The Spectra Scepter Saga, chapter 2
Calming from the Storm
By Cullen Pittman
Brian found himself running for his life in complete darkness, then he found himself surrounded by the infamous Grix Grunts. The Grunts' heads took the forms of Brian's family and friends. They all said to him, "You did this to us! You turned us into monsters and abandoned us! It's all your fault! We will never forgive you for this!"
"No, I didn't mean to!" cried Brian, "I didn't know that jar with the small blob would do this!"
"We will never forgive you!" said Brian's loved ones with tears in his eyes as their heads turned back into the heads of Grix Grunts. "You deserve to be one of us!" Said the Grunts back in the scary voices.
Brian sadly looked down and saw Grix oozing up his legs again and just stood there in despair waiting, then it covered his body and was about to cover his face until he suddenly woke up.
When Brian opened his eyes, he found himself in some kind of hospital room lying in a bed dressed in a white gown decorated with rainbows. He looked under the blanket and found he still had his pants on along with his legs still wrapped in rainbow plaster casts both resting on 2 pillows.
"Oh good, you're finally awake", said a voice. Brian looked to the right and saw Indigo, dressed in a white coat.
"Indigo?" asked Brian, sitting up. "Where am I?"
"That's volunteer nurse Indigo", smiled the girl, "And you're in the Sweetest, Compassionate, Hospital in all Existence."
"But what just..?" asked Brian, but before he could finish his question, Indigo grabbed his chin and shined a small flashlight down his mouth and then shined it in his ears and eyes.
"Nothing wrong with your facial features", said Indigo as she went over to his bandaged feet. "Tell me, Brian. Do you feel any pain in your feet?"
"No, I don't think I feel any", said Brian, shuddering at that memory of his feet getting consumed by Grix.
"Can you feel yourself wiggling your toes?" asked Indigo.
"Actually, I can't feel them at all", gasped Brian, "It almost feels like I don't have feet anymore! Did that Grix just eat my feet?!" And he started getting anxious.
"Relax, Brian", said Indigo giving him a soothing hug, "Some x-rays of were taken this morning. You still have your feet inside those casts."
"That's a relief", sighed Brian.
"They're just covered in Grix", said Indigo.
"That's not a relief", gasped Brian.
"But don't worry", said Indigo, "Those magic casts Rainbow Brite put on you are keeping the Grix at bay. That reminds me", said Indigo as she took our her cell phone and dialed a number, "Hello, Rainbow. This is Indigo. I just wanted you to know that Brian just woke up and..." But before she could finish her call, a bolt of color blasted into the room and Indigo became surprised as she saw Rainbow Brite hugging Brian to death causing his head to swell up.
"Oh Brian! You're finally awake!" shouted Rainbow with a teary smile while still squeezing Brian.
"Gasp, hack, Hi Rainbow!" was all that Brian could cough out.
"Please, Rainbow", said Indigo pulling Rainbow off of Brian, "You're a kid, not a squid. Give Brian some breathing power!" And Indigo used her stethoscope to check Brian's breathing.
"Oops, sorry B-Dog", said Rainbow, "I guess I don't know my own strength."
"It's okay, Rainbow", said Brian catching his breath. "It's just great seeing friendly faces again."
"It's just that you've been out cold for 3 days", said Rainbow, "And I've been totally worried about you."
"I was out for 3 days?!" gasped Brian, "What about Earth? Is it still covered in Grix?"
"Would it make you feel better if I tell you the opposite?" asked Rainbow.
"So Earth is still under the power of the Grix and the Dark Princess", said Brian, sadly. "And I'm the one who helped her. If I hadn't pulled out that jar from my Dad's closet and put it in my backpack and let the Dark Princess get it when I had my back turned, my planet and all my family and friends wouldn't be under her control. All of this is my fault!" and tears formed in his eyes.
