After breakfast the next morning, Brian and his family gathered outside the Color Castle to say goodbyes.
"Like I said, Rainbow, we'll be back in a couple of weeks," said Brian Sr.
"Good!" answered Rainbow, "I always miss you and your family when you're not around."
"Daaaad, why can't I stay?" asked Brian Jr.
"Sorry, son. We all need to make an appearence at your aunt's wedding," was the answer.
"Awww..." said Brian, but subsided.
"Canary, it was good seeing you again," said Shelly.
"You too," answered the cheerful Color Kid, "And you'll be back soon, so maybe we can take that camping trip into the mountains."
"I'll try to remember to bring our camping gear," said Shelly.
She shifted Tina against her shoulder. The child was crying, not wanting to leave.
Canary gestured, and Shelly put her down.
"Hey, Tina, I know you'll miss us, and we'll miss you too," Canary told her, "But think how happy you'll be when you see us again!"
Tina quit crying, and thought about what Canary was saying. Then she flung her arms around her and started again. She was almost as tall as Canary, so it was easy for her to do so.
"Tina, every time you see a rainbow, think of us here in Rainbowland. And if you see yellow, think of me. And know that I'll be here when you come back."
Tina let go of Canary, who smiled at her. She tentatively smiled back, and took her mom's hand.
The family stood together, with Orin and Wajah, Krys, Doris and On-X there to see them off, as well as all the Color Kids but Moonglo, who was sleeping from her night's work.
Rainbow touched the star on the Color Belt, and the rainbow appeared under the family's feet, and carried them upwards. Everyone waved goodbye, and they were gone. The rainbow faded away.
"I need to get back to Spectra," said Orin, turning to Rainbow, so Krys and I will be taking our leave as well."
"Thank you for coming, Orin, Krys. I think we're as ready as we'll ever be when the Princess tries something."
"Whenever you need us, just call!" said Krys.
They stepped over to a waiting On-X.
Orin started to say something, when the robot horse interjected, "Danger! Whinney! Danger!"
They looked around, but saw nothing.
"What is it, On-X?" asked Krys.
"There Is A Star-Ship Ar-riv-ing," answered On-X, "It will Be Here Ve-ry Short-ly."
Sure enough, the sound of a rocket engine suddenly became audible. They all looked up, and saw a small black speck rapidly growing larger. It seemed to be slowing, and when the landing gear lowered, it became apparent it was landing behind a nearby hill.
"Anybody recognize that design?" asked Red.
"Yes, it's my sister's flagship," said Krys, "That's what she was in when she attacked Spectra last year. See the emblem on the side?"
"Sigh," said Red, "I thought it was her, I was just hoping I was wrong."
"Be ready for anything," called Rainbow.
The Kid's Sprites were coming up and handing them Starsprinkles for use if necessary. The other Sprites were taking shelter in their homes. Sorrell, who had been inside the Castle, came out to see what the noise was about. It had awakened Moonglo, and she came out as well, still yawning.
"What's going on?" asked Twink.
"It's what we talked about yesterday, Twink," said Rainbow, "The Princess is probably going to attack us."
"Oh," said Twink, and moved a bit closer to her.
"Give me some Starsprinkles, please," she said, and the white Sprite did so.
The flagship had landed, the noise of the engines fading away. Birds chirped rather hesitantly, then resumed their normal noise level.
Suddenly, from over the hill came the Princess, with Count Blogg following a yard or two behind her. She stopped when she saw them all, then turned and took a white flag from Blogg. She approached, and stopped a few yards away. The flag flapped in the breeze.
"Rainbow Brite, I'm going to take everything I want from you. Your Color Belt, the Color Crystal, and your life," she said. "We are going to strip-mine this planet, and get all of the Color Crystal. My fleets will be invincible."
Rainbow did not answer, but looked at the Princess calmly.
The silence grew deafening, as Rainbow made no move, and said nothing. The Princess looked at her brother.
"You should come back with me, Krys," she told him, "You are in danger if you stay here."
"You just try anything," answered Krys, "And I'll stop you."
