Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sea, perilous to even a full-sized human, was a rough and dangerous ride for the tiny hunters in their make-do crafts. The drone flew over them, with Mark shouting (bad) advice through his megaphone, dodging gulls, and leading the fleet toward the strange, brilliant rainbow. Which, unlike its more mundane counterparts, stayed where it was as they got closer and closer and nearly died from a sudden swell of water.

Six massive beams of colors towered above the hunters, each with a small...opening?

"There's an OFF BUTTON at the end!" There was a pause and then Mark continued above them, "And maybe gold, and like, Skittles!" That Mark, always such a kidder. By the yellow door, a whale the size of a soda gets suddenly sucked up into the beam of color and shoots through it, high, higher, and out of sight.

"YOU GUYS LOVE SKITTLES. JUST REMEMBER TO HIT THE BUTTONS. ONE FOR EACH COLOR." That Mark, always such a...

A wave of water, pushes one of the toy boats into the purple beam, and through it, the rest can see the bottom of the boat as it shoots up through the beam and out of sight. Land was terribly far away. Mark continued to call down advice. The waters were growing no gentler and clouds were creeping along the horizon. They had a job to do, and at least this one didn't involve seeing loved ones eaten by monster bugs.

Probably.

One by one boats went into a beam of color and shot into the air. It was fast, shockingly fast, and then, to some, it got a bit fun. The boats slowed from I'm Going To Die Fast to Very Fast Indeed and tilted, and it became clear that they were well and truly riding on a rainbow. It was a lot like a water slide really. For both better and worse depending on one's tendency toward motion sickness.

As they neared the top, the colors of each beam began to blend with its neighbors, and then with the colors beyond, until it was all rainbow, and then they merged into a vast, empty white. The boats could see each other here, and there was wind, there was definitely wind, but the whiteness surrounding each boat made that the only indicator that anyone was moving forward at all. Here and there were sea creatures and bits of garbage, all caught up in the rainbow. Everything was silent.

And then color and sound spun out before them, the beams of color separating and...going down. They were going down so fast, so stupidly fast that for a moment it felt like they make each just break apart at the speed of descent. The bits of ocean debris were. Some of the fish couldn't withstand the drop either. and then they were slowing...and yes. There they were, in each beam of color was a large, shining button. They were at the end of the rainbow.

There were Skittles. Mountains and mountains of Skittles. And gold, which sadly, were actually just chocolate coins. But the button didn't say OFF, or anything even similar. instead, it said CELEBRATE! Which, could be dangerous, considering the nature of celebrations and their jobs as Hunters. But since when did that stop anyone from a party? Or hitting a big shiny button for that matter?

When all the buttons were hit, the colors around them exploded, shooting each of the hunters and all of the Skittles into the air. When they came back down, the hit the ground, hard. But it was ground, and familiar even. It was the beach and they were all, once again, the right size to enjoy it. Raining down from the sky was rainbow confetti and of course, Skittles. So many Skittles.

The island looked better than ever, and at first maybe it was just because they were the right size again, but after awhile it's clear that things look cleaner. Nicer. Everything was vibrant, like a fresh coat of paint had been applied to every structure standing. Like their clothes had be re dyed by a professional. Like food was a little bit fresher and boy, did that food need it.

Much more obvious were the decorations, rainbow flags and banners and streamers covered every public area of the island.



It would take awhile, but eventually they'd realize time had gone strange while they were small. It had been several months since they'd last been big, not simply one. When the portals finally opened again, it would be to panicked friends and coworkers, who'd been stuck on the outside and unable to make contact with anyone on the island. The minipets, fortunately, were fine.

But their cages really needed some cleaning.

Only once they were on the boat did Soleil finally relent to to necessity and kick off her shoes. Being a toy, there wasn't going to be any rusty nails sticking up through rickety boards, so she didn't suppose she'd need them for for the boat ride to...wherever they were going. So she tied them up to a plastic loop of molded rope for safe keeping, and then wandered around the deck of the boat until she got back to Zane and Sid.

"I'm ready when you guys are." The sooner they got back to their normal sizes, the better. Soleil was tired of being the same approximate size as a mouse. She missed her bed, and her closet full of clothing. She missed the cafeteria and the menu, however limited it used to seem. After the scavanging diet they'd been on all month, anything they'd find in the cafeteria was borderline gourmet.

Which was just sad.




In the end the boat they'd climb aboard would satisfy Ever's suggestion of sails, and Zeke's inclination towards something more remotely mobile. The schooner, like it's full sized inspiration, had a little working motor that powered a small propeller. The steering wheel turned the rudder back and forth. It wasn't exactly high performance, but it was definitely better than paddling, or swimming.

And if the motors gave out, they'd have the sails to catch the breeze.

"Looks like everyone's in the water and ready to go." There was a small, brightly colored fleet of toy boats around them, all bobbing on the small, albeit choppy waves. "Ready?"