Chapter 5: Time Out
A naming competition had been held for the new jewel in Red Butlers ever-growing arsenal against the rock and dirt of Rainbow Land. The equipment had been delivered to the Rainbow Factory then subsequently moved to Rainbow Land and found its final home within the deepest caves of the Color Crystal mines. It wasn't just one piece of equipment of course, but an entire system that had been delivered. Tracks, parts, electrical components; a whole new industry for the Sprites to learn and adapt to. The longwall mining equipment was frightening just sitting still, but when it was activated, and the many teeth of the grinding heads spun into action, the machine was downright terrifying. Red saw the future. No more haphazard sounds of pick-axes chipping away in deep dark tunnels, lit by candles or small electric headlamps. Now there there was only the grinding roar and electric hum of this horrific machine to echo up from the depths of the Color Crystal mines.
Some of the names submitted had been whimsical, like "Grinder Face" or humorous like "Hard Earned Taxes" but Red settled on the simple but easy to understand name "The Beast," because that was what it was. A whole grinding roaring system that ate rock faces and spat out gravel and chunks onto a conveyor belt that then carried those bits and pieces to an area where the Color Crystals were separated from the rock and stone of the cave. The Color Crystals were then sent down another chute to waiting trailers pulled by trucks driven by Sprites and Wuzzles to the security gate and onto the further processing areas on the Rainbow Factory grounds. Gone were the days of painstakingly sorting the Color Crystals by hand and loading them onto a cart, then riding that cart down a rickety track to the Color Castle. Such back-breaking labor was a thing of the past now. Accidents were down, and the workers were safer. Productivity was off the charts.
Once the trucks entered the Rainbow Factory grounds they were directed to the newly built Color Crystal Processing Plant, dumped and then sorted by color and quality into one of seven hoppers. The lesser quality pieces were stored in a slush-pile onsite to be added in as needed to make up for missing bulk in some colors. When the processing day began, the hoppers would be opened and the Color Crystals would be drained out into a chute that took them to the Treatment Room. Rainbow Brite had ordered the Fire to be moved to the newly built processing building. One of the hatches on the box containing the Fire would be opened and the Color Crystals would be bathed in the light from the Fire, allowing them to absorb the light and be super-charged for further processing. From there the Crystals were taking to the Grinding Room.
In the Grinding Room a hatch in the ceiling would open and the Color Crystals would rain down into one of seven different grinders that would pulverize the crystals into almost a powder. The ground down Color Crystals then were delivered into one of seven large Electric Arc Furnaces and melted down. Once the Color Crystals were in a liquid state, the liquid would naturally separate into two substances. The lighter substance, known as Spectra, would rise to the top of the melting pot, and the heavier substance, Spectrum, would sink to the bottom. From here there would be two pours made from the pot. The first pour would deliver the Spectra to cylindrical holding tanks. Even though the cylinders were made of the highest grade materials, they still held a permanent glow in the color of the Spectra that had been placed inside. The pots were then carried further down the line to the main Star Sprinkle processing area.
Rainbow Brite stood on a balcony that overlooked the Star Sprinkle Processing area and felt a satisfied smile creep over her lips. The pots carrying the Spectrum, seven in all, tilted and began their second pour. She watched as burning glowing liquid color emptied out over a dark void. This was a cooling shaft, where gravity would do most of their work for them. As the color fell through the air it began to cool until it reached the consistency of molten glass. The Spectrum then reached the Star Sprinkle molds. They had taken inspiration from candy-making and had rotary molds custom made for mass production of Star Sprinkles. The molds turned, stamping out entire sheets of interlocked star-shapes that then cooled as they fell further. By the time the sheets hit the bottom of the cooling shaft, they were hard enough to stay firm, yet still fragile enough to break into hundreds of thousands of Star Sprinkles. Huge rotating fan blades with bristles on their arms then swept the Star Sprinkles into chutes then onto a conveyor belt where a handful of Sprites and Wuzzles would pick out the odd-colored Star Sprinkles and set the aside to be added to their corresponding colors later.
