Authors Notes: This is the finale to my Rainbow Brite arc. It started off
as a one shot, then people asked me for another one and now I've thought of
a plot line for a third part to sort of finish it all. I apologize in
advance for plot holes indicated between parts one and two, I have no clue
what they were but still I don't really like not giving my reader a perfect
vision. Hopefully this part will aid in a clearer picture, or it might just
make things even more confusing. All characters and places used in this
story are owned by the Hallmark Corporation with the exceptions of:
Twilight, Cobalt, Nick, Tempest, the Midnight Cove, and the Keeper of
Color. This story is not intended for profit… although it would be nice if
I got some money for my stories… I'd be able to live a little better. Sorry
about the delay, Fanfiction.net decided to cut me off because one of the
titles to another story wasn't "G" Rated… so I got pushed back a week in
posting anything. Apologies again to onyxmoon, who created the Lady Brite
character whom I unjustly used in this and the previous story, the
character's name has been altered and I hope you accept my most humble
apologies. Also a quick FYI: Brian is wearing the same outfit he was always
wearing when he went to Rainbow Land, not the funeral tux *again, thanks
Imagi =)*
Prologue
Rainbow Brite and Twink were enjoying a leisurely walk through Rainbow Land. The two had noticed that they had more time for walks such as these as of late. The Princess had not attacked since Stormy gave her that scare so many years ago, and if she was in her right mind she would never come back. Murky and Lurky had not done anything worth merit in ages, although they could sometimes be seen creeping around Rainbow Land. When they were discovered they would always just hop back into the grungebuggy and speed away to the Pits. Of course Earth was always in need of color so she and the Color Kids never really had nothing to do, but things were beginning to become monotonous. They were walking by Indigo Acres when they saw Cobalt and Indigo enjoying a picnic on the grass, surrounded by flowers. Rainbow noticed that they had been developing a close friendship as of late, more than likely due to the fact that Indigo was the most quiet and secluded of the kids and Cobalt also always seemed to spend a lot of time by himself, reading or thinking. Cobalt also spent a fair amount of his time with Brian, and Rainbow wondered where he was. It had been eighteen years of Earth time since Brian became a color kid, and he, along with the rest of the people who lived in Rainbow Land, looked no older than thirteen. They had all gotten slightly taller, and sometimes one of the boys' voices would crack, but nothing had really changed. Rainbow walked up to the two and Twink followed behind, "Hey you two!" She said as she got close enough.
"Good afternoon Rainbow." Indigo softly said.
"Would you care to join us?" Cobalt asked. Rainbow gently shook her head, declining.
"Actually Cobalt," she started, "I wanted to know why you weren't with Brian."
"We aren't conjoined at the hip, Rainbow." The sprite told her, drinking some tea.
"Cobalt!" Twink yelled. The two sprites did not get along very well, mostly due to Cobalt's cynicism and Twink's lack of a sense of humor, but Rainbow didn't mind much.
"It's alright Twink." She said reassuringly. "So you don't have any clue where he is then Cobalt?"
"He said that he and Twilight were going for a run and just left, he's been gone for almost an hour."
"Has he been acting strange lately Cobalt?" Rainbow asked. The sprite put down his tea and stared at her, silently thinking how to respond.
"I don't think he's been acting unusual as of late, but you might be seeing something that I can't."
"I don't know." Rainbow said softly as she turned the other way. "I just don't know." She turned her head over her should towards Indigo, "I'm going to go on a color monitor of Earth, just in case anyone asks where I went." Indigo nodded.
"I'll make sure and tell them Rainbow." She said in her soft tone as she looked at Cobalt. The two stared at each other for a moment, and as soon as Rainbow was out of sight she spoke. "You aren't telling her something Cobalt, I know." The sprite looked at her.
"What are you talking about Indigo, I don't know anything." Indigo stared at her, without saying a word. Cobalt sighed, "Fine, but please don't tell anyone I told you this, especially Brian…"
Chapter One
Brian was sitting on a cloud while Twilight took his own run, without anyone riding on him. Brian was sitting above the school that would have been his high school, if he aged like a normal human. He hadn't realized that his parents had another child after he had given up his life on Earth in favor of his destiny as a Color Kid. Brian found out about his brother one day when he was spreading his color crystals to bring the night and passed by his old home. He saw his father tossing a baseball to a boy no older than ten, who was holding a bat. At first he assumed that the boy was just some random kid that his dad was helping practice, but when he saw the boy run up to his father and hug him tightly, he knew. When he saw the proud look that his father gave this boy while they hugged, he was further assured that the boy was indeed his brother. After several more runs through the neighborhood he found out that his brother was named Nick and he was born three years after Brian had been "erased" from Earth. Now Nick was fifteen and a sophomore in high school, his once light brown hair had been colored to a blond almost as light as Canary's. The boy had light blue eyes which melded surprisingly well with the hair. Nick was a huge baseball fan, much like his brother, and he was on the Junior Varsity team for his high school. Brian had made a habit of going to see his brothers baseball games, alone. Nobody in Rainbow Land knew about Nick except for Cobalt, but Brian knew that his sprite would not enjoy watching baseball so he always made these trips by himself, with the exception of Twilight. Brian gently tossed some midnight blue color crystals as he scanned the crowd at the game, and he saw them, his parents. Brian knew that they were very happy with their son in every aspect, except for that Rap music that Nick had been listening to since puberty hit. His parents had Brian when they were both twenty-five, which made them thirty-eight years old when they had Nick, and now they were both fifty-three, although they didn't look it. The music had become too disruptive for their old ears, but they let their child express himself in any way he chose. Brian wondered if they would have been that loose with him when he would have been growing up, but now he would never know. Brian never regretted his choice of becoming a Color Kid for a single day, but there were times that he wanted a home cooked meal from his mom, or to go fishing in the lake with his dad, and this was one of those times. Even if he did go down to the ground to watch the game he wouldn't have been able to talk to his parents, or his brother and they wouldn't be able to see him. He felt his eyes grow heavy with tears as he wiped them off his face. He wasn't expecting anyone to talk to him up so high, so he jumped when he heard Rainbow yell out "Hi!"
"Oh, it's you Rainbow," Brian said as he turned around, "did you need me for something?"
"No, I was just running around Earth, seeing if anything needed coloring, and I bumped into you." She smiled as she got off Starlight. "I was worried about you Brian."
"Why were you worried about me Rainbow, I'm fine."
"Are you sure Brian?" She asked concerned.
"Yes Rainbow, I'm sure." He said uneasily. "I've got to get back to Rainbow Land, I promised Buddy and Patty I would go on a run with them." Brian whistled and Twilight came running almost immediately. "See you guys!" Brian yelled as he waved goodbye while on his horse. Rainbow watched her best friend run off, thinking about why he was here, in his old home. She looked down at the baseball game and quickly assumed that the game had caught his attention, and that was why he stayed. She heard the announcer say something about a great play being made from Nick Davis, which shocked her.
"Davis? Isn't that Brian's last name?" She asked aloud.
"I think it was." Starlight said looking down.
"Does that mean that Brian has a…" Twink began to say.
"A brother…" Rainbow finished.
Chapter Two
Brian retreated to his room the moment he got back to the Color Castle, and requested that he not be bothered by anyone. "I hope Rainbow didn't find out about Nick." Brian said as he closed the door.
"And what would you do if she did?" A voice said from the side, it was Indigo, leaning against the window.
"Indigo? What are you doing in here?"
"I was waiting for you to come back." She told him. "I know, Brian."
"Know? What are you talking about Indigo?"
"Don't try to play games with me Brian; I know that you have a brother back on Earth." Brian sighed, so someone else knew. "Do you want to talk about it?" Brian shook his head.
"This doesn't concern any of you; it really doesn't even concern me anymore." He said sadly.
"I know it doesn't have anything to do with me Brian, but the best way to solve a problem is to talk about it." Brian looked at Indigo, who stood her ground. "So let's talk about it." Brian walked up to where she was standing and placed his arms over the window seal and looked out the window.
"If I stayed on Earth I would have been twenty-nine years old Indigo, I barely look thirteen. I'd probably be married and have a child or two if I stayed on Earth, but none of that really matters to me." Brian turned around and looked at Indigo. "What really matters to me is the fact that Nick had to grow up all by himself, without his older brother to be there for him. I know how he must have felt, because that's how I felt when I was growing up, an only child with nobody to talk to, nobody to play with. It's not fair to Nick that he didn't know about his big brother… that he'll never know about his big brother."
"Oh Brian." Indigo said softly as she clutched his hands in hers. In all the years that she had known him Indigo never thought Brian had any sort of depth in his being, she didn't think he was shallow either for that matter, but never in her wildest dreams did she think he could convey this much emotion.
"Brian?" Rainbow asked as she pushed the door open, seeing Indigo and Brian holding hands. "Oh!" she said shocked, "did I interrupt something?" Brian and Indigo both blushed as they looked down and released their hands.
"No Rainbow, of course not." Brian said.
"Indigo, would you please leave, I'd like to talk to Brian alone." Indigo nodded and walked outside. Brian sat down on his bed. "So…" Rainbow said as she closed the door.
