Chapter Three: Off to Black-and-White Island
Violet looked at her very seriously. "Because, Rainbow, Liona's power
was darkness." A very long silence ensued. Rainbow's eyes were glazed as
she stared at the empty space on the table in front of her. Buddy sat down
next to Patty. Everybody watched her. The only sound was the carefully
muffled breathing of the Kids and Prism. Suddenly Rainbow looked up.
"Well then, I'm sorry I haven't been able to meet her! She should be a
very interesting person, I must say!" Prism smiled, followed by Violet,
Indigo, and soon the whole table was smiling. Red walked up and sat on the
other side of Lala.
"Well, it's good to see you all in good moods this morning!" They all
laughed. "Uh... ok." The serving Sprite came back and gave them their
food, and the three remaining kids arrived. Stormy sat on the other side
of Prism, Pinkie next to Indigo and Moonglo next to her.
"So... what I've been wondering is if any of you have run into the old
Angel Palace...?"
"There was a different place you lived?" Rainbow asked, sounding
interested.
"Yes, it was called the Angel Palace." Stormy said.
"It's the reason we ever thought of calling this the Color Castle." Buddy
admitted. There was a pause while they ate for a minute.
"Umm, I think I've seen it." Canary commented.
"You have?" the rest all asked simultaneously.
"I think so. It was on Black-and-White Island, though."
"Well," Violet began, "It's worth looking. Since the terrain changed
irreversibly when the evil was destroyed, we wouldn't really know where it
was anyway." Some of the others nodded.
"So, um, should we start after breakfast?" Patty asked.
"Well, do we even know where this Black-and-White Island is?" Rainbow
asked. Canary thought for a long moment.
"I think it might have been in the big lake bordering the pits." There
was a general tensing of muscles. "That's the Enemy Headquarters around
here now, Prism." Prism nodded thoughtfully.
"What kind of enemies are we up against nowadays?" The kids exchanged
glances.
"Only Murky and Lurky, actually." Prism rested her chin on her hand.
"Weren't those two the lowest rank cronies of the Evil One?" She asked.
Stormy blushed.
"Yes, but they were plenty of a threat these last five hundred years,
considering only two of us retained our powers." Prism looked surprised.
"Two? I know Rainbow has powers but who else?"
"Well... me." Stormy shrugged as she said it. Prism lightly smacked her
forehead.
"Oh duh! I get it! That's why you got the name 'Stormy', because you
retained your electric powers!"
"Well, most of them, at any rate." Prism smiled.
"Ok, well, now that that's settled, how long is it to this lake?"
"About a two-hour walk, but if we ride the horses, we'll get there in the
good half of no time!"
"Too bad we don't have Persephone, Iris, or Night, then we'd get there in
as long as it takes to mount them." there was an awkward pause in which
Rainbow shook her head. "Uhh... dragons teleport."
"How many of us can we fit on each horse?" Lala asked.
"Two of you can ride on Starlight with me." Rainbow offered. Immediately
all hands but Pinkie's and Stormy's went up. Rainbow laughed. "Ok, um...
Canary, you should come with me since we'll be leading and Moonglo, you
come too." All hands went down. Stormy looked at the kids.
"Buddy, Prism, you ride with me on Skydancer." they nodded.
"I bet that two of you could fit on Sunriser with me." Glances were
exchanged, knowing that there were five kids left and that only two of
them could go. "Umm... eenie meenie miney mo..." the kids rolled their
eyes. "Ok, looks like Indigo and Patty are coming with me. But what about
the rest of you?"
"Might Starlight take us in a cart?" Lala asked.
"I'll go ask." Rainbow said, and ran off. A few minutes later, an
indignant snort was heard.
"I will NOT drag a cart like a common plowhorse!" Starlight's voice came.
"Aww come on, it's for a good reason!"
"Absolutely not!"
"On-X moved the boat for us on Spectra!"
"That pile of bolts would! And besides, it was an emergency! The only
thing THIS is going to do is make you all bigger and harder to carry!"
