Introduction

Dec. 4, 1999

                As a nostalgic fan of Rainbow Brite, writing this story has offered me a challenge, and a vent for my imagination.  I'd like to offer my personal thanks to Onxymoon for the inspiration her story gave me.  This story is mainly about camaraderie and friendship, and due to my mediocre knowledge of  Rainbow Brite, some of the personalities might be a bit off.   As a matter of fact, two weeks before the conception of this story, I never knew about Count Blogg, Orin, Tickled Pink, Stormy, Moonglo, the pink horse who looks like Starlite, uhhhh, Sunriser, or that Brian had a dog.  But I shall try.  So, please enjoy book one, Prelude to Darkness.  Also, special thanks to Onyxmoon for writing her fanfic, Destiny Strikes Again.   And special thanks to Katy Cartee for giving me little facts about characters.  Another thank you to Robert Teague for writing Shadows of the Past and Lights of the Present.  They made me want to do a better job on my story.  And one last thanks to my dear sister, for helping me with the girl’s thoughts and also proof reading.   After all, it's kinda hard to think like a girl when you're a guy.  :P

Here you go!

Prologue: The Twilight of Darkness

Sept. 13, 1987

                Sergeant Matt Hoffrey looked through one of the portholes on his ship, the Demon's Eye.   Outside, he saw a cold, lifeless planet.   The only thing that would keep him from being ripped apart by the vacuum of space was the magic force field keeping an artificial atmosphere on that cold sphere called Nurang.  Matt had a pale but clear complexion, a tall, slender body, cool stone colored eyes, and gray hair.  Although he was only fifteen, he'd always had silver gray on his head.  He knew the forces of light from the last two fighting universes were doomed, but he could at least buy one of them time to get to the home universe.  It was there that the mysterious Rainbowland existed.  It may have been a fairy tale, or it might have been real.   Either way, the Spectra universe had no knowledge that darkness had consumed five of the eight universes.  If one of the two fighting universes could only make contact.  That was where he came in.

                "Ten minutes to commencing of trial," a computer voice chipped in.

                "And ten minutes," Matt mused to himself, "before I betray the forces of darkness."

                The battle had gone better than expected for the forces of light, but that didn't change one cruel fact: they were losing.  Matt looked over to a mysterious young woman only known as Browny.   She looked back, and nodded her understanding.  It was almost time for Matt to pilot the Demon's Eye to the HQ of the forces of darkness.  There, Browny would use something called a Spirit Crystal.  She was what one would call a "Color Kid."  The “kid” part fit her well.  She looked to be all of but ten years of age.  How can someone that young hold so much power?

                The plan was simple. Browny would use almost 90% of her Spirit Crystal's energy, and it would go through a prism-like object that would divide the color into it's primaries; red, yellow, and blue.  It wasn't a full rainbow, but it would give enough time for the Centaji Universe's forces to escape into the Spectra universe without the dark forces being able to pursue.   If even one dark soldier broke through, it could create reinforcements from the shadows, and have a formidable army after only four years.

                "Hoffrey," a voice form the communicator roared, "what are you doing!?"

                "My ship is leaking oxygen, Tai-i." Matt coolly replied, "I will need assistance if I am to return to battle before those children who call themselves The Soldiers of Light are all splashed with darkness by the other shadow drivers!"

                Browny gave the traitor a cold stare.  Matt just shrugged.

                "'T’would be best, comrade, if we worried about our petty rivalries later.  Just use your powers and do not kill yourself in the process.  I do not like the idea of killing kids.  That is why I realized the wrong of my ways in the first place."

                "Hrmph!"

                Matt sighed.  "Just think about beating this darkness.  We can settle our differences or make up then, but now, we have to save..."

                "Browny," a female voice said on the communicator attached to Browny's belt, "We need to get to Spectra, NOW!!  Those darkies got the Klimiquethou!  All of them are shaded!  Don't let us down!"

                Browny did not respond, so Matt did.  "We copy, Sloan!"

                "No...,"  Browny's friends had been from the Klimiquethou universe.  Her young face contorted, and she almost seemed to shrink into the Brown robe she wore.   Her friends were supposed to slip through the crack in space between the two universes with the Centaji.

                "Browny, I am sorry, but now we must not fail!  Let us make haste!  Strike them in thirty seconds!"

                This is for you, Browny thought, Blane.  Concentrating all of her Spirit Crystal's strength, she shot her power out into a prismatic object that divided the brown into a cool blue, a vibrant yellow, and a fiery red.  Matt grew wide-eyed.

                "Not yet.  Browny, what are you doing?"  The whole of the ship began to grow with vibrant reds, blues, yellows, and browns.  The Demon's Eye began to shudder.  "Stop it!   Browny!  That is too much!  You will kill yourself!!!  BROWNY!!!!  STOP IT!!!!!!!!  NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                Matt's words were drowned out by explosions emanating from all around.  Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong.

