Once again, as in her dream on Plock's Asteroid, Rainbow Brite stood on the featureless grey plain. But there was a difference this time. She could already see around her. The light was not from any source she could find, and was a pearly grey half-light. She turned a full circle, but nothing and nobody was there, just the horizon line.
As she waited for whoever and whatever would appear, she thought about what had happened. The war was over, and she guessed she was dead. She hoped the Kids would live to choose another to lead them, and fight back. She also hoped they would forgive her for failing them.
A bright spot and a dark spot together appeared in front of her, and slowly grew larger. Suddenly the King of Shadows and Lady Brite stood before her, side by side. The King looked different. His cloak still wrapped around him, concealing every feature but his hands and eyes.
But the cloak was no longer dull and ragged. It was velvet black, with bright highlights along the edges and where the cloak's folds were.
His eyes no longer held hatred and malice, but were bright and clear. The nails of his hands were not sharp and pointed like claws any more.
"We thank you, Rainbow Brite," he said, and his voice was no longer harsh and menacing. "Your sacrifice has freed me from the evil which took me over so long ago."
She looked at them with wonder.
"Evil cannot understand or cope with such willing self-sacrifice for the benefit of others. It had no choice but to flee my being. I am no longer the King of Shadows. I reject that title, and reclaim my rightful name, Lord Dark."
Seeing her confused look, Lady Brite said gently, "Darkness and evil are not the same thing, child. Evil can use darkness for its ends, but will also use the light."
"Why--why are you together?" she asked.
"We are mates," said Lord Dark, "Neither of us can exist without the other." They joined hands, and between them the pearly grey light grew a bit brighter.
"Lord Dark and Lady Brite, and I never guessed!" said Rainbow.
"As the King of Shadows, I would not tell you," said Lord Dark.
"And I could not," said Lady Brite, "If you had the knowledge that evil had taken over Lord Dark, you would have known what to do about it. The King would have moved against you immediately, with everything at its disposal, but you would not have had a chance to do what you did. You would not have survived long. As long as it thought that secret was safe, you were just an obstacle to be overcome, and it had no qualms about being in your presence.
You were my best hope for defeating the evil and freeing my husband, and had to be given the best chance possible. I regret it had to be from ignorance."
"Then what about the ghost?" asked Rainbow.
"My creation," said Lady Brite, "I had it show up on the asteroid a year ago so that you and the others would be used to its presence. I could not contact you directly, because that would alert the King. But the ghost had no direct link to me so was just a minor matter him. Its sole purpose was to show you that not all hope was lost, that you were still loved, and that the spell was a lie. It did so admirably."
"What spell?" asked Rainbow, confused.
"The bolt of blackness the King sent against you. It was a spell of lies meant to break your spirit, and destroy your hope."
"You mean my friends didn't turn away from me?" she asked, happiness swelling within her.
"Of course not. What you saw is what the King wanted you to see. They are your friends, and family, and they would never abandon you. They could do nothing for you, but they would all have gladly sacrificed themselves for you.
"Even," added Lord Dark, and a smile was in his voice, if not visible on his concealed face, "Sorrell the Sorcerer. He has learned a lesson, and has changed."
Rainbow looked down. "I am dead, then."
"No! We have brought you here to explain it all to you. We will send you back when our business is finished."
"Where is the evil now?" asked Rainbow.
"It has fled far away to a dark corner of the Universe to lick its wounds and plan anew for domination of the Universe. But it will be a long time before it gains the strength to try," said Lord Dark. "Evil cannot be destroyed completely, as long as this Universe exists. But for now, the balance has been tipped in favor of the good.
"The Books of Dal," said Rainbow, "Do you know how they were taken from my homeworld?"
"Yes," said Lord Dark, "That was the King's doing. He took over the body of Troy before they left for Rainbowland, and smuggled the books aboard the ship. After they arrived here, it was a simple matter to take them back off-planet."
"But why?" asked Rainbow.
"You know the power of what's in those books. In the right hands, that knowledge could have destroyed all the color and light, and ended life. The King thought that by delivering them into those hands, its ends could be accomplished easily and quickly. Fortunately its couriors, Murky Dismal and Lurky, ran into difficulties, and lost the books. Over time the set was split up, and individual volumes stayed with certain people and their families for generations, until lost or sold again.
