTA be part of a big conspiracy, right? What’d I tell you, Guy? CONSPIRACY!”

  “Where? WHERE?” Cooper asked, wheeling around, afraid a big, mean conspiracy was about to jump on him.

  Poppy held her hands up and patted the air. “Okay, everybody,” she said in a soothing voice. “Let’s all just take a deep breath, calm down, and listen to what Karma has to say. Karma?”

  Karma was now down on all fours, staring at a tiny critter she’d noticed digging a hole in the ground. She looked up. “Hmm?” she said. “Oh, right! My story!” She stood up, not bothering to brush the dirt off her hands and knees. “Okay! As I was saying—early this morning, just as the sun was coming up, I was walking in the woods. I love that time of day, when all the critters are waking up, and stretching, and starting to sing.”

  The other Trolls nodded. Though some of them liked to sleep late, they still knew what Karma was talking about. They all liked the sounds of nature first thing in the morning.

  Karma fiddled with a stick in her hair. “I thought maybe I’d find some special flowers to put in my hair. And some sticks. And rocks. Maybe a little dirt.”

  Some of the young Trolls looked puzzled. They thought they were supposed to keep their hair really clean so it would shine in the light. They’d never heard of putting dirt in their hair. A couple of them made mental notes to try it later.

  “I’d found some flowers that I liked and was thinking about heading back into the village,” Karma continued. “But then I saw something through the trees. It was just a quick glimpse, but I’m pretty sure I saw someone hurrying away, dragging a bunch of rainbows!”

  Branch frowned. “Are you sure you saw just one Troll? Not a group of Trolls? Like in a conspiracy? Or was it something other than a Troll?”

  Karma thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Nope. Not a group. A someone. But there were lots of rainbows!”

  Guy Diamond felt sure that Karma had seen a rainbow thief. If they could just catch the thief, maybe they could get the rainbows back and the Rainbow Rave would be saved! “What did this someone look like?” he asked urgently.

  Karma twirled some of her green hair around a finger. “Well, like I said, it was just a glimpse. And he was partially blocked by all the rainbows he was dragging.”

  “But it was a he?” Poppy said. “A guy took the rainbows?”

  “I think so,” Karma said, nodding slowly.

  “Let’s start with the most important thing,” Poppy suggested. “What was his hair like?”

  “I’m not sure he had hair,” Karma answered.

  They all gasped. No hair?

  “I guess he might have had hair,” Karma went on. “I didn’t really get a good look at him through the trees.”

  “Well, if he did have hair,” Poppy said, “what color was it?”

  Karma thought a moment. “Um, white. But it wasn’t hair, exactly. More like…puffs.”

  “White puffs?” Branch said, puzzled. “Wait a minute….Did this guy have skinny arms and legs? With a fluffy body? Striped gym socks with no shoes?”

  “Yes!” Karma agreed, nodding. “He did!”

  Branch and Guy turned to each other. “Cloud Guy!” they said at the same time.

  “But why would Cloud Guy steal all the rainbows?” Poppy asked.

  That was a good question. Guy Diamond had no idea why Cloud Guy would steal the rainbows and ruin the Trolls’ Rainbow Rave.

  But he intended to find out.

  “I’m going to find Cloud Guy and ask him why he stole all the rainbows!” Guy Diamond said, turning and heading into the woods.

  “Wait a minute, Guy,” Poppy said reasonably. “We don’t know for sure that Cloud Guy stole the rainbows.”

  “Fine,” Guy said. “I’m going to go ask him IF he stole the rainbows!”

  “Or borrowed them,” Poppy said.

  “Or borrowed them,” Guy agreed. “Now, where exactly does Cloud Guy live?”

  The Trolls looked at each other. Though they’d met Cloud Guy, they weren’t sure where he lived. He was kind of mysterious. It seemed as though he just showed up every once in a while. But nobody had ever visited him at his house. No one knew if he even had a house.

