June 21, 1999

Jeremy Storm looked out the window of the 747 airline plane, watching the clouds below him and sometimes catching a glimpse of the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean underneath them. He was in a pensive mood, but not by any means in a foul one, as his grey eyes were bright and a slight smile was strectching his mature yet young adult features. And he had the reeasons to be feeling so happy. After all, he was just newly wed and was off to celebrate his honey moon with his wife.

An honeymoon. On the eastern shores of the United States they were heading, off to South Carolina and the beaches of the popular city of Salt Shores. Nothing but them, the white sand and the blue-green ocean.

It was a somewhat new experience to him, or at least it was a novel one in his line of work. As he worked for the anti-terrorist organization known as the SCD, he was used to travelling from place to place, but on missions of sabotage, information-gathering or simply to blow up a weapons' depot or to break up a forming cartel. But no matter how exciting those missions could be - and they could be VERY exciting - they weren't for the pleasure of it, but simple business. Two months of simply doing nothing or at least nothing of quite tangible value was almost impossible for he to visualize, as he'd never been a lazy person and had been with SCD for nearly four years now. Yet he was looking forward to it.

Stirring was heard next to him, and he looked to see Cammy White, his aforementioned young wife, sitting up from a slight doze she had been taking. She softly grumbled to herself, dazed and confused from sleep. He smiled. This was the Cammy he loved so much - very sweet and loving, but also bossy and having an hair-trigger temper that was always a bit set off when she woke up. The lapse didn't last long, as instinct and long years of training cleared away the fog in her head. She looked around, and caught sight of his smiling face.

"Hey." he said softly, still smiling. "Sleep well?"

She grinned back at him, her face lighting out of the cloudy mood she'd been in, as she leaned gently against him. "Slept like a log, Grey Eyes. Thanks for asking." she mumured as she took his hand and squeezed it very softly.

He gave a squeeze in return, still a bit surprised at that nickname she'd come to use more and more often. It had come to her during a passionate night amongst the many they'd shared before the wedding, and unlike many others she called him during those - names which he liked hearing during in the dark, but would be embarassed and even irritated to be called in public - it had stuck. One of the many things which had changed between them. For a moment he thought back on those days.

Just a little over two years ago was the first time they'd met, and it hadn't been a friendly meeting, At the time she was a Shdowlaw Doll, following Bison's orders to the letter. She had had the mission to assassinate famed Justice Minister Albert Sellers, and had succeeded. He'd been among those SCD sent to stop the assassination, but they'd come too late, and he'd tangled with her a little. For tunately she'd been drugged, or she would a whupped his ass - her skills were enhanced by Bison's powers, while his hadn't reached anything near what he had today. Although he could today stand against her and even have the possibility of winning, in those days it wouldn't have been the case.

But he'd seen a glimpse of the real Cammy during that battle, and with the help of Joan Claudius had managed to get her back on the road to recuperation. Her mind had become her own again, although it took a while for she to show emotions with others. As time passed, he found himself becoming increasingly infatuated with her, even with her apparent aloofness.

It wasn't until she had been abducted by Shadowlaw again that he'd realized, however, that he had truly falllen in love with her. He had insisted in being with the SCD force intent on rescuing her, and had been able to find her, traumatized by the treatment she had receive but - thank God! - still her self despite it. He had helped her recover, and had secretely spied as Rose, a powerful healer and psychic - not to mention his AUNT - cured her of her mental ills. It was shortly after that that he'd managed to tell the braided woman of his love for her, and had been surprised but also overjoyed to learn that she'd long had the same feelings, and the same passion, deep within her.

And from then, they had been lovers.

Oh, it hadn't been perfect. For a while, Bison's meddling had still to be contended with, before they truly could be together. and there had been the disastrous return of his murderous cousin, Thomas, and then the rising battles against the Circle, which had separated them but not before he had found the nerve to ask for her hand in marriage, which she had happily accepted. And then there had been more battles, including the final one at Limerick, where Kale himself had seemingly fallen.

And then they had been married. He looked at his right hand to see the golden band encircling his middle finger, still not completely believing that this was it, that this woman - this beautiful, bright, energetic woman - and he were now bound together officially, expected by others to live out their lives together.

"You always were a worrywart." Cammy teased, surprising him and jerking him out of his little dreamscape.

"What do you mean?" He asked her curiously, although a part of him told him he was being foolish, that she quite probably had seen and understood the way he had looked just now - she'd always been so very perceptive when she wanted to be.

