In a rather good mood, so I figured I'd upload chapter 12 a bit earlier than usual for everyone read. Only 2 chapters remain after this one, and they only get better and better. I've been work on both my Color Kid Diaries project and my Lost Storms project. I have about 6 entries left for the CKD one and then I have 2 chapters finished for Lost Storms. If you're interested in a sneak peek of those, you'll have to join the forums through . That's the only way you'll see either of them early on! Enjoy the chapter, and let me know any feedback.

Chapter 12 Surrender, Rescue, and Trickery

"Ready?" whispered Stormy.

"Yes," replied Moonglo in the same whispered voice.

Stormy urged Skydancer on at a slow pace. There was no need to hurry, when she had to pretend they were surrendering. She hated pretending to be this weak though… to give into Murky seemed such a low thing to do indeed. Skydancer whinnied a reply, as though reading her mind. "It's okay… we're almost there…" she soothed as she patted his mane. She could tell that he didn't like playing any part in this surrender game; it simply wasn't in his nature to give up willingly.

Closer and closer they came to the same spot where they had just recently taken back the Color Belt from Murky's grimy hands. Stormy soon slowed Skydancer and a bewildered Murky and Lurky watched as she spoke. "We give up," she said, dropping her head. "Rainbow Land is yours."

Moonglo shook her head. "We couldn't bring Rainbow back. We tried…but it didn't work. You win, Murky Dismal."

Murky couldn't believe what he was hearing from the two. It sounded too good to be true. Rainbow not able to be revived? The gloom shadow must have worked better than he had thought it would. However, something didn't settle right. "How do I know this isn't a trick?" he asked cautiously.

"It's not a trick," replied Stormy. "You can go to the Color Castle and see for yourself."

"Why the Color Castle? I'm sure you've set a trap and are lying!"

"We had to take her back to Rainbow Land to get the Color Belt to work. You know she's powerless in the Pits," Moonglo reminded him.

"Murky, does this mean we get the horseys too?" interjected Lurky with a thoughtful smile on his face.

"Quiet bozo brain!" hissed Murky. To Stormy and Moonglo he said, "True, but I still don't trust you. How can I be sure this is real?"

Stormy quickly tried to think of a reply, but had nothing to respond with. They hadn't discussed this part and what they'd do if Murky didn't trust them. She was about to speak and distract him, when Moonglo spoke up.

"Because we're giving ourselves to you. We'll be your new slaves, Murky." Moonglo lowered her head and held out her wrists, waiting for them to be cuffed.

Stormy covered her mouth in surprise; Moonglo did sound pretty convincing. She followed in Moonglo's steps and held out her wrists. "Yes. We wouldn't do this if we thought Rainbow could help us," she added.

On the inside, Murky was grinning with glee. How he'd longed to hear those words! How he'd seen a scene so very similar to this in his mind. "Lurky, fetch me some rope! We'll put these two to good use!"

Lurky ran off clumsily for the laboratory to get the requested rope. Murky rubbed his hands together, gleefully plotting the many things he could do. He could use Stormy's power to destroy the rest of Rainbow Land and keep it dark and gloomy. He'd find a use for Moonglo… he preferred not to use her current power… no sane person would ever want to see the night sky bright and full of color.

Starlite slowly made his way through the forest, keeping an eye toward the direction of the cliff where he knew Stormy and Moonglo would be surrendering to Murky. He had taken the long way around and now was searching for a back cave entrance into the Pits. The trick was to find it and then find a way in. Down the steep rock faces he trod, being careful of each step. He didn't want to set off a tiny avalanche of rocks, especially not before Murky left for Rainbow Land.

I swear… never again will I carry a bag like a common horse! he thought to himself, swishing his multi-colored tail in defiance. To the left, something caught his eye. He looked closer, and saw that it was indeed some sort of entrance into Murky's lair. To get to it, he'd have to go down deeper into the Pits and then climb up the slanted rock face to get to what he hoped was the entrance.

Slowly, slowly, he continued downward, sighing in relief when he reached a flat surface that was level with the entrance. However, he was disappointed to see that there was a steep drop not three feet in front of him that separated his ledge from the entrance. He was left with only one option – jump across the wide gap and hope that he'd make it. Why, there's no such thing as "hoping"! I know I can make it across… such a feat is easy for a horse like me! Starlite studied the distance, calculating his jump. Slowly, he backed up as far as he could and gripped the bag of star sprinkles in his mouth tightly. On silent hooves he raced for the ledge, propelling himself outward at the very last moment.

