The Spectra Scepter Saga, chapter 4
by Cullen Pittman
Physical Therapy Blues
Back at the hospital, we see Rainbow Brite sitting on a nearby chair watching Brian sitting on a medical table while Volunteer Nurse Indigo was examining his bare feet. "Tell me, Brian", said Indigo as she was pulling gently on his toes, "Can you feel me pulling your toes?"
"No, not at all", said Brian nervously.
"Well, can you feel this?" asked Indigo as she started tickling Brian's soles. Brian started laughing out loud. "Such loud laughter for simple foot tickling", thought Indigo, but then she looked up and saw Rainbow tickling Brian's sides.
"Rainbow, cut that out!" demanded Indigo as she pushed Rainbow back.
"Sorry", said Rainbow blushing, "I just wanted to join in the tickle fight."
"This is a tickle examination", demanded Indigo as she started to tickle Brian's soles again. "Can you feel me tickling your feet, Brian?" she asked.
"No", panted Brian, "And thank goodness."
"Let's see if you can walk around a bit", said Indigo as she helped Brian off the table. Brian was able to take a few steps, but fell back down. Indigo and Rainbow helped Brian back on the table.
"Do you know what the stasis on Brian's feet are?" Rainbow asked Indigo.
"Yeah", gasped Brian, "I thought I was free from the Grix."
"Yes", explained Indigo as she was looking at a folder, "The latest x-rays we took just now shows that you're 100 percent free from Grix infection."
"But why can't I start walking?" asked Brian.
"I believe it was because your feet were covered with Grix and casts for about 4 days, so you never had a chance to do any walking at that time", explained Indigo, "So your leg muscles have gotten weak."
"But Brian was walking fine when he was walking through that fiery pit to save Red", said Rainbow.
"That was because Brian was walking on Grix power at that time", said Indigo, "But now he needs to get his true feet back in shape."
"You mean I might have a chance to walk again?" asked Brian.
"I believe if I put you through some physical therapy, that could be possible", said Indigo.
"Did somebody say, physical?" called out a voice. "Into the office stepped Buddy Blue holding a a medicine ball.
"Buddy Blue?" asked Indigo, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to get some medicine for my medicine ball", said Buddy, "But none of the doctor Sprites would fill out a prescription. What's a medicine ball without any medicine?" Indigo just shook her head at what Buddy was thinking.
"Anyhow", said Buddy, "I heard Brian needs a physical therapist to get him back on his feet. And I live and breathe physical fitness."
"Do you think you can do it?" asked Brian.
"Yes", said Rainbow, "After all, Buddy Blue is the Color Kid of Athletics."
"Hmmm, I don't know", said Indigo, "I've seen how you give the Sprites a workout. Your training methods can be a bit hardcore."
"Hardcore?" demanded Buddy. "The only thing hardcore about my training are the hard muscle aftermaths."
"But still..." said Indigo.
"Besides", Buddy told Brian, "Red told me about how your ring isn't working for you anymore, and I think I might know why."
"You do?" asked Brian.
"Yep", said Buddy, "When you first became the Sentinel of Light Unseen, you never had any basic training to begin with. I'll bet even the mighty Krys works out every day, keeping fit for battle. Maybe a good workout from me will not only give you your walking power back, but maybe the ring will see you it as a warrior again."
"Maybe Buddy is right", said Rainbow.
"I'll do it", said Brian in a determined voice. "If I want to walk again and become the hero that'll save the Earth and all the people I love, I'll take this hardcore workout."
"Perfect", said Buddy, "Meet me at the Funnest, Excellent, Gym in Existence at 0600 hours tomorrow."
"O600 hours?" gasped Brian.
"All right, 0601 hours then", said Buddy, "Nobody can say that I'm a strict trainer."
The next morning at the Funnest, Excellent Gym in Existence, Buddy Blue was waiting and tapping his sneaker while looking at his stopwatch. Then Brian rolled in his wheelchair dressed in a blue sweatsuit with a number 11 on it. "It's about time", said Buddy.