"Hey, Brian, I'm not blaming you", said Rainbow, hugging the boy, "You and I didn't know that cute little gray blob was a source of evil. It could've happened to anyone. I just wonder if I can ever trust anything that's cute again? Except you, Brian."
Brian blushed and smiled a little, "Still I don't feel good after what happened to my home and loved ones. You've gotta send me back so I can make things right", he pleaded.
"No, you can't do that", said Rainbow, "It's too dangerous for you to go back to Earth. You're the only human who hasn't been changed into a Grix Grunt", but then she looked at Brian's bandaged feet, "Uh, make that 95 percent human."
"But I'm the Sentinel of Light Unseen", said Brian, showing off his ring, "It's my hero's duty to save everyone."He tried to activate the ring, but nothing happened. "Why isn't the ring working?" asked Brian shaking his hand.
"I'm afraid it's a result from being infected by the Grix", said Rainbow, "The ring senses evil on your feet and won't activate fearing it might be used for evil."
"So I'm totally helpless to do anything", said Brian sadly.
"Not so", said Rainbow, "We're all going to do what we can to help you get better so you can become our mighty Sentinel once again."
"Thanks, Rainbow", said Brian as he put his head back in his pillow and sighed of relief. And then asked, "Wait, Rainbow. If you can use your rainbow magic to heal my feet, can't you use your magic to heal all of Earth?"
"Sorry, no", said Rainbow, "Healing an entire Grix covered planet like Earth would take a large amount of rainbow magic. A large amount that even I don't possess."
"So there's no hope at all?" moaned Brian.
"Hey, it's against the law to say there's no hope in Rainbowland", said Rainbow as she created one of her rainbows and stuck it to the ceiling. "Me and the other Color Kids have been trying to figure out a solution to this problem. And remember, your Dad, the mighty Krys, defeated the Grix when it covered Rainbowland, so we need to figure out that same way so we can save Earth. We can do this together. Your father would've wanted you to."
"Okay, you win", said Brian, "I'll keep the hope alive."
"That's my human", smiled Rainbow as she ruffled Brian's hair. Just then, a yellow sprite came in and brought in a tray.
"Oh yes, that's right", said Indigo as she took the tray and put it in front of Brian, "You went for 3 days without eating. You'll need to build your strength up."
"But I don't really feel like eating", said Brian.
"Volunteer nurse's orders!" said Indigo as she lifted up the tureen and revealed what looked like scrambled eggs, only many colored.
"What is this?" asked Brian, "Scrambled Easter Eggs?"
"They're Rainbowland eggs", corrected Indigo, "From the finest multi-colored hens in Rainbowland who work hard every morning to bring us all nutrition", then she turned to the Sprite, "Make sure he eats every bite, I need to speak to Rainbow Brite alone in the hall." Then she and Rainbow walked out the door while The Sprite pointed to the meal in front of Brian with a cute stern look, and almost looked like he was about to go Dr. Seuss on Brian if he didn't eat those colored eggs.
"All right", sighed Brian nervously as he slowly took a fork, scooped up some eggs, and put it in his mouth. "This is actually good", said Brian, "Almost like eating candy for breakfast. Easter has come early", and he started eating some more.
Rainbow and Indigo were now standing out in the hallway, "What did you want to see me alone about, Indigo?" asked Rainbow.
Indigo reached for a chart on a shelf that was next to Brian's room door and took out some photos, "These were the x-rays we took of Brian's feet when he was out cold", said Indigo, "And we found something you should know about." She showed Rainbow the first x-ray. It was Brian's feet completely covered with Grix that looked like it was going to break through the casts. "We took this first x-ray while Brian was having nightmares in his sleep", said Indigo, "Then I started playing some soothing music for him on the radio. When that happened, he calmed down and then we took this second x-ray." The second one was of Brian's feet, only the Grix looked like it had gotten a little smaller.
"OMB!" gasped Rainbow, studying the 2 x-rays, "I just remembered reading how the Grix feeds on hostility and suffering. The Grix on Brian's feet must grow whenever he gets stressed and sad. Maybe being happy and calm will starve the Grix to death."