The Princess laughed. "I don't think so, this time," she said, and held up her hand. A pink glow appeared around her fingers.
"Haven't you caused enough trouble?" asked Rainbow.
"Yeah," chimed in Twink.
"ME cause trouble!" said the Princess, "I'M a Princess! I can do anything I want to. YOU are nothing but a little brat who tried to keep me from what I wanted, and got lucky once. Well, it won't happen again because I'm going to destroy you, and all your friends."
She looked at Krys again. "This is your last chance, brother. Come back with me, or die with them."
Krys took one step closer to Rainbow.
A long silence, then the Princess muttered, "So be it."
She raised her arm, and a pink flash burst upwards. Then she turned her back on them, and walked with dignity towards the waiting Count Blogg and General Zombo.
"I wonder what that flash was about," said Tickled Pink.
"I don't know. Nothing good, I imagine," answered Rainbow.
"Don't worry, Rainbow, I'm here, and I'll stand by you," said Krys, taking his eyes off his sister and looking at his friend.
"Thank you, Krys," said Rainbow.
Suddenly there were five sonic booms overhead. They turned and looked over the Color Cave's mountain. Five ships flew in formation over it, trailing thick, heavy smoke behind them. As they disappeared over the other horizon, the smoke drifted down towards the Castle. It was a dirty brown color, and cut off almost all the daylight. It settled down around them, a terrible stench with it.
They all coughed, trying to get a good breath.
"G--gloom c--cloud!" said Violet, gagging.
Rainbow touched the star on the Color Belt, and the rainbow appeared, but dimly. It didn't have any effect on the cloud. It thinned away by itself, the smell growing weaker as it spread out. More sunlight managed to penetrate the gloom, but it was still dim.
Suddenly Buddy gasped. "Rainbow! Look!" He pointed to where the Princess and Count Blogg stood. Standing with them in the gloom was the King of Shadows, huge and menacing in his ragged cloak, eyes bright with hatred.
The sound of other ships landing grew louder, but in the gloom nothing could be seen.
Rainbow turned to Wajah. "Take Orin with you, go to Spectra, and bring back help," she said.
"Right away, Rainbow Brite," said the little alien, "Come along, old one, we need to go now."
"You're right, Wajah," said Orin.
They headed towards Wajah's saucer, parked beside Sorrell's.
They never got there. A bolt of pink energy suddenly flashed their way, and they were turned to crystal where they stood. The Princess laughed.
Suddenly out of the woods came Glitterbots. They trampled through the plants, crushing anything in their way. The hypnoray flashed, catching Sprites that had stayed out to watch whatever was going on.
Without a word, several of the Color Kids and their Sprites flew up on their color stripes, and attacked the tall golden robots, sending colored light beams into their eyes.
But something was wrong. It didn't seem to work. Not a single Glitterbot was affected. They continued to advance. The Kids gave it up, and returned to the others.
The hypnotized Sprites were ordered to move out of the way, and sit down. They did so, and Slurthies came out of the ground, surrounding them.
Patty stood stunned. Slurthies. The things that had taken her over, and forced her to betray Rainbow. She had a more independent personality than any of the other Color Kids, and that had been a horrible experience for her, being enslaved by such a creature.
More Glitterbots appeared, and began to surround them. They were accompanied by Slurthies.
Her anger blazed, and a green aura began to glow around her. This time it was a pure, bright color. The very sight of the black, squat creatures was so emotionally charged to her, she could hardly see them through the haze of red in front of her eyes.
She raised her hands, and the green glow moved around them, glowing brighter, and brighter. She was going to attack the Slurthies with her green light to break them up, and disorient them, giving the Sprites a chance to escape. Suddenly she realized she couldn't aim at the Slurthies surrounding the Sprites, because she would also affect the Sprites, and confuse them, preventing any escape. And that frustration just added emotional fuel to the fire.
She looked around at where the Glitterbots were, crashing through the trees, trampling the plants with no regard for any living thing that might be under foot. She could almost feel the pain of the trees as the giant robots shoved them aside, cracking off branches, and breaking trunks. Rainbowland was being casually destroyed by these things.