Starlite soared through the air, the wind catching his mane and tail. Within moments he had landed safely on the other side, right in front of the entrance. That was no trouble at all! He moved closer, spying that there was no wooden door to enter through. The entrance was merely hidden by a dirty, grimy, grey cloth that helped it to blend better into the Pits. Starlite never would have found it if part of the cloth hadn't been torn away from its hangings. Pushing the cloth aside, he edged his way into the cavern, getting a feel for the height and width. He noted that it could easily accommodate him, and tried to decide which way to go. He took a few test steps to the left, and then a few test steps to the right. If I were Murky Dismal, where would I go? he wondered to himself. To the left, the path seemed to slant uphill a bit, while to the right it seemed to slant downhill. Why, I'd hide the Color Kids in the deepest part of the Pits! he deduced.

Slow and careful steps to the right told him he was on a gentle incline. After a few moments, he decided to try some of the star sprinkles. He carefully set the bag down and used his nose to nudge it open. Carefully, he gripped one of the tiny star sprinkles in his mouth and then used a hoof to seal the bag up. There was no point in using more star sprinkles then necessary. He tossed the star sprinkle into the air, hoping that it would work as it had all those years ago when young Wisp had come to Rainbow Land.

At first, nothing happened. Just as Starlite was afraid it'd merely clatter onto the cavern floor, it began to glow, dimly at first, but then it grew brighter. The glow propelled it from it's fall and it rose in front of Starlite's face. Quickly, Starlite grabbed the bag in his mouth and began chasing after the star sprinkle, which acted as a sort of flashlight in the cavern. He raced after it, down one tunnel and then another, not knowing where it was going to take him, only knowing that it surely must lead him to the Color Kids. Murky must have really planned well this time to hide the Kids so deeply below the surface.

The star sprinkle raced onward, zipping and zapping until it finally slowed upon entering a large open cavern. Now the star sprinkle moved slowly across the cavern, until it stopped above what appeared to be a hole in the ground. Starlite moved closer, and saw that the hole had bars over it, bars meant for prisoners. He squinted and peered over the edge and there, in the light of the star sprinkle, sat the Color Kids, cover with a fine mist of gloom cloud. Starlite dropped the pouch from his mouth. "Kids!" he cried out. They didn't reply, as he had known they wouldn't. "I've got to find a way to get rid of this gloom cloud!" he stated to himself as he began wandering about the cavern, looking for a way to destroy whatever was creating the clouds.

Meanwhile, back at the Color Castle, Twink was just returning with a pouch of the dark soil that Rainbow had requested. He brought it to her room, where she sat waiting patiently on her bed. She jumped off when Twink entered through the dark curtains. She had noticed them earlier when she had entered, and wondered why they had been put up. It seemed strange to have them hanging there, and over her window too.

"Are you sure about this, Rainbow?" asked Twink as he sat the pouch down.

"Yes, Twink. This is the only way to make it look like I'm still under that spell of Murky's."

"You mean you don't mind being all dirty?"

"Twink, it's the only way I can trick Murky and take care of him. He's done some bad things."

Twink nodded slowly. "I know. He got you and he took the Color Kids and he hurt Stormy too."

"So that's why she looked a little bruised and had those small cuts on her hands."

Twink nodded again. "Uh huh. She tried to get the Color Belt back from Murky, but he used it against her."

Rainbow gave Twink a determined smile. "Well, I'll take care of him. He'll learn that he isn't the one who takes care of Rainbow Land."

"Right!" Twink held up the bag of soil for Rainbow, who took it from his hands and set it down on her dresser.

"Now Twink, help me figure out where I should put this, okay? It's gotta be where Murky saw it before."

Twink climbed up onto the dresser and pointed to her left cheek. "It was all over your face here, and it went down your neck too. You could even see it on your left hand!"

Rainbow took a small pinch of the soil and began to rub it into her face, watching the tiny purple star on her cheek slowly disappear under all the darkness. She slowly worked on covering the left side of her face. "Twink, I need you to cover my hand for me."

"Why?"

"If the left side of my face and my left hand were the places covered by the gloom, then seeing my right hand also looking gloomy might tip Murky off that this is a trap."

"Oh! I get it," replied Twink as he set to work spreading the soil over her hand, careful not to get it onto her sleeve. He finished covering her entire hand and looked down at his own. "Yuck!"

Rainbow studied herself in the large mirror. "I think it'll work. Now all we have to do is wait for Murky to show up. Twink, go up to the belfry and keep an eye out for him. Come straight back down here when you see him coming down the road to the Color Castle, all right?"

Twink nodded. "Of course!" He dashed off to the stairs that would lead him up to his favorite spot.