"Sorry", yawned Brian, "I don't normally get up this early."
"The early worm catches the bird you know", said Buddy.
"Don't you mean the early bird catches the worm?" asked Brian.
"I do not!" shouted Buddy in a drill sergeant sounding voice. "Because right now, you're the early worm who can't even walk!"
"I'm a worm?" gasped Brian looking down at his inactive feet.
"But I'm about to make you the bird", said Buddy, "You'll work your way up to a running road runner and then you'll be able to fly like the bald eagle. It's work out montage time!"
Before Brian could think, he suddenly found himself on an exercise machine trying to pump up his legs. It was pretty hard, even with the weight setting on one pound. But Buddy was standing there shouting, "One, two, one, two!" Next Brian was on an exercise bike trying really hard to pedal with Buddy giving the same shouting treatment. Then we see Brian in a pool, holding onto the sides while kicking his legs in the water. And last, we see Brian on a treadmill set on slow motion, but kept slipping off. "This is so hard!" he whined.
"Hey", demanded Buddy, "If you want working legs again, they gotta be hard as rocks, not soft as Jello. Besides, the other day, I went to check on Murky and Lurky and I saw them exercising a storm. You could learn a thing or two from them."
"Learning from Villains?!" gasped Brian as Buddy helped him back on the treadmill.
Sure enough, in the Pits, we see Murky and Lurky doing jumping jacks non-stop. "Pant pant. How long have we been doing this, Murky?" asked Lurky.
"6 hours", panted Murky as he kept jumping, "And we'll keep on doing it till we lose the last of our ankle fat."
"I'd workout better if I had something to eat", said Lurky looking at the rock that had all the food they were supposed to eat underneath.
"Oh no!" grumbled Murky."And put the pounds back on? We'll never be free from these stupid ankle brace..." But before he could finish his sentence, Murky discovered that the ankle bracelet had slipped off his ankle and was now on his foot.
"Lurky", gasped Murky as he shook the bracelet off his foot. "It worked! I'm free!"
"You're free?" asked Lurky as he picked up Murky and turned him over looking at him.
"What are you doing?!" demanded Murky.
"You said you were free", said Lurky, "I'm looking if there's a price tag on you that proves it."
"Not that kind of free, you amoeba brain!" shouted Murky as he bonked Lurky on the head causing the monster to drop Murky on the face. "I'm finally free from my Pits arrest! Now I can leave the Pits anytime I want and get my revenge on Rainbow Brite and her little friends!"
"Does that mean, I can take off my bracelet too?" asked Lurky.
"No, you still got fat on your ankles", said Murky, "You need to keep doing more workouts and eat less if you want to be free from your Pits arrest."
"Or I can just rip it off like this", said Lurky as he ripped off his ankle bracelet like it was made of plastic.
"WHAAAT?!" shouted Murky with a shocked look on his face. "You mean you could've just easily ripped off our bracelets like that instead of having us trying so hard to lose all that weight?!"
"Does that mean I can start eating again?" smiled Lurky as he pushed over the rock and started gobbling up all the food that was stored in the hole. "It's great to eat again", said Lurky, "Even if all this food is now moldy and crawling with bacteria."
"Oh for badness sake!" grumbled Murky as he went and joined Lurky in the moldy feast for he was starving too.
Meanwhile, back at the gym, Brian was sitting in his wheelchair exhausted. Buddy had left the gym for a few minutes to get something and told Brian to take a break. "I've never felt this sore before", moaned Brian as he took off his sneakers and started rubbing his feet. "At least I got some feeling back in my feet", he panted, "I just wish it wasn't pain."
"No pain, no gain", replied Buddy as he stepped back into the gym. "Break's over. Back to your workout."
"If I must", sighed Brian, putting his sneakers back on.
"And I think I found a way to get you back on your feet again", said Buddy, "I'm giving you a training partner." He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a familiar friend.