  Branch stepped forward. “Well, the first time Poppy and I saw Cloud Guy, he looked like he was up in the sky. Like, you know, a cloud. But then he walked down the side of a tree.”

  “Okay,” Guy Diamond said slowly. “Where was this tree?”

  “Right by the escape-route tunnels that lead to the old Troll Tree in Bergen Town,” Poppy said. “He welcomed us to the tunnels and knew all about them, so maybe he lives around there. Or at least visits a lot.”

  “Does he seem like the kind of fellow who would take rainbows?” Guy asked.

  “No,” Poppy said, shaking her head. “Definitely not. He was nice. Kind of goofy, but nice. And I don’t think he said anything about rainbows.”

  “Well,” Branch objected. “He wasn’t that nice. Before he would help us, he insisted that I give him a high five!”

  Poppy giggled. Branch glared at her. She put on a serious face.

  “I’ll give you a little hint about dealing with Cloud Guy,” Branch said, putting his arm around Guy’s shoulders and taking him aside. “If you really want him to tell you something, show him a nice, sharp stick. That’ll get his attention.”

  “A sharp stick?” Guy asked, puzzled. “You mean, like, to poke him with?”

  “I never poked him with it,” Branch insisted. “But if he thought I was going to poke him with the stick…well, that was his misunderstanding. Anyway, it got him to show us which tunnel led to the old Troll Tree. And fast, too. He ran the whole way.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” Guy said. “I’ll keep it in mind.” Guy had no intention of threatening anyone with a pointy stick, even if he—or she—did turn out to be a rainbow thief. He took a deep breath. “It’s a pretty long way to the escape-route tunnels, so I’d better hurry up if I’m going to get the rainbows back in the sky before the day is over.” He started walking briskly toward the path leading out of Troll Village. “And I am! I’m sure of it!”

  “Wait!” Poppy cried after him. “You’re not going all alone, are you?”

  Guy turned back. “I don’t mind. I think everyone else should stay here and get everything ready for the Rainbow Rave so the young Trolls won’t be disappointed.”

  Poppy looked at the group of youngsters. It would be a shame to let them down. If the rest of the Trolls worked together while Guy went looking for Cloud Guy, they could make a fun day for the little Trolls full of cupcakes, songs, and dancing.

  But she still didn’t like the idea of Guy going off into the woods by himself. She’d done that herself once, and it had been pretty dangerous.

  Then Poppy got an idea. She spotted DJ Suki on the other side of the village square. “DJ Suki!” she called. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Sure, Poppy!” DJ Suki called back, hurrying across the square. “What’s up, Buttercup?”

  “How are your preparations for the Rainbow Rave dance?” Poppy asked. “Have you got your Wooferbug and Be-bop Bugs ready?”

  “Yup!” DJ Suki said. “We’re all ready to go! Just cue the music and we’ll start the jams!”

/>   “Great!” Poppy said. “So you’re free to run a little errand with Guy Diamond?”

  DJ Suki grinned. “Sure! Guy and I make a great team. The DJ and the Dancer!”

  Smiling, Guy did a little spin, ending with his hands out. “Great idea, Poppy! Come on, DJ Suki, let’s get going. I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”

  “Good luck!” Poppy said. “And be careful! It can get kind of weird out there in the forest.”

  The two Trolls hurried out of Troll Village and into the woods. As they went, Guy told DJ Suki about the missing rainbows, and Cloud Guy, and the old escape-route tunnels.

  “How far is it to the tunnels?” DJ Suki asked as they rushed past huge trees and multicolored flowers.

  “I’m not sure,” Guy admitted. “But I think it’s pretty far.”

  “Then we’d better run,” DJ Suki suggested. “We’ve got to get the rainbows back before the Rainbow Rave is over!”

  “Right!” Guy agreed.

  They broke into a run, but it wasn’t long before they both had to stop. Breathing hard, they leaned over, resting their hands on their knees.

  “Something tells me,” DJ Suki said, panting, “we’re not going to be able to run the whole way.”

  “I…agree…,” Guy gasped. “Time to let our hair do the walking!”