Book One: Prelude to Darkness;

The Reukei Encounter

Chapter 1: Meetings

Dec. 14, 1991

                It had been four years since Brian had stopped visiting Rainbowland.  On Earth, it was 1989, and he was turning 17 that day.  Rainbow had felt a little sad, and thought maybe a stroll through Rainbowland would cheer her up.  It did not work.   She began to wonder why she missed him so much, even four years after his absence.  Maybe it was growing up. But I'm not supposed to grow up, she thought.  For the first time in over 700 years, she was growing.  It was a very slow growth, and was not noticed until some of her clothing had stopped fitting right.  Starlite had also begun to notice that she was getting bigger.  Before, all of the color kids had been the same height, but now, they began to vary.   Buddy Blue and Patty O'Green had outgrown everyone except for Moonglo, and Stormy seemed to resent being on the shorter side of the spectrum.  She thought to herself for awhile.  She would go find Brian.  She would at least try.  In her early attempts, she had never been able find him.  One day, when she looked at his house, a big truck was there, and strangers were unloading heavy boxes.  There was a new family there.  Brian had moved away.  On her growing legs, Rainbow began to run to where she would find Starlite.  However, she only advanced a step in the intended direction, because in her reverie, she hadn't noticed someone walking behind her.

                "Oof!!"  She said as she landed on the ground.  Before her was a young man of around 20 years of age.  He had long, silvery hair in a ponytail that fell to the middle to his shoulder blades.  He had a very lean build, and was even taller than Moonglo.   His eyes were gray, the same color of his clothing, and he was wearing a gray jumpsuit.

                "'Tis a beautiful day, young lady.  I am sorry to have snuck up on you like that."

                "Huh?" was Rainbow's not-so-elegant reply.

                The man started to laugh.  "My name is Gray Dusk.  I control the color of gray.  It is not a very easy task, you see.  Gray is the color of evil, but can blend beautifully with the other colors if used correctly."

                "Uhh...."

                "Please forgive me, let me help you up."

                "Thanks," Rainbow replied as he helped her off of the ground.  "You say you control the color of gray?  But it's a lifeless color."

                Gray shook his head.  "My dear, gray is a mixture of all of the colors of the spectrum.  It is simply misunderstood.  Gray is most likely the strongest single color there is, only susceptible to a full rainbow."

                "Oh!" Rainbow exclaimed as her cheeks began to redden slightly, "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself.  I'm Rainbow Brite."

                "Say again?"

                She offered her hand.  "I'm Rainbow Brite, nice to meet you."

                "Oh, so you are the one I have sought after."  He smiled, and kissed her outstretched hand.  "We have some talking to do, but, is there an Orin I may speak too?"

                Smiling after having her hand kissed by a gentleman, she replied, "You know Orin?"

                Gray shook his head.  "Not personally, but I was told that he might be able to help me in my quest."

                "He's very busy.  I think that Orin might be on Spectra."

                "Oh.  By the way, why were you in such a hurry?"

                "Oh!  I forgot.  I was going to look for a friend of mine on Earth."

                "Then I will trouble you no longer.  Please, continue."  Grey then bowed.

                Rainbow gave a smile.  "My, you sure know how to be a gentleman.  Why don't you walk with me for a while I look for my horse?"

                "Why, it would be a pleasure."  He then offered his arm to Rainbow.  She accepted.  Wow, Rainbow thought, what a nice person.

                Ten minutes had passed since Gray and Rainbow had met, and elsewhere in Rainbowland, Patty O'Green was puzzled by the sights in front of her eyes.   She knew not what to think of the situation before her.  There was definitely more gray and brown in Rainbowland than usual.  She wondered if Murky and Lurky were up to their usual tricks again.  Patty then turned around at the sound of footsteps.  She peered over a rock that, four years ago, would have been too tall for her to see over.  Looking at her from a distance was a girl of about the same age, around 13 to 14.  She wore a brown hooded-robe that seemed to lightly hug a thin figure, and only fall to just below her knees.  She wore brown sandals, and had her short, brown hair tied in a pony tail.  Her eyes, not surprisingly, were brown.  She had to know what was going on.

                "Hi," the stranger said, "how are you today?"

                Just play it cool, Patty thought.  "Fine, thank you.  I don't recall ever seeing you in rainbow land."

                "Oh, I'm just passing by."

                "Say, doesn't the scenery seem a little, well, brown?"

                "Oh!  Well," she took out some brown color crystals, "no offense, but, it just seemed a little too green to me.  Needed a bit of a mix."

                BROWN color crystals??  "Oh, okay.   Do you know anything about the grayness too?"

                "But, doesn't my friend's work look nice with all of the other colors?"

                "You're friend?"

                "Gray Dusk.  We came looking for a person by the name of Orin, and a Color Belt Holder named Rainbow Brite.   We're currently..."  The girl never finished her sentence.  She was quickly engulfed in a black cloud.

                Patty screamed.