"That's exactly what I was thinking", said Indigo, "We need to keep Brian calm and happy at all times. But it'll be kind of hard for him knowing about what's happened to his home."
"Maybe I can do something", said Rainbow, "Can you convince the Dr. Sprites to give Brian permission to leave the hospital for a while?"
Brian had just finished his breakfast and was waiting for Rainbow and Indigo to return. But instead, 5 Sprites in white coats came in holding soap, sponges, brushes, a bowl of water, and some clothes. And they all jumped on the bed. "What are you doing?" asked Brian as one of the Sprites pulled the curtain around the bed so you couldn't see anything. Then, we see a gown get tossed in the air. All we could hear and see were lots of scrubbing and bubbles flying and Brian shouting, "They that's cold! HA HA HA! That tickles! Cut it out! I can wash that myself!" Then the Sprites pushed the curtain back and Brian found himself back in his regular clothes with the casts still on his legs.
"Good, you're ready to go", smiled Indigo as she rolled in a wheelchair with Rainbow Brite following her.
"Ready to go where?" asked Brian still shaken from the sponge bath that was given to him by little furry creatures.
"Rainbow wants to take you to see some places", said Indigo as she and Rainbow helped Brian into the wheelchair.
"Come on Bri, let's roll!" shouted Rainbow as she pushed Brian down the hall at full speed, then jumped on the back of the chair and shouted, "WHEEEEE!" as Brian started screaming in fear.
"No, Rainbow!" shouted Indigo, chasing after them. "You're gonna put Brian in a full body cast, along with yourself!"
Brian watched in terror as he saw the nurse Sprites jump out of the way while rolling at high speed in the wheelchair. "Stop this, Rainbow!" he shouted, "You're going to put me in the hospital!"
"But we are in a hospital, silly", laughed Rainbow. Then the wheelchair rolled out the front doors, down a hill, and were about to roll off a cliff.
"RAINBOW!" cried Brian, shutting his eyes.
"One rainbow coming up!" smiled Rainbow as she created a rainbow pathway over the cliff and they rolled safely onto the ground stopping. "Wasn't that fun?" asked Rainbow as she sat in Brian's lap.
"You call that fun?!" gasped Brian, thankful that he was still alive.
"It got your mind off your current troubles for a while, didn't it?" asked Rainbow.
"Yeah, I couldn't think about anything else", said Brian, "Except surviving."
"Rainbow Brite!" shouted Indigo as she managed to slide down the rainbow and catch up with them. "Are you okay, Brian?"
"I'll be fine", said Brian panting while Indigo grabbed his wrist to check his pulse.
"Just what were you thinking, Rainbow Brite?" demanded Indigo.
"Sorry", said Rainbow embarrassed, "It's just that I get excited when I get behind the wheel or two. Oh, I just can't wait till I'm old enough to get my driver's license!"
"Maybe you'd better let me push Brian instead", said Indigo as she got behind the wheelchair and grabbed the handlebars. "Would that be okay with you, Brian?"
"You're the volunteer nurse so you know best", said Brian trying not to hurt Rainbow's feelings.
It was a beautiful day in Rainbowland. Indigo was pushing Brian along in the wheelchair while Rainbow was walking beside them on a pathway. "You know, Brian", said Rainbow, "With all the past craziness of the Dark Princess and her goons trying to take over, you never really got a chance to get a full tour of Rainbowland, or got to know The Color Kids well either. Since you're probably going to be here for a while, why not get the full color experience of the beauty of Rainbowland?"
"Sure, that would be great", said Brian smiling a little.
"That's my human", smiled Rainbow pushing Brian's cheeks up to make his smile bigger. "Oh look, there's Shy Violet over there", said Rainbow, pointing to girl sitting on a bench with her nose in a book."Yoo hoo, Violet!