"So, I take it you know?" Brian asked.
"I do."
"Well then, what do you want to talk about?"
"I want to know why." Rainbow said as she sat down next to him. "Why you didn't tell any of us."
"This matter wasn't something that I felt concerned you and the kids, it was private."
"Indigo knows, and now so do I, it's not as private anymore."
"Indigo knows because a certain sprite of mine can't keep a secret." Brian said as he smiled. "Remind me never to tell Cobalt anything." His face returned to his concerned state. "You found out by sheer chance Rainbow, I'd really have liked to keep it from you of all people."
"Me?" Rainbow asked, stunned. "Why me?"
"Because you always put other people ahead of yourself, even when you need some time to yourself. You've finally had time to yourself because nothing has been happening around here, time you desperately needed. I didn't want to take that time away from you, not because of something you have no control over."
"So you were being selfish." Rainbow said as she stood up. "You didn't want to tell anyone because you thought you could handle all this by yourself, when you obviously couldn't. You thought you were protecting me by keeping this from me when in reality all you were doing was hurting me." Brian looked at her, his jaw open. "Yes I put everyone else in front of myself, but it's only because I care about all my other friends more than I care about myself. Your intentions were commendable, but you really shouldn't have taken all this by yourself, we can all help, we all want to help."
"Rainbow, I… I don't know what to say." Brian said dumbfounded. "I know it's too late to say I'm sorry, but I really am. You're probably right about me not being able to take all this in, but I think I know what I need to do."
"What do you need to do?" She asked.
"I need to talk to my brother."
"Brian, people can't see us!"
"I could see you!"
"You were different for obvious reasons Brian. Please don't go, I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I have to try Rainbow! He's my brother, he deserves to know I exist, or at least deserves the chance to realize for himself." Rainbow remained silent for a moment before she spoke.
"Fine, let's go…"
"No." Brian said as he put his finger over her lips. "Not us… I need to do this part alone, please Rainbow, this time it really is just my business." Brian ran out of his room and outside the castle. Within seconds he was up in the air on Twilight.
"Does he know what he's doing Rainbow?" Indigo asked as she walked outside.
"I hope so Indigo… I hope so…"
Chapter Three
Brian landed close to the high school locker rooms, hoping that Nick would be alone. During Brian's many times watching his brother from the clouds he noticed that Nick had a definite pattern of staying at school after his games to practice some more, ever the perfectionist. Nick was walking out of the gym in a red tank top and a pair of jeans. Was Nick's favorite color red? Red Butler would have a field day if the midnight blue kid's brother just happened to like Red the most. Best not to dwell on that right now, Brian thought as he tried to get Nick's attention. "Hey!" Brian yelled out, to no answer. "Hey Nick!" Brian yelled out louder, still nothing. Brian sighed in disgust… maybe it wasn't possible for Nick to see him; still he refused to give up. Brian grabbed some color crystals and threw them near Nick, the crystals caused whatever they touched to change color, but Nick still didn't notice. "Well, I didn't notice when Rainbow tried to talk to me the first time." Brian snapped his fingers. "That's it!" He closed his eyes and concentrated as a beam came from the pendant that he had worn around his neck since his first day as a Color Kid. "I just hope he notices that and doesn't walk into it." Nick fished threw his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, as he lifted his head he noticed the beam blocking his way.
"Did everything just go Twilight Zone on me or something?" Nick wondered as he looked around.
"You probably shouldn't have those, they aren't very healthy and you aren't old enough to have them." Brian said as he rode down on the beam.
"Whoa!" Nick said, hinting at fear. "Who, what, are you?"
"My names Brian, I'm a Color Kid from Rainbow Land." Brian said as he smiled. "I'm also your big brother."
"Exsqueeze me?" Nick scoffed. "Did you just say "big brother"? I don't know about you kid but last I checked if I'm fifteen and your, what, twelve, that doesn't make you my big brother."
"I might look like I'm thirteen, not twelve, but I'd be twenty-nine by your standards." Nick laughed, not believing anything. "I'm telling you the truth, I'm you big brother."
"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight… you said your name was Brian right?" Nick stopped… there were times that his parents would call him Brian for no reason, and the person in front of him did have an uncanny resemblance to what Nick looked like when he was thirteen. Could this boy be telling him the truth? "No, it can't be true."
"Sometimes things that you can't explain are in actuality true, how do you explain Celine Dion being famous?" Nick laughed.
"You, I like." Brian smiled and winked. "Wait a minute, if you are my brother why haven't my parents said anything about you?"
"I was erased from the memories of all the people who live on earth when I became a Color Kid." Twilight reared his head. "Oh, sorry boy, I didn't mean to leave you out. Nick, this is my horse, Twilight."
"I don't care about your horse "brother"." Nick said, which made Twilight shoot him a dirty look. "Look, you two aren't real and the sun got to me today during my game, I have to get home." Nick began to walk away, Twilight trotted next to him.
"Your Aunt and Uncle had a child named Brandon who died three years before you were born." Brian said, which made Nick stop again. "He was my best friend… and the reason why I left for Rainbow Land."
"How could you know about…"
"Because I was there Nick, I was at the funeral, and I still grieve his loss daily."
"Okay, you've got my attention." Nick muttered. "But why is it that I can see you?"
"Probably for the same reason that I could see Rainbow."
"Rainbow?" Nick asked.
"Long story Nick. I think the reason that you can see me is because you are my brother, and because I wanted you to see me."
"Why am I so important to you? Even if I am your brother it would be just as easy for you to never let me know that you existed." Nick said angrily.
"I wanted to show myself to you because I wanted to tell you that I was sorry." Brian replied softly. "Sorry that I was never there for you when your parents got into a fight. Sorry I was never there to defend you against the school bullies. Sorry I couldn't be there when you wanted to camp out in the front yard with a big brother. Sorry for about a million other things that I can't list."
"It was hard, seeing all my friends with their brothers and sisters, knowing that I didn't have anyone, or at least thinking I didn't have anyone. But hey, at least the Christmases were great." Brian laughed.
"Yeah, I remember the Christmases were great for me." Brian looked at Nick, who had his back turned. "Hey, is everything okay?"
"Why did you just give up on living life as a human?" Nick asked as he placed a hand on the stop sign pole. Brian remained quiet for a moment.
"I wasn't happy with my life here, after Brandon died. You have to understand that it wasn't a decision that I didn't at least think about, but what I would have lost by choosing not to become a Color Kid greatly outweighed what I lost by becoming one."
"If I was born…" Nick said as he turned around, slightly misty eyed, "would you have made the same choice?" Brian looked at his little brother, and saw the part of him in Nick that he remembered seeing in the mirror the day that he went to Rainbow Land from Earth for the last time. Pain, sheer, utter pain stared at him through his brothers' eyes.
"I'm sorry Nick, I can't answer that."
"Why can't you answer it?"
"I can't answer your question because you haven't seen what I decided on keeping in exchange for everything I left behind." Brian offered his hand to his brother, who just looked at it. "Do you trust me?" Brian asked. Nick looked at this person, who he'd barely known, who claimed to be his brother, and who was offering to help him decide for himself if he believed or not. He finally nodded and took Brian's hand for a boost up on Twilight's back. Brian noticed that Nick was shifting uncomfortably on the back of the horse. "You've never ridden a horse have you?"
"No I haven't. He won't throw me off his back will he?" Brian chuckled softly.
"No, he won't throw you off, just hang tight okay." Nick nodded. "Come on Twilight, let's go!" Brian told his horse, who immediately reared his head and ran up into the sky. Nick kept his eyes closed at first. "If you don't open your eyes you won't see anything neat Nick."
"Just tell me when we get there please!"
"If that's how you want it." Brian looked over his shoulder at his little brother acting like an infant, scared of even the simplest of things. The sight made him laugh, even though it probably shouldn't have. Within minutes they were back in Rainbow Land. "Nick." Brian said softly.
"Yeah?" Nick replied.
"Welcome to Rainbow Land, little brother." Nick opened his eyes and saw Brian looking at him, with a large smile on his face. He looked around and saw several other kids looking at, along with more horses and strange little creatures of multiple colors.
"Uh… hi." Nick managed to finally let out.
Chapter Four
Amid the joy felt in Rainbow Land there was an eerie plot being developed in the Pits, the area that surrounded Rainbow Land and was home to its two most frequent assailants, Murky Dismal and his sidekick, Lurky. Murky was in his lab, working on something, something that would probably cause Rainbow and the other kids plenty of trouble. "What're you doing here Murky? Did you forget that you promised to play with me?" Lurky said as he walked into the lab.
"Not now lamebrain!" Murky shot back. "Can't you see that I am busy working on something that will end Rainbow Brite and all those other brats for good? I've finally thought of a perfect plan!" Murky added as he cackled.
"But Murky, what's to say that this plan won't fail like all the other ones?"
"Because numbskull, this time we aren't going to attack Rainbow Land, we're going to attack that planet that she always protects, the planet Earth!"
"Why are we attacking Earth Murky?"