                "Grey, they're here!!"  The young girl then fell unconscious.

                "Murky Dismal!"  Patty exclaimed.

                "Hyeheheheeee!!  I thought I would wait until you became too old to protect the colors, but it was just too boring!"

                "You're not going to get away with this one!"

                "Hah!  What are you going to do about, you clumsy oaf?"

                This was a jab at Patty's low coordination.  "Grrr!!  I swear you're gonna get it this time!"  Where are you, Rainbow!?  "If it wasn't for the fact that color needs to be balanced by darkness, we would've taken over the Pits a long time ago!"

                "Well, it looks like I'm the one with the smoke sprayer here.  Wha...?"

                Suddenly, a tall man dressed in gray was seen running towards them at an unbelievable rate.  With a flash of light, the man suddenly stopped running, and was standing still between Browny and Murky.

                "Excuse me," he said, not even winded from the sprint, "my name is Gray Dusk, and you have attacked my friend."

                "Who are you?!"  Murky then sprayed the black smoke at Gray.  The man just smiled, and leaped right through the smoke, straight into Murky.

                "Ghhuu!!!" Murky choked.   Gray was now holding him by the throat, and started laughing with an evil delight.   Patty gasped.

                "'T’would be best for you to leave us.  Hope that Browny awakens."  He then drew Murky right up to his face.  "Otherwise, I will hunt you down and silence that pathetic cackle of yours FOREVER!!"

                "Kkhhu!!"

                "Yaaaaaaaa!!!!!!"  With a flash of gray light, Murky was thrown high into the air.

                "Gray," Rainbow called from behind just as she came over the hill leading to where they were upon a white horse, "You just out ran Starlite!"

                Grey acted as if he never heard her speak.  "Browny?"  He walked over to his fallen companion.  "Browny, please, wake up."  There was no response.  He then started to shake her gently.  "Come one, Browny, I know you are all right."

                "Mffuwhaa," she murmured.

                Grey started to smile.  "It looks like I have some explaining to do."

Chapter 2:  An Audience of Colors

Dec. 14, 1991

                This is the color castle.

                Gray looked up at the predominately orange-yellow, mostly golden in a way, castle.  It looked more like an odd-shaped pagoda than a castle.  It rose about thirty feet above the ground.  I could jump over this thing with a good rush of adrenaline.  There were nine young adults, ten sprites, a pink horse, and a dark blue horse who gathered around the entrance.  This must be the Alpha Male of the group, he silently mused, looking at a young man about six feet away from him.

                Standing in front of the group with arms crossed was Red Butler.   His bright red curly hair went perfectly with his red trousers and shiny red vest.  Under the vest he wore a red T-shirt.  Red Butler sported two red boots.  He seemed to have a slight air of arrogance in him, but only noticeable to a knight like Matt.  No, he thought, Matt died on Nurang.   My name is Gray Dusk.  Standing next to him was a little red sprite named Romeo.  It seemed like the perfect name for an adolescent boy's familiar.  Romeo seemed friendly and gentleman like.

                Standing behind Red was a rather cute lady of about the same height, age, and figure, though more feminine.  This was Lala Orange.  She had her hair in a short, but well combed style that seemed to go over to one side of her face.  She wore a long orange skirt that fell to her ankles.  The skirt had slits up to the knees, which revealed red leggings.  On top, she wore an orange vest with a red blouse underneath.  On top of her striking hair do was an orange beret, slightly tilted forward and to her right.  As a buffer between the hard ground, Lala wore a pair of red slippers.  On her ears, she wore two spherical orange earrings.  I would have to guess that she is somehow involved with Red Butler from her attire.  At least I won't have to worry about butting heads with him over a girl.  Standing behind her was her sprite, O.J.  The O probably stands for orange.  O.J. seemed to be pre-occupied with an orange butterfly flying around the air above him.

                Next to Lala was a girl with hair of gold named Canary Yellow.   She wore a simple yellow sweater with yellow jeans, yellow socks, and yellow sneakers.  Her hair , done in a French-braided ponytail, was over her right shoulder in a garish fashion.   She smiled at Grey.  He smiled at her in return.  I think I have made another friend.  Standing off to the side conversing with another sprite was Canary's own sprite, Spark.  He seemed lively and energetic.

                The sprite Spark had been speaking with was Lucky, the care-free sprite of Patty O'Green.  Patty wore green running shorts, green running shoes, and a green running vest.  Her long hair was gathered on top of her head in a queue.  She seemed to hide her resentment of his use of gray rather well, but not well enough.  I will have to work on this relationship.

                Standing next to O'Green was a cold-eyed girl named Stormy.  She wore dark boots that came to her calves, a sleeveless purple vest, and a skirt that went half way to her knees.  Her short hair was slightly unkempt.  Her arms were crossed with malicious intentions over her chest.  Stormy did not have a sprite.  I think it is best to avoid her.