"Captain Fuzz?!" gasped Brian seeing his beloved hamster.
"The one and only", laughed Buddy, "The question we're gonna answer in this workout is, are you more athletic than a hamster?"
"You're not serious, are you?" worried Brian.
"The noble King of the Hamsters believes he can take you down", laughed Buddy, "So how can an inactive Sentinel of Light take down a king?"
Brian looked at his ring and then looked at his hamster. "Well, Captain Fuzz", sighed Brian, "Looks like we're now rivals."
Then another workout montage happened. Captain Fuzz was running nonstop on a hamster wheel while Brian was trying to keep up on the treadmill. The hamster was now seen rolling around in a plastic hamster ball while Brian was trying to catch it, first by crawling and then by walking. Then in the pool, Brian was trying to swim after Captain Fuzz who was riding in a toy speedboat, remote controlled by Buddy. "This isn't fair!" shouted Brian, "Captain Fuzz isn't even working out, he's just riding in a boat!"
"This isn't the hamster's physical therapy", called out Buddy, "This is yours!" And he turned the dial on the remote and the boat zoomed past Brian splashing water in his face. "Captain Fuzz isn't going to go down with this ship. But you might if you don't shape up!" shouted Buddy. Brian sighed as he continued to swim after the hamster filled boat.
After finishing their long awaited meal, Murky and Lurky finally took their long awaited steps out of the Pits and onto Rainbowland territory. "Finally", cackled Murky, "We're finally free from the Pits and now on, Yechh!, the green colored grass of Rainbowland! I wonder if we were better off on Pits arrest after all!"
"But wait", said Lurky, "The Color Kids always check on us everyday. Won't they notice us missing?"
"I've got that covered", laughed Murky as he took out a remote control and pushed a button. Suddenly, two figures came out of a nearby cave from the Pits. To Lurky's surprise, they were exact copies of Murky and Lurky.
"Hey, it's us", said Lurky, "Are we looking in a mirror?"
"These are robot duplicates, no-brain", grumbled Murky, "When those clueless Color Brats come here, they'll look at these bots and think we're innocently serving our Pits Arrest with no trouble. How are you doing today, Murky and Lurky?" Murky asked the robots.
"I hate colors!" replied the Murky-bot in a monotone voice.
"I like bunnies!" replied the Lurky-bot in a monotone voice also.
"Huh, huh", giggled Lurky, "It's like we both have twin brothers.
"So you see, we got our freedom now to cause as much chaos as we want", laughed Murky as he and Lurky walked away from the Pits and the robots.
Rainbow Brite and Indigo were seen walking through the hallways of the Color Castle. "I'm still not sure if Buddy's the right person to be in charge of Brian's physical therapy", said Indigo.
"Aw, I'm sure you can trust Buddy", said Rainbow, "After all, he is the fitness expert in Rainbowland."
"Hey, Rainbow", called out Red Butler from a nearby room, "Great news! The Sprites have come up with something that'll help us find the other missing shards of the Spectra Scepter." Rainbow and Indigo rushed into the room and there they saw Red standing next to a huge machine that looked like a vat with a computerized map of Rainbowland attached. Along with Mr. Glitters and some Sprites in scientist suits standing there proudly. "Behold", said Red proudly as Mr. Glitters started blowing a tiny trumpet, "The Spectra Scepter Shard Trackdowner."
"That is so awesome looking", smiled Rainbow.
"How does it work?" asked Indigo.
"Watch what happens when I put this shard into the vat", said Red as he took out the Red Shard they found the other day and placed it into the vat. Suddenly, two colored blips appeared on the Rainbowland Map. "See that red blip in the center where the Color Castle is located?" asked Red. "That's where we are now. Right where the Red Shard is. And that blue blip on the left side is where the Blue Shard can be found."
"OMB!" said Rainbow happily, "Now we know where to look for all the shards and we can rebuild the Spectra Scepter and save Earth from the Grix!"
