Disclaimers: 'Rainbow Brite' is property of Hallmark Properties respectfully. The song 'Rainbow Connection' was written and conceived by Paul Williams and Kenneth L. Ascher and therefore does not belong to me.

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The Rainbow Connection

By Charles Xavier

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Chapter Four

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"We've been out together for a long time. And I've really enjoyed these past years with you. But I never thought that our relationship would bring us this far. I may not be the most romantic guy in the world to ask you this, but…Alice, will you marry me?"

Brian had been rehearsing for an hour, and it was time for him to leave for dinner. He was now sure that he had his lines right, and was convinced that Alice would humbly accept his proposal. He placed the ring back inside its box and pocketed it safely in his jacket. With a last inspection in the mirror, he straightened up his tie and smiled handsomely at himself.

"Well, Brian! Tonight is the night!" He waltzed over to the door. "Tonight, you and Alice are going to finally…"

Brian nearly freaked out when he opened the door to a shadowy stranger. He couldn't help notice how displeased she looked. It felt like Death had come by his doorstep.

"Um, can I help you, Miss?" Brian said, uncertain if the blind woman even knew whose house she was knocking at. "Is there…someone you're looking for?"

"Where's Wisp?"" She asked in her cold voice.

"Who?"

The woman could not tolerate the man's shear ignorance, and she unsheathed her katana, pointing it sharply at Brian's throat. Brian stood motionless, hoping that he wouldn't make any more wrong moves to agitate his uninvited guest.

"Miss, I…I don't want to cause any trouble. And I'd love to help you." He said politely yet petrified. "But I honestly don't know who you're looking for."

"You know exactly!" She hissed nefariously at him. "Don't test my patients, boy. I can smell her all over your filthy body."

…

"Where is he?"

Alice looked at her watch, realizing that Brian should have been here thirty minutes ago. She checked herself with her powder case, making sure that she appeared her best for tonight. She knew for a fact that Brian was never late for private occasions, and it was unusual for Alice to wait this long.

"Excuse me, Miss." A waiter approached her table. "May I offer you something to drink while you are waiting?"

"No thanks…you wouldn't happen to have a payphone around here, would you?"

…

After being escorted to the nearest payphone, Alice started dialing Brian's house. It seemed unlikely for him to forget about tonight's special dinner, but where else could he be at this hour? Alice felt that something wasn't quite right.

"Come on, Brian. Where are you?" Alice waited impatiently for somebody to pick up. Although no one answered, Brian's answering machine began to play.

"Hello, you've reached Brian Redfield. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't answer your call at the moment. If you would like to leave your name and telephone number after the tone, I'll be happy to get back to you as soon as possible."

"Brian? Please pick up the phone, it's Alice! I've been waiting in Aquarius for a half hour! Where are…"

Someone picked up the phone.

"Brian, is that you?"

Alice could only hear heavy breathing, and it didn't sound like Brian's at all. She could tell it was coming from someone who loathed to hear her voice over the phone. The very thought of it brought chills, and she hung up.

She was right to believe that something was definitely wrong. She took no hesitation to rush out of the restaurant. Removing her high heeled shoes, she sprinted as fast as she could to Brian's house without even thinking about a taxi.

…

Brian's door had been left wide open, which wasn't a good sign. Alice's fears were building up and she rushed into the unlit house shouting out his name. Though she couldn't help sense a strong gust of wind blowing around her.

"Brian? Brian!" She called out when she stepped into his bedroom. Alice froze when she saw a figure hanging by the window perfectly still. "Brian?" She whispered, searching desperately for the light switches.

Flicking them on, Alice was greeted with a surprise that made her stomach churn and her heart beat faster. She dropped to her knees, shedding a tear at Brian's body, hung by the curtains with foam trickling down from his mouth. This was too much derived from a bad dream, and the upsetting image sent Alice crawling anxiously to the bathroom.

…

Washing her face with water, Alice tried to pull herself together and stepped back outside. She crept back into the bedroom, still sickened by the gruesome sight. She carefully reached out to touch his hand, which felt cold as ice.

"Oh, God." Alice turned away, coughing against the wall. She wasn't strong enough to endure this any longer. She had to call an ambulance right away. But just when she turned to grab the phone, she ran face to face with the blind woman.

Alice was forced to scream then.

"Not another sound from you." The woman raised her weapon between Alice's eyes, threatening to cut her through. "I have had enough of this wild goose chase already. The boy refused to talk…so I was forced to correct him, with a slow yet painless death."

"Wh-who are you?" Alice murmured. "What do you want from me?"

The woman stared at her silently, shaking her head with disappointment. "It makes me sad to learn that you have cast away so much of your youth…abandoning your home and discarding the friends that actually cared for you. And after all these years, I never imagined that you would even forget your best friend…Wisp."

Alice's eyes widened with fear, for that was a name she hadn't heard since she was a child. "How…? How do you know that name? Who are you really?"

The woman took a step back, quietly unwrapping her blindfold. Alice stood nervously, unsure of what the woman had to show her. Once the blindfold was removed, however, her face turned pale as she shook her head in denial. Her body began to tremble as she uttered:

"No…it can't be you…Stormy?"

"Look at me, Wisp." She answered back. "Take a good look at me and tell me what you see."

Alice saw that she wasn't making eye contact with her. She waved her hand across her puffy eyes, noticing that they weren't following her motion. She gasped and covered her mouth, trying to prevent another scream. "Your eyes! What happened to your eyes?"

"Is it not obvious?" Was her faint reply, as she gently touched the severe scars marked across her face. "I can't see colors anymore. My sight is gone. Whether I'm awake or asleep, all I see now is darkness. People like Brian, are to be blamed for turning me into this…thing." She clenched her fists, generating currents of electricity flowing through her fingers. "None of this would have occurred…if only you had been there…"

"Why do I sense much anger within you, Stormy?"

"Because it's your fault." She hissed repulsively. "For twenty years, I spent my life under the people's shadows, learning of their cruelty towards those treated as their mere experiments. And for all that time, where were you?"

"I…I didn't know you were still…"

"I know. You left Rainbow Brite behind, didn't you? Trying to escape from all the errors that even you couldn't possibly mend? But all the while, you stopped remembering about the only friend that ever truly mattered to you."

"What's happened to you, Stormy?" Alice said fearfully. "Whatever turned you like this?"

"Shut up!" Stormy let loose a crack of lightning against Alice, pinning her against the wall in extreme pain. Alice struggled to break free, but the energy was too overwhelming for her feeble body. In seconds she passed out, and Stormy let her drop to the floor. "You've grown so weak, Wisp. I could kill you now and put an end to this Earth once and for all. But I won't…not yet. You will still remain an obstacle standing in my way. So you must be taught your harsh lessons…"

Stormy sheathed her katana, tying on her blindfold ready to leave.

"You're not worthy to die to now. But when you are ready, I will be waiting for you in Rainbow Land…or what shall be left of it."

She vanished, leaving Alice to dream about her childhood again.

…

Author's Note: The next chapter will be about what happened to Stormy. But be warned…it may very well be the darkest chapter of the story. Definitely not for the squeamish…