"Simple you simpleton, because if we attack Earth it will take awhile for that brat to get wind of our plans, and by then the Earth will be colorless forever, and she'll have failed in her mission as protector of all the colors in the universe!"
"And then I can ride those pretty horses that live in Rainbow Land!"
"Yes Lurky, and then you can finally take a ride on the "pretty horses", and you can do it as much as you want!"
"Oh goody, oh goody!" Lurky said as he jumped up and down happily, making the ground in the lab shake.
"Stop it Lurky!" Murky demanded. "If you make this gun drop the entire plan will be ruined!"
"What's that gun supposed to do?"
"It drains the color completely from anything it touches; it'll even drain those Color Kids!" Murky patted his gun proudly. "Now go get the grungebuggy ready for space travel while I finish working on this!" Lurky did as he was instructed, chanting about the horses all the way down. "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with that moron." Murky said out lout as he continued to work on his project. "But soon enough I'll have a universe to control and he'll be far away from me. It will be all because of you my sweet little gun." Murky cackled again, and his voice could be heard throughout the pits.
Chapter Five
Nick looked at all the children staring at him, none of them appeared to be any older than Brian, but if what Brian had told him was true they were probably many years older than even his parents. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my baby brother, Nick Davis."
"Nice to meet you Nick, I'm Red Butler and this is my head sprite Romeo. Great color for a shirt by the way."
"Oh Nick, I'm so charmed to meet you! My name is Lala Orange, and this is my sprite OJ."
"Hi Nick! I'm Canary Yellow and this is Spark, I hope we can become great friends!"
"I'm Patty O'Green, and this is Lucky. Welcome to Rainbow Land Nick."
"Good to meet you Nick, I'm Buddy Blue, this is Champ. You look fast; maybe we can have a race someday!"
"My name is Indigo, and this is Hammy. I hope you enjoy your stay with us."
"Gosh, who would have ever thought that Brian would have a little brother who could see us… the odds were 12093223092…" All the others shouted,
"Violet!"
"Oh, I got started again didn't I. Forgive me Nick, my name is Shy Violet, and this is I.Q."
"You're cute Nick! My name is Tickled Pink and this is Dee-lite, I'd love to show you around Rainbow Land, if you'd let me."
"Good afternoon Nick. Your brother and I are partners in the sky, I'm Moonglo and this is Nite-sprite."
"Hey kid, names Stormy, this is Tempest and the horse is Skydancer."
"I am Starlight, the most magnificent horse in the entire universe! And this is my mate, Sunriser."
"Hiya Nick! I'm Twink, I'm the head sprite in charge of all the Color Crystals."
"In all my years I'd never think that the brother of the child of destiny would come to Rainbow Land. Oh, forgive me, I am called Cobalt and I am your brother's sprite." That left all but one person, that left…
"I'm Rainbow Brite, Nick. I'm in charge of all the colors in the world, thank you for coming." Rainbow walked over to Nick and kissed him on the cheek, making Nick blush.
"Well that's everyone Nick, any questions, comments, pleas for sanity?" Stormy said, to little amusement from the crowd.
"So the little poof ball things are called sprites?" The sprites themselves didn't look very happy at being called "poof balls", but the kids all nodded. "How come two of the sprites can talk but the other's can't?" Cobalt spoke first,
"Twink and I were destined for special children who would need our assistance more than the other Color Kids, hence the ability to speak English, to make the transference less hectic." It seemed simple enough to Nick.
"Oh. What about the horse that can talk? Brian's horse can't, can it?"
"I wouldn't be the most magnificent horse in the universe if I couldn't talk now would I Nick?" Starlight said boastfully.
"So the horse can talk, and it has an ego… interesting." Stormy chuckled loudly.
"You, I like." She managed to say.
"Why does everyone assume that I have an ego? If you've got it flaunt it, I've definitely got it."
"And you definitely flaunt it." Stormy finished. Starlight huffed and looked at Sunriser, who looked amused.
"Let's go inside the castle and show Nick what we do for the Earth everyone!" Rainbow said to cut the tension.
"I think you'll really love the Color Console Nick." Violet told him. "It's a great piece of electronic accomplishment, of my design I might add."
"You walk, I follow." Nick said, not knowing where this machine was. The kids all piled into the castle, Rainbow and Brian staying close to Nick. Within moments they were all sitting around the console.
"As you can see each of our respective colors have a pulse line, which shows the amount of each color that is in the reserve for emergencies." Violet said proudly, she loved to show off her toys.
"Wait," Nick began, "There are only nine colors, but there are twelve of you, why?"
"I'm in charge of all the colors, the colors give me my powers, I don't claim any of them, and I borrow them for use against gloom." Rainbow told Nick.
"I'm not a Color Kid, I control the weather on Earth. I just hang out here because it gets lonely without someone to talk too." Stormy informed their guest.
"Like Stormy I am not a Color Kid either. I'm in charge of making the stars and the moon look beautiful. I also don't get my crystals from the caves like the other kids."
"Crystals? Caves? A little help for the new guy if you please." Nick asked, obviously confused.
"Hey Moonglo, you just stumbled on a great idea, let's take Nick to the color caves!" Canary practically shouted.
"Is that alright with you Nick?" Lala asked.
"Sure I guess." Nick replied. "If Brian really is my brother than I should see why he stayed here instead of on Earth." The kids started walking to the caves, but Brian walked slowly behind the crowd. Rainbow noticed that her best friend wasn't looking as happy as she hoped he was.
"Why so glum, chum?" She asked, trying to bring up the mood.
"He doesn't believe me Rainbow, and even if he does believe me he hates me for leaving my parents before he was born."
"He's just trying to grasp the concept Brian." Brian nodded and they started walking to catch up with the others. On the way to the caves Rainbow added, "Try putting yourself in his shoes Brian. That might make it a little bit easier to understand what Nick is going through."
"Hopefully Rainbow, or I might have made the biggest mistake of my life by showing him that we all exist."
Chapter Six
The walk to the cave was met with an eerie silence, no one knew really what to say, and they did not want to make Nick feel uncomfortable. Finally they reached the cave, where the sprites were working hard. "As you can see Nick this is where the sprites mine our crystals, which give Rainbow her power." Lala told Nick, showing him around by the arm. Nick picked up a stray indigo crystal.
"These crystals are very pretty, and all of them are found in the mines?" Lala nodded.
"With the exception of Moonglo's, all of us who have crystals can find them here." She informed Nick, who was looking around the cave.
"Wait a minute, I see all the colors of the rainbow, but I don't see any pink."
"My color isn't a primary color of the rainbow, so I don't have as many crystals as the rest." Pink said as she dug through a pile of mixed crystals, pulling a handful of her own out. "See, I have my own, you just got to look hard. The same goes from Brian's crystals." Pink's words made Nick think. He didn't even know what color his "brother" was in charge of.
"So, what color is Brian in charge of?" Nick finally asked.
"I'm in charge of the midnight blue crystals Nick." Brian dug into his pocket and picked out some of his crystals. "Catch!" Brian threw some crystals to Nick, who caught them. "My crystals are special Nick. In addition to aiding Rainbow's rainbow my crystals also bring night to the world, if I stopped doing it then the world would never have the night again."
"Why did you get the job?" Nick pondered aloud.
"Destiny." Brian replied after several moments of silence. "It was my destiny." Nick just stared at Brian, unmoved by Brian's confession. "You might not know this Nick, but I was the first person from Earth to have ever seen Rainbow and the kids, which also made me the first person to see Rainbow Land, and the first person to know about Murky and Lurky."
"Murky and Lurky?" Nick asked.
"Some goon's who usually try to stir up trouble here in Rainbow Land, let's hope you never have to meet them."
"I see. Could you all please leave me alone for a moment? I'd like to see the caves, by myself." Nick requested.
"If that's what you want Nick, sure." Rainbow nodded as she motioned for the kids and the sprites to pile out. Within moments there were gone, and Nick could hear them talking as they walked away.
"So it was all some cruel twist of destiny that I didn't grow up knowing Brian?" He angrily asked to no one. "And for what?" He screamed as he picked up a pick and began to strike against the sides of the Color Cave, "So that he could help bring color to the world? Is that why you took him? So that he could do something as stupid as keep the color in the world?" By now the tears were freely flowing from his eyes and he began to strike faster, sparks flying from the sides that he hit. "Why the hell did I have to live my entire life alone, huh, answer me that!"
"You don't have to live your entire life alone Nick." Brian said as he walked back into the cave. "I'm here now, and I'd like to try and make up for what we lost."
"I asked to be alone." Nick growled as he threw the pick away.
"If I've learned one thing from the entire time I've known that you were born," Brian began to say softly, "It would be that there are times in life when you can't handle things alone. This is one of those times."
"Look Brian, I'd really just like to go home now."
"Are you sure that you want to go home?" Nick nodded. "Alright, but at least say goodbye to everyone."