Violet looked up from her physics book and saw Rainbow, Indigo, and Brian slowly making their way to her. "Oh,uh, I, uh", said Violet nervously and sweating, "Gotta go, sorry!" And she rushed off.
"Was it something I did?" asked Brian.
"No, that's just why we call her Shy Violet", said Indigo.
"Trust me", said Rainbow, "Once she gets to know you, she'll come out of her shell."
"Oh, look. Here comes Buddy Blue out for his hourly jog", said Indigo. Sure enough, Buddy Blue was running down the pathway holding two small barbels.
"Hey, Buddy", called out Rainbow. But before Buddy could answer, he saw Brian with the casts and got a nervous look. "Sorry, can't talk now", stuttered Buddy, "I forgot to take my morning Vitamin B for Blue." And he started jogging the other way.
"First Violet and now Buddy?" wondered Rainbow.
"Is he shy too?" asked Brian.
"Shy and Buddy?" asked Indigo, "Never in the same sentence."
"Oh look, it's just up ahead", said Rainbow as she pointed to what looked liked a green gate. Rainbow rushed to it while Indigo pushed Brian over there. Brian read the sign on the gate.
"The Greenest Most Beautiful Garden in Existence?" asked Brian.
"Yes", said Rainbow, "If you need some cheering up, this is the place to go to delight your eyeballs and nostrils." And she pushed open the gate revealing a spectacular garden filled with a variety of beautiful flowers and trees of every shape and size.
"Wow!" said Brian amazed at the rare exotic looking plants, "Whoever takes care of this place must have some kind of green thumb."
"More like green pigtails", said Rainbow. "Patty O'Green is our expert florist in Rainbowland. And there she is over there. Yoo hoo, Patty!"
Patty was busy planting a garden of four leaf clovers shaped like her head. She turned around and saw Rainbow, Indigo, and Brian approaching. "Hey, that's sure to bring lots of good luck", smiled Brian, looking at the clover patch.
"Oh, uh, sorry, guys. You have to leave this garden", stuttered Patty. "It's closed."
"Oh, Patty", laughed Rainbow, "You're always such a prankster."
"No, I'm, I can't believe I'm saying that dreaded S word, serious!" grumbled Patty as she reached for the hose.
"What's gotten into you, Patty?!" demanded Indigo.
"Uh, it's flu season", said Patty, "And I want to quarantine my poor plants. After all, we don't want them to look greener than usual."
"You, not liking anything too green?" asked Rainbow, "What gives?"
"Don't make me crank this rubber snake up", said Patty as she slowly turned the nozzle. Rainbow and Indigo quickly took Brian and left the garden for they knew how much the mischievous Patty loved squirting people.
"That's odd", said Indigo, "Patty always welcomes everyone in her garden."
"That's okay", said Rainbow, "I'm sure she has her reasons. Let's take Brian to the Jolliest, Cutest, Animal Sanctuary in Existence."
"Do you name all these places we've been to yourself?" asked Brian.
"Sure", said Rainbow, "How did you know I pick out these names?"
"Just a hunch", said Brian as Rainbow and Indigo opened the gates to a sanctuary and walked in. There were cute little animals of all colors wandering around. Many birds of different colors flying in the sky, colored fish swimming in the lake, and other animals with crazy colors like blue kangaroos, green deer, orange turtles, and even a purple baby elephant. There was even Rainbow's faithful Stallion, Starlite, enjoying a pile of hay.
"Oh, hey Brian", smiled Starlite, "Glad to see you're finally awake. Doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm doing the best I can", said Brian. Just then, a red and blue colored bird perched itself on Brian's shoulder causing him to smile.
"That there's my bird buddy", said Starlite, "He normally likes to perch on me, but I think he's taken a shine to you, Brian. And you don't even have a colored mane."
"I'm glad all these animals are friendly", smiled Brian.
"It's all thanks to our caretaker, Canary Yellow", said Rainbow, "And there she is. Helping some robins construct a nest."