"That's it!" Patty exclaimed. "We can just call Krys and ask him for
help!"
"Krys is still around?" Prism asked.
"Yes, he's been living on Spectra with Orin for a long time."
"Will four people fit on On-X?"
"Well, we can try. Easier than convincing Mr. Ego out there to pull a
cart." Rainbow said as she walked back in. Not aware she had been there,
the Kids whipped around in surprise, then laughed.
"I'll go contact him." Violet interjected, standing up. "Should I tell
him you're here, Prism?"
"May as well. Don't want to give him a heart attack."
"Ok." She wrung her hands and scampered off. About ten seconds later, she
looked back in. "Come on I.Q.!" The violet Sprite ran over to her and out
the door, talking.
"Hai. Daijob des ka, Vaiorettu?"
"I wonder what made him ask that?" Moonglo asked.
"What did he say?" Prism asked.
"He asked if Violet was ok."
"Oh." She looked at the door Violet had exited through. 'I wonder...' she
made a face. 'Nah, not Alette.' A few more minutes past until Violet came
back in.
"Krys reports he's on his way and should be here in 2.159743-" she was
cut off by everyone except Prism yelling,
"Violet!!!"
"Oops, sorry." there was a pause. "That gives us time to do other stuff,
I guess. I'm going to my library, if any of you need me." and with that
she left.
"You know, ever since you showed up, Prism, Violet's been getting less
and less 'Shy Violet' and more and more 'Alette'." Indigo commented.
"I think you're right." Prism said. "I'm gonna go see if there's anything
concerning the dynamics of Color Crystal in the library, k? Seeya." And
she scampered out after Violet. She reached the library after a few
minutes of running through Sprite villages. It was a large purple building.
"We really got into this color thing, didn't we?" a voice behind Prism
asked. She jumped and turned, to see Violet.
"Oh, hi, Alette."
"I heard you follow me."
"Oh." Prism shuffled her shoes in the dust. "So, what's up?" Violet
looked off in a different direction. "Come on, if you remember me, you
know I'll just ask you repeatedly until you feel like telling." Violet
didn't move. "It's not a good idea to keep things all to yourself. You'll
get all stressed out."
"It's just... I... I can't say it." Prism led her five-year-old-bodied
friend into the deserted library and to a table. She still couldn't say
anything.
"Do you want me to guess?" Prism finally asked.
"That would make it SO much easier."
"Well, I'd say you like someone." Violet looked up at her, startled.
"Am, am I that obvious?"
"No. I just spent a long time on Earth where people act funny, which
makes them so much harder to read. I just picked up on the talent after a
while.
"Oh."
"So... now there's just the matter of WHO you like. There's only three
boys, which helps." 'I wonder if she's picked up I already know it's
Krys?' "Let's see... wait, it IS one of the boys, right?" Violet nodded.
"Why?" she asked. It hadn't occurred to her that any of her female
friends might not like guys, but girls.
"People on Earth can be that way, too, so I wasn't about to put it beyond
you all. There are, after all, only three boys while there are ten girls,
including me."
"Oh." is all Violet could think to say.
"Don't worry." Prism said quickly. "If there are ones like that among
you, you'll get used to it real quick considering you all don't seem
prejudiced." there was a silence. "Ok, well, I've thought about this now.
Do you, perchance, like Krys?" Violet suddenly flushed. Prism nodded. "I
thought so."
"He... he doesn't know. Please don't tell him!"
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I won't tell! Just take a deep breath... yes,
there you go. It's alright."
"Sorry, I know that's not like me..."
"Doll, you know I've only seen the you that's like that. I've never
really met this 'Shy Violet' girl. Only Alette. And Alette wasn't shy,
wasn't hardly ever scared, and definitely wasn't sorry if she got a little
upset." Violet took that in.
"W-would Alette be afraid to tell Krys she likes him?"
"Well..." Prism looked up at the purple ceiling as she thought. "I can't
say I rightly know. Alette never got a crush."
"Oh."
