#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."

#38

Rainbow's eyes slowly drifted open. She was laying in her bed, curtains drawn over the windows to kep the room dim. A cool cloth rested on her forehead, and someone sat beside her.
"Moonglow...?"
She turned and smiled down at Rainbow. "So, you're awake." She took the cloth from her forehead. "You came down with a fever."
"I was dreaming..."
"Oh?" She dipped the cloth into a shallow bowl of water, wrung it out, and dabbed it against Rainbow's face. "Seemed to me like a nightmare."
"Maybe it was..." She looked off to the side, and saw Krys curled up, asleep, in a chair.
"He's been working almost nonstop ever since he got here. None of us have slept much while you were gone."
Rainbow looked up at her again. "I'm so proud of all of you. You stopped those things. You even found a way to stop the poison. Earth and Rainbowland would have crumbled before I got the chance to put an end to all of this."
"Hey, don't sweat it. We're a team, remember?" She smiled. "How are you feeling?"
"Better, with the sleep."
"Good," she said and set the washcloth aside. "I think it would do the others good to see you. Everyone's been worried about you. And now that Stormy and Brian..."
She sat up, brushing hair back from her face. It was out of its ponytail, and looked to have been combed out, likely thanks to Moonglow. "I'll find them. I'm sure whoever's doing all of this is the one that took them. I'll get them back. I'll fix all of this."
"We know you will, Rainbow," Moonglow said as she folded back the covers. "We trust you, and believe in you. We're just...scared."
Rainbow watched the smile fade from her face, and be replaced with sadness and fear. She reached out and took hold of Moonglow's arms. Gently, she pulled her close and wrapped her arms around her.
Moonglow was surprised at first, but as the comfort washed over her, she slipped her arms around Rainbow and let the tears fall.

Twink had practically glued himself to Rainbow's side the whole time she'd been walking around Rainbowland, helping everyone administer the solution. Violet had come up with a pressurized hose and spraying system. The vats had been assembled upright on trucks that could be pulled by Starlight and On-X. Each vat was pressurized thanks to pumps the sprites were taking turns working. Large hoses were hooked up to each vat, with nozzles on the end that would spray the solution easily. It was slow going, but they'd split up, and they were making progress.
When Starlight's truck passed under the path leading to the Colour Cave, Rainbow handed her hose off to Tickled Pink, and broke away from them to go up and see Red. Twink followed at her heels.

#37

"It's going to rain," Stormy grumbled.
Brian glanced over at her. She was laying down in her cage, one leg dangling out between the bars. "Can't you stop it?"
"I've been trying. I don't have any authority here."
"What do you mean? I thought you could do it anywhere."
"Well, you're wrong," she snapped bitterly.
He frowned and looked away, arms folding over his chest. He was sitting back against the bars, legs folded in front of him. "I don't understand."
She rolled onto her side so she could look at him. "Because you're human. You're not even supposed to know who we are, let alone understand what we do."
He glared at her. "Well, I do know you, and I want to understand."
She sat up, hair falling to her shoulders. She slipped her other leg through another bar and leaned forward against them, the cage tipping slightly with her weight. "We were all given our powers in the conditions. We have to look after such and such places, for these and those reasons, always following the will and way of the Wearer of the Belt. It's easy for the other kids, for Buddy and Red and Violet. But Moonglow and I, we're different. The others work with Rainbow, to bring colour and new life. Moonglow and I, we fill in the gaps.
"She and I can do our work from anywhere. But we still answer to the Wearer of the Belt. She's responsible for keeping so many worlds bright and beautiful, thus Moonglow and I only have authority on those places, and only if Rainbow Brite wills it."
"I think I understand," Brian said slowly. "But, if you can't use your powers here, and that means this world isn't under Rainbow's protection, does that mean she can't use her powers here either?"
She thought about it, then looked over at him. "I don't think so. Spira, where she met Krys, that world wasn't under her protection, but she used her powers there. I think it might be different for her."
After a short time, Brian spoke again. "Rainbow wasn't the first 'Wearer of the Belt', right?"
"That's right."
"Who came before her?"
She looked ahead again. "I don't know. I wasn't here."