"But where are the other shards?" asked Indigo, "All I'm seeing are red and blue blips."
"Once we find and fill this vat with more shards", explained Red, "More blips will appear on the screen."
"Then we'll let this screen be covered with cute little blips, ASAP", smiled Rainbow. "Let's see, where is the Blue Shard located?"
"I recognize that area", said Indigo, "That's the river known as the Rowdy Rapids. Oooh, that river makes me shiver!"
"We'll go get Buddy Blue to help us", said Rainbow, "I'm sure he'll be able to track down that Blue Shard like you did with the Red Shard, Red."
"We're in luck", said Red, "I ran into Buddy today. And he told me he was planning on taking Brian to the Rowdy Rapids for some special physical therapy. Hopefully, we'll be able to meet him there right now."
"WHAT?!" gasped Indigo, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted Buddy! Hurry everybody, we gotta get there before Buddy puts Brian into much worse shape than he is now!"
"Uh oh!" gasped Rainbow, "I forgot how intense those waters can be. Not to mention the whirlpools!" Rainbow, Indigo, and Red rushed out of the room while the Sprites followed, leaving the Trackdowner and the Red Shard inside it unguarded. Especially with two villains peeking through the window.
"I've heard about this Spectra Scepter", said Murky, "It's full of delicious power that should be mine!"
"I didn't know power was delicious", said Lurky, "Do you eat it with a fork or your hands?"
"Never mind", grumbled Murky, "Just push me in." Lurky obeyed and pushed Murky through the window and into the room, while Lurky stayed outside for he was too big to go through the window. Murky went over to the machine, swiped the Red Shard, stuffed it in his pants pocket and went back to the window where Lurky helped him out.
"We did it!" laughed Murky evily as he and Lurky ran through Rainbowland, "We committed our first jailbreak, breaking and entering, and theft! I'm on fire today!"
"Yeah, Murky", said Lurky, "You're on fire all right!" And Lurky pointed to the back of Murky's pants. Murky turned around and saw his back pocket flaming with red fire.
"YEOWWW!" shouted Murky as he ran around in circles while the fire in his pants got hotter.
"Quick, Murky!" called out Lurky, "Crop, Chop, and Bowl!"
"What does that mean?!" Shouted Murky still running.
"Or was it Mop, Hop, and Mole?" wondered Lurky, "Or Plop, Top, and Casserole?"
Murky started to run away screaming while Lurky ran after him. The Red Shard rolled out of Murky's flaming pants and landed somewhere in the tall grass. The shard was still hot and the blades of grass started to light up like green matches.
At the wet and wild river known as Rowdy Rapids, we see Buddy and Brian dressed in blue wetsuits and eye goggles. "You expect me to swim in there?!" gasped Brian staring nervously at the dangerous looking rapids and whirlpools.
"Yep", said Buddy, "And I am too. If you can beat me in a swimming race, then I know you'll be A-okay to walk again."
"Have you ever swam in there before?" asked Brian.
"To tell you the truth, no", said Buddy, "Which is why I think it'll be fun. But just to ease your anxieties, I'll jump in and swim around first." Brian watched as Buddy dove in and started swimming around easily. "See, Bri", called out Buddy, "Nothing to it, it, ITCH!" And Buddy started scratching like crazy in the water.
"Buddy, what's wrong?" called out Brian.
"I don't know!" shouted Buddy, still scratching, "I suddenly feel this itchy rash! Making it hard for me to swim straight!"
"Itchy rash?!" gasped Brian, "Could another Scepter Shard be close by?"
"AAAAH!" shouted Buddy as he got caught in a whirlpool and got sucked in.
"OH NO, BUDDY!" shouted Brian and without thinking, he got out of his wheelchair and dove into the whirlpool after Buddy.
Brian kept swimming under the water forcing his way through the rapids like a salmon swimming upstream. He then saw Buddy with his foot tangled in a seaweed trap and holding his breath for dear life. Brian swam to Buddy, snapped his foot free from the weeds, and managed to swim him back to the surface and on dry land.
