Here it is, the final chapter in my story. I love this chapter and how it ended. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It makes me happy to know that I was able to finish this long-shot. As many of you know, I'm currently working on 2 new projects in my freetime. One is called Lost Storms and deals with Stormy's past, while the other is called The Color Kid Diaries and works to present an event through each of the Kids' eyes. The CKD is halfway done, and I'm on chapter 3 of Lost Storms. I don't want to post chapters for either just yet though. I will when I have enough to work from though, trust me. In the meantime, you'll probably see a few oneshots from me :)

Chapter 14 Kaleidoscope of Promise and Hope

And so Rainbow Brite and the Color Kids spent the next few days working hard to restore color to Earth. Twink took control of the Color Mines, encouraging the sprites to work harder than they ever had before. Production had stopped during the Color Kids' absence and now everyone had to work hard to get everything back up and running again. Twink ran from section to section in the Color Mines. "Let's go, everyone! Rainbow needs as many star sprinkles as possible and for that she needs all the color crystal we can mine!" The sprites worked eagerly for him and didn't mind his rushed and hurried manner.

The Color Kids worked busily at the Color Console, adding the necessary star sprinkles to bring color to the world around them and beyond. They chattered happily, glad to be free of Murky Dismal and his gloom. Every so often, one of the Color Kids' sprites would bring a new cart of star sprinkles into the room. Kid and sprite would work together to load the sprinkles into the Console, and a brilliant line of color would shoot up the corresponding tube, bringing a smile to each Kid's face.

"If we keep this up, we'll be back on schedule in no time," declared Red Butler.

"Yes. By my calculations, we only need another day before everything's on track," added Shy Violet.

The Kids cheered. It was good to be back to work and bringing color to the world. No more being stuck in one of Murky's pits for a long time. Or so each Kid hoped. "When did Rainbow say she'd be back?" asked Canary Yellow as she and Spark loaded handful after handful of yellow star sprinkles into the Console.

"She said she'd be back by evening I think," replied Patty O'Green.

"Yeah. I think she was heading to a place on Earth near Brian," added Lala Orange.

"She wanted to visit him too if she had time," stated Indigo as she looked at her part of the Console.

"And see how he was," added Buddy Blue

"Starlite was happy to go along too, as long as Rainbow didn't burst his ego again," answered Tickled Pink in an amused tone, which set all of the Color Kids laughing.

Stormy had returned to the clouds, and worked off any anger she felt by creating some much needed rainstorms for Earth. Rainbow had asked her to so that new things would begin to grow as the rain fell to nourish them. Stormy was more than happy to create a storm at Rainbow's request and had fun with the lightning and thunder that followed. Skydancer was also happy to be back in the clouds and raced about the interior of their haven, whinnying happily. For the two of them, things were back to normal. It still wasn't winter, but after the adventure they'd all been through, Stormy was glad that it was spring. She could relax and rest up. She still couldn't shake the dreams she'd had during the ordeal or the thought that Murky had caught her in his trap, something she hadn't been used to at all, but she would be prepared for the next time.

To the others, Rainbow had been as bright and cheerful as ever. She'd happily worked and played alongside them, glad to be awake and out of Murky's clutches. She wouldn't let them see the side of her that had been deeply affected by Murky's plot to take over Rainbow Land. Never before had he used something so devious that had actually almost worked and came so close to destroying Rainbow Land. She wouldn't speak of her worries to her friends, knowing that she wouldn't want to worry them anymore. When she was alone though, it was something that she wondered about, and how she could prevent it in the future.

So of course no one saw the Rainbow Brite that lay awake at night in bed, unable to sleep because of some nightmare she'd had. She would stare at the ceiling, unmoving. Puppy Brite and Kitty Brite were none the wiser, always still sleeping and curled up at the foot of her bed. Rainbow's fingers would absently brush over the Color Belt, and she'd find comfort in this, knowing that she had it and Murky didn't. She couldn't shake the feeling that came with the thought of how close he'd been to making it as his own. From the bits she'd gathered from Stormy and Moonglo, Murky had gone so far as to wear and use it, which was an uncomfortable feeling. Rainbow would roll over in bed and try to go back to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come for another hour or so. She knew her place as the protector of Rainbow Land, but it was going to take awhile before she felt completely confident in that role again.