                Next to Stormy was a magnificent horse named Skydancer.  The steed's body was dark blue, but it had a white to sky blue mane, and light blue hooves.  In juxtaposition with Skydancer was a pink horse named Sunriser.  The mare had a light pink body, a more reddish-pink mane, tail and hooves, and a white heart across the forehead.  Those beasts are incredible!!

                After the two horses stood a tall, rather built teenager named Buddy Blue.  Wearing blue warm-up pants, a blue long-sleeved shirt, a blue sweat band, and blue cross-trainers, he looked rather impressive with his straight blue hair slicked back.  He stood at a stance similar to parade rest.  In front of Blue was a burly sprite named Champ.  They both had friendly looks on their faces.  These guys look like they would be a good match in a fight.  Indeed, it is a good thing that they be on my side.

                Next to Blue was a short girl named Shy Violet.  She had her purple hair hanging loose to a little below her shoulders, and wore a violet vest and skirt that said 'business woman.'  She wore a pair of glasses that hid her off-cast glance.   Her hands were humbly clasped at the small of her back.  Hiding behind her was a timid little sprite named IQ.  If you were a little more daring and had no glasses, my dear, you would be an Aphrodite.

                In line with Violet was a young woman of Arab descent named Indigo.  She had baggy indigo pants, curly indigo shoes, long braided indigo hair, almost two feet in length, and an indigo vest that only covered the upper-part of her torso, exposing a slim midriff.   On her tender arms were translucent indigo sleeves.  Piggy-back riding her was an artistic sprite named Hammy.  Indeed, you are the artist, my lady.  The boys must go wild over you.

                Parallel to Indigo and Hammy were Twink and Night Sprite; the sprites of Rainbow Brite and Moonglo, respectively.  Night Sprite was black in contrast to Twink’s white.  Twink stood out with his multi-colored stubby legs.  Surprisingly, one of the two sprites conversed in English.  Good, I can communicate with this one.

                Finishing the group was the smallest of them all, a twelve-year-old named Tickled Pink.  She was wearing a pink dress with small frills along the sleeves and skirt that fell to her boney ankles.   Her short pink hair was kept in a pair of pig tails.  Next to her was a little sprite, smaller than the rest, named DeeLite.  "Hi!" Tickled Pink said, breaking the silence.

                "Hello," Grey replied, giving a formal bow.  Tickled Pink gave a little giggle and curtsied in return.  "I am surprised.  For a girl of your age, you seem rather mature."

                Standing behind and to the left of Grey, Browny rolled her eyes, knowing that his last comment was probably discreetly directed at her.  The group began to laugh, with the exceptions of Patty O'Green and Red Butler.

                "If I may," interjected Red, "Rainbow Brite has left for Earth with Starlite to search for an old friend of hers.  She has also dropped off Moonglo on Spectra to find Krys, On-X, and Orin."

                Gray's eyes grew wide.  Browny and Grey both asked "Spectra?" in unison.

                The air of Spectra smelled cool, but not cold to Moonglo.   After being dropped off by Rainbow and Starlite, she began to inquire where Krys was.  The warrior of light had not been hard to find.  If only she could now convince Orin about the importance a mysterious duo with the colors of gray and brown at their side.  Before long, a servant sprite escorted Moonglo to Krys.  He had been meeting with Orin, discussing matters of an anomaly of shapes approaching Rainbow Land.  Like getting two shadows with one ray of moon light, she thought to herself as she smiled.

                As she walked down the corridors, she couldn't help but admire the beauty of the structures surrounding her.  Indeed, Spectra was a magnificent place to live.  However, in her reverie, she failed to notice a pair of moving shadows on the walls.

                The weather of Earth was cold to Rainbow Brite.  It was nearing winter where Brian had once lived, but she continued her search restlessly.  Dressed in long blue jeans and an orange sweater, she blended in well with the people of Earth.  Her train of thought was suddenly shattered by a voice from behind her.

                "Brian!!  How's it going?   Long time no see, eh?"  Rainbow whipped her head around.  Standing with his back to her was a tall youth of seventeen, talking to someone.  His right hand hung lifelessly at his side.  This is him!  But, why is his hand like that?   She fought hard to contain tears of joy; it was still Brian.  After following him for a while, Brian’s unknown friend finally went their own way.  She waited until they had gone into a park, and were the only two around.  He had not noticed her pursuit.  Conjuring old memories, Rainbow started to speak.

                "Hey, glumface," Brian streaked around, "next time you see a rainbow, look up."

                "I'll feel better, and I might even see you too."  Tears formed at the corners of four eyes that very second.   They ran towards each other, and gave one big, long bear hug.

                "Hello, gentlemen," Moonglo started.  Both Orin and Krys turned to look at her from their seats around a plain table.  Moonglo smiled a bit.  "Sorry to interrupt you, but two strangers claiming to be color kids are in Rainbowland."

                Orin and Krys exchanged glances.  "What colors?" Orin asked.