After going through that short quality inspection, the Star-Sprinkles were loaded into Kevlar bags, that were then put back on the trucks to be taken back to Rainbow Land for use. Once in Rainbow Land, the Star Sprinkles were dumped from the bags and stored in hoppers until the Color Computer needed them. It had taken just over a year, but Rainbow Brite had finally automated nearly all of the processes it took to create Star Sprinkles in massive quantities. Not only Star Sprinkles, but the rainbows the Factory put out were more stunning and lasted longer than the previous ones. Lala Orange was busy making new sales left and right, business was finally booming, because of the Fire and the ingenuity of the Color Kids.
The main Production Hall had gotten to be too small and like most of the older areas of the Factory, it was converted into office or employee space. The old meeting room where the large windows had looked over the field and trees at the side of the Rainbow Factory, had now become a large break room. The windows still remained, but now they looked over the new processing area. The museum in the entryway had been taken down in favor of new offices, the outside had been sheathed in new siding and windows to hide the brickwork, the iron fences and archway with "Iridian Manufactorum" wrought into it had been removed in favor of a parking lot and guard shack, the Rainbow Factory had been brought kicking and screaming into a new modern era.
But Rainbow Brite was not done yet.
Business was booming, yes, but it still wasn't enough to pay back on the loans she had taken out for the renovation work. Loans that would become more burdensome as time went on. Rainbow needed to find new avenues of income. If anything, they had too much inventory on hand. Lala was selling and gaining new customers but still shelves sat with canisters of unsold rainbows. They needed to find a new outlet to sell color. Ideas were tossed around at the next meeting. Potential new markets for rainbows, markets that they had yet to explore, talk of dumping their backstock on a broker and let it be their problem. They all left the new meeting room hours later with still no solutions.
Canary Yellow herself was staying later and later at night, even until morning working on new forms, writing letters to other departments and checking up on quality reports. If Rainbow Brite and the other Color Kids (were they even kids anymore?) were the head of Production, Canary found herself in the difficult position of making sure it all worked and stayed consistent. The Quality Control offices had somehow been missed by the renovation work, although Rainbow promised that the next phase in building would include a line of budgeting for the offices. Canary only mumbled to herself and went back to her small cramped office space. After the meeting she had been prepared for another all nighter when she glanced up to see Patty at the doorway to her office. Patty had removed her lab coat and wore a rather cute outfit despite her slightly larger size. Buddy Blue had recommended some changes to her exercise routine and reviewed her diet. The two of them were often seen jogging around the Factory grounds before the workday began. Patty had actually gained a lot more muscle tone. She looked amazing. "Hey Birdie."
Canary sighed and stretched. "Hi Patty, what brings you here this late?"
"I wanted to drop this off," she set down a jar on Canary's desk filled with black goo.
"Is this-"
"Yeah, its that black stuff we saw the Shadow Person eating that one time. I was finally able to collect some."
Canary looked at the substance in the jar. "Hmm...come to think of it, I haven't seen a Shadow Person since the renovation. Are they even still here? Or did we scare them off?"
Patty smiled excitedly. "No. They're still here. I see them at night sometimes. Me and Buddy followed one of them the other night and found something awesome, I want to show you where I got the sample from. I think you're going be impressed."
Canary was certainly curious. She looked at the jar of goo, then shrugged and stood up and made sure the computers weren't going to be disturbed. Patty recommended a flashlight so she grabbed a couple and made sure the batteries were good. On their way out of the Quality Control office, Canary grabbed the jar of black goo and dropped it off in Shy Violets R&D department along with a note asking Violet to examine the substance. Patty then led Canary through the halls to the old Production Floor. The massive room was empty now while they figured out what to put in here after all the rainbow and Star Sprinkle production had been moved to the new building. The room had always been creepy at night, and somehow even more so now that the machinery had been moved along with the Fire.
Patty led Canary to the back wall where the Fire and its whole apparatus had been kept, then lifted her flashlight to a place in the wall. Canary gasped as she recognized the outline of a door. "This wasn't on any of the blueprints…"
"I'm guessing that there is a lot about this factory that came after the blueprints were drawn up," Patty said with a grin. She pressed her finger into the wall and pried the door open. "Me and Buddy already checked it out so I'll show you around."