Sure enough, it showed Canary Yellow helping some robins build a huge nest in a tree. She was even holding blue, no make that, yellowprints. "If you'll wait, I can figure out a way to install a hot tub for you newlyweds." smiled Canary as she winked at the two lovebirds.
"Hey, Canary. Look who's here to do some birdwatching", called out Rainbow. Canary turned around and her smile turned into a scary frown when she saw Brian. "Oh, sorry", stuttered Canary as she pulled out a huge butterfly net from the bushes. "It's every single animal's nap time now, so I gotta put them to bed. Mainly, my bed!" And she rushed around like a bolt of lightning scooping up every single animal with that huge net. Including Starlite.
"But I'm not ready for bed!" shouted Starlite from inside the net, "Besides, I don't use a bed. I sleep standing up!" But Canary just rushed out of sight with all the animals, while Brian and the two girls looked puzzled.
"What's with all the Color Kids today?" wondered Rainbow.
"Yes, why are they suddenly avoiding us?" asked Indigo. Just then, they heard something growling.
"Oooh, is that a cute little rabies filled grizzly bear wanting a hug?" smiled Rainbow.
"I think that's my stomach", said Brian.
"Yes", agreed Indigo, "Like I said earlier, you went for 3 days without eating. I guess that hospital breakfast didn't fill you up enough."
"Luckily, it's almost lunchtime", smiled Rainbow, "To the cafeteria!"
"Is it called the Delicious Funnest Wonderful Cafeteria in Existence?" asked Brian.
"What?" gasped Rainbow, "No, it's just called, Cafeteria. Why would somebody give a cafeteria such a long ridiculous name like that?"
Rainbow, Indigo, and Brian were now seen waiting in line at the cafeteria. The cook turned out to be the main Sprite known as Mr. Glitters wearing a hairnet. "Hi, Mr. Glitters", smiled Rainbow, "Today is Turquoise Taco Tuesday, right?"
"Don't you mean Turkey Taco Tuesday?" asked Brian.
"No, Turquoise Tacos", smiled Rainbow. Sure enough, Mr. Glitters loaded everyone's trays with turquoise colored taco shells that contained some kind of multi-colored meat, cheese, and veggies.
"More colored food?" gasped Brian as Mr. Glitters dumped a side of brightly colored nachos next to the tacos.
"Aren't those Neon Nachos pretty" smiled Rainbow.
"Do they come with sour cream?" asked Brian. Mr. Glitters became horrified and shocked at what Brian said.
"Sorry, Brian", said Rainbow, "But we don't allow anything sour in Rainbowland."
"Or anything bitter", said Indigo as she pointed to a sign on the wall that had a coffee pot crossed out.
Rainbow went to look for a table while Indigo followed pushing Brian along with one hand and holding her tray with the other.
They came across a table where Red Butler and Lala Orange were eating and chatting. "Is there room for 3 more?" asked Rainbow as she, Indigo, and Brian joined them at the table. Red and Lala looked nervously.
"Sorry, Rainbow", said Red, "But we just finished out lunch and need to get back to work.
"It doesn't look like you two have finished", said Indigo, pointing to their full of food trays.
"Uh, it's my new diet", said Lala as she took one tiny bite of a nacho and got up. "After all, we fashion models have to watch our figures."
"See you back at the Color Castle", said Red as he and Lala rushed away and left their trays.
"How wasteful", said Brian looking at the abandoned full cafeteria trays.
"This is definitely strange", said Rainbow, "Every Color Kid we met has run off and tried to avoid me and Brian. Except for you, Indigo."
"You're right", said Indigo looking down at Brian's casts. "And I think I might know why."
Later, the Color Kids minus Indigo were hanging around in the meeting place known as Fort Roy G. Biv waiting for Rainbow Brite to appear. And sure enough, Rainbow did appear, but not with her trademark grin, but a frown.
"Wait a minute", said Red, "Rainbow, you always smile whenever you come in to give us these meetings. What gives?"