Moonglo had spent past few days catching up on rest in between her decoratings of the night sky. She had been exhausted after the battle with Murky, never being able to catch enough sleep while Rainbow and then Stormy had been taken out. Rainbow had told her to get some rest and to catch up on sleep, that she'd done enough for a few days. Moonglo, however, was determined to continue doing her job because she knew how many people depended on her beautiful night sky. They may not know she was the one behind it, but they would miss the beautiful sky if she stopped doing her job for a few nights. She rested as much as she could during the day, and spent some of the time reflecting on what had happened with Murky. She was afraid to think of what could have happened if he had won, if the Color Belt truly hadn't worked.

Today was one of those days. It was late afternoon, a few short hours before she would head off into the night sky with Nite Sprite to completely their daily task. She sat by the Rainbow River, against a tall, shady tree. Nite Sprite sat quietly beside her, watching the river. Moonglo had drawn her knees up to her chest, and was lost in thought, not really seeing the beauty of the land before her. Her mind was on the what if's and what could have happened if they could not have revived Rainbow with the Color Belt.

Nite Sprite sensed Moonglo's unrest and looked up at her, concerned. He babbled his sympathy to her, and patted her leg, trying to cheer her up. Moonglo only sighed.

"I know Nite Sprite, but it's hard. There's so much that could have happened."

Nite Sprite replied to her in his sprite language, but this didn't cheer Moonglo any. She sat miserably, hugging her knees. Nite Sprite started to say something else, but not before he saw someone move near Moonglo and sit beside her. It was Stormy. She'd been watching from a distance, and seeing how Moonglo wasn't cheered in the least by Nite Sprite's attempts. She had felt sorry for him, knowing it wasn't his fault.

Stormy took up the same position as Moonglo and looked over at her. "Can't stop thinking about it?" she asked softly.

Moonglo only nodded. "Yeah… it's hard, you know?"

Stormy looked to the ground and picked up a smooth brown stone. She fingered the stone before tossing it into the river. "I know. I've wondered too."

Moonglo turned to look at Stormy with tears in her eyes. "This could have all been Murky's. We could have been working for him today instead of Rainbow."

The tears caught Stormy off guard. She wasn't used to this. She wasn't used to feeling sympathy for someone or trying to comfort them. She'd never had to before. "Hey, don't cry, Moonglo," she said softly, placing a hand on Moonglo's knee.

Moonglo wiped at her eyes. "I can't help it."

"We can't think about what could have happened, Moonglo. We only know what did happen and what we stopped Murky from doing."

"But…"

"No buts. We know what Murky tried this time around, and we'll make sure he doesn't do it again."

"Stormy's right," added a new voice that made them both jump.

"Rainbow!" exclaimed Moonglo in surprise, quickly wiping at her eyes.

"You weren't supposed to be back yet," answered Stormy. "Didn't you have a lot more to take care of on Earth?"

"I did," acknowledged Rainbow. "I also knew I needed to come back here. I had a feeling I should be here instead of on Earth. My work there was finished for the day. I was going to visit Brian, but changed my mind."

"I'm sorry, Rainbow," apologized Moonglo. "I'm sure you heard us talking." She continued to wipe at her eyes, but could not get rid of the redness that was a tell-tale sign of crying.

Rainbow took a seat across from both of them. "It's all right. I've thought about some of the same things, Moonglo," she answered softly. She crossed her legs and looked at the two girls. "Murky could have just as easily won, and that bothers me."

"But Rainbow, we won in the end. You've always been the one to say the rainbow would always win."

"I know, Stormy, but then you told me about what Murky was able to do with the Color Belt. The rainbow could just as easily have won being used by him as it had been by me."

"So what do we do?" asked Moonglo.

Rainbow smiled at them, a true smile. "We keep up doing what we always have. Bad things happen sometimes and it's hard to figure out why. As long as we work against Murky, we can always win out."

Moonglo released the hold on her knees and let her legs settle on the grass. The sun was just beginning to go down, and the sky was streaked with oranges, yellows, and reds. She looked toward the sky at first, knowing that soon it would be her turn to take over. "Are you sure?"

Rainbow nodded. "I never thanked you both for what you did, but I am now. You two are the real heroes of Rainbow Land. You took over when everyone else was gone and helped bring me back, even though it seemed like Murky would win."