                "Brown and gray."

                "GRAY?!"  both Orin and Krys exclaimed.

                "But gray is not even a color," Krys said, "how could these two be taken seriously?"

                "Indeed," Orin mused, "this is news.  I've never heard of a brown color kid before.  They're certainly phonies sent in by Murky and Lurky."   Orin sighed.  "Those two have been a pain in the side for over seven-hundred years.   Moonglo, how are we to make it to Rainbowland?"

                "Well," she replied, "Rainbow took Starlite and dropped me off here to find the two of you.  She then headed to Earth to look for her old friend..."

                "Brian?"  The trio whipped their heads around to see Rainbow standing between Starlite and a 17-year-old Brian.  "I finally found him!  For a birthday present, his parents drove him up to his old neighborhood to visit with friends."

                Brian nodded and smiled, although his smile died when he saw Krys.  So, he looked at Moonglo and Orin as he spoke.  "Basically, I asked my parents to do that for me so I might be able to see all of you again."   Except for you, Krys.  "I'm staying at a hotel for the week.  Four years ago, my key stopped working, and the emergency key was dead too.  Two weeks later, I moved to another state."

                "Rainbow," Krys heartlessly interjected, showing no sympathy of Brian, "what do you know about the two impostors in Rainbowland?"

                Rainbow was taken aback.  "They are NOT impostors, Krys.  One of them helped stop Murky from attacking Patty O'Green.  They even have color crystals."

                "Color crystals??"  Orin exploded, "This must be investigated immediately!"

                "Orin," Krys said, "I'll take you with me on On-X."

                "Krys," Moonglo said, "I don't know if Starlite can hold Rainbow, myself AND Brian.  On-X should be strong enough to take you three, though."

                "Sure," Krys said after a long pause.

                Oh, GREAT! thought Krys.  Why couldn't you just STAY lost, Brian?!

                "ETA of the suspected Rainbowland is 2 hours."  Kyle Yaconis leaned back in his pilot's chair.  Although 23 years of age, he had opted early on to permanently remove all facial, neck, side burn and between-the-eye-brow hair.  He could've passed as a 16 year-old with his slender build.  His plain, loose gray uniform bore no rank insignia, unit name, or awards.  He looked next to his 24-year-old sleeping co-pilot and fellow liaison officer, Sheeva Sloan.  She had completed an exercise routine earlier, and was still wearing the gray shorts and black sleeveless shirt.  The way she was sitting exposed her belly button.  She looked flawless from the angle Kyle was at, but he knew about the immense burn scars on the right side of her face.  Her auburn hair was held up in a bun.  Kyle dared a glance at her slender and well tanned legs.

                "The windows reflect, Kyle."  Kyle immediately glanced at the opposite porthole, and saw her eyes looking at him.  Around her right eye was a very small area of grafted skin to restore her eye lids.  Other than that, she refused all reconstructive surgery.  Kyle did not even flinch at the horrid scars that ran from above her hair line down to her neck.  His ability to see beyond her outer layer made him different than other men.  Even the first time they met, he did not flinch, but offered his hand in friendship and camaraderie.  In the three months they had known each other, they had seemed to grow close.  "If you want to look at my legs without being caught, make sure I can't see you."

                They both started to laugh.  "Sorry for being attracted to you."

                "Well, you're the only man I know who doesn't mind trying to get involved with a freak."  Each word in her sentence was even, giving no emphasis on any syllable, not even 'freak.'

                "I guess that I just look for something more permanent in a woman than a cute face."

                She gave him a warm smile.  "Tell me about that dream you had again."

                "How many times have I told you?  Oh, well.  I was walking along some waterfalls at the capitol city of Nurang.  I was supposed to meet with you to conduct business, and there I saw you, both sides of your face were flawless.  It was a dream about your inner beauty."

                "You should have been a romantic, not a soldier."

                "So, what about our date?"

                "I told you ,I don't date boys."

                "Ouch."  They both smiled, knowing Kyle was the younger of the two.

                Without warning, a klaxon started sounding.

                "What the heck?!"

                "Sheeva, we just lost engine power.  Shoot!  Don't worry, it's nothing major, but it just added two hours to our ETA, and we'll lose artificial gravity in a few minutes."

                Sheeva eased a bit in her seat.  "Let's just hope that nothing major happens until we aren't surrounded by the vacuum of space anymore."

                Here they are, Gray thought to himself.  First he noticed the man he'd been seeking, Orin.  Not the biggest of the sprites, he had gray eyebrows, a gray mustache, and a short, black walking stick.  It could be a rod for magic.  Just like Twink, he had the multi-colored legs and the ability to speak English.   Orin's eyes gave a serious, yet open-minded appraisal of the two.