"Like that word?" Violet looked up, startled, then laughed.
"I... I guess so." She smiled up at Prism, who tousled the girl's hair.
"Ok now?"
"Yea."
"That's good. I was wondering of you knew about the dynamics of Color
Crystal..."
"It's Krys!" Patty yelled as she spotted first sight of him and On-X
above Rainbow Land. The rest of the Kids and Prism came out of the Color
Castle to greet him in the circle of Rainbowland Central. He looked to the
back of the crowd and saw Prism; an easy sight to find in a crowd around
her knees at the tallest.
"Hey everybody! Hi Prism!"
"Hi!" Everybody chorused.
"Hey!" Prism called back. He hopped off of On-X and looked around.
"So..." he waited, wondering if they were waiting for something. "Are we
going or what? I dunno about you, but I personally am sick of being a
kid." The others looked at each other. They were going to go back to their
old selves... but only if they could find the Angel Palace on
Black-and-White Island.
"He's right." Indigo said, surprising everyone. "Let's go!" She donned a
backpack of food (they weren't sure just how much something that close to
the pits might be affected) and looked at Pinkie expectantly. Pinkie
snapped to attention.
"Oh! Right! I'll go get Sunriser." Stormy joined her and ran off for
Skydancer. Starlight was already there. Before long, they were all there
and mounted on their horses.
"Ok, we're going to run on the ground to get there since Sunriser can't
fly." Rainbow directed. The pink horse neighed. "And Canary, you ride on
Starlight in front of me, since only you know where this place is.
"Oh my, I couldn't possibly..." she stumbled over her words. "It's far
too great an honor..."
"Oh, get on. " said Starlight. "You're going to have powers just like
Rainbow soon, you can guide me." Canary nodded and hopped onto Starlight,
in the space Rainbow had made by scooting back. Moonglo mounted behind
Rainbow, and everybody else got on their horse of choice.
"Everybody ready?" Canary asked tentatively. Neighs were made in
response, except from Starlight who said,
"Of course I'M ready, I'M the most magnificent horse in the universe!" He
received a small kick in the side from Rainbow for that comment.
"Matte! Matte!!!" Nite Sprite yelled as he ran out of the Color Castle.
Moonglo reached down, but he ran right past her to Prism, who was just as
surprised as anyone else. He reached up, something tight in his fist. She
leaned down and cupped her hands beneath it and he dropped something into
them. It glinted in the midmorning sunlight as it fell.
"What's this for?" she asked.
"Sunraitu-ko, onegai."
"No problem." she replied, recognizing her Sprite's name. She patted Nite
Sprite on the head. "I'll be sure to bring her back."
"Arigato!" He squealed and jumped up, hugging her around the neck. He
released her and she smiled.
"You're welcome. Seeya Nite Sprite!"
"Hold on tight, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Canary said, gaining
confidence as she grabbed fistfuls of the orange part of Starlight's mane.
Moonglo gently set her hands on on Rainbow's waist, and they were off.
Starlight leading with On-X and Skydancer close behind, and Sunriser last
but still close. After they had been riding for a while, Prism left
herself riding with one hand and looked at what Night Sprite hand handed
her. It was a silver, sprite-sized locket on a chain. Being curious, she
flipped it open to reveal one of Moonglo's golden star sprinkles. She
closed it and her hand around it and looked up at Moonglo.
'How totally ironic that our head Sprites would fall in love.' She shook
her head and looked ahead. 'Kind of like Romeo and Juliet.' Before long,
they reached the edge of a big lake. Looking across, they could see the
Black-and-White Island, and in the center of it, looming menacingly, the
monumentous Angel Palace. They stared at it for a long moment. Pinkie,
Patty and Indigo hopped down off of Sunriser, who couldn't take them any
further. They'd just follow on the rainbow.
"So... should we go across?" Lala asked.
"I guess so..." Rainbow said. "But I can't even tell if there's anything
living there." Canary looked at the island.
"Beleive me, there's living things there you'd never imagine."