Canary stepped back as Patty opened the door and shone her flashlight down a set of steps. "There's a basement?"
"Its not just a basement. Its like there is a whole other factory down there that was just walled over and built on top of," Patty led the way down the steps that stopped on a wooden floor, these weren't just boards, they were massive planks made from old-growth timber. Canary swept the beam of her flashlight around. She could see ancient machines that seemed to run off a steam-powered flywheel system, large vats filled with some odd dark substance, and a row of wooden crates along the far wall. Stenciled on the side of the crates were the words, Rainbow Factory Paints and Pigments.
"So this place didn't always make rainbows…" Canary walked along until she found an closed door, the door was locked. "Patty, would you mind?"
Patty grinned and raised a leg, then smashed the door in with a powerful kick. The interior was some kind of storage space, with shelves holding jars of paint. Canary began to read a few of them. "Huh...Lead White, Cadmium Red, Uranium Yellow….School Bus Yellow...Cobalt Blue…"
"Hey, this a pretty shade," Patti picked up a jar of brilliant green. "Scheele's Green."
Canary's eyes suddenly widened. "Patty put that down," she looked over the shelves at the other colors. "Manganese Violet, Chrome Orange, Antimony White...Mummy Brown…" she took a step back and covered her mouth. "Patty, most of these are poisonous colors."
"Even this pretty green?" Patty put the jar back.
"Scheele's Green is made from arsenic," Canary backed out of the room with Patty and shut the door.
"So this whole time we've been working over a toxic waste dump?"
"I want to look around a bit more," Canary saw other offices she wanted to explore. "Does Rainbow know about this place?"
"Yeah I told her and she said that if it isn't hurting anything to just let it be," Patty swept her beam around. "I found the black goo over there, it was dripping down from the ceiling right under the Fire would be.
Canary walked over and looked up at the ceiling, the timber was soaked through with the black goo and it dripped onto the floor in a puddle. She couldn't quite explain it, but it felt wrong in a sense. "How far did you and Buddy explore?"
"Admittedly not very far before we scared the daylights out of each other," she smiled at the memory. "Buddy really is an amazing guy."
Canary felt happy for her friend. They had all just accepted that the Factory had made them grow up. Overall it felt good to finally leave that eternal childhood behind, although Lala Orange seemed to be taking it a bit hard, but that was just her vanity talking. Once Lala figured out that a whole new world of fashion had opened up to her, she would be fine. Canary and Patty walked along a bit further and found a small office, once again Patty forced the door open and they stepped inside. Here there were ledgers and books, invoices and receipts, along with pictures. Canary began flipping through a few books, careful not to let their dust rise too much, while Patty examined the pictures.
The pictures were in sepia tone and depicted a bunch of men in long coats, women in long dresses, and children bundled up in smaller versions of either, tending large machines and printing presses. Two men were present in nearly all of the pictures, a tall man with a top hat and carrying an umbrella, and a slightly smaller younger man. Large splotches of black ink had been used to obscure the face of the taller man in every single image he was in. Between Canary and Patty, a story began to unfold. In the late 1870s, this father-son pair had taken control of the Factory to use as an extension of their printing business, they then began to expand it to include pigments and paints. They picked the whimsical name of Rainbow Factory at this time, and there were no records of what it had been formerly called. But the business was plagued but setbacks. They had everything needed to be successful, but with every new product they fell further behind as the deaths and illnesses associated with the paints and their ingredients were effectively killing off their customer base. The name Rainbow Factory was no longer associated with quality, but was now a grim omen of impending doom.
The son then unexpectedly died.
Following the sons death, the Rainbow Factory stopped making paints, and started selling rainbows. It never did completely recover, but had reached a point of stability at least. All new projects and expansions had been stopped. Strangely, Canary found no invoices for the arrival of the Fire. There were a few folders that held sketches and plans for its containment apparatus, but nothing that explained the Fire itself.
Patty set the last picture down. "That is one heck of a history lesson."
"Yeah it is," Canary studied the wall of the office that held shelves stuffed full of more notebooks, journals, rolled up blue prints and more. "I wonder what all of these are?"