"You 6 actually gave me a reason not to smile", said Rainbow sadly.
"Six?" asked Buddy, "Say, where's Indigo?"
"She's taking Brian back to the hospital to get some more x-rays done", said Rainbow, "In fact, this meeting is all about how you're treating Brian. Running away whenever you see him."
"Oh, that", said Red embarrassed. "Believe us, Rainbow. We do value Brian as a friend and hero. It's just that he's now infected with Grix."
"And none of us want to get infected either", said Lala.
"Sorry I had to kick you all out of the garden", said Patty. "But I just couldn't risk my dear plants getting all dirty from the Grix. They should only get dirty from dirt."
"And I had to protect my animal friends too", said Canary.
"But you can't get infected if you touch a Grix Grunt or even a half grixed victim like Brian", explained Rainbow calmly, "You can only get transformed if the source of the Grix touches you. I've seen how the Grix works.
"And what if the Grix completely takes over Brian and he becomes a full Grix Grunt?" asked Buddy. "He could end up working for the Dark Princess and help her conquer Rainbowland."
Shy Violet just twiddled her thumbs and said nothing. For she had her own reasons for avoiding Brian. Things that weren't really Grix related.
"We read about how the Grix harmed Rainbowland 30 years ago", said Red, "And now you brought Brian here along with his Grix coated feet. It might happen again!"
"No it won't!" demanded Rainbow banging her hand on the table, "I've sealed Brian's infected legs with my magic casts and I'll keep on doing it until we can find a way to cure him. I'm not going to let the Grix get hold of Brian or any of my other friends. I swear on my bow!"
"But still..." continued Red.
"You know something", said Rainbow now making a hard for her to do angry face, "I understood when you tried to run away from Stormy and I was hoping you'd accept her as a friend again someday. But to give Brian the same treatment?! He actually risked his life many times to save Rainbowland from The Dark Princess. And now Brian's away from his home and loved ones and is bound to a wheelchair for who knows how long? He needs lots of love and friends right now and I was hoping my dear friends would show that to him. I guess I was wrong. You aren't Color Kids, you're Cower Kids!" and she slowly walked out the door, "Sorry I had to call you all that too." said Rainbow, for she wanted to leave the room with a happy polite smile.
The kids just sat there silent and feeling ashamed. "Rainbow's right", sighed Red, "Brian's a true hero and friend and we ran away from him like a bunch of yellow-bellies. No offense, Canary."
"None taken", said Canary blushing, "So much for me being the color of optimism. Is my face red. No offense, Red."
"You know", said Buddy, "If Rainbow Brite says she can keep the Grix from spreading, we should trust her."
"She and Indigo were sure better friends to Brian than we were", sighed Patty.
"We should all probably give Stormy a break too", said Lala. "After all, Rainbow does still see the good in her."
Violet silently nodded in agreement while the other Color Kids were trying to discuss how to make things right with Brian.
Outside the fort, Stormy was listening to their conversation. "Wow, they were treating Brian like the way they treated me", she thought, "Nobody deserves to be shunned. Eeyeew! Me and Brian have something in common?! I gotta do something about this!" And she created a huge cloud and rode off into the sky.
Stormy had arrived on the completely Grix covered Earth. She watched disgusted on top of her cloud as she saw the streets paved with gray goo and the Grix Grunts slowly walking around like helpless zombie slaves. "How awful", said Stormy, "Normally I like the color gray, but only when it's covering clouds." She then saw 4 Grix Grunts carrying a throne that seated The Dark Princess. Stormy gasped as she created a bigger storm cloud to hide in. The Princess looked up at the dark cloud, said nothing, and pointed for her Grunts to continue carrying her. When the Princess was out of sight, Stormy pushed away the clouds and used her traveling cloud to continue her journey.
Stormy soon came to Brian's house. It looked okay, only the yard was covered in a bed of Grix. Stormy used her lightning to blast a hole through Brian's bedroom window. "Ha ha! I'll never get tired of doing that to him!" laughed Stormy as she flew into the hole in the wall, then came back out a minute later and started flying back to Rainbowland.