Magicians had them, and studied them closely, but without the whole set, there were limits to what they could do. Other magicians jelously guarded the volumes they had, and refused to share their information. That too was fortunate, because it prevented the King from exploiting them. The books stayed out of sight for many, many years, while the King looked for them. They were not gathered back together until Plock managed it through his used book chains.
Sorrell had heard of the books, of course; they are part of the magicians legends and lore, and getting one or more of them had been a dream of his for years.
When Plock got all of them, he contacted Sorrell, since he had an agreement with him to look for things from your homeworld.
The King has been keeping tabs on all of the powerful magicians in the area, and took over Sorrell to get the books without revealing himself.
When you drove him from Sorrell, he had little choice but to seek out new agents, and contacted the Princess and Count Blogg. He knew if he didn't act quickly, the books would be beyond his reach.
But you sent them back with Troy and Mist before the King could act.
That angered him beyond all understanding, until he realized that, if the books were back on your home world, you could not use them either. With the Books of Dal no longer a factor, the conventional and magical forces of the Princess could destroy you and Rainbowland. He knew she had beaten you once.
"What happened to the Princess and Count Blogg?"
Lord Dark bowed his head. "They are dead. The King used Blogg's greed and lust for power to trick him, and they were destroyed along with the magic Jewel. I am sorry for that, but could do nothing to prevent it."
I am so relieved to be free of the evil. I have seen and done things over the millinia that are so horrific, the very memory of them makes me shudder. No matter how hard I struggled, only on rare occasions could I influence the evil. But I witnessed all it did."
He spread his arms, and the cloak rustled, the fabric's hilites flashing brightly in the half-light, against the contrast of the pure black of the cloak itself.
"Now I am free! With the help of the Light, the Darkness has triumphed over evil, and now the dark will no longer be a scary thing, concealing unknown evils, but a comfort and a rest."
"So this was a war of Darkness...against Evil," said Rainbow. Lord Dark and Lady Light nodded.
"You have fulfilled my dreams, and we, along with the rest of the Universe, are in your debt," said the Lady.
"What happens now?" asked Rainbow.
"We will send you back. The effects of evil cannot be wholly erased, nor can its accomplishments be reversed without some effort. You and your friends have a lot to do to restore things to normal on Rainbowland, Earth, and the other worlds in your care."
"We will get it done!" she declared.
The Lord and Lady looked at each other, then at her.
"We know you will, Rainbow Brite," said Lord Dark, "Evil spoke the truth when it told the Princess and the Count that you are one of the Great Lights of the Universe.
We too have a lot to do. Good luck, Rainbow Brite! Always remember we will be supporting you in your efforts. And thank you!"
They faded away, and the light faded as well.
"You're welcome! She called. "I'll always do my best to keep the color in the world!"
The light disappeared.
"Are you okay, Rainbow?" asked Krys.
She found herself standing on the grass, where she had run into the King. There was no sign of him.
She looked around. The gloom had broken up, and the clouds were drifting away toward the Pits on a warm breeze. The sun now shone brightly, revealing the full extent of the damage to Rainbowland.
"Uh, yes, I'm okay. Thanks, Krys," she said, distracted.
"The fighting seems to be over," he commented, "And my sister's forces are unsure what to do because Blogg, the King, and she have disappeared. I think we can beat them, now that they are leaderless."
"That won't be necessary," said a new voice.
Rainbow and Krys turned in its direction, to find General Zombo standing nearby. Krys raised the Prism.
Zombo saluted. "General Zombo, reporting to the Prince," he said, coming to attention.
"HUH?" said Krys, shocked. But the Prism didn't waver.
"My loyalty has always been to the Royal Family, sir," said the tall alien, "I served your parents, and when they disappeared, your sister. Now she is gone, so now I follow your orders."
Krys glanced at Rainbow, who was studying Zombo. She looked at Krys and nodded. Krys relaxed.
"Then release the Color Kids and others, General, then recall your troops, and send them to help put out the fires. I want medical attention for Stormy, immediately."
"Yes, sir," said Zombo, and gave the orders.
The War of Darkness was over.