#41

"Is it just me," Brian asked as he knelt at the edge of his cage, peering down into the ravine below them. "Or is that filling up?"
The rain was constant and heavy, and the two could just barely see each other. There was lightning, but no thunder, and it was all eerily quiet.
Stormy pulled herself over to the side of her cage and looked down. The bottom, once over three hundred feet away, seemed a whole lot closer. "This must be the deepest point in the area... All of this rain is flowing into it." She pointed up above them. "When the lightning flashes, look at the top." When it did, they could see the walls of the ravine were like great waterfalls, emptying thousands of gallons of water down into the ravine.
Brian jerked his head over to look at her. "Do you think...?"
She looked back at him, resigned look on her face. "I do."
He sank back against the bars and looked up at the black sky. "Please, Rainbow. Hurry."

Starlite stood on the rainbow, looking out at a most unwelcoming world. On-X had set down beside him, and Rainbow and Krys surveyed the world uneasily.
"This place?" Krys asked warily.
The world was engulphed in torrential clouds as black and thick as smoke. Lightning streaked all across the planet, making their skin crawl even from their distance.
"This is the place," Rainbow said. "I'm sure I've never come here, and yet I feel as though I've seen this all before."
"Let's go, before we lose our nerve," Krys said, and On-X rose up into the air once more.
They descended through the clouds, and came upon a world that was sure to have once been beautiful.
"This is terrible," Rainbow said as she gazed out at the bare rock of the planet. Without plants and roots, there was nothing to protect the dirt from the rain, and everything loose had been swept away. Water ran like wild horses across the surface, cutting away at the ground until there was ravine after ravine slicing through the planet.

(I won't type up the page I have left..it cuts off mid-sentence. I've still got to figure out what I was about to do here.)

#40

"Krys?" Rainbow stepped up to him while he helped the others refill the vats. The worst of the poison had been stopped, and attention was turning to how to cleanse the Earth.
He looked up. "Yeah, Rainbow?"
"Can we talk?"
His brows furrowed, but he nodded and followed her away from the others. "What is it, Rainbow?"
"I've figured out where I need to go. I need you to come with me."
His face lit up with a grin. "Of course," he said. "I'm right beside you, all the way."
she didn't smile, which made his fade. "I don't know what's waiting for us," she said.
"We never know, Rainbow."
"This time, it just seems like...so much more is at stake," she said, rubbing her arm.
He reached out to touch her shoulder. "That doesn't matter. We're still the most formidable team in the Universe. Nothing's going to stop us."
She smiled then, faintly. "You sound like Starlite," she said, which made them both laugh. "We'll likely be playing this by ear," she went on. "We dont' know who's doing this, how to stop him, or just how far from home we'll be going."
"Great!" he said with a laugh. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"We'll find a way to get it to Earth, Rainbow. Don't worry about that," Violet said with a reassuring smile.
She stood beside Starlite, everyone gathered around once more. "Just be careful. Don't take any chances I wouldn't take."
Red laughed and said, "So we should take every chance we get, right?"
She blinked, and a blush crept over her cheeks, but she laughed after a moment. "I guess that's right!" She turned to Starlite and swung easily up onto his back. Looking out over everyone gathered, she said, "I'm counting on all of you. Stay safe, be brave, and keep an eye on the sky." She called forth a rainbow and Starlite took to the sky, Krys following on On-X.
Once they were out of Rainbowland, Krys spoke up. "How do you know where to go?"
She looked down at the rainbow. "I've known all along, but I couldn't remember... I still don't know what this place is. I juts know that at some point, some point I can't remember, I used to know it."
Krys watched her quitely. "Scared?" he finally asked.
"Terrified," she admitted without hesitation.
He grinned. "Good. Me, too."

#39

She was sure to have a smile on her face when they reached the Cave, reassuring the sprites that all was well. Red looked surprised to see her, but pleasantly so. "Come to check up on me?"
She grinned and stopped beside him. "That would be silly. I know full well you can handle all of this." She glanced around. "I was hoping our new friends would be here."
He pointed to the path leading farther back into the Cave. "They're in the back. Came up a few hours ago." He folded his arms over his chest. "They're not the friendliest of friends you've ever made," he said.
She laughed lightly and said, "They are very serious, aren't they?" She reached out and gently patted his shoulder. "Thank-you for looking after this place while I was gone. I knew I could count on you."
He beamed proudly. "Always, Rainbow," he said.
She smiled, then headed into the back of the Cave. She found them sitting up on the ledge from which the Princess had once proclaimed herself Queen of the Sprites. "I thought I'd find you two here."
They both looked up, and Alpha smiled to her. "I guess we're creatures of habit." He reached out as Rainbow made it up the steep incline, taking her hand and helping her up to where they sat.
She sat down on the edge, and was somewhat surprised when Omi cralwed over to her and curled up under her arm. After a moment, she looked up at Alpha. "I had a dream."
He glanced down to her, brow arched slightly. "Oh?"
She slowly looked away. "It was a place I knew, but I can't remember ever seeing it. There were two people, that I knew but don't know. And then...something." She sighed. "I don't understand it, but...I think I know where I have to go."
Alpha and Omi both smiled, the boy hugging her in congratulations. "That is good," Alpha said.
She looked up at him again. "Will I know what I have to do when I get there?"
"I don't know," he said. "I imagine it may depend on just what you're going up against."
"Should...I go alone?"
He shook his head. "Certainly not. You must take the Prism Bearer with you. He exists to aid you in your toughest fights."
"Krys...he will be glad to hear that."
Alpha and Omi exchanged a glance and nothing more. "We shall stay here," Alpha said suddenly.
Rainbow jerked her head up to look at him again. "What...? Why? I thought...you were going to help me."
"And we shall."
"How? By staying here?!"
He looked at her sternly. "You will understand when the time comes."
She deflated and looked away again. "I wish this weren't all so complicated."
"I've a feeling it will be quite simple when it all plays out, Rainbow Brite."