Violet looked at her very seriously. "Because, Rainbow, Liona's power
was darkness." A very long silence ensued. Rainbow's eyes were glazed as
she stared at the empty space on the table in front of her. Buddy sat down
next to Patty. Everybody watched her. The only sound was the carefully
muffled breathing of the Kids and Prism. Suddenly Rainbow looked up.
"Well then, I'm sorry I haven't been able to meet her! She should be a
very interesting person, I must say!" Prism smiled, followed by Violet,
Indigo, and soon the whole table was smiling. Red walked up and sat on the
other side of Lala.
"Well, it's good to see you all in good moods this morning!" They all
laughed. "Uh... ok." The serving Sprite came back and gave them their
food, and the three remaining kids arrived. Stormy sat on the other side
of Prism, Pinkie next to Indigo and Moonglo next to her.
"So... what I've been wondering is if any of you have run into the old
Angel Palace...?"
"There was a different place you lived?" Rainbow asked, sounding
interested.
"Yes, it was called the Angel Palace." Stormy said.
"It's the reason we ever thought of calling this the Color Castle." Buddy
admitted. There was a pause while they ate for a minute.
"Umm, I think I've seen it." Canary commented.
"You have?" the rest all asked simultaneously.
"I think so. It was on Black-and-White Island, though."
"Well," Violet began, "It's worth looking. Since the terrain changed
irreversibly when the evil was destroyed, we wouldn't really know where it
was anyway." Some of the others nodded.
"So, um, should we start after breakfast?" Patty asked.
"Well, do we even know where this Black-and-White Island is?" Rainbow
asked. Canary thought for a long moment.
"I think it might have been in the big lake bordering the pits." There
was a general tensing of muscles. "That's the Enemy Headquarters around
here now, Prism." Prism nodded thoughtfully.
"What kind of enemies are we up against nowadays?" The kids exchanged
glances.
"Only Murky and Lurky, actually." Prism rested her chin on her hand.
"Weren't those two the lowest rank cronies of the Evil One?" She asked.
Stormy blushed.
"Yes, but they were plenty of a threat these last five hundred years,
considering only two of us retained our powers." Prism looked surprised.
"Two? I know Rainbow has powers but who else?"
"Well... me." Stormy shrugged as she said it. Prism lightly smacked her
forehead.
"Oh duh! I get it! That's why you got the name 'Stormy', because you
retained your electric powers!"
"Well, most of them, at any rate." Prism smiled.
"Ok, well, now that that's settled, how long is it to this lake?"
"About a two-hour walk, but if we ride the horses, we'll get there in the
good half of no time!"
"Too bad we don't have Persephone, Iris, or Night, then we'd get there in
as long as it takes to mount them." there was an awkward pause in which
Rainbow shook her head. "Uhh... dragons teleport."
"How many of us can we fit on each horse?" Lala asked.
"Two of you can ride on Starlight with me." Rainbow offered. Immediately
all hands but Pinkie's and Stormy's went up. Rainbow laughed. "Ok, um...
Canary, you should come with me since we'll be leading and Moonglo, you
come too." All hands went down. Stormy looked at the kids.
"Buddy, Prism, you ride with me on Skydancer." they nodded.
"I bet that two of you could fit on Sunriser with me." Glances were
exchanged, knowing that there were five kids left and that only two of
them could go. "Umm... eenie meenie miney mo..." the kids rolled their
eyes. "Ok, looks like Indigo and Patty are coming with me. But what about
the rest of you?"
"Might Starlight take us in a cart?" Lala asked.
"I'll go ask." Rainbow said, and ran off. A few minutes later, an
indignant snort was heard.
"I will NOT drag a cart like a common plowhorse!" Starlight's voice came.
"Aww come on, it's for a good reason!"
"Absolutely not!"
"On-X moved the boat for us on Spectra!"
"That pile of bolts would! And besides, it was an emergency! The only
thing THIS is going to do is make you all bigger and harder to carry!"