"Eh, I'm kinda burnt out on all the reading…Are you coming home tonight?"
"Maybe in a bit, I want to look around a bit more," Canary saw the expression on Patty's face. "Oh don't give me that look, I'm fine, I don't even feel tired."
"Look, I want to explore more too but you said yourself there are dangerous chemicals down here. We take a break and come back with proper safety equipment."
"But-"
"Canary, you haven't been home in a month," she began to lead her friend back toward the stairs.
Canary paused. "Of course I've been home, I know I spend some extra time here but-"
"You haven't slept in your own bed in a month. You spend all of your time here at the Factory. Its not healthy. You don't have time for any of the fun things that make you who you are. Like, when was the last time you danced?"
"Huh? Patty its kinda hard to go en pointe in steel-toed boots."
"And that's what I mean. Come home with me."
"I-" Canary had to admit that Patty had a point. It would be best to be better rested and prepared when she returned to further explore this new area.
Patty began climbing the steps. "Don't make me throw you over my shoulder and carry you home."
Canary smiled, with Pattys new bulk and strength, she could easily back it up too. "Alright you win. I'm coming."
Patty and Canary returned to the Quality Control office and took a moment to shut down the computer. Canary collected up her bag and shut the door. With that done, the two women, headed for the front door. Canary turned a hall then stopped. The front door wasn't there. "Oh that's right, we did renovate everything about this place, I think its down this hallway here?" Canary and Patty went a little further.
"Huh? Not here either? Then where…" Patty stopped to think. The door had to be here somewhere. "I'm never going to hear the end of it from Buddy," they went down every hall they could think of, and even a few they were sure were not there before. Eventually they found themselves outside the door to Rainbow Brite's office.
Canary tapped lightly on the door and opened it. "Rainbow, you won't believe what we found out about-" her voice dropped when she saw Rainbow asleep at her desk using her arms as a pillow. "Oh Rainbow," she stepped into the office and smiled at her dearest friend. Her heart began to swell and she recalled so many nights staying up waiting for Rainbow Brite's return to Rainbow Land, and how she kept food warm for her or drew the occasional hot bath if it had been a rainy one because Stormy got carried away. Now, with some of her innocence having been stripped away by this Factory, Canary began to realize that her love for Rainbow Brite went a bit deeper than the bond of friendship. Canary found a blanket and draped it over Rainbow's shoulders. She then began clearing away a few of the things scattered on Rainbows desk; the half-empty coffee mug, piles of papers, and a book that she had never seen before. Something called "Rainbow Philosophy."
She curiously opened the book to a random page. The potency of color is dictated by the potency of the soul. While any soul can be rendered down into its base spectrum, only species that contain a full spectrum of soul should be brought before the Fire. These species include-
"Whats the hold up?" Patty came into Rainbow Brite's office. Canary quickly closed the book and put it back. "And Rainbow too...I guess it can't be helped," Patty bent over and picked up Rainbow Brite from her chair and rested her head on her shoulder. Canary felt a surge of jealously that she quickly pushed down. Patty was just trying to help. Canary turned off the lights and followed behind Patty as they made their way to the front door, which was exactly where they had thought it was to begin with. Maybe Patty was right, and they had been working too much. Rest and a good meal would do wonders, and then she could explore the basement again.
Patty carried Rainbow to the guard shack and passed through with Canary not far behind. It felt like ages since Canary had felt the cool sweet night air of Rainbow Land on her cheeks. Maybe she would take the next day off. She deserved it anyway. Yet already she was feeling some unrealistic pull back to the Factory. There was work to be done, areas to be patrolled, boxes to inspect and a room full of ancient blueprints to discover. The Rainbow Factory was already calling her back. She was needed there, she belonged caught the back of Canary's shirt. "Did you forget something?"
"I...I think I forgot to turn off my computer."
"I watched you do it."
"Some files I need to get-"
"It can wait."
"I need to inspect the next shipment, the customer said that if they get another dented canister then they will-"
"And Buddy can write up that response if it comes to it. Come on Canary."
"I gotta go back!"
