So last night I finally finished chapter 6, therefore allowing me to upload chapter 4 here. It took me longer than usual, as I've begun subbing and so some evenings I just crash. Don't worry though. I'm still working full steam and chapter 7 is currently being written. As always, feedback is appreciated, especially if a mistake is caught. Enjoy the chapter. The next one should be up within a week's time, if all goes well.
Chapter 4 Turn of Events
Gathering her wits about her, Stormy stepped forward into Rainbow's room, but stopped when she felt something beneath her feet. Glancing down, she saw the Color Belt, faded in color, beneath her boot. She reached down and picked it up gently, knowing deep down what Rainbow must have done. No longer hesitating, she marched straight to Rainbow's bed. "What's the meaning of this?" she asked angrily, holding out the Color Belt. "And why was Moonglo crying when I saw her?"
Rainbow didn't turn to look at Stormy. "Isn't it obvious? I am no longer Rainbow Brite; I don't need the Color Belt anymore."
"No longer Rainbow Brite? What are you talking about?" Stormy felt sick to her stomach. What exactly had Rainbow done?
"Color isn't needed, so I'm not needed. I don't need the Belt." Rainbow spoke softly, never turning to face Stormy, never changing her tone of voice.
Frustrated, Stormy stamped her foot. "That's not an answer! Look at me, Rainbow! What's wrong with you?" She was taken aback when Rainbow suddenly turned to face her.
"What's it matter to you? I'm not the one to bring color to the world anymore. Deal with it."
Stormy's face moved closer to Rainbow's. "That's your job, Rainbow. Each of us has a job to do," she stated, jabbing a finger in Rainbow's chest.
Rainbow glared back at her, her forehead now pressed against Stormy's. "Not anymore." She smacked away Stormy's finger angrily.
Stormy groaned in frustration. This was going nowhere, and Rainbow was being stubborn. She decided to change the subject. "What did you do to Moonglo earlier?" she asked, pulling away from Rainbow.
"I didn't do a thing." Rainbow slid off the bed, standing before Stormy. "It's her own fault she thinks I should always look at the night sky."
Stormy looked at her, confused. "You always have, Rainbow. You enjoy the night sky."
"No, no I don't. I'd like you to leave me be." Rainbow took a step forward, raising her hand to point Stormy toward the door.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Rainbow. It's gonna take more than that. I'm not like Moonglo," replied Stormy, fists balling at her sides.
"I can do…" Rainbow's sentence faded as she began to sway. She lost her train of thought, knowing she was supposed to be angry at Stormy, but she couldn't remember why. She fought to regain her balance, but it was no use. For an instance, the real Rainbow shown through the gloom shadow. "Help me, Stormy," she called out in a whispered voice before she slumped to the floor, unconscious.
For a moment, Stormy had no idea what just happened. She shook her head and quickly knelt by Rainbow's side. "Rainbow?" she called, shaking her gently. "Rainbow! Wake up!" She shook Rainbow's limp body harder, but it was no use. Rainbow would not waken.
Stormy quickly rose to her feet. She realized that she still held the crumpled Color Belt in her hand. Something was going on, and she couldn't figure out what. She caught the glimpse of the old Rainbow instead of whatever this monster was. Her voice had been kind, gentle, and in need. Stormy took off through the castle, sounding the alarm. "Help! Guys, come quick! Rainbow's down!" She ran through the various hallways, rousing the Color Kids from their rooms and finding Twink among them. She slowed to a stop once everyone had been found, and bent over, hands on knees, trying to catch her breath.
The Color Kids watched her, confused as to what was going on. Twink was the first to notice the Color Belt in her hand. "Why do you have the Color Belt?" he asked.
Stormy looked at Twink and then at the faded Belt. "Rainbow gave up being Rainbow Brite. She tossed the Color Belt aside. I found it on the floor when I went to talk to her. She's done something to upset Moonglo as well." Stormy looked around at the shocked faces before her. "Look, something's not right here and we need to fix it. Rainbow's not herself and she's passed out in her room. Before she did, she cried out for me to help her. Something's inside her."
"How can we be sure it's something inside her?" asked Patty O'Green.
"We can't. Something's wrong though and we need to figure out why."
"What about the Color Belt?" asked Red Butler.
"We keep it safe with her, don't we?" asked Canary Yellow.
"Yeah, we need to keep it away from Murky," added Buddy Blue.
Shy Violet spoke up. "If we have to keep Rainbow safe and the Color Belt away from Murky, how are we going to run the Color Console at the same time? Each of us Color Kids are needed to keep it running smoothly during the day, as well as overseeing production of the star sprinkles."
"But Stormy doesn't need to help us. Moonglo doesn't either. They can take care for Rainbow while we work," suggested Lala Orange.
Tickled Pink nodded in agreement. "Will you, Stormy?" she asked.
