“Drat! Foiled again by that Rainbow brat!” Murky clenched his fist in anger as he paced around the room. “Why do none of my plans ever work? There must be something missing…”

In a rush of brown fur, Lurky bumbled in. “Duh, Murky!”

Murky sighed, frustrated. “What do you want now?”

“Murky! Murky! Can we go down to Rainbow Land and visit Rainbow Brite? I want to ride her horsey!” Lurky bounced around the room, making several of Murky’s freshly made potions topple to the floor.

“Aaah!!” Murky rushed to his fallen bottles, snatching up what was left of them. “Lurky, you idiot! Look what you did!” He thrust the broken glass at Lurky. “My work is ruined! Again!” He tossed them onto the nearest section of counter and put his head in his hands.

“Don’t cry, Murky! It’ll be okay!” Lurky patted Murky on the head, but only succeeded in crushing his hat. “If we go see Rainbow and her horsey, it will all be better!”

Murky looked up at his sidekick in disbelief. “Why in the world would that make it better, banana-brain? Have you lost your mind?” He mumbled under his breath. “Not that you had one in the first place…”

As Murky drifted into thought, trying to think up another ‘brilliant’ plan, it suddenly came to him. The perfect idea. “Lurky, you’re a genius!” Murky got up and hugged Lurky, dancing with him around the room.

“I am? Yay!” Lurky said happily. “Duh… what did I do?”

“Only suggest the best idea in the world… when this plan goes through, Rainbow Brite will be under my control, and all the color in the world will disappear!” He gave an evil laugh, and beckoned to his sidekick. “Come, Lurky. We have lots of work to do!”

At Rainbow Land, the Color Kids were busy polishing and cleaning the castle. They were almost through, and every window was sparkling with light, leaving rainbow designs on the walls. Rainbow Brite stood back and admired their hard work.

“It’s great what we can do with teamwork,” she said to her friends. She gave Lala Orange a hug. “And you, especially. Polishing those windows till they shined. They look amazing!”

Lala smiled and hugged her back. “Anything for you, Rainbow.”

Suddenly Twink, her favorite Sprite, came running through the castle doors. “Rainbow, Rainbow!” He cried, waving his hands in the air to catch her attention.

“What is it Twink?” Rainbow looked at him, curious.

Twink blurted everything out in one high, squeaky breath. “There’s trouble, Rainbow! It’s Murky Dismal! He’s outside!” He jumped around, anxious for someone to act.

“Now what could he be up to now?” Rainbow frowned, a concerned look crossing her face. “I’d better go and see. You all stay inside in case it’s dangerous!” She gestured to her friends.

Red Butler spoke up. “But what if it is dangerous? We don’t want anything to happen to you either, Rainbow!” He stepped closer to her and took her hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you, and everyone else!” He put on a brave face and faced the castle doors.

Rainbow giggled. “Silly, nothing’s going to happen to me as long as I have the color belt! If Murky does something bad, I’ll be ready.” She smiled reassuringly at him and dropped his hand. “Everything will be fine, I promise.” She put a hand firmly on her belt and walked out the castle doors, ready to see what Murky wanted.