When There Were Seven
c 2001 by Robert Teague
This story is written solely for the entertainment of Rainbow Brite fans, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story may be reproduced, provided no changes are made.
Revised 01/03/01 Reformatted 09/07/11
Author's Note: This story does not fit into my version of the Rainbow Brite Universe; it goes along with Cyanne's "When There Were Three". Her origin for the Kids is entirely different from mine. Since the first time I read it, I've felt there was more to the story. April's "When There Were Six" expanded the ideas presented, and the present work adds to it as well. RT 01/01/01
Shy Violet found Rainbow Brite in her room, sitting at her desk, writing in her diary. A bit hesatant, she tapped on the door. Rainbow looked up at her and smiled. Violet turned a bit red; even that small amount of attention embarrassed her.
"Hi, Violet," said Rainbow, "Come in."
Violet did so, adjusting the book in her hand as she did. A finger was between two pages, so Rainbow knew there was something important. Violet never bothered her unless there was a real problem.
"What's up?" asked Rainbow, smiling to keep her shy friend at ease.
"Did you realize we don't have all the Color Kids, even now?" asked Violet.
Rainbow was taken aback. Of everything Violet could have said, she never expected this. What a wierd question. She shook her head. "Sorry? I don't understand."
Violet opened the book, then glanced at it to make sure she was still on the right page. She turned it so Rainbow could see. The page showed a color wheel, but with more detail than usual; there were twelve colors instead of six or seven.
"Okay, so this means...what?" said Rainbow.
"Well, look. There are the three primary colors; red, green, and blue. Then the three secondary colors, orange, yellow, and violet. We have Color Kids for those; they make up the rainbow." Then she realized what she was saying was almost insulting to Rainbow, it was so basic. "As you know," she hastily added, turning red.
"It's okay, Violet," said Rainbow, "Go ahead and make your point."
"We also have one tertiary color, indigo, represented," she said, relieved that Rainbow hadn't gotten mad. "But there are five more tertiary colors; red-orange, gold, lime green, turquoise, and magenta. We DON'T have Color Kids for those."
"Hmmm...you're right, of course, as usual," answered Rainbow. She thought for a moment, then said, "The only reason I can think of is that they aren't needed. Our job is to color the natural world, and there aren't enough things of those colors to justify Kids for them. Tickled Pink can change the hues and tones and shades of the colors we do have to cover them. Besides, I don't think I've ever seen turquoise or magenta color crystal."
"Oh, it exists," answered Violet, adjusting her glasses, "Where the secondary colors meet in the veins of crystal we mine in the the Color Cave. There isn't much of it, and it goes to the same sections as the other colors during processing. Apparently nobody had noticed it before. But after I found this chart, I went and mined some." She held out her hand, and sure enough there were chips of color crystal in those five colors.
Rainbow took them, and looked closely at them. She whistled. "This IS interesting," she said. She looked at Violet. "When I first came here, I rescued the seven of you. Had the other five EVER existed?"
"Not that I can remember," said Violet.
"Maybe we need to have a meeting about this," said Rainbow.
The next morning, all the Kids met in the main hall of the Color Castle, where the Console was. There were no sprites present, not even Twink. The word had been spread that this meeting was not to be disturbed, and despite their furry friend's concerns, the request was obeyed.
Waiting for the meeting to start, Red and Lala were making plans for a picnic lunch later.
Buddy and Patty were planning to go skating that afternoon. Indigo and Canary were still making plans for an entertainment in a few months. Moonglo stood yawning; it was past her bedtime.
Stormy was giving Tickled Pink advice about grooming Sunriser.
Violet stood slightly apart from the others, the fateful book in her hands. She had also made a poster of the color wheel, so everyone could see. It was covered with a piece of violet cloth. She had the distinct feeling that this meeting was going to be very unpleasant. But she couldn't think of any reason why that would be.
Rainbow came in, and started the meeting. "Good morning, everyone!" she said.
There were various responses from the Kids.
"Violet, if you please?" said Rainbow, turning to her.
Despite herself, Violet turned bright red. She breathed deeply, calmed herself, and began. She showed them the color wheel, and explained about the primary, secondary, and tertiary colors. During her talk, Red and Buddy grew increasingly uncomfortable, and Patty's face colored. The other Kids stood and listened, but beyond an expression of mild interest, showed no effects of the knowledge.
"...so that's the question," Violet concluded, "Where are the other five Color Kids?"
A sob from Buddy made everyone turn and look at him. Both he and Red were crying, trying not to, and failing. Lala immediately put her arms around Red, and handed him an orange handkerchief, murmuring to him in a low voice. Patty put her hand on Buddy's arm, and squeezed it gently.
"What's wrong, you two?" asked Rainbow, deeply concerned.
Buddy took out a small blue towel, and wiped his eyes. He took a deep breath, and looked at Rainbow. "NOTHING!" he said in a loud voice. Patty took her hand from his arm.
Rainbow made no reply, but continued to look at them calmly.
There was a long silence, as a battle of wills ensued. Finally, Buddy broke, and looked down. He looked at Red, who looked back for a long moment, then down at his feet, giving his okay.
"This is...very...painful...to talk about," he said, "And none of you really want to know."
He looked around at his friends and family, settling on Rainbow. "Please, don't make us tell you. It's horrible, and you'll all regret being reminded. I have, and I know Red has."
He glanced at Red, who nodded, but continued to look at his feet.