Darkness.
"Where am I?"
A flash of lightning, a desolate world, darkness.
"What is this place?"
Another flash, a different picture. A castle, towering into the sky, clinging like a great tree to a cliffside. The sky roiled with thick, smokey, gloomy clouds. A sea raged below the cliff, waves gathering themselves into titanit swells, then throwing themselves mercilessly against the castle walls. Darkness.
"I know this place."
The white light again. Closer to the castle now, focus drawn to a balcony, just out of reach of the hungry waves. Silver hair, a black gown.
"Who is she?"
Another figure steps out. High collar, a crown. His arms go around the woman. Darkness again.
"I know them."
A bright light. A different light.

#36

"I saw your home," she said quietly as they stopped just out of sight. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" he asked with genuine surprise. "All of these years, that's what I've wanted to do to you, and you're sorry?"
"I don't think that's true, Murky."
He blinked. "You don't?"
"You're very clever, and smart, probably even smarter than Violet, and none of us ever understand her. I think if you'd really wanted to, you'd have succeeded a long time ago."
"You're saying I don't want to?"
"I'm saying you're angry, you've got a lot of bad luck, and you've just been trying to stop us for so long, you didn't know what else to do."
He frowned, but thought about it. "Is that why you never chased me away? Because you thought I didn't really mean any of it?"
"Well..." It was her turn to stop and think about it. Faded memories tickled at the back of her mind, but she couldn't see them clearly. "Maybe... I think there's more to it than that."
"What do you mean?"
"It's almost like...like I know why you're doing it, though I can't explain it. And because of that, I could never really be angry."
He arched a brow at her. "That makes no sense at all."
She laughed. "Regardless, I'm glad you're helping. I don't know if we could fight two battles right now."
"Yes, well, quite obviously this is my fight, too. This goes beyond colour."
She looked at him seriously again. "When this is all over..."
He managed a very weak smile. "I won't forget what I've learned." He turned and looked out int the direction of the Pits. "I know now how important hope is. Hope is life. And colour...beauty...light...they bring hope." He looked back over at Rainbow, and was shocked to see tears streaming down her cheeks. "R-Rainbow?"
She blinked and lifted her hands to her cheeks. "Ah..."
"What's the matter?"
"I don't...know..."
"You're remembering, Rainbow Brite," Alpha said. He stood behind them, Omi still clinging to his leg.
She turned towards them. "Remembering?"
"Who you were, and who you are."
Her face slowly scrunched up, and her hands lifted up over her head. "Aargh!" she cried as she shook her head and sank down to sit on her heels. "I don't understand any of this!"
Starlight pushed past them and lowered his head to Rainbow, and she quickly hugged him close, face pressed against his broad forehead. "We'll figure it out, Rainbow."
Alpha sighed softly with disappointment. "You should get some rest, Rainbow Brite. You'll need it. There is time while supplies are gathered."
Dismal stepped forward and offered his hand to her. She gently took it and he hoisted her back up to her feet.
"You rest, too, Starlight. I'll need all of your strength." He nodded without argument, and she headed into the Castle with Dismal.

"Do you think Rainbow's alright?" Canary asked Violet as she helped her carry a vat of the poison-fighting solution.
"Honestly? I don't know. This seems to be affecting her far more severely than anything else she's ever faced."
"Do you think it's because Stormy and Brian were abducted while she was away?"
Violet slowly shook her head. "I think that might be one thing on top of what's really affecting her."
"Maybe it has something to do with the 'Beginning' and 'End'?" They sat the vat down just outside, alongside half a dozen other barrels of the solution.
"Could be," Violet said absently, hands rested on her hips as she surveyed their progress.
Red and Buddy set another down beside theirs. "How are we going to spread this stuff around?" Red asked.
"My original hope was rain..." Sad looks crossed all of their faces. Violet puffed up, one hand resting on the vat beside her. "But I've got another idea."