"Of course! We just need to ask Moonglo as well."
"And she needs to know what's wrong with Rainbow," added Canary Yellow.
Stormy turned to face Twink. "Twink, take a few of the sprites and see if you can search out Moonglo and Nite Sprite. Tell them to return to the Color Castle, and make sure they know it's an emergency, okay?"
Twink nodded. "Got it. I'll be back before you know it!" He dashed off to the entrance to begin his search.
"Let's hope he can find her soon," voiced Indigo to no one in particular.
"Come on guys. We need to go take care of Rainbow!" called Stormy as she took off at a quick pace for Rainbow's room. The rest of the Color Kids followed after her.
Meanwhile, in a clearing in a forest far from the Color Castle, a soft white light glowed, hovering over the lone wooden chair that sat there. Within moments it had disappeared, and in its place had appeared Moonglo, Nite Sprite standing behind her with his bag of nite sprinkles. He was chattering in a worried tone, looking at the fresh tears that trickled down Moonglo's cheeks. Moonglo sniffled, using her sleeve to wipe at her face. "I don't know, Nite Sprite. Rainbow's not herself." She glanced off into the distance, toward the Color Castle and the beam of moonlight that fell upon it, knowing that it bathed Rainbow's room in its soft light.
Nite Sprite turned to look at the castle as well, and chattered disappointedly. He knew that Moonglo had used more energy than she normally would to decorate the sky and prove a point to Rainbow, but he also knew that she would be drained of energy much sooner than usual. He looked back up at her and patted her knee in sympathy.
"Thanks, Nite Sprite," she whispered, her eyes focusing on the Color Castle. Deep inside, she knew that her efforts had made no difference, and this caused a fresh wave of tears to fall. "Oh Nite Sprite, I don't know what to do," she said in a wavering voice.
Nite Sprite was about to reply, but turned his head when he heard the sound of voices in the distance. He communicated this to Moonglo and waited to see who had followed them. "Nite Sprite! Moonglo!" he heard Twink calling in the distance, along with a chorus of other sprite voices.
Moonglo had heard the call too and rose to her feet. "What are you doing out here?" she asked Twink as he came into view, and hoping that her face didn't deceive that she'd been crying only moments before.
Twink looked up at her. "You've got to return to the Color Castle. There's trouble with Rainbow!" he explained, gesturing with his hands.
"I don't think Rainbow wants to deal with me right now, Twink," Moonglo replied sadly, shaking her head.
"Rainbow's passed out; Stormy and the others are working out a plan, but they need to talk to you! Please come back with us, Moonglo," pleaded Twink, the other sprites nodding in agreement.
"Well… all right," decided Moonglo. "Come on Nite Sprite. Let's go back to the Color Castle."
Nodding, Nite Sprite picked up his heavy bag of nite sprinkles and followed behind Moonglo and the other sprites as they all started down the path that would take them back to the Castle. Moonglo looked up at the sky again, admiring all of the beauty she created. A heavy sigh slipped from her lips. She usually felt contented to look at her handiwork, but not tonight. When the one person you rely on most insults your efforts, you can't really feel all too grand about what you've done in the end.
The sprites and Twink led Moonglo and Nite Sprite directly to Rainbow's room, where the Color Kids were gathered around Rainbow's bed. Tickled Pink looked up when she heard footsteps behind her. She smiled when she saw that Twink had found Moonglo and Nite Sprite. Moonglo moved closer and saw Rainbow lying in her bed. She had been laid under the covers by the others. Moonglo noticed the look on her face was anything but peaceful. She appeared scared, and her faced seemed to twitch every so often. The other Color Kids took Moonglo into their embrace and continued their silent vigil at Rainbow's bedside.
Slowly, as the night wore on, the Color Kids and sprites left one by one, saddened and uncertain about what the morning would bring. The task before them seemed daunting, and none of them were certain if they were up to it. Rainbow never stirred; all attempts to try and wake her had failed. Shy Violet wanted to observe her later on and see if she could find any possible causes for what had happened. During the quiet vigil, Stormy had taken Moonglo aside and explained the situation her and the agreement the Color Kids had all decided on. Moonglo knew that it would be a difficult task; she would have to stay awake more than she was used to in the daytime and still complete her nightly task, but she readily agreed, knowing it was for the good of Rainbow Land.
Morning came to Rainbow Land and its inhabitants were slower to rise than usual. Twink set about making sure the sprites continued to mine the color crystals from the Color Cave and Prism Pond. He scurried about, double-checking everything, encouraging the sprites to work faster, as he made trips back and forth between the Color Cave, Prism Pond, and the Color Castle. Starlite helped him travel back and forth, but didn't speak. He was still hurting from the words that had come tumbling unexpectedly from Rainbow's mouth. Sprites gave him encouraging smiles, but he didn't smile or speak to them. He only focused on the job before him.