  DJ Suki smiled. “Right! We’ll hair-swing through the trees!”

  “As long as there are branches—and there seem to be plenty—we should be fine,” Guy said. “Ready?”

  “Ready!”

  They both jumped up and shot their long hair forward until it wrapped around a branch. They swung out, and when they were almost as far as they could go, they released their hair and whipped it ahead to the next branch. In this way, they zoomed through the woods much faster than they could have walked or even run.

  Swinging by their hair was not only fast, it was a wonderful way to travel. Fresh air blew against their skin as they sped from branch to branch. “WHOO-HOOOO!” DJ Suki whooped as she shot through the air.

  “YEEEAAAHHHH!” Guy Diamond shouted, zipping along next to her.

  They were having a great time, but they didn’t realize that creatures in the dark forest could hear their whooping and shouting. And not all of those creatures were friendly.

  Guy Diamond flew through the air, aiming his bluish-white hair at the next branch. THWAP! His hair hit the limb and wrapped around it. He jerked his head, pulling himself forward. DJ Suki did the same thing right next to him. They sailed from tree to tree, loving the sensation of speed, until—

  ZAP! CRACK! One gnarled branch broke and fell! Because their hair was wrapped around it, Guy and DJ Suki were pulled down.

  “YAAAAHHHH!” they screamed as they plummeted toward the ground.

  “UNWIND!” Guy shouted.

  With a nimble twist and jerk of their heads, the two Trolls unwound their hair from the branch before it hit the ground. Then they slammed their hair into the dirt like rigid poles and slid down, spinning around the hair poles like firefighters and landing without a scratch.

  “Whew!” DJ Suki said, unwinding her hair. “That was close! What happened to the branch? Why did it break?”

  They smelled an odd scent, like something was burning. The broken end of the branch was smoking a little.

  “Did the branch get hit by lightning?” Guy asked, sniffing. “It smells like smoke.”

  “Lightning? How?” DJ Suki asked as they walked closer to the smoking end of the limb. She held out her hand with the palm up. “It’s not raining. And the sun’s still shining. There’s not a cloud in the sky!”

  “You’re right,” Guy said, puzzled. “But just before the branch broke, I thought I heard a—”

  ZAP!

  “Wow,” DJ Suki said. “That’s the most realistic imitation of a zap I’ve ever heard. How did you do that?”

  “I didn’t! That wasn’t me!” Guy said, looking around. “That was an actual—”

  ZAP! A little bolt of energy hit the ground near them.

  “Where are these zaps coming from?” DJ Suki shouted.

  “There!” Guy yelled, pointing. “It’s a Zapperzine! RUN!”

  The Zapperzine was a fierce, fuzzy creature with bulging eyes, a long neck, and four short legs. In the middle of its forehead was a pointy bright-green zapper. It ran toward the Trolls, shooting mini bolts from its zapper. ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

  Luckily, the Zapperzine couldn’t run very fast. It had to keep stopping to aim its zapper. But it could shoot blasts of energy pretty far. The Trolls zigged and zagged, making it harder for the Zapperzine to zap them. Whenever they could, they ran behind boulders, tree stumps, and mushrooms, putting obstacles between them and the Zapperzine.

  “Go! Go! Go!” Guy urged DJ Suki, but she didn’t need much urging. She’d never been zapped by a Zapperzine, and she was pretty sure she wouldn’t like it.

  As they ran, they noticed that the woods were thinning out. There weren’t so many trees and bushes. Ahead of them lay a wide, flat open space.

  “We can’t run that way!” Guy wailed. “There’s nothing to hide behind! We’ll be easy targets for the Zapperzine!”

  “There’s nowhere else to go!” DJ Suki said. “We can’t turn around and run back toward that thing. It’ll zap us for sure!”

  ZAP! ZAP! ZAP! The Zapperzine fired off three bolts that hit the ground WAY too close to the running Trolls! They could feel the air crackle around them with hot energy, and they smelled something burning.