                Next to Orin was a kid around Browny's age.  Keys was wearing a white jump suit, white boots, and some sort of  prism-like device on his right wrist.  Krys looked at Gray with contempt.  I smell a fight in the air...  Gray shifted uneasily.  Then, looking at the boy next to Krys, he saw someone in  blue jeans, a cardigan sweater, white tennis shoes, and a whole lot of tension.  Hmm, it seems that I may have someone to rely on him for help if Krys decides to make any foolish moves.  Behind those three was a mechanical horse named On-X.  Mostly metallic and black, it had scary red eyes.  Rivaling On-X was Starlite, the legendary horse of the color belt holder.  His mostly white body was highlighted with the colors of the rainbow on his mane and tail.  Standing in front of Starlite was Rainbow and another young girl.   Rainbow was wearing a variation of her rainbow dress and boots, and Moonglo simply made Gray's heart stop.  She was without a doubt the tallest member of the group.  With a sly smile, her bright trousers and sweater made her glow.   Please be free.  Oh, PLEASE be free!!

Chapter 3:  Negotiating

Dec. 14, 1991

                Inside of the Color Castle, thirty-two people, sprites, and horses, with two more people attending by Comm channels, were gathered around a large circular table.  Going clockwise from Rainbow Brite, Brian, Browny, Tickled Pink, Indigo, Shy Violet,  Buddy Blue, Patty O'Green, Canary Yellow, Lala Orange, Red Butler, Hammy, IQ, Twink, Champ, Lucky, Orin, Spark, OJ, Night Sprite, Romeo, DeeLite, Star Lite, Sunriser, Skydancer, On-X, Moonglo, Stormy, Krys, and with Grey Dusk finishing the circle.  On a four-sided monitor in the center were Kyle Yaconis and Sheeva Sloan.

                "Now," Orin started, "Gray Dusk, you claim to have the power of the 'color' gray.  How, then, can you spread nothing but gloom over Rainbowland?"

                Gray met Orin's look with a clam demeanor.  "Gray is merely the combination of black and white.  In its lighter forms, it is able to show life, strength, and beauty.  In its darker shades, it can make the other colors stand out, and make them even more beautiful.  Look at this giant table.  It is gray, and yet it is a monument of strength in marble."

                "If you ARE a color kid," Krys interjected, "then why are you so much older than the rest of us?"

                Gray looked uneasy as he dug into his past.  "Four years ago, a soldier named Matt Hoffrey, or Matt, as he was called by his comrades, died in a battle between light and darkness.  He had been a member of the dark forces, commanding mostly lifeless shadows, but betrayed them when he saw the age of his enemies.  However, in an explosion of color, he was killed, and I was born."

                Krys's eyes went wide.  "You actually served the forces of darkness?!"

                Gray shot out of his chair.  "No!  Matt did!  I only have memories of him crawling on a freezing rock called Nurang!  It was not the infusion of gray, or the wounds he received from falling to the ground!"  Gray stared hard at Krys.  "Matt died of hypothermia.  I remember his last words well.  he was calling for his mother!"

                Krys looked at the whole group.  "I think he's disturbed.  He IS Matt Hoffrey."  Matt's face twisted in rage, but Browny spoke before he did.

                "No, he's not.  I found Matt in the cold.  His eyes were locked open, his mouth was frozen in a scream, he was dead.  Even though he betrayed the forces of darkness, he did it because his warrior code forbade him to do harm to those under the age of twelve.  Most members of the Centaji's forces of light were only ten.   The boys didn't even have peach fuzz on their faces when they were turned to shadows.  But, Gray Dusk is a different personality, a different person with only final memories of the host."

                Orin shook his head in disbelief.  "Your stories are..."

                Browny shook her fist at Orin.  "They are not STORIES!!  I saw bodies fade into the ground of that cold planet.  Dead people were everywhere, most of them were the enemy."  Browny shrunk into herself, and seemed afraid of her own words.   "I was afraid to move, that maybe the corpses might come back to life and attack me.  Then, I heard Matt's last screams.  I ran to him, but it was too late.  The color explosion had torn his uniform apart, exposing much of his skin to the cold air.  He was so gray and lifeless.  I shivered for hours next to him, then fell asleep.  I was still sleeping when survivors of the Centaji Universe's Army...."

                Orin stood up.  "Centaji universe?  What in blazes..."

                "You will not interrupt her," Gray said in a commanding voice.

                Browny nodded her thanks to him, and continued.  "There are really nine universes.  Eight have fallen to the darkness so far.  This is the center universe called Spectra, named after its source of light.   The forces of darkness couldn't find a way here, but the Centaji could.  I myself was from the Klimiquethou universe."  Browny looked down.   "No one in the Klimiquethou army survived.  They are all lifeless shadows, or gone forever.  My sprite was named Chocolate.  He died when the forces of darkness caused my world's sun to go supernova while I was away."  Browny was fighting to hold back tears.  "He was my best friend for 700 years."

                Orin had a look of shock and pity on his face.  "Browny, I didn't mean to..."

                After a short silence, Moonglo spoke.  "Excuse me, but what about when you woke up?"