"Not tonight you're not."
"Patty! Let me go!"
"No," Patty's response was heartfelt and soft. "There is nothing to be done now except to rest up. You're done. Your work is done. Whats there can wait."
Canary relented then turned her back to the Factory and continued down the road toward the Color Castle. She could have never predicted that this would be her last night at home.
Rainbow Brite awoke the next morning in her own bed with the sun shining brightly outside. Shining a little too brightly. She sat up quickly and reached for her alarm clock and noted with dismay that it had been turned off and it was almost noon. "Oh no, I'm late!" she swung her feet out of bed and nearly tripped over the sheets. That almost never happened. Within moments she was up and dressed, maybe not quite ready for work but at least presentable. As she left her room she heard the sounds of laughter downstairs. Rainbow grabbed her shoes and went to the top of the stairs. The Factory was calling her. She had to go in, she had a job to do. She didn't know how she got here but she had to get back to the Rainbow Factory.
Halfway down the stairs she was able to peek over and see the Color Kids around the Color Computer. Not all of them, Red Butler was missing as was Lala Orange. Wherever she found one she would find the other. Canary Yellow was also not present. Indigo looked up from her place and smiled almost sleepily. "Good Morning Rainbow."
Rainbow Brites breath caught in her throat. All of them. Every last one of her friends had grown up under her nose. And they were all so beautiful. She felt like she had been asleep for years and the world had moved on past her. Patty was nearly an amazon with her new muscle tone and height. Buddy Blue had a bit of neatly trimmed facial hair, Shy Violet had become a shapely woman, and Indigo had grown in height but still held a mystic allure. "G...Good Morning….everyone," Rainbow Brite answered back softly. "How...who brought me home?"
Indigo tapped a button before her and stood up, then took Rainbow's hand. "Patty and Canary brought you home last night, or rather I should say Patty brought you and Canary home. You were out cold. Canary left early this morning for the Factory already."
"I need to-"
"Not without breakfast you aren't," Patty smiled sweetly. "Please Rainbow, sit down and relax for a minute. Geez, am I the only one who knows how to take a day off?"
"There is so much that needs to be done, I don't have time-"
"Every flower needs time to bloom. Rushing them won't make them bloom any faster. Besides, look," Indigo gestured to the Color Computer. "With all the work you have been doing, look at what we've accomplished. The world is so much more colorful now. There aren't even any more trouble spots for you and Starlite to address."
Rainbow Brite looked up at the visual display for the Color Computer and saw that indeed, all of the places she brought color to were holding steady at their peak. There were tubes set into the walls filled with different colored Star Sprinkles. Every now and then the contents would shift as the computer added more color as needed. They finally had enough. She had been so busy that she hadn't even stopped to look and see the fruits of their labor. Indigo offered her chair to Rainbow. "I'll go get you some tea."
Images flickered across the Color Computer and the levels held steady. Rainbow allowed herself a rare moment to breathe. They had done it. With the help of the Rainbow Factory and new technology, they had done it. Indigo was right. Flowers needed time to bloom. She had to get outside of the Factory and get her head in the right place again. She had been so close to all the details she wasn't seeing the forest for the trees so to speak. Indigo returned and gave Rainbow a mug of tea, and Rainbow sipped it gratefully. "Thank you."
"Its your choice, but I really think you and Starlite should spend some time together. Maybe even grab Twink and make a friends day of it. You have been working so hard lately," Patty said, she was a little miffed that Canary had run back to work before she could be stopped.
Rainbow nodded. "You know I think I'll do just that," she sipped her tea again and closed her eyes in thought. "I really appreciate everyone looking out for me. I'm nothing without you guys."
Indigo smiled and sat back down to monitor the Color Computer. Rainbow Brite eventually finished her tea then went outside and whistled for Starlite. He came running, then slid to a stop before her. "Good Morning Starlite."
"Good Afternoon Rainbow. Off to the Factory?"
"Not today. I wanted to go look around Rainbow Land and spend some time with you."
"Gladly!" Starlite whinnied and knelt. "Hop on!" he was pleased that he got to spend time with his closest friend for even a little while.