"Buddy, are you all right?" panted Brian as he sat Buddy on the ground and then sat down next to him.
"Yeah, I think I'll survive", said Buddy as he spat water from his mouth, "Thanks, Brian. That was some awesome swimming you did there."
"Does that mean you think I'm now more athletic than a hamster?" asked Brian.
"You might even be more athletic than, dare I say it, me!" laughed Buddy, "High-5!" And he extended his hand. Brian was about to high-5 him until he noticed something in Buddy's hand.
"What's that you're holding?" asked Brian.
"I'm holding something?" wondered Buddy as he looked in his hand and found a blue crystal shaped like a pentagon with squiggly lines like water in the center. "I must've grabbed it when I was trying to free myself down there."
"That looks like another shape from The Spectra Scepter", gasped Brian. "Tell me, do you feel itchy anymore?"
"Now that you mentioned it, no", said Buddy, "What's up with that?"
"I remember Red Butler having the same itch when he was getting closer to The Red Shard", explained Brian,"But then he felt better once he touched it. Congratulations, Buddy. You found us another piece of the Spectra Scepter."
"Well, what do you know?" laughed Buddy as he and Brian started laughing together. Just then, Rainbow, Red, and Indigo arrived at the scene.
"Brian, Buddy", called out Rainbow, "Are you guys okay? You looked drenched!"
"Couldn't be better", laughed Buddy.
"I'll live", said Brian, "And so will he."
"Buddy Blue!" shouted Indigo angrily as she picked up the boy by his shoulders standing him up. "What were you thinking?! Putting Brian in that situation! This is physical therapy, not extreme sports! Has that headband of yours cut off the circulation to your brain?!"
"Please, take it easy on Buddy", said Brian standing up. "He was only trying to help get me back on my feet."
"Wait a minute", said Indigo surprised, "Brian, are you now standing up?"
"I am?" gasped Brian as he realized he was now on his feet. He started to walk around in circles, and didn't fall down once. "Hey, I got my feet back!" said Brian, happily. "ALL RIGHT!"
"Oh, B-walker!" smiled Rainbow as she hugged her now back-on-his-feet friend, "How did it happen?"
"It's was Buddy's idea of physical therapy", laughed Brian, "Sure, his methods were kind of rough and questionable at first, but when I saw he was in danger from drowning, I just had to get my feet back in action and save him, no matter what."
"And once again, I thank you for saving my healthy life", smiled Buddy.
"WHAT?" gasped Indigo, "You almost had a near drowning experience and Brian was forced to dive in to help you?! Everyone in Rainbowland knows that the Rowdy Rapids are not fit for swimming! It's been that way for 30 years!"
"It doesn't look so dangerous now", said Rainbow. Everyone looked at the river and were surprised to see that all the rapids and whirlpools were suddenly gone and the river was now clear and calm.
"Wait a minute", said Red as he saw the shard in Buddy's hand. "Did you just find The Blue Shard right now?"
"Oh, this?" said Buddy blushing, "Actually, this thing found me."
"Could that shard have something to do with the river acting wildly?" asked Brian.
"I think so", said Red, "According to the book of Krys, the Blue Shard has the power to control water. When the shards of the Scepter went flying across Rainbowland 30 years ago, The Blue Shard must've landed in that river making it rowdy and rapid for 30 longs years. And now that Buddy removed the shard, the river can now be at rest."
"That means this little blue baby gave the river a 30 year workout", laughed Buddy. "I wonder what else this sparkling drink coaster can do?" He aimed the shard at the river and tiny little spouts came out. Then Buddy concentrated and made a small whirlpool, then turned a section of the river into ice, and then changed it to steam, then back to water.
"It's like I have my own traveling aquacade", laughed Buddy as he put on a splashing water show while his friends smiled and clapped in amazement.
"Can you use that shard to absorb water like a sponge?" asked Rainbow.