It was all too much. Gloom cloud choking everyone, plants and trees being destroyed, chaos and terror visited upon the peaceful and friendly Sprites.
A sudden movement caught her eye, and she watched a Slurthie engulf a Sprite. Exactly what had happened to her in the dull forest on the Nebula Planet. Then the memories came back, of being a prisoner in her own mind, watching helplessly as her body was controlled like a puppet, forced to lie to Rainbow, and betray her.
Suddenly she screamed in rage and pointed, and an emerald line of light the diameter of a pencil left her fingers, so bright everyone was momentarily blinded. She swept the beam across the line of Glitterbots who had come out of the trees, leaving paths of destruction in their wake.
Where the laser touched, a Glitterbot was instantly melted, falling in two sections with molten metal on the edges. Trees were cut in two, catching on fire as they fell. Blogg, the Princess, and Zombo hit the grass. The King vanished.
As her scream of rage ended, so did the laser. It wasn't easy to see in the gloom, especially with the additonal smoke from burning, but damage to the Princess's forces was considerable. Dozens of Glitterbots had been destroyed, or at least severely damaged.
Patty fell to her knees, panting heavily. After a moment she stood up, and aimed at the Slurthies. They all melted into the ground, leaving the Sprites unattended. Many of the Sprites stood motionless, hypnotized. The rest were stunned at the display of power, especially the green Sprites in the crowd. She looked at Lucky, gestured towards them, and gasped, "Tell them to run."
Her favorite Sprite stared at her for a moment, then understood. He cupped his mouth with his hands, and shouted "RUN!" at them. Those that could, did so. The hypnorayed Sprites stayed.
Her rage had worn off, and Patty dropped her hands, and sat back down, heavily.
"How did you do that, Patty?" asked Buddy, eyes wide. He knelt beside her and put his arm around her.
With an effort, Patty raised her hands again and looked at them. Nothing seemed different.
"I-I'm not sure," she said, still panting, "When I...saw those Slurthies...I got so mad, it...it just happened."
A new noise was heard, and flyers with soldiers aboard came over the trees. Lasers were fired at the Color Castle, and Sprite houses came under attack. The Sprites inside ran out, and were running in all directions, completely panicked. The remaining Glitterbots began using their hypnoray again.
"Quick, everyone, inside the Castle!" shouted Rainbow, and the Kids and Sprites headed that way. Buddy stood up. He reached down to help Patty up, and she grabbed his hand and pulled herself up.
"That was incredible," said Buddy, as he helped her stay on her feet by putting an arm around her waist, "I didn't know we could do that."
"I don't recommend it," she gasped, "It's really draining. But I feel better, now." She held on to him as they headed after the others.
They were the last two to enter the Castle. Violet was at the Color Console, making adjustments. Colors ran up the Column, and the globe flashed.
"Are we all here?" said Rainbow in a loud voice. She turned in a circle, and confirmed all the Color Kids and their favorite Sprites were there. Sorrell, Krys, On-X, Starlite, and Doris had come inside as well.
"See if it worked," called Violet to Buddy, who was standing by the door. Patty was sitting on the floor, sweating heavily.
"What?" he asked.
"Open the door," replied Violet.
He did so, and was surprised to see a rainbow wall just outside. A laser bolt from a passing air car struck the wall, and splashed harmlessly. Startled, he stepped back. If the wall hadn't been there, it would have been Buddy's end.
"What did you do, Violet?" asked Rainbow.
"I set up the color signal to act as a barrier to the laser bolts, and surrounded the Castle with it," she answered.
"Good work," said Rainbow, and turned to Patty, "You too."
"Thanks, Rainbow," said Patty, and smiled weakly, "I wish I could have done that to those Slurthies."
"It wouldn't have done any more good than our normal light does," said Violet, "All we can do is break them up into smaller creatures."
"Right", said Red, "We're safe for the moment, but what are we going to do? We can't stay in here forever. The longer we do, the more the Princess takes over Rainbowland."
Rainbow looked at him. "It's not going to happen, Red," she said, "We'll find a way to beat her."
"Right," he answered, but doubt was on his face.