#29

"Do you think she got to where she needed to go?" Brian asked Krys a few hours after Orin had left. They still couldn't decide just what to do about the poison, even with all of Krys' strong words. None of them were brave enough to approach the fallen bird, and Krys finally announced that it was too dangerous for them to go anywhere near it. Murky and Violet were the only ones that went anywhere near it, and only to replenish the gloom keeping it at bay.
Krys nodded with complete confidence. "Of course she did. She's Rainbow Brite." That always seemed to settle everything, though by the look on both Krys' and Brian's faces, it was clear they weren't so sure it was enough this time.
"Don't forget that Starlight's the one looking after her. He'll make sure she gets where she's going, and in one piece," Canary said as she brought over a tray of lemon-ade. Lurky was over by the other kids, handing out more glasses.
Brian smiled, though faintly, and nodded. They wanted to believe...but she'd been gone a long time, with no word of any sort of progress. Orin hadn't seen her for some time, so there was no guarantee she was still safe.
Murky and Violet walked into the castle, gloom guns in hand. "Still no word?" Violet asked Lala, who'd taken a turn sitting at the base.
"Nothing," she said glumly, lemon-ade held between her hands on her knees.
"I'm sure we'll hear something soon," Violet said reassuringly.
Quite suddenly, Red let out a frustrated shout, standing abruptly on the stairs. "Arg! I can't stand being so helpless! We were made to protect the Earth and everything else, and yet we can't do anything?!"
"Because you're wrong," came a voice from the corner of the room. Everyone turned to look, and saw Stormy sitting on an empty, overturned bucket.
"What do you mean I'm wrong?" Red asked with no little hint of anger.
She paid it no mind, leaned back against the wall. Her arms were crossed over her chest and one knee was perched on the other. "We were made not to protect, but to help the Wearer of the Belt protect. She could not exist without us, but we cannot function without her. The Earth falls into despair without a Rainbow Brite. The Ice Age, the Black Plauge, and Seven Year Famine, the World Wars. And now, the 'greatest drought the world has ever known.'"
"Don't say that," Brian said sharply, causing everyone to look at him instead. He was too angry to be embarassed, though, and just glared at Stormy. "You say it like she's already dead. Well, she's not!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"Stormy!" Canary cried in shock.
"Oh, don't. Just don't, Canary. She's farther away than she's ever been, alone, trying to find something that no one even knows the identity of, exactly. Meanwhile, the Earth is drying up and will crumble apart any day now. And then what happens? What happens to us when the Earth dies? Even if we kept on living, our own world's due to crumble as well."
"Stop it!"
"We can't just sit here waiting for someone that's never coming back!"
"She will!"
"She can't save us anymore!"
"Stormy, stop it!" Canary pleaded, hands held up tight over her heart.
"Just what are we supposed to do, then?" Lala asked in disgust, none of the kids liking the least bit what Stormy was saying.
"Look for a new Rainbow Brite," she said simply.
Everyone gasped, and even Dismal and Lurky looked horrified.
"No," Red said firmly, which returned the attention to him. "That is not our place, Stormy. We have never looked for a Rainbow Brite. She has always come to us. And until the Belt is returned to us without its Wearer, there can be no new Rainbow Brite. Until that Belt finds its way back here in some way, we have to assume our Rainbow still lives, and is still fighting for us."
Stormy scowled at Red, who met her gaze with cool confidence. When others started to look at her again, she pushed herself to her feet and stalked out the door. She vaulted up onto Skydancer's back and they took off into the sky. Once she was asfely tucked away in the clouds, she let Skydancer stop. Slowly, tears filled her eyes, and finally a few leaked out. She ducked forward, her face buried in Skydancer's mane to hide the tears.