                "Oh," Browny started, wiping her eyes, "well, I was surrounded by people.  One of them had bandages on half of her face.  She walked up to me and asked if I was still alive."

                Sheeva's image spoke from the four-sided monitor.  "The Dark Army's retaliation to the color explosion killed some of our forces and caused the massive scarring to my face."

                Kyle then followed up.  "The battle is the suspected cause of Browny's growth.  For seven hundred years, she aged at only a 500th of a normal human's rate.  But, after the battle of Nurang, she began to grow like a weed."

                Rainbow had a look of surprise on her face.  "We too started growing about four years ago.  Browny, what happened next?"

                "I didn't want to leave Matt.  The little heat that had been left in his body had kept me alive.  But, Sheeva was alive, and so much warmer.  I needed to warm up to survive.  Kyle then got me a warm blanket and some warm water to drink.  I felt like part of a family for the first time in so many centuries."

                Kyle had a thoughtful look on his face.  "It was almost like having a daughter for a moment."

                Browny continued.  "They started to carry me away, and that was when a huge amount of light started to emanate from Matt.  When the light died down, a boy dressed in something like what Gray is wearing now stood before us.   The scares Matt had from earlier battles were all gone.  Gray Dusk was born."

                Krys was unimpressed.  "Gray, your darker side may still re-emerge.  I still don't think we should trust you."

                "Krys," Rainbow retorted, "we all have good and evil within us."

                "But, Rainbow, he's a trained killer."

                "Stop it, Krys!"

                "Excuse me," Indigo said, "but, what do you remember, I mean, uh, what is your oldest memory?"

                Gray looked at her.  "I remember falling to the ground, slowly.  It was a small world, with little gravity.  However, I still hit the ground hard.  Pieces of me snapped and broke.  I was in so much pain.  I had seen where Browny had fallen.  There were corpses everywhere.  I started to crawl, but it really was not I who was crawling.  Someone was dying, and it was Matt.  He was going to kill Browny, in spite of his warrior code.  He knew he was dying, and he blamed her for it.  He hallucinated seeing his mother with a sword-rod, the magical weapon of the Magi-Knight.  He started calling to the hallucination, and that was when I saw Browny running towards us.  I wanted to yell 'run away! He will kill you!'  However, the words never came because I was not in control of the body.  Thank goodness that Hoffrey died then.  The next thing that I remember was waking and standing in a flash of gray light.  When I looked closely, I could see strips of black and white.   After and even closer look, I saw all of the colors.  When the light disappeared, I saw Matt's former enemies.  Browny was wrapped up in a blanket huddled next to Sheeva Sloan.  That is where my life starts.  There is nothing before that day."

                Krys shook his head.  "Orin, don't you still think that..."

                Rainbow glared at Krys.  "Krys, why are you doing this to him?"

                "My child," Orin said, "Krys is right.  The Magi-Knight's dark soul cannot be totally dead.  Matt is still alive in there somewhere."

                Sheeva shook her head.  "That's impossible.  The Centaji have probed his mind.  There are no traces of Hoffrey in there.  The Sergeant is dead."

                "Sheeva's right," Kyle added, "there's no way our telepaths could've missed anything."

                Shy Violet softly spoke from her place at the table.  "Excuse me, but in all of my studies, I have never found a perfect machine or method."

                Red Butler added his sentiments.  "Yeah.  What if they missed because Gray Dusk and the Magi-Knight are still the same mind?"

                Lala Orange spoke up next.  "How powerful is a Magi-Knight?"

                Gray Dusk stammered in his response.  Patty O'Green was the next to voice her concerns.  "You outran Starlite on foot!"     Buddy Blue followed up Patty's statement.  "Yeah, and didn't you then throw Murky over the hillside?"

                Canary was concerned, but less aggressive in her response.  "Please, Gray, what can a Magi-Knight do when he is out of control?"

                "At the level of Sergeant," Gray said, "he could kill all of you in ten seconds."

                There were many gasps in the room, but Gray continued.  "You must believe me.  He is gone forever."

                Twink raised his hand in the air.  "Excuse me, but, the other sprites want to know about this Chocolate.   Are you feeling okay to talk about it?"

                Browny shook her head.  "Maybe later."

                "Gray," Nite Sprite said, "when you said you could kill..."

                "No!"  Browny shouted.   "Hoffrey, not Gray."

                Krys took the offensive.  "Gray, what do you mean by kill?  Do you mean pummel, or actually kill?"  Gray did not respond.  "Well?"

                "Krys," Brian interrupted, "just leave him alone!"

                "You idiot!  Can't you see the danger?  Oh, wait, I forgot, you've been gone for the last four years in a world of no danger!"

                "No danger?  Maybe if you weren't so up in the clouds so often, you would see that I wasn't always a lefty!  I almost died that day!!"