"That's it!" Patty exclaimed. "We can just call Krys and ask him for
help!"
"Krys is still around?" Prism asked.
"Yes, he's been living on Spectra with Orin for a long time."
"Will four people fit on On-X?"
"Well, we can try. Easier than convincing Mr. Ego out there to pull a
cart." Rainbow said as she walked back in. Not aware she had been there,
the Kids whipped around in surprise, then laughed.
"I'll go contact him." Violet interjected, standing up. "Should I tell
him you're here, Prism?"
"May as well. Don't want to give him a heart attack."
"Ok." She wrung her hands and scampered off. About ten seconds later, she
looked back in. "Come on I.Q.!" The violet Sprite ran over to her and out
the door, talking.
"Hai. Daijob des ka, Vaiorettu?"
"I wonder what made him ask that?" Moonglo asked.
"What did he say?" Prism asked.
"He asked if Violet was ok."
"Oh." She looked at the door Violet had exited through. 'I wonder...' she
made a face. 'Nah, not Alette.' A few more minutes past until Violet came
back in.
"Krys reports he's on his way and should be here in 2.159743-" she was
cut off by everyone except Prism yelling,
"Violet!!!"
"Oops, sorry." there was a pause. "That gives us time to do other stuff,
I guess. I'm going to my library, if any of you need me." and with that
she left.
"You know, ever since you showed up, Prism, Violet's been getting less
and less 'Shy Violet' and more and more 'Alette'." Indigo commented.
"I think you're right." Prism said. "I'm gonna go see if there's anything
concerning the dynamics of Color Crystal in the library, k? Seeya." And
she scampered out after Violet. She reached the library after a few
minutes of running through Sprite villages. It was a large purple building.
"We really got into this color thing, didn't we?" a voice behind Prism
asked. She jumped and turned, to see Violet.
"Oh, hi, Alette."
"I heard you follow me."
"Oh." Prism shuffled her shoes in the dust. "So, what's up?" Violet
looked off in a different direction. "Come on, if you remember me, you
know I'll just ask you repeatedly until you feel like telling." Violet
didn't move. "It's not a good idea to keep things all to yourself. You'll
get all stressed out."
"It's just... I... I can't say it." Prism led her five-year-old-bodied
friend into the deserted library and to a table. She still couldn't say
anything.
"Do you want me to guess?" Prism finally asked.
"That would make it SO much easier."
"Well, I'd say you like someone." Violet looked up at her, startled.
"Am, am I that obvious?"
"No. I just spent a long time on Earth where people act funny, which
makes them so much harder to read. I just picked up on the talent after a
while.
"Oh."
"So... now there's just the matter of WHO you like. There's only three
boys, which helps." 'I wonder if she's picked up I already know it's
Krys?' "Let's see... wait, it IS one of the boys, right?" Violet nodded.
"Why?" she asked. It hadn't occurred to her that any of her female
friends might not like guys, but girls.
"People on Earth can be that way, too, so I wasn't about to put it beyond
you all. There are, after all, only three boys while there are ten girls,
including me."
"Oh." is all Violet could think to say.
"Don't worry." Prism said quickly. "If there are ones like that among
you, you'll get used to it real quick considering you all don't seem
prejudiced." there was a silence. "Ok, well, I've thought about this now.
Do you, perchance, like Krys?" Violet suddenly flushed. Prism nodded. "I
thought so."
"He... he doesn't know. Please don't tell him!"
"Don't worry, sweetheart, I won't tell! Just take a deep breath... yes,
there you go. It's alright."
"Sorry, I know that's not like me..."
"Doll, you know I've only seen the you that's like that. I've never
really met this 'Shy Violet' girl. Only Alette. And Alette wasn't shy,
wasn't hardly ever scared, and definitely wasn't sorry if she got a little
upset." Violet took that in.
"W-would Alette be afraid to tell Krys she likes him?"
"Well..." Prism looked up at the purple ceiling as she thought. "I can't
say I rightly know. Alette never got a crush."
"Oh."