Rainbow looked at Starlites white coat with its almost pearl-like iridescent sheen, then sat down.
"Side saddle?" Starlite almost seemed offended.
"I don't think it would be appropriate to ride normally in this outfit," Rainbow admitted. When she had the body of a child she could get away with anything. Now that she was for all intents an adult she had to be more careful with how she moved and presented herself. After all she had a high-ranking position at the Factory and—she shook those thoughts away. Not today, the factory would not dominate her thoughts today. She held onto Starlites mane as he stood and started walking. Her weight shifted a little. "I'll be fine, you can go faster if you like."
"This feels strange."
Rainbow laughed. "Both of us will get used to it."
They traveled through the Sprite Village and Rainbow Brite was surprised at how much it had grown. The houses were getting bigger and there were more stores and places of business opened up. Even a small movie theater. The success of the Rainbow Factory was beginning to show in Rainbow Land. Not all the new commerce here was tied to the Factory, but without the sudden injection of income all of this wouldn't be possible. Rainbow Brite felt a worry line crease her forehead. Seeing the success in the people of Rainbow Land put an uneasy amount of pressure onto her as well. The Factory had to do better for the sake of Rainbow Land. Starlites hooves clicked on newly paved roads as hordes of Sprites and Wuzzles moved about their daily business. Bakeries were selling pies and bread, grocery stores were filled with Sprites shopping, and a line of baby carriages and strollers were parked out front. Rainbow hadn't even considered the possibility of a population boom from the new prosperity the Rainbow Factory brought. Land outside of the village was being developed into new housing or being cleared for farms to feed the growing population. And it wasn't just Sprites and Wuzzles. There were a few Care Bears in the mix, probably just visiting, Popples, fairies, gnomes, all manner of peoples normally found in other more isolated places.
Starlite left the paved roads and went along a trail toward the orchards near the river. As they passed by a tree, Rainbow reached up and picked a pair of peaches. She gave one to Starlite and kept the other for herself. The horse munched loudly as he walked along. For the most they enjoyed each others company in silence. The sun was bright, the colors were brighter and everything Rainbow had fought for had come true. Rainbow Land was growing and developing. All it took was the Rainbow Factory, and for herself and her friends to leave behind their childish ways and childish bodies. They had to grow up if they wanted to survive and thrive.
As they neared the edge of Rainbow Land, Rainbow looked over at the Pits. "Its nice to see that one thing hasn't changed."
"Come to think of it," Starlite commented. "I haven't seen Murky or Lurky around at all. You would think that with everything going on they would try something."
Rainbow turned Starlite toward the Pits. "Lets go check up on them."
"Are you serious?"
She smiled and chuckled lightly. "As much of a pain in the butt that they can be, they've been here longer than we have. Murky and Lurky are our neighbors, and I do get a little concerned if I don't see them for a while." As Starlite moved into the Pits, Rainbow could feel her magic begin to fade, but nowhere near the amount it used to. Had her time in the Factory made her stronger?
She stopped Starlite halfway up the ramp-like walk to Murky's front door. The place hadn't changed at all. One door and two windows that vaguely looked like eyes peeking out from a misshapen head. Scattered to either side of the home were piles of trash. Some of it was actual household trash, but most of it was scrap and other junk neatly organized into barrels and cans. Murky was a tinkerer, and he tended to collect whatever he could get his hands on to turn into strange inventions. Rainbow went up to the front door and raised her hand to knock on it, but before her knuckles could touch that old wood, the door opened and Murky himself stood on the other side.
Murky was some kind of goblin-man-creature. With faint green-grey skin, black hair and mustache. He seemed a bit surprised to see Rainbow Brite, his old nemesis, standing on his stoop, but he was a polite host all the same. "Rainbow Brite? To what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
Rainbow almost felt her thoughts go a little numb, why was she here? "Um...I was just coming to check up on you. I haven't seen you around."
"Oh I've been around, saw that cute little factory of yours and everything," he laughed in his strange wheezing way.
"Murky! Who's here?" Lurky called out from somewhere deeper in the house. "Its Rainbow Brite! Hi Rainbow Brite!"