"Aww…Rainbow…" replied Stormy, looking shy. She wasn't used to be openly thanked.

"It's true," answered Rainbow. "You two fought against Murky and saved Rainbow Land. Everyone knows what you did. I'm happy to have two friends like you."

"You're welcome, Rainbow," said Moonglo softly as she rose to her feet, Nite Sprite at her side. "I guess it's time for me to take care of the night sky now," she replied as the last bits of the sunset faded.

Rainbow and Stormy stood as well. "Have fun Moonglo. We'll be waiting for you back at the Color Castle," called Rainbow as Moonglo and Nite Sprite disappeared into the sky.

Stormy turned to Rainbow. "Race you back? Skydancer versus Starlite?"

"Sure! It'll be fun," replied Rainbow.

Stormy called for Skydancer as Rainbow called for Starlite. Each girl hoped up onto her horse, and Stormy gave a friendly competitive glare at Rainbow before grinning. "First one back to the Castle is a rotten star sprinkle!" she called as Skydancer suddenly took off.

"That's cheating!" called Starlite. "No respectable horse would get a headstart!" He quickly took off, racing to catch up with Skydancer, who wasn't too far ahead.

"Oh come on, Starlite. No one's faster than you! You can catch her, easily!" encouraged Rainbow, a far cry from the same Rainbow who'd called Starlite out on his inflated ego so many days ago.

Meanwhile, deep in the Pits, Murky had locked himself in his room. He'd stayed there ever since Rainbow had defeated him yet again. He'd spent most of the time in bed, deciding it was better to avoid any dealings in Rainbow Land for awhile. It would take time to come up with a new plan that would top the one he'd just tried and failed at executing. His books lined his shelves, untouched.

Lurky had been his same bumbling self. He'd retrieved the Grunge Buggy from Rainbow Land, and the Color Kids had simply looked the other way as he'd done so, knowing he'd do no harm unless he was with Murky. Lurky had been quite pleased, having had one of his dreams fulfilled the day he'd ended up getting to ride Skydancer. His head had been filled with nothing but the thought of horseys and since Murky had been locked away, Lurky had found some toy horse figures deep in his closet. He spent his hours playing with them, and recreating the ride that meant so much to him.

Murky crawled from bed, knowing it was nightfall. He grabbed his discarded helmet and plopped it back on his head. He headed straight for his bookshelf, intent on finding something that would get rid of Rainbow for awhile. He couldn't stand the sting of losing a battle so big, one that had allowed him to even wear the Color Belt and use it on that pesky Stormy. No, the next time he wouldn't be so unlucky. He would defeat Rainbow Brite and take her Belt again, even if it meant getting outside help to do so. There had to be others out there who would be more than happy to help him destroy the brat, others like the princess who had visited not long ago. Yes, Rainbow had won…this time.

Starlite ended up beating Skydancer to the Color Castle by a nose, but Stormy took the loss good-naturedly. "Good race," she called to Rainbow as she dismounted from Skydancer and the horse took off into the darkness, quickly disappearing.

"It was. I forgot how fun it could be," replied Rainbow as Starlite trotted off.

"No problem for such a magnificent horse!" he called over his shoulder, rainbow mane disappearing into the darkness.

Stormy and Rainbow laughed as they headed into the Color Castle to join the rest of the Color Kids. It wasn't often that everyone was around to have dinner together, and each Color Kid had gladly helped in the task of making it. From gathering the vegetables to cooking sweet snacks, to setting the tables, everyone had pitched in to make it a dinner to remember for a long time to come. Stormy and Rainbow joined in on the finishing touches before everyone sat down to eat. Moonglo joined the group just as everyone sat down.

Red Butler picked up his glass of fruit juice and held it up. "A toast to Rainbow, Stormy, and Moonglo for all that they did to stop Murky this time around. Without them all, we'd still be stuck in Murky's pits, and that would have been the pits!" This remark elicited laughter from around the table. Red Butler continued, "We're thankful for everything you all did and that Rainbow Land is one again safe and sound!" Glasses were clinked together as dinner was shared amongst them all, hope and promise returned to Rainbow Land and the protection that they knew would come from their beloved Rainbow Brite.

~ Fin ~