"Like that word?" Violet looked up, startled, then laughed.
"I... I guess so." She smiled up at Prism, who tousled the girl's hair.
"Ok now?"
"Yea."
"That's good. I was wondering of you knew about the dynamics of Color
Crystal..."
"It's Krys!" Patty yelled as she spotted first sight of him and On-X
above Rainbow Land. The rest of the Kids and Prism came out of the Color
Castle to greet him in the circle of Rainbowland Central. He looked to the
back of the crowd and saw Prism; an easy sight to find in a crowd around
her knees at the tallest.
"Hey everybody! Hi Prism!"
"Hi!" Everybody chorused.
"Hey!" Prism called back. He hopped off of On-X and looked around.
"So..." he waited, wondering if they were waiting for something. "Are we
going or what? I dunno about you, but I personally am sick of being a
kid." The others looked at each other. They were going to go back to their
old selves... but only if they could find the Angel Palace on
Black-and-White Island.
"He's right." Indigo said, surprising everyone. "Let's go!" She donned a
backpack of food (they weren't sure just how much something that close to
the pits might be affected) and looked at Pinkie expectantly. Pinkie
snapped to attention.
"Oh! Right! I'll go get Sunriser." Stormy joined her and ran off for
Skydancer. Starlight was already there. Before long, they were all there
and mounted on their horses.
"Ok, we're going to run on the ground to get there since Sunriser can't
fly." Rainbow directed. The pink horse neighed. "And Canary, you ride on
Starlight in front of me, since only you know where this place is.
"Oh my, I couldn't possibly..." she stumbled over her words. "It's far
too great an honor..."
"Oh, get on. " said Starlight. "You're going to have powers just like
Rainbow soon, you can guide me." Canary nodded and hopped onto Starlight,
in the space Rainbow had made by scooting back. Moonglo mounted behind
Rainbow, and everybody else got on their horse of choice.
"Everybody ready?" Canary asked tentatively. Neighs were made in
response, except from Starlight who said,
"Of course I'M ready, I'M the most magnificent horse in the universe!" He
received a small kick in the side from Rainbow for that comment.
"Matte! Matte!!!" Nite Sprite yelled as he ran out of the Color Castle.
Moonglo reached down, but he ran right past her to Prism, who was just as
surprised as anyone else. He reached up, something tight in his fist. She
leaned down and cupped her hands beneath it and he dropped something into
them. It glinted in the midmorning sunlight as it fell.
"What's this for?" she asked.
"Sunraitu-ko, onegai."
"No problem." she replied, recognizing her Sprite's name. She patted Nite
Sprite on the head. "I'll be sure to bring her back."
"Arigato!" He squealed and jumped up, hugging her around the neck. He
released her and she smiled.
"You're welcome. Seeya Nite Sprite!"
"Hold on tight, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Canary said, gaining
confidence as she grabbed fistfuls of the orange part of Starlight's mane.
Moonglo gently set her hands on on Rainbow's waist, and they were off.
Starlight leading with On-X and Skydancer close behind, and Sunriser last
but still close. After they had been riding for a while, Prism left
herself riding with one hand and looked at what Night Sprite hand handed
her. It was a silver, sprite-sized locket on a chain. Being curious, she
flipped it open to reveal one of Moonglo's golden star sprinkles. She
closed it and her hand around it and looked up at Moonglo.
'How totally ironic that our head Sprites would fall in love.' She shook
her head and looked ahead. 'Kind of like Romeo and Juliet.' Before long,
they reached the edge of a big lake. Looking across, they could see the
Black-and-White Island, and in the center of it, looming menacingly, the
monumentous Angel Palace. They stared at it for a long moment. Pinkie,
Patty and Indigo hopped down off of Sunriser, who couldn't take them any
further. They'd just follow on the rainbow.
"So... should we go across?" Lala asked.
"I guess so..." Rainbow said. "But I can't even tell if there's anything
living there." Canary looked at the island.
"Beleive me, there's living things there you'd never imagine."