Sighing, Rainbow sat back down her on bed, careful to not stain it with the soil she had coated her skin with. Twink had been right – the stuff felt yucky and she felt so dirty. A hot bath later on would definitely be in order, but not until after Murky had been taken care of. We could all use a break she mused to herself. It was hard to sit there and do nothing. She wished that Murky would show up soon. Then again, she hoped that Stormy and Moonglo had been able to convince him of their surrender. She had a feeling that it would have been harder for Stormy, but knew both of the girls would pull through.

The scene rather looked like a funeral procession, only without a coffin. The grunge buggy chugged along slowly, with Lurky as its driver and Murky grinning like a maniac in the sidecar. A single rope was tied to the top of the grunge buggy, and connected to Skydancer's neck. Another rope connected to that, and then led to Stormy's tied wrists. The rope then tied around her waist and connected with another rope that had Moonglo bound in the same fashion. Murky would not even given them the pleasure of riding upon Skydancer's back. No, he wanted to humiliate them. After all, they were going to be his new slaves after Rainbow Land was completely in his hands.

"Just think of all the redecorating I'll have to do!" he sneered as he glanced back at both girls. Neither of them said a word, only kept their faces pointed toward the ground, marching forward. Yes, the sight was a beautiful one for Murky. "You two will be the first to help me out. Maybe one day I'll even figure out how to bring your precious Rainbow Brite back to life…but by then it'll be too late! I'll make her my slave too…or maybe I'll make her a queen…wouldn't that be a funny joke?"

"Haha Murky. You're so funny," commented Lurky.

"Keep driving, cheese log brain," commanded Murky.

Stormy was reminded of some forgotten remnants of a dream she'd had recently, remembering something about waking to find herself with Moonglo, and how they were slaves… she couldn't remember much of the rest of it, only that it'd suddenly changed and she was in some dry desert place… and Rainbow had been there too. She remembered thinking that Rainbow was acting crazy, but she couldn't remember why she thought that. Why did dreams have to be something that you forgot and couldn't quite remember? She focused on keeping her head low, on practicing her surrender face so that it'd look convincing. It felt so wrong to be in this position, to be Murky's "slave" of all things.

"It's okay, Stormy," whispered Moonglo so softly that at first Stormy didn't quite hear her. The sentiment made her feel better about what they were doing, and she knew that Rainbow would pull through. For all the arguing and hating being second best, Stormy knew in her heart that Rainbow would not fail if she had her heart set on something. That was something the two of them had in common – they could both be stubborn, but in different ways.

For once in his life, Murky Dismal did not shrink away during his ride into Rainbow Land. In fact, he welcomed the greys and blacks and whites that greeted his eyes during the ride. He took this as a sign that Stormy and Moonglo had told the truth. If Rainbow truly had been revived, then she would have fixed the color in the land, unable to stand the bleakness of it all. Murky turned around to face the two. "I suppose you were right about Rainbow. She'd never have let Rainbow Land continue to look like this! It's such a beautiful sight to see!"

"Uhh…Murky… are we going straight to the Color Castle?" asked Lurky.

"Yes, Lurky. We must take back my prize… and then I shall make Rainbow Land a beautiful place to live!"

"You mean, put the colors back?" asked Lurky with a smile on his face.

"No you dolt! I'm simply going to completely change everything else. I'll make sure there's no color left!"

"That's not a pretty sight," commented Lurky.

"I…ohhh! Shush up and drive!" commanded Murky.

Stormy and Moonglo had to hide the laughter that threatened to cross their lips. Lurky was great amusement. It's a pity that he'd actually turn out right about the colors in the end. Stormy dared to glance upward. She noticed that the Color Castle wasn't very far off; they were just entering the section of Rainbow Land where many of the sprite houses lined the main path that lead up to the Color Castle.

Murky grinned at the sight of the Color Castle. "Ah yes. What a wonderful place. Now I'll not only be able to control the color in Rainbow Land, but on Earth as well! Everything in it will be mine!" He rubbed his hands together as plans for changing the Color Castle to suit his needs formed in his mind. Yes, he could use that silly Color Console to spread his gloom much further than the boundaries of Rainbow Land. And if he could figure out how to properly do it, why, he could use the rainbow to travel back and forth to the various planets of the galaxy! Yes, his plan could not fail now. He had all of the Kids and one of the horses. Soon he'd have Rainbow Brite as well. Nothing would be able to stop him on this glorious, gloomy day!

Is Murky going to get his way in the end and Rainbow Land be lost for good? Or will Rainbow and friends win out once more?