Inside the Color Castle, Rainbow and Indigo were pushing Brian in his wheelchair to a door in the hallway. "Your latest x-rays show that the Grix isn't increasing", Indigo said to Brian, "I guess that tour of Rainbowland seemed to help your spirits a little."
"Yeah, it was kind of fun", said Brian.
"I'm just sorry you didn't get a chance to know some of the other Color Kids", said Indigo.
"Since you're going to be staying in Rainbowland for a while", said Rainbow,"Me and Indigo and some of the Sprites arranged this guest room for you, Brian." She opened the door and the three entered. Brian studied the room. It had a bed, a bedside table, a table and chair on the left, a bathroom on the right, and lots of shelves filled with over 100 books.
"Whoa!" said Brian smiling at all the books.
"I know how much you love books", smiled Rainbow, "So I had this room stocked with all sorts of books, some from Earth and even some written by the best novelists in Rainbowland. Even though most of them are written in Sprite language."
"Not only that", said Indigo, "I brought you a welcoming gift." She reached into a bag she was carrying and took out a beautiful fancy Indigo colored lamp and placed it on the bedside table. "Something to help you read by."
"Cool, thanks Indigo", smiled Brian as he turned on the switch and the lamp shone lots of pretty Indigo lights on the ceiling along with soothing music. "I love it!"
"Thanks, I made it myself", said Indigo blushing, "As the Color Kid of Creativity, I always try to use my talents to make people more happy and colorful."
Just then, a knock was heard on the door. Rainbow answered it and there were the other Color Kids each holding something, "Excuse me", said Red Butler stuttering, "Is there room in this room for a bunch of supposedly Cower kids?"
"Sure, come on in", smiled Rainbow who had a feeling she was about to like what was about to happen next.
"Um, Brian", said Red, "On behalf of the Color Kids, we just wanted to apologize for not giving you a full welcome to Rainbowland today. And we want to make it up to you by giving you some room warming gifts."
"Aw, you don't have to", said Brian.
"But we do", said Red taking out a medal that consisted of a red ribbon with a red lion shaped ruby. "As the Color Kid of Adventure, I want to present you with this medal. You showed a lot of bravery for those times you saved Rainbowland from The Dark Princess and her henchmen. And you recently got yourself injured in the line of duty. So take this medal as a symbol that you'll always still will be The Sentinel of Light Unseen at heart." And Red placed the medal around Brian's neck causing him to smile.
"I hope you don't mind..." said Lala Orange as she went behind Brian's wheelchair with a tape measure and started measuring Brian's arms, neck, and waist.
"What are you doing?" asked Brian.
"Okay, I got the measurements", smiled Lala as she reached into her dufflebag and pulled out some orange cloth, scissors, needles, and thread. Everyone watched as they saw Lala spin around in an orange tornado while snipping and sewing were heard and bits of cloth were flying all over the place. When Lala was finished, she presented Brian a beautiful stylish orange jacket with a dark orange B on the left side.
"As the Color Kid of Style", smiled Lala, "I'd like you to have this new jacket design I just came up with right now. I call it, The Brian."
"Cool, I'd never thought I'd actually get a jacket named after myself", smiled Brian as he put on the jacket which was a perfect fit.
"Stylin', Brian", smiled Rainbow.
"Brian", said Canary Yellow approaching with a box, "As the Color Kid of Optimism, I wanted to cheer you up with this cake I baked." She lifted the lid and revealed a lemon and banana cake with Brian's name on it.
"Aw, sweet!" smiled Brian.
"Yes, it's sweet", smiled Canary, "No sour in these lemons. Rainbow Brite's law."
"How about a little flower power?" smiled Patty O'Green as he handed Brian a bouquet of flowers.