"Fine, let's go." They two walked back to the castle, again met with silence. Brian would glance at Nick every now and then, thinking about how angry he looked in the cave, how much he had to go through just finding out that he had a brother. Hopefully they would be able to at least be friends, but it didn't look like friendship was in the cards. When they got into the castle all the kids were sitting around, waiting for Nick to come back. "Hey everybody, I really need to go back home now, but it was nice meeting you." He looked around and saw everyone, except for one person. "Where's Violet at?"
"She thought that she should check on the Color Console in case there was a color emergency when we were giving you the tour." Buddy answered.
"Oh, well would you tell her I said goodbye?" Buddy nodded. "Thanks. Well, I guess this is it, see you!" As Nick walked out of the castle Brian was already on Twilight's back.
"I'm just going to do my night run after I drop Nick off. Moonglo, if you would wait a little bit so I could say goodbye…"
"Of course Brian, I'll be around shortly." Moonglo smiled and gave a slight wink. As soon as Moonglo finished her sentence Twilight was up in the air. Everyone was silent for what seemed to be an eternity.
"Nick didn't look that happy when he came back did he?" Cobalt asked, to no response. "Do you think he'll be back?"
"I hope so Cobalt, I hope so." Rainbow quietly replied. The others nodded, still saying nothing.
"Rainbow!" Violet yelled unexpectedly, making everyone focus on her. "Come quick, there's trouble on Earth!" Rainbow and the others ran to the console, and saw a terrifying sight on the monitor.
"Most of the Earth…" Stormy said.
"It looks…" Patty quivered.
"Black…" Pink gasped as she began to weep.
"Everyone, get as many crystals as you can, I'll need all the power we can muster up to make Earth colorful again."
"I'll go with you!" Stormy replied.
"No Stormy, I need you to stay here and help the kids get crystals."
"Oh alright." Stormy grimaced, she hated being out of the action but knew that she was needed more helping the kids.
"What about Brian?" Cobalt asked.
"He'll be fine, you be in charge of getting his crystals. Come on Twink!" Rainbow and Twink jumped on Starlight and rode the rainbow to Earth. "Faster Starlight, faster, Earth doesn't have much time."
On Earth Brian was just landing, to a truly dismal site.
"Who… who could have done this?" He asked.
"Who do you think brat!" Murky said from behind him.
Chapter Seven
"Murky! I knew you were plotting something, that's why you didn't do anything that we needed to stop for so long." Brian confronted the bane of color's existence. Nick was looking around the area, and saw something that made him turn white.
"Mom! Dad!" Nick screamed as he jumped off the horse and ran to his parents, collapsed on the floor, colorless. "Are they… are they?"
"Dead?" Murky asked as he cackled. "No, humans can live without color, they just won't ever be happy. Color kids on the other hand," Murky pointed the gun at Brian's chest "will die if they lose their color. Shall we test it out?"
"Leave him alone jackass! Don't touch my brother!" Nick yelled out.
"Brother?" Murky said, surprised. "Does that mean that those two are his parents too? Interesting. I knew attacking the Earth would bring pain to you, being from Earth originally, but to directly attack your parents… this is a pleasant surprise." Murky grinned devilishly as he moved his finger towards the trigger.
"Go to hell Dismal." Brian said as sweat produced from his brow.
"See, I was going to spare you the loss of seeing your little brother get shot with this gun, but now that you told me to go to hell…" Murky quickly turned the gun to Nick "I guess we'll have to change that!" Murky pulled the trigger and a blast came out from the gun.
"NO!" Brian yelled as he dove headfirst into the path of the gun, blocking its path to his brother, using his body as a human shield.
"Brian!" Nick cried out as he shielded his eyes. When he opened them again he saw Brian, lying on the ground, body convulsing in pain.
"Blast, the gun is going to take a minute to recharge, you better say your goodbyes now kid, this is your last chance!"
"Why Brian, why did you do it!" Nick screamed at Brian, who slowly opened his eyes.
"I couldn't protect you when you were growing up had to…" Brian coughed up blood, "had to start now."
"You shouldn't have, I could have taken the shot!"
"And let you be in pain? No, no that was the right thing to do." Brian winced in pain as his legs were being taken over by a creeping wave of grey. Nick began to panic.
"Brian? Brian?"
"Just do me a couple of favors okay… stop smoking, and be good. I'd be proud of you no matter what you did." Brian convulsed again. "You were everything I could have wanted in a little brother Nick."
"Brian!!!!!" Nick screamed as Brian closed his eyes.
"Touching, that was so very touching." Murky said as he feigned a tear wipe. "Well now, let's have a party now shall we?" Murky pointed the gun at Nick again.
"Leave him alone Murky, your fight is with me!" Rainbow said as the rainbow ran above them.
"Well, it looks like you get to see someone else die; this really is your lucky day!" Murky said as he looked up at the rainbow.
"You can't win Murky, I won't let you!" Rainbow said as she jumped off of Starlight's back and landed on the ground.
"Really? Well Miss Brite, maybe you should look at your friend over there." Murky pointed to Brian, and Rainbow gasped.
"Brian?" Brian opened his eyes as he heard his name being called.
"Rainbow?" He said weakly.
"Brian, you're alive!" Nick said, clutching his brother's hand. Rainbow let a slight smile, because she knew he was still alive.
"Don't smile brat, he won't be alive for much longer. At least you'll join him soon." Murky said as he laughed more. Rainbow turned to face her oldest foe.
"I knew you were evil Murky, but evil enough to commit murder?"
"See, that's where you always got it wrong, I really am this evil!" Murky grinned as he shot the gun at Rainbow, who quickly hit the star on her belt. The rainbow and the gun were evenly matched… at first, but soon enough the gun was taking over. "You can't win this one Rainbow! Victory is mine!"
"Rainbow… got to help Rainbow." Brian coughed out, still losing color and now at a faster pace. "Can't move… Nick, you've got to help Rainbow."
"How?" Nick asked. "I don't have any powers!"
"Think of something. If Rainbow dies, the world will never have color again." Nick nodded and watched the fight. On one side was the person who was indirectly responsible for making him think that he never had a brother, and on the other was the person who just took the brother that he would never get the chance to know from him. For Nick, the choice was obvious.
"She's getting weaker. I've got to do something." Nick thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers. He quickly dug through his baseball bag and brought out a baseball. "For Brian, and for everyone on this planet, I will help her!" Nick threw his baseball at Murky, hitting him on the hand that held the gun, and making him drop it.
"No, my gun! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Murky screamed as the gun shattered all over the ground. "You just ruined my perfect plan, but I'll be back, I always come back!" Murky ran off the other direction and Rainbow knelt on the ground.
"I feel so weak." She said, and then she remembered Brian and looked up.
"Brian? I helped her, now everything will be alright!" Nick said as he looked down at Brian. His body had turned completely grey, from head to toe. "Brian?" Nick got no answer, and all he could do was cry. Rainbow was already running to his side. "You've got to help him!" Brian demanded.
"I'll try, but the rainbow is so weak." She pressed her star, but nothing came out. "It's no use."
"What do you mean it's no use?" Nick screamed out. "He gave up everything just to be with you people, to help you when you needed it. And now is the one time he needs you and you can't help him!" Nick started to cry again. "This isn't fair!"
"I'm… I'm sorry." Rainbow said, now crying as well. "If I could do something you know I would, I love Brian more than I love anyone else. But I can't… I just can't."
"Do not worry about the child of destiny little Wisp." A voice said from above.
"Who?" Nick asked.
"The Keeper of Color?" Rainbow said softly.
"Yes, it is I, the protector of all the guardians of color. The sacrifice that Brian made for his brother was a most noble deed. And while it may seem like he is gone he is not. The guardians of color may never die so long as I have the power to prevent it."
"Please, please help my brother!" Nick pleaded. The Keeper of Color's figure blazed with light, and then died down.
"Farewell for now, my children." When Rainbow and Nick opened their eyes again the color was back in the world, and Brian was getting up, his color was also restored.
"Brian!" Nick said happily.
"You're okay!" Rainbow clutched Brian in a hug.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Brian looked over at his brother and smiled.
"That was some nice diving you did to save me brother of mine!" Nick said, still crying.
"Where do you think you got your skills from?" Brian asked, laughing. "Wait a minute… did you just call me…"
"Yeah… yeah I did. I see now that you have more important things to take care of, but you'll always be there for me if I need it." Nick smiled as he wiped his eyes with his hands.
"We'll all be there for you if you need us Nick." Rainbow assured him as she got a key out of her pocket, the key. "I never thought I'd give this key to anyone else again ever, but I'm glad it's you."
"What, what is it?" Nick asked, looking at the key with a rainbow shaped hilt.
"It's the key to Rainbow Land Nick, if you ever want to see your brother, or any of us, just put this key in any lock." Rainbow smiled as she got on Starlight. "Well, I'm off to Rainbow Land again to rest, hope to see you soon!" Rainbow left on the rainbow, her belt had been recharged by the Keeper of Color when the Keeper caused color to come back.
"So." Nick said.
"So." Brian replied. "You know… in case it never comes up… well, you know right?"
"Yeah, and you know back right?" Nick asked.
"Of course I know." Brian concurred softly. "Well, I should be going, I've got work to do, see you later little brother!"