"Buddy, I had no idea you and Red were carrying something so painful," said Rainbow.
"Please, tell us, and get it off your chest. You know that talking about things can help you feel better."
"Not in this case," said Red in a low voice.
"But saying that only makes me want to help you more," answered Rainbow.
"Okay, okay, you win," said Buddy, wiping his eyes again.
He looked around at them. "Violet, you're the most emotionally sensitive of us. I'm not surprised you don't remember. Patty, I-I told you about...some of it, but you don't really remember."
"I thought that was a dream," said Patty.
He shook his head. "No, it happened."
"But- then, how did you cover it up so well later, when we looked at that book in the library?"
"BECAUSE I HAD MANAGED TO FORGET AGAIN, for a little while," he said, lowering his voice. "But poor Red, he's never been able to forget."
They all looked at Red, who huddled into himself a bit more.
"The rest of you," Buddy continued, "Are so lucky to have forgotten. And how we've envied you over the years."
"So, what happened?" asked Rainbow.
Buddy closed his eyes for a long minute, then began to speak.
"When the Universe was new, color was to be part of it, so we three primary colors, red, green, and blue, came into being. I-I can't explain very well what it was like then. What matter and energy were to be hadn't been settled; everything was shifting, changing. It was difficult to keep our existance. But we managed because we knew we were important. But we also knew we weren't to be the only colors. It had to do with keeping a balance."
He fumbled for words, then said, "I'm sorry, I can't explain it better than that. The words for what I mean don't exist."
"A nanosecond or two passed, and what the Universe was to be became clearer. So the three of us combined our colors and our life forces, and the secondary colors, orange, yellow, and violet came into being."
Lala, Canary, and Violet gasped, and looked at each other.
"Then that means..." began Canary.
"NO!" shouted Red. "No," he continued in a softer voice, "Not like that. It's what Buddy said, the words don't exist."
"But wouldn't..."began Violet.
"Please, let me...get it out...while I still have the courage," said Buddy. He took a deep breath, and wiped his eyes again.
"So, the six of us were there; the Universe still changing around us. But some things had been settled on, so the tug to change us was greatly reduced. After another bit of time had passed, we realized we weren't finished. More colors were needed, so we had to continue the process. Again, it was that balance I spoke of.
But we hadn't realized-where one thing is created, its opposite is created as well. That is one of the major properties of the Universe, and another aspect of the balance. Oh we were aware of that law, of course, but didn't think it would apply to us.
As more time passed, the Universe continued to settle down. The time to create the tertiary colors was running out. Indigo was the first to come into existance..." his voice faltered, and he began crying again.
Indigo began crying as well. "I remember now..." she said, softly.
"But before we could make the others, we were attacked," he continued in a cracked voice.
"By who?" asked Rainbow.
"The Evil One," said Red, while Buddy got his emotions under control.
"The King of Shadows?" said Rainbow.
Red nodded. "He is our ultimate enemy. Murky and Lurky are still his servants." "We...we didn't know what to do, how to handle this thing that was entirely new to us. We all scattered away, and that was what he really wanted, to keep us from making any more colors until it was too late. And he succeeded, too."
All the Color Kids were crying by now. The painful memories had come back.
"Those five colors will never have Kids to represent them, and its our fault," said Red, "We should have realized..."
"You can't know everything, Red," said Rainbow, "And you can't be expected to be able to handle something you've never seen before."
"But..." began Red.
"It Wasn't Your Fault!" said Rainbow, forcefully.
Buddy held up his hand. "The story is almost finished," he said. The others grew quiet. "The King left us, knowing he had won. He couldn't destroy us; he was too new, and weak. But this victory was enough. We got together again, and thought. We knew it was too late to make the remaining Color Kids, but also knew there had to be more colors in the world to keep the balance. Then we realized there was one chance, and one chance only, to get the other colors in the Universe. We couldn't create them as separate colors, but we could create one who could change our colors into them."
He looked around. "Tickled Pink," he said.
The named one looked shocked. "Me?" she said.
"You," said Buddy, nodding.
She nodded, and fell into thought. Suddenly her face changed, as she remembered as well.
Buddy looked around. "And that's why the colors are the way they are. Why the rainbow has only seven colors, instead of twelve. We failed to make the balance, so the Universe isn't what it should be."
The other Kids, very upset, were trying to stop crying. But when they thought about the other Color Kids they would never know, began again. They all remembered those events now, and they were just as painful as Buddy and Red had warned.
"You all managed to forget. I'm so sorry I had to remind you. But you all insisted," said Buddy, a bit defensively.
"Buddy, Red, all of you," said Rainbow, looking around, "Don't you realize you didn't fail?"
They all looked at her.
"What do you mean, Rainbow?"asked Patty.
"The Evil One stopped you from doing things the way they were originally supposed to be done, but you found another way to do it, and brought into being someone we all love who otherwise never would exist. In my book, you triumphed!"
"But we didn't..." began Red, then looked surprised. "I never thought of it like that!"
Buddy nodded. "The balance DOES exist! She's right! We DID win! He looked at Rainbow.
"Thank you! You've relieved my mind so much!" He said.
"Mine too," added Red, smiling.
The others stood, thinking about Rainbow's words.
"I'm glad. Sometimes it just takes a different perspective to realize the truth," said Rainbow.
The other Kids were drying their tears, and smiles were beginning to break out.
The End