  With no choice but to go forward, Guy and DJ Suki ran out into the open field. As they ran, they could still hear the zapping, but the sounds seemed to be farther away. Guy looked back over his shoulder.

  “Look!” he said. “The Zapperzine’s not following us anymore!”

  DJ Suki looked back, too. The Zapperzine had stopped right at the edge of the field. The bug heaved a disappointed sigh, turned around, and disappeared into the dark woods.

  “That’s weird,” DJ Suki said. “I wonder why it stopped chasing us.”

  “Maybe it had to go recharge,” Guy suggested.

  “Maybe,” DJ Suki said doubtfully. “But it was still trying to zap us right up to the moment it stopped following us, almost like it was afraid to come out onto this open ground.”

  They’d stopped to catch their breath. Guy looked around. “What’s to be afraid of?” he asked. “There’s nothing here.”

  DJ Suki shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just too—”

  BLOOOOSH! Just a few feet ahead of them, a geyser of mud shot into the sky!

  “WHAAAAAH!” they screamed.

  The mud fell back to the ground, and the hole it had shot out of disappeared. The ground looked perfectly smooth, as though nothing had happened.

  “I do NOT want to step on top of one of those,” DJ Suki said. “It would dull all my glitter!” She was wearing her usual striped knit pants and top, a pair of bracelets, and a jewel in her belly button.

  “I don’t want to step on one of those things, either,” Guy agreed, “even though I don’t have to worry about getting my clothes muddy. But how are we supposed to know where they are?”

  “I don’t know,” DJ Suki said. “The whole field looks flat. Let’s just stand here a second and see if it happens again.”

  “Okay,” Guy agreed, taking a big breath to calm himself. “Good idea.” They stood still, waiting.

  Nothing happened.

  Guy shrugged. “Maybe the mud geyser only happens once a da—”

  BLORRSSSHHH! A few steps ahead of them, another fountain of mud shot into the sky! This one went even higher than the first one, sending more mud into the air. But like the first geyser, once the mud fell back down, there was no sign that it had ever erupted.

  Guy and DJ Suki f
roze, afraid to take another step and risk being blasted up on a column of mud.

  “What are we going to do?” Guy whispered, worried his voice might trigger another muddy explosion.

  “I noticed something just before that geyser burst,” DJ Suki said quietly.

  “What?” Guy asked, eager for any information that might help them escape from this frightening field.

  “It was like a little hissing sound,” she explained. “My eyes went to the spot on the ground where I heard the hissing. And then I saw a tiny bump in the dirt, like a small bulge, just before the geyser blew.”

  Guy nodded. “Now that you mention it, I think I heard that hissing, too! Maybe if we listen really carefully, and watch for little bumps, we can avoid the mud jets and get across this field!”

  They both crouched down, keeping their ears low, and started slowly creeping toward the opposite side of the field. Hissssss…

  “There!” DJ Suki said, pointing right in front of them, where a tiny bump rose from the ground. The Trolls jumped to the side, getting as far away from the bump as they could.

  BLOOOOOSHHH! The powerful mud geyser shot into the air, but the Trolls weren’t standing on it when it erupted.

  Listening and staring at the ground, they cautiously crept across the field, avoiding the mud geysers each time they blew.

  Hisssss…BLORRRSSH!

  Hissss…KA-BLOYSSSHHH!

  Hisss…SHPLOOOOSSSHP!

  After what seemed like hours (but was really only a few minutes), they stepped onto green moss and grass, finally off the explosive field.

  “We made it!” they cried, hugging joyfully.

  “Mud-free!” added DJ Suki.

  And there were trees again! The two Trolls smiled at each other and, without having to say a word, shot their hair up to a branch and swung themselves forward.

  This time, though, they didn’t whoop.

  But the trees didn’t last forever. As Guy Diamond and DJ Suki made their way to the escape-route tunnels to look for Cloud Guy, they entered patches of land where the trees were too far apart to swing between. Then the Trolls had to drop to the ground and walk as quickly as they could.