#35

Rainbow winced at the sight of Xerol. "It's almost completely gone..."
"Let's hope that message was right, and the kids found a way to stop those creatures," Starlight said over his shoulder.
"If anyone could, they would." She looked back at Alpha sadly. "Are these worlds gone forever?"
"It's hard to say," he said. "They're thoroughly obliterated, but," he smiled to her, "you're Rainbow Brite. It may not be impossible."
She only frowned in confusion and turned forward again. "Hurry, Starlight. We're nearly there."
"You can count on me."
As they passed into Earth's dimension, she cried out, half in relief that the Earth was still there, and half in dismay at the state it was currently in.
In comfort, Alpha wrapped his arms around her. "You will save the Earth, Rainbow Brite."
Omi glanced back at them, then looked down to the Earth, troubled look on his face.
It was only a few more minutes before Starlight followed the rainbow over Rainbowland. Patty caught sight of them and let out a loud shout of glee. "It's Rainbow! Rainbow's back!" The rest of the kids joined her at once, as well as Krys, Dismal, and Lurky.
"What are Murky and Lurky doing here?" Starlight asked with distaste.
"Look there," Rainbow said, pointing to the Pits, at their melted and crumbled home. "I have a feeling they're helping."
"Alpha, look!" Omi cried and pointed to the gloomy bird. "They actually stopped the Condor!"
"So they did," he said with quiet wonder.
Starlight touched down to a warm welcome, everyone gathering around. Rainbow was quick to quiet them, hands raised. "I want to hear about everything that's happened, and everything you've figured out, but right now is not the time."
"Rainbow, Stormy and Brian were taken!" Patty called.
"I know," she said with a solemn face. "And I intend to get them back." As Alpha slipped down off of Starlight's back, Rainbow decided on introductions. "Everyone, this is Alpha, and Omi. They're..."
"We're going to help stop all of this," Alpha said simply as he helped Omi down. The boy stepped closer to Alpha, hiding himself behind his leg.
"Rainbow!" Twink ran from Red's side as they came back from the Colour Cave.
Rainbow slipped off of Starlight and dropped to one knee, catching her favorite sprite in her arms. "I missed you, too, my friend." She slowly stood back up, glancing up at Alpha. "Do you know how to get to the ones doing all of this?"
He shook his head. "Only you do, Rainbow Brite."
Starlight stomped a hoof in frustration, but she just patted his shoulder and began to move into the Castle.
"How did you stop the creatures?" she asked them in general.
Violet spoke up with a smile. "You can thank Murky Dismal for that."
Her eyes widened as she looked over at Dismal, who was looking off to the side glumly. "Murky?"
"His gloom finally came in handy," Violet said cheerfully. "But even more importantly," she said more seriously, and Rainbow looked back over to her. "We discovered a way to stop, and even prevent, the poison."
She was pleasantly surprised this time, and took a look around the inside of the Castle. "That would explain all of this, then?" she asked, motioning to the piles of ingredients and various pots everything was brewing in.
"Right," Violet agreed. "However, this stuff only stops the poison. It doesn't reverse its effects."
Rainbow sighed. "Which means everything's still dead." She turned to Violet. "Get this stuff to every corner of Rainbowland and Earth. Get me a list of the ingredients and instructions on how it's made, too. We might have to pass this on to others in the Universe."
Violet nodded and headed up to her laboratory. When Dismal turned to follow, Rainbow caught his arm. "Wait, Murky. We need to talk."
He winced at her touch and slowly turned to look at her. "Alright..."
She motioned outside, then looked to the others. "Keep it up, everyone. We'll beat this thing." She then followed Dismal outside.