"Brian." Nick said, making Brian stop. "Thanks for not giving up on me."
"I didn't need to Nick, it was all on you. Just remember that if you ever need me, all you need to do is use the key." Brian jumped on Twilight and was off into the sky.
"Thanks Brian, thanks."
"Honey?" Nick's mom asked, finally waking up.
"Are you alright son?" Nick's father asked.
"Fine dad, just fine." Nick wrapped his hands around his parents and looked up, seeing Brian wave at him from above.
It's The End! Thanks!
Prologue
Rainbow Brite and Twink were enjoying a leisurely walk through Rainbow Land. The two had noticed that they had more time for walks such as these as of late. The Princess had not attacked since Stormy gave her that scare so many years ago, and if she was in her right mind she would never come back. Murky and Lurky had not done anything worth merit in ages, although they could sometimes be seen creeping around Rainbow Land. When they were discovered they would always just hop back into the grungebuggy and speed away to the Pits. Of course Earth was always in need of color so she and the Color Kids never really had nothing to do, but things were beginning to become monotonous. They were walking by Indigo Acres when they saw Cobalt and Indigo enjoying a picnic on the grass, surrounded by flowers. Rainbow noticed that they had been developing a close friendship as of late, more than likely due to the fact that Indigo was the most quiet and secluded of the kids and Cobalt also always seemed to spend a lot of time by himself, reading or thinking. Cobalt also spent a fair amount of his time with Brian, and Rainbow wondered where he was. It had been eighteen years of Earth time since Brian became a color kid, and he, along with the rest of the people who lived in Rainbow Land, looked no older than thirteen. They had all gotten slightly taller, and sometimes one of the boys' voices would crack, but nothing had really changed. Rainbow walked up to the two and Twink followed behind, "Hey you two!" She said as she got close enough.
"Good afternoon Rainbow." Indigo softly said.
"Would you care to join us?" Cobalt asked. Rainbow gently shook her head, declining.
"Actually Cobalt," she started, "I wanted to know why you weren't with Brian."
"We aren't conjoined at the hip, Rainbow." The sprite told her, drinking some tea.
"Cobalt!" Twink yelled. The two sprites did not get along very well, mostly due to Cobalt's cynicism and Twink's lack of a sense of humor, but Rainbow didn't mind much.
"It's alright Twink." She said reassuringly. "So you don't have any clue where he is then Cobalt?"
"He said that he and Twilight were going for a run and just left, he's been gone for almost an hour."
"Has he been acting strange lately Cobalt?" Rainbow asked. The sprite put down his tea and stared at her, silently thinking how to respond.
"I don't think he's been acting unusual as of late, but you might be seeing something that I can't."
"I don't know." Rainbow said softly as she turned the other way. "I just don't know." She turned her head over her should towards Indigo, "I'm going to go on a color monitor of Earth, just in case anyone asks where I went." Indigo nodded.
"I'll make sure and tell them Rainbow." She said in her soft tone as she looked at Cobalt. The two stared at each other for a moment, and as soon as Rainbow was out of sight she spoke. "You aren't telling her something Cobalt, I know." The sprite looked at her.
"What are you talking about Indigo, I don't know anything." Indigo stared at her, without saying a word. Cobalt sighed, "Fine, but please don't tell anyone I told you this, especially Brian…"
Chapter One
Brian was sitting on a cloud while Twilight took his own run, without anyone riding on him. Brian was sitting above the school that would have been his high school, if he aged like a normal human. He hadn't realized that his parents had another child after he had given up his life on Earth in favor of his destiny as a Color Kid. Brian found out about his brother one day when he was spreading his color crystals to bring the night and passed by his old home. He saw his father tossing a baseball to a boy no older than ten, who was holding a bat. At first he assumed that the boy was just some random kid that his dad was helping practice, but when he saw the boy run up to his father and hug him tightly, he knew. When he saw the proud look that his father gave this boy while they hugged, he was further assured that the boy was indeed his brother. After several more runs through the neighborhood he found out that his brother was named Nick and he was born three years after Brian had been "erased" from Earth. Now Nick was fifteen and a sophomore in high school, his once light brown hair had been colored to a blond almost as light as Canary's. The boy had light blue eyes which melded surprisingly well with the hair. Nick was a huge baseball fan, much like his brother, and he was on the Junior Varsity team for his high school. Brian had made a habit of going to see his brothers baseball games, alone. Nobody in Rainbow Land knew about Nick except for Cobalt, but Brian knew that his sprite would not enjoy watching baseball so he always made these trips by himself, with the exception of Twilight. Brian gently tossed some midnight blue color crystals as he scanned the crowd at the game, and he saw them, his parents. Brian knew that they were very happy with their son in every aspect, except for that Rap music that Nick had been listening to since puberty hit. His parents had Brian when they were both twenty-five, which made them thirty-eight years old when they had Nick, and now they were both fifty-three, although they didn't look it. The music had become too disruptive for their old ears, but they let their child express himself in any way he chose. Brian wondered if they would have been that loose with him when he would have been growing up, but now he would never know. Brian never regretted his choice of becoming a Color Kid for a single day, but there were times that he wanted a home cooked meal from his mom, or to go fishing in the lake with his dad, and this was one of those times. Even if he did go down to the ground to watch the game he wouldn't have been able to talk to his parents, or his brother and they wouldn't be able to see him. He felt his eyes grow heavy with tears as he wiped them off his face. He wasn't expecting anyone to talk to him up so high, so he jumped when he heard Rainbow yell out "Hi!"
"Oh, it's you Rainbow," Brian said as he turned around, "did you need me for something?"
"No, I was just running around Earth, seeing if anything needed coloring, and I bumped into you." She smiled as she got off Starlight. "I was worried about you Brian."
"Why were you worried about me Rainbow, I'm fine."
"Are you sure Brian?" She asked concerned.
"Yes Rainbow, I'm sure." He said uneasily. "I've got to get back to Rainbow Land, I promised Buddy and Patty I would go on a run with them." Brian whistled and Twilight came running almost immediately. "See you guys!" Brian yelled as he waved goodbye while on his horse. Rainbow watched her best friend run off, thinking about why he was here, in his old home. She looked down at the baseball game and quickly assumed that the game had caught his attention, and that was why he stayed. She heard the announcer say something about a great play being made from Nick Davis, which shocked her.
"Davis? Isn't that Brian's last name?" She asked aloud.
"I think it was." Starlight said looking down.
"Does that mean that Brian has a…" Twink began to say.
"A brother…" Rainbow finished.
Chapter Two
Brian retreated to his room the moment he got back to the Color Castle, and requested that he not be bothered by anyone. "I hope Rainbow didn't find out about Nick." Brian said as he closed the door.
"And what would you do if she did?" A voice said from the side, it was Indigo, leaning against the window.
"Indigo? What are you doing in here?"
"I was waiting for you to come back." She told him. "I know, Brian."
"Know? What are you talking about Indigo?"
"Don't try to play games with me Brian; I know that you have a brother back on Earth." Brian sighed, so someone else knew. "Do you want to talk about it?" Brian shook his head.
"This doesn't concern any of you; it really doesn't even concern me anymore." He said sadly.
"I know it doesn't have anything to do with me Brian, but the best way to solve a problem is to talk about it." Brian looked at Indigo, who stood her ground. "So let's talk about it." Brian walked up to where she was standing and placed his arms over the window seal and looked out the window.
"If I stayed on Earth I would have been twenty-nine years old Indigo, I barely look thirteen. I'd probably be married and have a child or two if I stayed on Earth, but none of that really matters to me." Brian turned around and looked at Indigo. "What really matters to me is the fact that Nick had to grow up all by himself, without his older brother to be there for him. I know how he must have felt, because that's how I felt when I was growing up, an only child with nobody to talk to, nobody to play with. It's not fair to Nick that he didn't know about his big brother… that he'll never know about his big brother."
"Oh Brian." Indigo said softly as she clutched his hands in hers. In all the years that she had known him Indigo never thought Brian had any sort of depth in his being, she didn't think he was shallow either for that matter, but never in her wildest dreams did she think he could convey this much emotion.
"Brian?" Rainbow asked as she pushed the door open, seeing Indigo and Brian holding hands. "Oh!" she said shocked, "did I interrupt something?" Brian and Indigo both blushed as they looked down and released their hands.
"No Rainbow, of course not." Brian said.
"Indigo, would you please leave, I'd like to talk to Brian alone." Indigo nodded and walked outside. Brian sat down on his bed. "So…" Rainbow said as she closed the door.
"So, I take it you know?" Brian asked.
"I do."
"Well then, what do you want to talk about?"
"I want to know why." Rainbow said as she sat down next to him. "Why you didn't tell any of us."
"This matter wasn't something that I felt concerned you and the kids, it was private."
"Indigo knows, and now so do I, it's not as private anymore."
"Indigo knows because a certain sprite of mine can't keep a secret." Brian said as he smiled. "Remind me never to tell Cobalt anything." His face returned to his concerned state. "You found out by sheer chance Rainbow, I'd really have liked to keep it from you of all people."