"We shall see", said Buddy as he held the shard up closer, concentrated, and the shard sucked up a lot of water. "Whoa!" gasped Buddy, "I think it must of sucked up ten gallons of water. Like a ten gallon hat."
"Actually, a ten gallon hat can't even hold one gallon of water", said Brian.
Just then, Starlite galloped up to the group with a worried face, "Rainbow", he panted, "We got an emergency!"
"What's wrong, Starlite?" asked Rainbow.
"There's a grass fire near the Color Castle!" panted Starlite, "And it's getting bigger!"
"OH NO!" gasped Rainbow as she got on Starlite's back. "Hurry, everyone!" And they all left the now calm river following after Rainbow and Starlight. Brian, who hadn't done any running for several days, was much slower than the rest, but he tried his best to catch up.
Next, we see a huge fire in the middle of Rainbowland. The remaining Color Kids and the Sprites were pouring buckets of water over the flames, but that didn't seem to help. Even Stormy, who was above in the clouds splashing downpours of rain, couldn't douse that fire.
"Why isn't that fire going out?!" shouted Stormy with frustration.
"My poor green grass!" wailed Patty O'Green as she kept tossing water on the fire.
"This is so not good!" cried Rainbow as she and the others arrived at the scene.
"I got an idea", said Buddy as he jumped upon Starlite's back, "Rainbow, can you create a rainbow bridge over the fire?"
"You got it", said Rainbow as she created one of her bridges and she, Buddy, and Starlite went up to the top.
"Okay, waterbombs away!" shouted Buddy as he held out the Blue Shard and released all the gallons of water he absorbed from the river and dropped it on the fire.
"Buddy Blue's outstorming me?" gasped Stormy as she watched from the side.
Once every drop of water had been released from the shard, the fire was now no more. Just a huge pile of burnt grass. Everyone cheered as Rainbow, Buddy, and Starlite got back on the ground.
"That was awesome", smiled Canary Yellow, "How did you do it?"
"It wasn't too shard", smiled Buddy, "Everyone just groaned at that bad pun."
"Is everything okay now?" panted Brian as he finally caught up to the group.
"Brian, are you walking again?" asked Canary.
"You bet he is", smiled Rainbow, "Thanks to Buddy Blue."
"Speaking of blue", said Lala Orange, "Look at Brian's ring."
"My ring?" gasped Brian and to his and everyone's surprise, the ring was no longer red colored, but now a bright blue."
"Brian", smiled Rainbow, "This could be another sign that the ring is starting to trust you a little more." Brian just smiled with hope and was about to speak until Patty spoke up.
"My poor green blades of grass!" wailed Patty, "What monster could've done this to you all?!"
"That?" pointed Shy Violet shyly. In the center of the char, they spotted a round red sphere.
"The Red Shard!" gasped Red as he rushed over and slowly touched it with his finger to see if it was still hot. It was now damp from all that water and was cool and safe for Red to pick up. "How did this get all the way out here?" he asked.
"Hmmmm, I wonder?" said Rainbow as she took out her Rainbow binoculars and looked over to the Pits. She saw Murky and Lurky wandering around in circles, not realizing they were actually robot duplicates.
In another part of Rainbowland, we see Murky sitting in a small puddle in his underwear while Lurky was hanging Murky's singed pants on a tree branch to dry. "I'll get my revenge on Rainbow Brite and her little friends for this!" growled Murky.
"At least your wallet survived the fire", said Lurky as he took out a black wallet from the now hanging pants, but then the wallet crumbled into ashes, "Never mind", replied Lurky.
"I had my baby pictures in that wallet!" grumbled Murky, "Now what am I gonna use to scare people with?"
"Oh wait", said Lurky, "Now I remember! To put out a fire, you stop, drop, and roll! Aren't you glad I remembered?"
"A little too late!" scowled Murky as he started rolling around in the puddle in frustration.
TO BE CONTINUED.