Chapter Four
As soon as she was clear, the girl with bright blond hair pointed at her, and the other four turned to see who it was.
"Um... hi, I'm Rainbow Brite, and this is Twink," she said with a friendly smile.
There was no answer from them; they continued to sit and stare.
"Can you tell me what happened? Why the colors are gone?" she said, just a bit of anxiety in her voice.
As one, all five nodded. But no answer was forthcoming.
"Rainbow," said Twink in a low voice, "They're acting like they got hit with Murky's gloom cloud."
"You're absolutely right, Twink," she said, "And we know what to do about that."
"Too bad you'll never get the chance, Rainbow Brat!" came a familiar voice behind them and to their left.
"MURKY!" cried Twink, drawing closer to Rainbow's leg.
Rainbow quickly turned toward the voice, to find the evil man standing with his Gloom Pistol ready, and sporting a nasty grin.
"Uh, hi, Rainbow!" said Lurky, cheerfully waving.
"What are you doing on Trollz World?" asked Rainbow.
"Besides messing it up?" added Twink from the safety of behind Rainbow.
"We're here to get some magic," answered Lurky, "I hope it's pretty..."
"QUIET, lamebrain!" snapped Murky, glancing at the large furry creature.
Lurky slapped a hand over his mouth, looking apprehensive.
"I'll stop you!" declared the blond girl, hand moving to the star on the Color Belt.
"Oh, no you won't! NOW!" said Murky. He lifted the end of the pistol away from Rainbow.
Rainbow and Twink quickly looked back at the troll girls, who had quietly stood up and clustered together. The one with red hair was holding something in her palm, and the others had put a hand each over it.
"This girl and friend are way too nice, cover them both with lots of ice!" they chanted.
The one holding the object (it was a spell bead, Rainbow noted absently) tossed it at them. With a burst of red smoke Rainbow and Twink were encased in thick, clear ice. From his hiding place, Starlite gasped, but held his position.
Murky spluttered, putting away the pistol. He came over and put his hands on the ice, peering in at his enemy. "I told you to stop her!"
"We did," answered Amethyst.
"But now I can't get the Color Belt from her!" frustrated, he threw up his hands.
"Sorry, master," the BFFL chanted together.
"Gee, Murky, I bet she's cold..." said Lurky, putting a hand on the ice, then quickly removing it.
"Who cares?" retorted the villain. He stood thinking for a minute, then grinned. "This doesn't change anything. It will take a long time to melt the ice, and by then it will be too late!"
Lurky turned to him. "Too late for what, Murky?"
"Too late for her!" he cackled, pointing, "It's the end of Rainbow Brite!"
"Not if I can help it," thought Starlite, gathering himself to spring. Murky's next words stopped him.
"Let's go, Lurky, back to Rainbowland. We'll come back later and get the Belt," said Murky, and turned toward the bushes.
Antenna drooping, Lurky looked at the chunk of ice at Rainbow, frozen with a look of surprise. Twink had his eyes closed and a grimace distorted his face. Lifting a hand, he waved briefly at the girl. "Bye bye, Rainbow..."
Suddenly Murky seemed to remember something. He turned back to the BFFL, who were standing and staring. Their clothes and hair were very bright against the gray of the grass and trees around them.
"You five guard her, and don't let anyone get her out!" he ordered, "And be careful. If Rainbow Brite is here, her horse isn't far behind. Let's go, Lurky."
The villainous duo disappeared into the gray brush with a rustle of leaves.
Still hidden, Starlite waited. He was anxious to rescue Rainbow and Twink, but he had to make sure Murky was out of hearing range. Finally he could stand it no longer, and ran forward into the clearing.
"Look, a horse," said Topaz in a monotone, pointing at him.
"Who cares?" asked Amethyst.
"I don't," nodded Ruby.
"If we don't get her out, she's going to die!" exclaimed the white horse.
"That was the point, wasn't it?" asked Sapphire.
Seeing they would be no help, Starlite turned his back to the ice, and gave it a powerful kick, breaking off a large piece.
"Stop that," said Ruby, no inflection in her voice, "It's too late for her. Better to leave her there."
"NEVER!" exclaimed Starlite, rainbow mane flashing. He gave another kick, breaking off a bigger piece this time.
"We have to stop him," said Sapphire, pulling a spell bead from her bracelet.
Ruby, Topaz, and Amethyst turned to her, putting their hands over the bead. It flashed a bright blue, matching the glow from her tummy gem.
Unknown to Murky, Onyx LIKED gloom and solitude, so was less affected than the others. She had been struggling mentally against the gloom cloud's effects since it hit them, and was having some success. The flash of color from the bead brought her over the top of the uphill struggle, and she snapped out of it.
"NO!" she shouted, and the others turned to her.
"We can't do this! We have to save her!" she took a bead of her own and activated it.
"Trolls are gloomy, trolls are sad, turn them back before things get bad!"
With a toss, the bead exploded, covering her friends with an indigo cloud. They immediately started groaning.
"Oh, my head... but I feel a lot better!" said Amethyst.
"Me too!" giggled Topaz. But any other comments were short-circuited.
"HELP ME!" cried Starlite, giving the ice another blow.
"Let's do it, girls!" said Ruby, holding out the bead. Four hands clamped over it. "Get out of the way!"
"She can't breathe and she can't see, melt the ice and set her free!" they chanted in unison, and Ruby tossed the bead. It struck the ice, which promptly melted.
Rainbow and Twink gasped, falling prone in the cold water. They both lay, taking in huge gulps of air.
"Rainbow! Twink! Are you all right?" asked Starlite, coming over to her and putting his nose against her cheek.
She reached up and patted his muzzle. "Yes, Starlite, I'm okay. Twink?"
"Y-yes, Rainbow, I'm cold, but in one piece," answered the white sprite, shivering.
Suddenly each of them had two troll-girls beside them. One helped them up and the other put a blanket around them. Then they were led away from the water and over to the table, where they were sat down. Towels were handed to them, and they wiped their faces.
"Thank you," said Rainbow, giving Amethyst a wan smile as the pink-haired troll handed her a cup of coffee. One was waiting for Twink as well, but he refused it.
"Sorry, this is the only hot drink we've got," said Topaz.
"We're really, really, sorry!" said Ruby, "That guy did something to us, and we were soooo in the dumps we just did whatever he told us to!"
"I know," answered Rainbow, nodding, "That was Murky's gloom cloud. It has that effect on people." She took a sip.
"So, what's that guy's deal, anyway?" asked Sapphire, "And with making us destroy all the colors?"
"He wants everything everywhere to be like this," answered Twink, wiping his leg.
"Ugh, everything is ugly, now," said Topaz, looking around.
"And it's only going to get worse, unless I stop it," said Rainbow.
"You? What can you do? asked Sapphire.
"We put all the colors in the world," said Twink, dropping the towel and standing up.
"Really?" asked Onyx, skeptically, crossing her arms.
"Just watch!" said Rainbow, standing up. She touched the star on the Color Belt, and a rainbow emerged, gaining height and swooping around the trees. It was dropping glittering dust as it went, and wherever it touched, the colors came back.
The trolls stood and watched, eyes wide and jaws open.
"Wow..." they said collectively.
"But Rainbow, won't Murky come back to see what happened?" asked Starlite, looking in the direction the villain had gone.
Just then they heard a roaring noise, and saw a distant dot trailing thick black smoke rise into the sky. It was soon lost to sight.
"I guess not..." said Sapphire, staring.