"Me?" Rainbow asked, stunned. "Why me?"
"Because you always put other people ahead of yourself, even when you need some time to yourself. You've finally had time to yourself because nothing has been happening around here, time you desperately needed. I didn't want to take that time away from you, not because of something you have no control over."
"So you were being selfish." Rainbow said as she stood up. "You didn't want to tell anyone because you thought you could handle all this by yourself, when you obviously couldn't. You thought you were protecting me by keeping this from me when in reality all you were doing was hurting me." Brian looked at her, his jaw open. "Yes I put everyone else in front of myself, but it's only because I care about all my other friends more than I care about myself. Your intentions were commendable, but you really shouldn't have taken all this by yourself, we can all help, we all want to help."
"Rainbow, I… I don't know what to say." Brian said dumbfounded. "I know it's too late to say I'm sorry, but I really am. You're probably right about me not being able to take all this in, but I think I know what I need to do."
"What do you need to do?" She asked.
"I need to talk to my brother."
"Brian, people can't see us!"
"I could see you!"
"You were different for obvious reasons Brian. Please don't go, I don't want to see you get hurt."
"I have to try Rainbow! He's my brother, he deserves to know I exist, or at least deserves the chance to realize for himself." Rainbow remained silent for a moment before she spoke.
"Fine, let's go…"
"No." Brian said as he put his finger over her lips. "Not us… I need to do this part alone, please Rainbow, this time it really is just my business." Brian ran out of his room and outside the castle. Within seconds he was up in the air on Twilight.
"Does he know what he's doing Rainbow?" Indigo asked as she walked outside.
"I hope so Indigo… I hope so…"
Chapter Three
Brian landed close to the high school locker rooms, hoping that Nick would be alone. During Brian's many times watching his brother from the clouds he noticed that Nick had a definite pattern of staying at school after his games to practice some more, ever the perfectionist. Nick was walking out of the gym in a red tank top and a pair of jeans. Was Nick's favorite color red? Red Butler would have a field day if the midnight blue kid's brother just happened to like Red the most. Best not to dwell on that right now, Brian thought as he tried to get Nick's attention. "Hey!" Brian yelled out, to no answer. "Hey Nick!" Brian yelled out louder, still nothing. Brian sighed in disgust… maybe it wasn't possible for Nick to see him; still he refused to give up. Brian grabbed some color crystals and threw them near Nick, the crystals caused whatever they touched to change color, but Nick still didn't notice. "Well, I didn't notice when Rainbow tried to talk to me the first time." Brian snapped his fingers. "That's it!" He closed his eyes and concentrated as a beam came from the pendant that he had worn around his neck since his first day as a Color Kid. "I just hope he notices that and doesn't walk into it." Nick fished threw his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, as he lifted his head he noticed the beam blocking his way.
"Did everything just go Twilight Zone on me or something?" Nick wondered as he looked around.
"You probably shouldn't have those, they aren't very healthy and you aren't old enough to have them." Brian said as he rode down on the beam.
"Whoa!" Nick said, hinting at fear. "Who, what, are you?"
"My names Brian, I'm a Color Kid from Rainbow Land." Brian said as he smiled. "I'm also your big brother."
"Exsqueeze me?" Nick scoffed. "Did you just say "big brother"? I don't know about you kid but last I checked if I'm fifteen and your, what, twelve, that doesn't make you my big brother."
"I might look like I'm thirteen, not twelve, but I'd be twenty-nine by your standards." Nick laughed, not believing anything. "I'm telling you the truth, I'm you big brother."
"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight… you said your name was Brian right?" Nick stopped… there were times that his parents would call him Brian for no reason, and the person in front of him did have an uncanny resemblance to what Nick looked like when he was thirteen. Could this boy be telling him the truth? "No, it can't be true."
"Sometimes things that you can't explain are in actuality true, how do you explain Celine Dion being famous?" Nick laughed.
"You, I like." Brian smiled and winked. "Wait a minute, if you are my brother why haven't my parents said anything about you?"
"I was erased from the memories of all the people who live on earth when I became a Color Kid." Twilight reared his head. "Oh, sorry boy, I didn't mean to leave you out. Nick, this is my horse, Twilight."
"I don't care about your horse "brother"." Nick said, which made Twilight shoot him a dirty look. "Look, you two aren't real and the sun got to me today during my game, I have to get home." Nick began to walk away, Twilight trotted next to him.
"Your Aunt and Uncle had a child named Brandon who died three years before you were born." Brian said, which made Nick stop again. "He was my best friend… and the reason why I left for Rainbow Land."
"How could you know about…"
"Because I was there Nick, I was at the funeral, and I still grieve his loss daily."
"Okay, you've got my attention." Nick muttered. "But why is it that I can see you?"
"Probably for the same reason that I could see Rainbow."
"Rainbow?" Nick asked.
"Long story Nick. I think the reason that you can see me is because you are my brother, and because I wanted you to see me."
"Why am I so important to you? Even if I am your brother it would be just as easy for you to never let me know that you existed." Nick said angrily.
"I wanted to show myself to you because I wanted to tell you that I was sorry." Brian replied softly. "Sorry that I was never there for you when your parents got into a fight. Sorry I was never there to defend you against the school bullies. Sorry I couldn't be there when you wanted to camp out in the front yard with a big brother. Sorry for about a million other things that I can't list."
"It was hard, seeing all my friends with their brothers and sisters, knowing that I didn't have anyone, or at least thinking I didn't have anyone. But hey, at least the Christmases were great." Brian laughed.
"Yeah, I remember the Christmases were great for me." Brian looked at Nick, who had his back turned. "Hey, is everything okay?"
"Why did you just give up on living life as a human?" Nick asked as he placed a hand on the stop sign pole. Brian remained quiet for a moment.
"I wasn't happy with my life here, after Brandon died. You have to understand that it wasn't a decision that I didn't at least think about, but what I would have lost by choosing not to become a Color Kid greatly outweighed what I lost by becoming one."
"If I was born…" Nick said as he turned around, slightly misty eyed, "would you have made the same choice?" Brian looked at his little brother, and saw the part of him in Nick that he remembered seeing in the mirror the day that he went to Rainbow Land from Earth for the last time. Pain, sheer, utter pain stared at him through his brothers' eyes.
"I'm sorry Nick, I can't answer that."
"Why can't you answer it?"
"I can't answer your question because you haven't seen what I decided on keeping in exchange for everything I left behind." Brian offered his hand to his brother, who just looked at it. "Do you trust me?" Brian asked. Nick looked at this person, who he'd barely known, who claimed to be his brother, and who was offering to help him decide for himself if he believed or not. He finally nodded and took Brian's hand for a boost up on Twilight's back. Brian noticed that Nick was shifting uncomfortably on the back of the horse. "You've never ridden a horse have you?"
"No I haven't. He won't throw me off his back will he?" Brian chuckled softly.
"No, he won't throw you off, just hang tight okay." Nick nodded. "Come on Twilight, let's go!" Brian told his horse, who immediately reared his head and ran up into the sky. Nick kept his eyes closed at first. "If you don't open your eyes you won't see anything neat Nick."
"Just tell me when we get there please!"
"If that's how you want it." Brian looked over his shoulder at his little brother acting like an infant, scared of even the simplest of things. The sight made him laugh, even though it probably shouldn't have. Within minutes they were back in Rainbow Land. "Nick." Brian said softly.
"Yeah?" Nick replied.
"Welcome to Rainbow Land, little brother." Nick opened his eyes and saw Brian looking at him, with a large smile on his face. He looked around and saw several other kids looking at, along with more horses and strange little creatures of multiple colors.
"Uh… hi." Nick managed to finally let out.
Chapter Four
Amid the joy felt in Rainbow Land there was an eerie plot being developed in the Pits, the area that surrounded Rainbow Land and was home to its two most frequent assailants, Murky Dismal and his sidekick, Lurky. Murky was in his lab, working on something, something that would probably cause Rainbow and the other kids plenty of trouble. "What're you doing here Murky? Did you forget that you promised to play with me?" Lurky said as he walked into the lab.
"Not now lamebrain!" Murky shot back. "Can't you see that I am busy working on something that will end Rainbow Brite and all those other brats for good? I've finally thought of a perfect plan!" Murky added as he cackled.
"But Murky, what's to say that this plan won't fail like all the other ones?"
"Because numbskull, this time we aren't going to attack Rainbow Land, we're going to attack that planet that she always protects, the planet Earth!"
"Why are we attacking Earth Murky?"
"Simple you simpleton, because if we attack Earth it will take awhile for that brat to get wind of our plans, and by then the Earth will be colorless forever, and she'll have failed in her mission as protector of all the colors in the universe!"
"And then I can ride those pretty horses that live in Rainbow Land!"
"Yes Lurky, and then you can finally take a ride on the "pretty horses", and you can do it as much as you want!"
"Oh goody, oh goody!" Lurky said as he jumped up and down happily, making the ground in the lab shake.
"Stop it Lurky!" Murky demanded. "If you make this gun drop the entire plan will be ruined!"