"These are pretty", smiled Brian as he sniffed them, "TH..." but before he could finish his sentence, he got squirted in the face by water. Brian wiped his face and saw the bouquet had a rubber cord connected on the bottom along with a squeeze ball which Patty was holding.
"HA HA HA!" giggled Patty, "You're definitely new here, rookie! The others here know not to accept a surprise bouquet from Patty O'Green, the Color Kid of Mischief. Seriously, welcome to the family." She smiled as she gave Brian a gentle punch in the arm while Brian smiled back.
"Here's my gift, Champ, or gifts", said Buddy Blue as he handed Brian two small barbels that were quite heavy. "Just because your legs are now out of action, that's no excuse to let your arms so soft", said Buddy, "And I expect you to use those pumpers every day. The Color Kid of Athletics demands it!"
"Yes, coach", said Brian trying to lift the barbels up, but it was kind of hard.
"Maybe you can start tomorrow", said Rainbow setting the barbels down.
Shy Violet nervously approached Brian, gave him a small box with a violet ribbon and said quickly, "Here you go", then hid herself behind the chair.
Brian looked puzzled while Rainbow said, "Open her gift. It'll make her happy."
Brian undid the ribbon, opened the box, and pulled out what looked like a small swirly purple seashell. "This is pretty", smiled Brian, "Thank you for the gift, Violet", he called out to the chair which Violet was hiding behind. She stayed hidden while blushing a purple smile.
"Shy Violet is our Color Kid of Knowledge", said Rainbow, "She probably has her own reasons for wanting to give you that shell. Probably something we all don't know about."
"These are all great gifts", smiled Brian, "Thank you all. Rainbow Brite speaks highly of all of you and she was right. You are true friends."
All the Color Kids smiled at the compliment, but them became shocked as one more kid entered the room. It was Stormy. The Kids were about to run away in fear, but then stopped themselves at remembering what they agreed to do.
"Stormy", asked Rainbow, "What brings you here?"
"Well", said Stormy, "I went to explore Earth so I can study all that Grix, until I came across this little guy", she said as she reached into her coat pocket, "He says you belong to him." And she handed Brian a little hamster.
"Captain Fuzz!" smiled Brian with tears in his eyes as he hugged his little hamster pet. "I thought I'd never see my little King of the Hamsters again! Thank you, Stormy!"
"AUUGH!"grumbled Stormy, "King of the Hamsters again?! Listen kid, I didn't do this for you, I only did it for the hamster. He seemed sad and lonely without his boy servant to feed and clean up after him. So I brought him to you to cheer him up. Well, gotta go." And she quickly left the room.
Everyone in the room was silent at what they saw the kindness the once fierce Stormy did. Except for Brian who was just happy to have one friend from Earth back in his life.
"Will you all excuse me, please?" said Rainbow as she left the room too.
Stormy was up in the sky resting on a cloud creating a little spout of water to drink from until Rainbow Brite showed up on a magic rainbow platform. "Is there room in this sky for a friend?" asked Rainbow.
"It's a free sky", said Stormy.
"You know, Stormy", said Rainbow, "It's not like you to travel to a dangerous place just to save a little hamster."
"Hey, I just happen to be an animal lover", protested Stormy.
"Are you actually referring to Brian?" smiled Rainbow.
"Just don't tell him that, otherwise I'll have to let some bolts fly." said Stormy. Rainbow just laughed and Stormy just laughed along with her while they hugged.
"So, why aren't you spending time with your pet human?" asked Stormy.
"I'll get back to him later", said Rainbow, "Right now, I want to spend time with my good friend, Stormy. Besides, he's in the hands of 7 good Color Kids right now."
Back at the guest room, Brian and the Color Kids were spending time talking and laughing together. Brian then took Violet's seashell and placed it on Captain Fuzz's head. "I hope you don't mind, Violet. But I promised my little King of the Hamsters I'd get him a new crown." smiled Brian. Violet just peeked from behind the chair and smiled seeing her gift to Brian on the cute hamster's head.
TO BE CONTINUED.