                "Enough of this!"  Stormy's outburst silenced the room.  "It appears that Gray Dusk hasn't received the support he was looking for.  That would explain the reason why he is having difficulty giving a response, correct?"

                Starlite spoke after it was clear that Stormy had finished.  "If I may ask, may we see a demonstration of your power?"

                Tickled Pink sat up.  "Is it going to be loud?"

                Gray looked at Tickled Pink, and tried to smile at her.  "No.  It will be far away."  He then looked at the entire group.  "If you would all please follow me outside."

Chapter 4:  The Dance

Dec. 17, 1991

                Gray looked around the small house where Moonglo had lived ever since she had taken up residence in Rainbowland.  It was sparsely furnished, but where there was furnishing, it was nice, and well placed.  It seemed to clash light against dark.  Even after seeing the destructive power of a magi-knight, Moonglo had offered him to see what she did every night.  It was to be a full moon.

                "So," she inquired, "what do you think of this place?"

                "I think it is well suited to an officer." Gray replied.   "It is sparsely furnished, but has quality.  I really like it."

                "You flatter me, really, c'mon!  What do you think?"

                "I am surprised.  A lady of your stature usually is beautiful, yet snotty and greedy.  You only have matched the first of the three."  He gave her an honest smile.

                "You think?"

                "Although I can't remember faces or names, I know that my host had seen many princesses, ladies, and young women of high stature.  You are polite, Rainbow is kind, Lala is a little vain, but she is sweet and well-meaning, Patty is cautious but understanding, Canary is friendly, and Pink's manners are incredible for someone of her age."

                "You're forgetting Stormy."

                "Ah, yes.  Stormy."  Gray began to pace for a few seconds, then stopped.  "I have yet to see her gentle side.  She seems mostly intent on her duties.  She would make a fine soldier, but I would never wish that occupation upon anyone."

                "What's it like being a soldier?"

                "In common tongue, one would say that it sucks.  You kill people you don't know, and see people you care about die."  Gray looked as if he was fishing for something to change the subject, but Moonglo caught his turmoil, and did the favor for him.

                "It's supposed to be a full moon tonight."

                Gray looked at her.  "Have you ever danced?"

                "Whoa!  Slow down there."

                "Oh, no!  It's a custom.  A Knight always asks a young lady if she has ever danced if there is a full moon out.  I mean no offense."

                "Oh, well then, I guess if it's cultural, then no,  I've never danced.  No one ever taught me."

                "If you would be so kind, I could remedy that."

                Moonglo laughed nervously.  "Okay, I guess."

                "All right.  Let me show you a style called Mittsu Tantze.  It goes in counts of three, and there is a pair of three counts in a set, totaling six.  The rhythm is one, two, three; one, two, three.  On the first count, my left foot advances, and your right foot retreats.  One the second count, my right foot advances diagonally so there is a space between my feet slightly larger than my shoulders.  Your left foot retreats in the same manner.  On the third count, my left legs closes to my right foot.  You left closes to your right.  Then, during the second pair of three counts, although the foot order stays the same, you advance, and I retreat.  All the while, we are spinning in a counter clockwise motion.  It takes eight pairs of three, or four sets, to spin around once."

                Gray then demonstrated slowly by himself.  "Oh!" Moonglo exclaimed, "In this universe, we call it a waltz."

                "A waltz?  Then, we shall waltz."

                "I guess, but don't try anything funny."  Gray looked at her puzzlingly, but was relieved to see she was smiling.  He started to chuckle.

                "Very well.  When a couple dances in the Mittsu Tantze fashion, their bodies are separated by a space of a about a foot."

                "Umm...in this universe, a foot is separated into twelve units called inches."  She opened her arms up.  "This is about a foot."

                Gray scowled a bit.  "That's a pretty long foot.  Did a society of giants create this system of measurement?"

                "Well, no, I mean," she paused for a second, "you know what, I don't know."

                "Well," Gray held up his hands a shorter distance apart.  "This is a foot in the Klimiquethou universe.  This is the distance we are to stay apart."

                "Well, in this universe, the dancers make contact.  Why the distance?"

                "Unnecessary contact was considered vulgar in the court life of my host."               

                "Ohh..."

                "So, are you ready to try?"

                She shrugged and smiled, "Hey, why not?"

                "Very well.  Now, I take my left hand, and hold it out like this."  Gray's shoulder was bending to the left at a 45 degree angle, with his hand slightly above shoulder level.  His fingers were straight, his thumb slightly curled.  "The elevation of my hand is flexible, depending on the height of the dance partner.   Now, your right fingers merely curl around my fingers, like a bird's talons on a perch, just not as hard..."

                For the next ten minutes, Gray slowly taught Moonglo how to dance.  Outside, the moon began to shine like it had never shined before.  She was waltzing!  After ten minutes, Gray inquired if she was getting dizzy from the spinning.

                "We're not really spinning that fast."

                "Very well."  Gray started to disengage from the dance, but Moonglo took the offensive.

         &nbs