"What's that gun supposed to do?"
"It drains the color completely from anything it touches; it'll even drain those Color Kids!" Murky patted his gun proudly. "Now go get the grungebuggy ready for space travel while I finish working on this!" Lurky did as he was instructed, chanting about the horses all the way down. "Sometimes I wonder why I put up with that moron." Murky said out lout as he continued to work on his project. "But soon enough I'll have a universe to control and he'll be far away from me. It will be all because of you my sweet little gun." Murky cackled again, and his voice could be heard throughout the pits.
Chapter Five
Nick looked at all the children staring at him, none of them appeared to be any older than Brian, but if what Brian had told him was true they were probably many years older than even his parents. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my baby brother, Nick Davis."
"Nice to meet you Nick, I'm Red Butler and this is my head sprite Romeo. Great color for a shirt by the way."
"Oh Nick, I'm so charmed to meet you! My name is Lala Orange, and this is my sprite OJ."
"Hi Nick! I'm Canary Yellow and this is Spark, I hope we can become great friends!"
"I'm Patty O'Green, and this is Lucky. Welcome to Rainbow Land Nick."
"Good to meet you Nick, I'm Buddy Blue, this is Champ. You look fast; maybe we can have a race someday!"
"My name is Indigo, and this is Hammy. I hope you enjoy your stay with us."
"Gosh, who would have ever thought that Brian would have a little brother who could see us… the odds were 12093223092…" All the others shouted,
"Violet!"
"Oh, I got started again didn't I. Forgive me Nick, my name is Shy Violet, and this is I.Q."
"You're cute Nick! My name is Tickled Pink and this is Dee-lite, I'd love to show you around Rainbow Land, if you'd let me."
"Good afternoon Nick. Your brother and I are partners in the sky, I'm Moonglo and this is Nite-sprite."
"Hey kid, names Stormy, this is Tempest and the horse is Skydancer."
"I am Starlight, the most magnificent horse in the entire universe! And this is my mate, Sunriser."
"Hiya Nick! I'm Twink, I'm the head sprite in charge of all the Color Crystals."
"In all my years I'd never think that the brother of the child of destiny would come to Rainbow Land. Oh, forgive me, I am called Cobalt and I am your brother's sprite." That left all but one person, that left…
"I'm Rainbow Brite, Nick. I'm in charge of all the colors in the world, thank you for coming." Rainbow walked over to Nick and kissed him on the cheek, making Nick blush.
"Well that's everyone Nick, any questions, comments, pleas for sanity?" Stormy said, to little amusement from the crowd.
"So the little poof ball things are called sprites?" The sprites themselves didn't look very happy at being called "poof balls", but the kids all nodded. "How come two of the sprites can talk but the other's can't?" Cobalt spoke first,
"Twink and I were destined for special children who would need our assistance more than the other Color Kids, hence the ability to speak English, to make the transference less hectic." It seemed simple enough to Nick.
"Oh. What about the horse that can talk? Brian's horse can't, can it?"
"I wouldn't be the most magnificent horse in the universe if I couldn't talk now would I Nick?" Starlight said boastfully.
"So the horse can talk, and it has an ego… interesting." Stormy chuckled loudly.
"You, I like." She managed to say.
"Why does everyone assume that I have an ego? If you've got it flaunt it, I've definitely got it."
"And you definitely flaunt it." Stormy finished. Starlight huffed and looked at Sunriser, who looked amused.
"Let's go inside the castle and show Nick what we do for the Earth everyone!" Rainbow said to cut the tension.
"I think you'll really love the Color Console Nick." Violet told him. "It's a great piece of electronic accomplishment, of my design I might add."
"You walk, I follow." Nick said, not knowing where this machine was. The kids all piled into the castle, Rainbow and Brian staying close to Nick. Within moments they were all sitting around the console.
"As you can see each of our respective colors have a pulse line, which shows the amount of each color that is in the reserve for emergencies." Violet said proudly, she loved to show off her toys.
"Wait," Nick began, "There are only nine colors, but there are twelve of you, why?"
"I'm in charge of all the colors, the colors give me my powers, I don't claim any of them, and I borrow them for use against gloom." Rainbow told Nick.
"I'm not a Color Kid, I control the weather on Earth. I just hang out here because it gets lonely without someone to talk too." Stormy informed their guest.
"Like Stormy I am not a Color Kid either. I'm in charge of making the stars and the moon look beautiful. I also don't get my crystals from the caves like the other kids."
"Crystals? Caves? A little help for the new guy if you please." Nick asked, obviously confused.
"Hey Moonglo, you just stumbled on a great idea, let's take Nick to the color caves!" Canary practically shouted.
"Is that alright with you Nick?" Lala asked.
"Sure I guess." Nick replied. "If Brian really is my brother than I should see why he stayed here instead of on Earth." The kids started walking to the caves, but Brian walked slowly behind the crowd. Rainbow noticed that her best friend wasn't looking as happy as she hoped he was.
"Why so glum, chum?" She asked, trying to bring up the mood.
"He doesn't believe me Rainbow, and even if he does believe me he hates me for leaving my parents before he was born."
"He's just trying to grasp the concept Brian." Brian nodded and they started walking to catch up with the others. On the way to the caves Rainbow added, "Try putting yourself in his shoes Brian. That might make it a little bit easier to understand what Nick is going through."
"Hopefully Rainbow, or I might have made the biggest mistake of my life by showing him that we all exist."
Chapter Six
The walk to the cave was met with an eerie silence, no one knew really what to say, and they did not want to make Nick feel uncomfortable. Finally they reached the cave, where the sprites were working hard. "As you can see Nick this is where the sprites mine our crystals, which give Rainbow her power." Lala told Nick, showing him around by the arm. Nick picked up a stray indigo crystal.
"These crystals are very pretty, and all of them are found in the mines?" Lala nodded.
"With the exception of Moonglo's, all of us who have crystals can find them here." She informed Nick, who was looking around the cave.
"Wait a minute, I see all the colors of the rainbow, but I don't see any pink."
"My color isn't a primary color of the rainbow, so I don't have as many crystals as the rest." Pink said as she dug through a pile of mixed crystals, pulling a handful of her own out. "See, I have my own, you just got to look hard. The same goes from Brian's crystals." Pink's words made Nick think. He didn't even know what color his "brother" was in charge of.
"So, what color is Brian in charge of?" Nick finally asked.
"I'm in charge of the midnight blue crystals Nick." Brian dug into his pocket and picked out some of his crystals. "Catch!" Brian threw some crystals to Nick, who caught them. "My crystals are special Nick. In addition to aiding Rainbow's rainbow my crystals also bring night to the world, if I stopped doing it then the world would never have the night again."
"Why did you get the job?" Nick pondered aloud.
"Destiny." Brian replied after several moments of silence. "It was my destiny." Nick just stared at Brian, unmoved by Brian's confession. "You might not know this Nick, but I was the first person from Earth to have ever seen Rainbow and the kids, which also made me the first person to see Rainbow Land, and the first person to know about Murky and Lurky."
"Murky and Lurky?" Nick asked.
"Some goon's who usually try to stir up trouble here in Rainbow Land, let's hope you never have to meet them."
"I see. Could you all please leave me alone for a moment? I'd like to see the caves, by myself." Nick requested.
"If that's what you want Nick, sure." Rainbow nodded as she motioned for the kids and the sprites to pile out. Within moments there were gone, and Nick could hear them talking as they walked away.
"So it was all some cruel twist of destiny that I didn't grow up knowing Brian?" He angrily asked to no one. "And for what?" He screamed as he picked up a pick and began to strike against the sides of the Color Cave, "So that he could help bring color to the world? Is that why you took him? So that he could do something as stupid as keep the color in the world?" By now the tears were freely flowing from his eyes and he began to strike faster, sparks flying from the sides that he hit. "Why the hell did I have to live my entire life alone, huh, answer me that!"
"You don't have to live your entire life alone Nick." Brian said as he walked back into the cave. "I'm here now, and I'd like to try and make up for what we lost."
"I asked to be alone." Nick growled as he threw the pick away.
"If I've learned one thing from the entire time I've known that you were born," Brian began to say softly, "It would be that there are times in life when you can't handle things alone. This is one of those times."
"Look Brian, I'd really just like to go home now."
"Are you sure that you want to go home?" Nick nodded. "Alright, but at least say goodbye to everyone."
"Fine, let's go." They two walked back to the castle, again met with silence. Brian would glance at Nick every now and then, thinking about how angry he looked in the cave, how much he had to go through just finding out that he had a brother. Hopefully they would be able to at least be friends, but it didn't look like friendship was in the cards. When they got into the castle all the kids were sitting around, waiting for Nick to come back. "Hey everybody, I really need to go back home now, but it was nice meeting you." He looked around and saw everyone, except for one person. "Where's Violet at?"
"She thought that she should check on the Color Console in case there was a color emergency when we were giving you the tour." Buddy answered.
"Oh, well would you tell her I said goodbye?" Buddy nodded. "Thanks. Well, I guess this is it, see you!" As Nick walked out of the castle Brian was already on Twilight's back.