The Color Kids worked busily at the Console, helping their sprites to add star sprinkles to the slots around it. They took turns rotating between the Console and the section of the Castle where the color crystals were made into star sprinkles. Stormy had disappeared sometime in the night; no one knew where she had disappeared to, but quite a few had heard the distant roll of thunder before sunrise, and knew Stormy was responsible. However, by the time they'd all woken, there was no hint of a cloud in the sky. Moonglo had stayed in Rainbow's room to watch over her. During the night, Nite Sprite had helped her to put heavy cloth curtains over the windows and doorway, to keep out the natural sunlight that would soon come. This way, she could be awake longer in the daytime without the sunlight affecting her energy. She had pulled a chair up to the side of Rainbow's bed and kept an eye on her.
Her fingers drifted over the top comforter, feeling the soft fabric beneath them. She yawned, exhausted from the events of the previous night, and her body only wanted to rest. Her eyelids started drooping, and she fought the sleep that threatened to take her away to the land of unconsciousness. "Must… stay awake…watch Rainbow…" she murmured to herself, chanting the mantra over and over again. The fabric felt so good beneath her fingers though… it would be so nice to rest her head on it. She jerked away, head flying back. No, thinking that way would only make things worse.
She decided to observe the details of her surroundings, hoping that the attempt to focus would keep her from sleeping. Her eyes traveled up to the Color Belt, which hung from one of the bedposts. It was still faded in color. Moonglo focused on the red, yellow, and green of the rainbow, and the way they connected to the white star. Her eyes drifted from the belt to the fabric that hung from the nearby window. It was a deep shade of maroon, and she strained to see the criss-crossing threads of the material it was composed of. Her head began to droop again, and she tried to fight it, tried to pull her head back up. Struggling, but losing the fight with her exhausted body, her head fell forward and landed gently on the comforter. Her hands lay around her head, and she slept peacefully in the darkened room.
Up in the mountains, Stormy sat beneath a rock ledge, half hidden by the large boulders that surrounded her. She observed Rainbow Land from her perch, knowing exactly what was going on below. To the right, the Pits overlooked Rainbow Land gloomily, as they always did. There was no sign of life to be seen; she wondered if Murky and Lurky were up to another of their stupid ideas. She hadn't figured out why they had so willingly ran off yesterday, but she had to admit that chasing them all the way back to the Pits had been fun. A slight smile crossed her face at the very thought of it.
The early morning thunderstorm she had conjured up had done nothing to soothe her anger. She had considered conjuring up worse, but it would have done no good. Not even the biggest storm could get rid of how she felt inside. She knew disappearing from the Castle wasn't the best idea, but she needed to be alone for awhile and think. The Color Kids were now looking to her, and somehow she had ended up as the unofficial leader of the group. She didn't mind the title because it meant that she wasn't second best to Rainbow anymore; she was now the top person in Rainbow Land, the best. It had come at a cost though, one that made having such a title cause guilt to loom over her conscience. The pressure that was to come, and the possible failure too… Stormy shook her head to clear the thought away. Failure was not an option. She heard the sound of hooves near her and knew that Skydancer was impatient. It was time to head back.
Red Butler was overseeing the production of the star sprinkles, a clipboard in hand. He made notes of the times a new cart of crystals arrived, and the colors that were created. He was working alongside Indigo, who made sure the end process went smoothly. He was so focused on his work that he didn't notice Romeo run up to him. Romeo grabbed at his pants leg, shaking it as he spoke in a worried tone.
"What are you talking about? What did you find?" asked Red Butler, not looking up from his clipboard. Romeo continued to explain his discovery. "What? Oh no!" he exclaimed. "Indigo!"
Indigo looked up from across the room at Red Butler's frantic call. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Romeo says that the red coloring from the tomatoes in the garden is fading. One of the farming sprites pointed it out to him just now."
Indigo gasped. "If red is fading, other colors could be too! Why isn't our rainbow strong enough?"
"I don't know," replied Red Butler, "but we need to find out. And fast. If it's because Rainbow's down, then we're in a lot of trouble." He and Indigo ran from the room and headed for the Color Console, where the rest of the Color Kids were busy. They all turned around when they heard Red Butler and Indigo run into the room.
"There's trouble! Colors are starting to fade in Rainbow Land. The tomatoes in the garden are beginning to lose their bright coloring," he quickly explained.
The Color Kids looked at each other, uncertain of what to do next. Each had figured that doing their job would be enough for now, until they were able to restore Rainbow Brite to her usual self. Now it seemed their job and hers were necessary for the colors in Rainbow Land, and possibly Earth. Without Rainbow doing her duty, where did that leave the Color Kids, and the color across the lands?
Hmm... an interesting proposition. However, if you happen to know my style, it's only going to get worse before it's going to get better. Let me know what you thought! :)