"Hi Lurky," Rainbow called out, then turned back to Murky. "What do you mean? Have you been there? Its a very dangerous place Murky."
"Oh no, I don't dare go inside. There's too many of them wandering around in there."
"Them?"
"The Shadow People. We don't get along you see. As for my attempt to bring gloom to Rainbow Land, I'm retired now. It will be someone else's job to figure it out."
Rainbow couldn't believe what she heard. "So...you won't be bothering us anymore?"
Murky emitted that strange wheezing laugh again. "No. I don't think I could with your newfound industry. Too many people over there."
Rainbow smiled. "Well, its good to know that you have given up on your evil ways."
"I said that I was retired not that I have given up."
Rainbow nodded. "In any case, you are always welcome to visit if you get lonely. Maybe I can show you around the Factory one day."
"Hoo-ooo, I might take you up on that," Murky rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well its been a fun visit, but my stories are on."
Rainbow Brite took a step back from the door. "Sorry to keep you from your soap operas. Have a good day Murky," she turned and headed back to Starlite.
"You too!" Murky called out, but the well-wishing sounded almost forced and sarcastic. He watched Rainbow Brite get on Starlites back and ride away. Lurky finally joined him at the door.
"Aw, she went away. Phoey, I wanted to pet the horsey," Lurky pouted. "Are you really going to stop trying to make Rainbow Land gloomy Murky?"
"Of course not tapioca skull. I'm being patient," Murky closed the door.
"Why? Everyone is so busy."
"If there is anything that ever settles into that mass of compost that you call a brain, let it be this. Never interrupt your enemy while they are making a mistake. That Rainbow Brat has no idea what that Factory of hers really is. And by the time she figures it out it will be too late for her and her friends. Then we will strike, and rename Rainbow Land to Gloom World!"
Rainbow Brite spent the rest of the day with Starlite and Twink, going on her usual rounds of Rainbow Land. She absolutely needed a day of rest. A few good meals, a long soak in the tub, and a good nights sleep later, she was ready to go back to the Factory. She took her time to have breakfast, pick out her clothes and prepare for a brand new day of work. Starlite gave her a ride to the guard shack, and she passed through those gates just like anyone else. Once on Factory grounds however, her good mood faded.
There was a crowd at the door of the Star Sprinkle Processing Center. There was usually one or two Spites and Wuzzles but today it looked like the whole Factory had been emptied out. Rainbow spied Canary in the crowd and went over to her to see what was going on. Canary looked upset, in fact most of the faces present looked upset. "Hi Rainbow…" she said softly.
"What happened?"
Canary motioned for Rainbow to follow her to a more secluded spot. "There was an accident."
"An accident?"
Canary nodded. "A larger than normal Color Crystal came down the chute and got stuck in one of the grinders. One of the Sprites went in with a pole to try to dislodge the Crystal and well…"
Rainbow covered her mouth. "Oh no…"
"Yeah. We're all pretty shocked. Red, Buddy, Patty and Stormy are all in there doing clean up," Canary took in a deep breath, her voice shook a little. "I should have had better safety measures in place. Like a lock-out system or-"
Rainbow reached out and hugged Canary. "You couldn't have predicted this. We already have rules in place for when this exact kind of thing happens. You're supposed to turn the grinders off and have two other people with you to prevent this very thing. The fact there was a pole involved at all means that this isn't the first time its happened and this practice had become habit."
Canary closed her eyes, torn between the grief and guilt she felt over the loss of the Sprite, and her excitement that she felt in Rainbows arms. "Oh Rainbow…"
"How soon until we are back up and running?"
Canary was stunned. Someone had just died, what did she mean by "how soon?" Shouldn't there at least be an announcement or a day off while they went through new training or-
"Canary?"
Canary looked up and met Rainbows red eyes. "Uh...I guess I can go see…"
Rainbow nodded sweetly, then let go of Canary. "I'm heading to my office. Please let me know when everything is running again, okay?"
"Yeah...okay," Canary felt Rainbow's warmth leave as the woman let go and walked away. Canary watched her go and felt a shiver move through her. "Rainbow," she whispered. "When did you become so cold?"