"I'm just going to do my night run after I drop Nick off. Moonglo, if you would wait a little bit so I could say goodbye…"
"Of course Brian, I'll be around shortly." Moonglo smiled and gave a slight wink. As soon as Moonglo finished her sentence Twilight was up in the air. Everyone was silent for what seemed to be an eternity.
"Nick didn't look that happy when he came back did he?" Cobalt asked, to no response. "Do you think he'll be back?"
"I hope so Cobalt, I hope so." Rainbow quietly replied. The others nodded, still saying nothing.
"Rainbow!" Violet yelled unexpectedly, making everyone focus on her. "Come quick, there's trouble on Earth!" Rainbow and the others ran to the console, and saw a terrifying sight on the monitor.
"Most of the Earth…" Stormy said.
"It looks…" Patty quivered.
"Black…" Pink gasped as she began to weep.
"Everyone, get as many crystals as you can, I'll need all the power we can muster up to make Earth colorful again."
"I'll go with you!" Stormy replied.
"No Stormy, I need you to stay here and help the kids get crystals."
"Oh alright." Stormy grimaced, she hated being out of the action but knew that she was needed more helping the kids.
"What about Brian?" Cobalt asked.
"He'll be fine, you be in charge of getting his crystals. Come on Twink!" Rainbow and Twink jumped on Starlight and rode the rainbow to Earth. "Faster Starlight, faster, Earth doesn't have much time."
On Earth Brian was just landing, to a truly dismal site.
"Who… who could have done this?" He asked.
"Who do you think brat!" Murky said from behind him.
Chapter Seven
"Murky! I knew you were plotting something, that's why you didn't do anything that we needed to stop for so long." Brian confronted the bane of color's existence. Nick was looking around the area, and saw something that made him turn white.
"Mom! Dad!" Nick screamed as he jumped off the horse and ran to his parents, collapsed on the floor, colorless. "Are they… are they?"
"Dead?" Murky asked as he cackled. "No, humans can live without color, they just won't ever be happy. Color kids on the other hand," Murky pointed the gun at Brian's chest "will die if they lose their color. Shall we test it out?"
"Leave him alone jackass! Don't touch my brother!" Nick yelled out.
"Brother?" Murky said, surprised. "Does that mean that those two are his parents too? Interesting. I knew attacking the Earth would bring pain to you, being from Earth originally, but to directly attack your parents… this is a pleasant surprise." Murky grinned devilishly as he moved his finger towards the trigger.
"Go to hell Dismal." Brian said as sweat produced from his brow.
"See, I was going to spare you the loss of seeing your little brother get shot with this gun, but now that you told me to go to hell…" Murky quickly turned the gun to Nick "I guess we'll have to change that!" Murky pulled the trigger and a blast came out from the gun.
"NO!" Brian yelled as he dove headfirst into the path of the gun, blocking its path to his brother, using his body as a human shield.
"Brian!" Nick cried out as he shielded his eyes. When he opened them again he saw Brian, lying on the ground, body convulsing in pain.
"Blast, the gun is going to take a minute to recharge, you better say your goodbyes now kid, this is your last chance!"
"Why Brian, why did you do it!" Nick screamed at Brian, who slowly opened his eyes.
"I couldn't protect you when you were growing up had to…" Brian coughed up blood, "had to start now."
"You shouldn't have, I could have taken the shot!"
"And let you be in pain? No, no that was the right thing to do." Brian winced in pain as his legs were being taken over by a creeping wave of grey. Nick began to panic.
"Brian? Brian?"
"Just do me a couple of favors okay… stop smoking, and be good. I'd be proud of you no matter what you did." Brian convulsed again. "You were everything I could have wanted in a little brother Nick."
"Brian!!!!!" Nick screamed as Brian closed his eyes.
"Touching, that was so very touching." Murky said as he feigned a tear wipe. "Well now, let's have a party now shall we?" Murky pointed the gun at Nick again.
"Leave him alone Murky, your fight is with me!" Rainbow said as the rainbow ran above them.
"Well, it looks like you get to see someone else die; this really is your lucky day!" Murky said as he looked up at the rainbow.
"You can't win Murky, I won't let you!" Rainbow said as she jumped off of Starlight's back and landed on the ground.
"Really? Well Miss Brite, maybe you should look at your friend over there." Murky pointed to Brian, and Rainbow gasped.
"Brian?" Brian opened his eyes as he heard his name being called.
"Rainbow?" He said weakly.
"Brian, you're alive!" Nick said, clutching his brother's hand. Rainbow let a slight smile, because she knew he was still alive.
"Don't smile brat, he won't be alive for much longer. At least you'll join him soon." Murky said as he laughed more. Rainbow turned to face her oldest foe.
"I knew you were evil Murky, but evil enough to commit murder?"
"See, that's where you always got it wrong, I really am this evil!" Murky grinned as he shot the gun at Rainbow, who quickly hit the star on her belt. The rainbow and the gun were evenly matched… at first, but soon enough the gun was taking over. "You can't win this one Rainbow! Victory is mine!"
"Rainbow… got to help Rainbow." Brian coughed out, still losing color and now at a faster pace. "Can't move… Nick, you've got to help Rainbow."
"How?" Nick asked. "I don't have any powers!"
"Think of something. If Rainbow dies, the world will never have color again." Nick nodded and watched the fight. On one side was the person who was indirectly responsible for making him think that he never had a brother, and on the other was the person who just took the brother that he would never get the chance to know from him. For Nick, the choice was obvious.
"She's getting weaker. I've got to do something." Nick thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers. He quickly dug through his baseball bag and brought out a baseball. "For Brian, and for everyone on this planet, I will help her!" Nick threw his baseball at Murky, hitting him on the hand that held the gun, and making him drop it.
"No, my gun! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Murky screamed as the gun shattered all over the ground. "You just ruined my perfect plan, but I'll be back, I always come back!" Murky ran off the other direction and Rainbow knelt on the ground.
"I feel so weak." She said, and then she remembered Brian and looked up.
"Brian? I helped her, now everything will be alright!" Nick said as he looked down at Brian. His body had turned completely grey, from head to toe. "Brian?" Nick got no answer, and all he could do was cry. Rainbow was already running to his side. "You've got to help him!" Brian demanded.
"I'll try, but the rainbow is so weak." She pressed her star, but nothing came out. "It's no use."
"What do you mean it's no use?" Nick screamed out. "He gave up everything just to be with you people, to help you when you needed it. And now is the one time he needs you and you can't help him!" Nick started to cry again. "This isn't fair!"
"I'm… I'm sorry." Rainbow said, now crying as well. "If I could do something you know I would, I love Brian more than I love anyone else. But I can't… I just can't."
"Do not worry about the child of destiny little Wisp." A voice said from above.
"Who?" Nick asked.
"The Keeper of Color?" Rainbow said softly.
"Yes, it is I, the protector of all the guardians of color. The sacrifice that Brian made for his brother was a most noble deed. And while it may seem like he is gone he is not. The guardians of color may never die so long as I have the power to prevent it."
"Please, please help my brother!" Nick pleaded. The Keeper of Color's figure blazed with light, and then died down.
"Farewell for now, my children." When Rainbow and Nick opened their eyes again the color was back in the world, and Brian was getting up, his color was also restored.
"Brian!" Nick said happily.
"You're okay!" Rainbow clutched Brian in a hug.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Brian looked over at his brother and smiled.
"That was some nice diving you did to save me brother of mine!" Nick said, still crying.
"Where do you think you got your skills from?" Brian asked, laughing. "Wait a minute… did you just call me…"
"Yeah… yeah I did. I see now that you have more important things to take care of, but you'll always be there for me if I need it." Nick smiled as he wiped his eyes with his hands.
"We'll all be there for you if you need us Nick." Rainbow assured him as she got a key out of her pocket, the key. "I never thought I'd give this key to anyone else again ever, but I'm glad it's you."
"What, what is it?" Nick asked, looking at the key with a rainbow shaped hilt.
"It's the key to Rainbow Land Nick, if you ever want to see your brother, or any of us, just put this key in any lock." Rainbow smiled as she got on Starlight. "Well, I'm off to Rainbow Land again to rest, hope to see you soon!" Rainbow left on the rainbow, her belt had been recharged by the Keeper of Color when the Keeper caused color to come back.
"So." Nick said.
"So." Brian replied. "You know… in case it never comes up… well, you know right?"
"Yeah, and you know back right?" Nick asked.
"Of course I know." Brian concurred softly. "Well, I should be going, I've got work to do, see you later little brother!"
"Brian." Nick said, making Brian stop. "Thanks for not giving up on me."
"I didn't need to Nick, it was all on you. Just remember that if you ever need me, all you need to do is use the key." Brian jumped on Twilight and was off into the sky.
"Thanks Brian, thanks."
"Honey?" Nick's mom asked, finally waking up.
"Are you alright son?" Nick's father asked.
"Fine dad, just fine." Nick wrapped his hands around his parents and looked up, seeing Brian wave at him from above.
It's The End! Thanks!