As if on cue, she pointed at the ring he had been looking at just a few moments before, her face soft and gentle. "You had the biggest disbelief on your face when you looked at that." she noted evenly "Still can't believe we're married, can you?"

He grinned. "I suppose I can't at that. But mostly I can't believe I married a woman as beautiful and as bright as you." he retorted seductively.

She blushed, then proceeded to lightly punch him on the shoulder playfully.

"Playing the little Don Juan act, are we?" She said with a smile.

He grinned. "Hey, its our honeymoon. Why not try it as much as I can put it in?" He shrugged with a definite wink. She siddled close to him, her eyes twinkling with mirth and undiguised pleasure at this situation.

"Well, its working, love." she whispered.

And their lips met - not for the first time and hopefully not for the last - upsetting more than a few of the other passengers probably. Not that they cared much what others thought right now. They had been through a lot and now they fully intended on having as much fun as they could get, in any way they could get it!

Sighing inwardly in pleasure, Jeremy hoped nothing would come to ruin their first true time together, outside all the problems. After all, they had deserved it, so why wouldn't fate give them this.

He of course didn't know fate wasn't done, even for the Honeymoon...

Around the same time...

The lobby of the Moon Dune Hotel was as calm as could be for the middle of the day in late June. Two new arrivals, and one departure, and some comings and goings, but nothing seriuos yet. It would take July to put things into a frenzy of work, with arrivals from Canada - especially Ontario and Quebec, of course and Main and New york, people who want it hot and fun. Although there were festivities right now, things weren't starting for two good weeks yet. And so everyone in the staff - including the receptionist, were enjoying the calm times while they lasted.

The receptionist was in fact idly thinking on what kind of swimsuit she should buy for her off-hours - a red or a yellow suit? - when the door was flung open, and a person whirlwinded - she could find no better words to suit what happened - into the welcoming hall.

It was a man...red-haired, looking no more than thirty, a very wide, happy smile on his lips, wearing an open yellow shirt with palm trees motifs, a bright pink shorts and flashing green sandals, weird, round sunglasses on his face. He was entering with enough noise and exclamations to make up for a family of fifteen. He looked around, spotted her, and with an hearty shout he hopped - she couldn't believe that he DID - until he was right on the other side of the desk.

"Errr...welcome to the Moon Dune Hotel, sir!" she said, abit hesitant, put of by the overflowing energy and happiness the man was showing. He giggled at her when she said it, and spread his arms wide.

"Thank you! Thank you!" he nearly shouted, excitement vibrating through him from the looks of things. "I am mighty glad, to be in this wonderful place, I am! Its going to be fun, I'm sure of it!" he suddenly thrust forward, and she leaned back in surprise. "Now, ma'am, where's my room? I'm bushed!!!"

He didn't seemed tired at all - the exact opposite, in fact. But she was glad to find something sensible to do after this unnerving and rather incohenrent babble. She started to type for the register on the computer. "So...hum...you've made a reservation here?"

"Well, of course!" he shrilled happily. "I wouldn't be here if I hadn't done it, wouldn't have asked, you know! But of course, silly me, of course you knew, hahaha! If you didn't think so, it'd mean that I'd phrased everything wrong! Darn!!! Egad!!!" He laughed gladly, looking the image of a goof. And despite the fact that it unnerved her, she smiled at the strange man's antics.

"Name, sir?"

"My...my name?" he said suddenly, looking suddenly very confused.

"Hum...yes, sir...your name."

He suddenly seemed thoughtful, striking his chin, leaning towards her with a suddenly very serious mien. He gestured for her to lean towards him, to follow suit. Curious despite the strange situation, she did so at once. He gave her quite the conspirational tone, and showed two slim fingers. "I'll tell you two things. One, its Brad Harmon. And two..." he became even more conspirational-looking.

"Hum..and?"

"And...I really like the color yellow." he'd said with a sudden wink, beaming.

She blinked. Where had that come from? This guy simply didn't make any sense at all! He was now leaning back, looking immensely pleased with his incongruous confession, as if knowing which color he liked was supposed to have any effect on her. She normally would have gotten angry upon being played for a fool thus, but his smile was very contagious, and she found herself grinning back slightly.

"So...Brad Haron, you said, sir?"

"Yup!" he exclaimed "That's me! Come here for one big bash, one season of utter fun at the beach!!!"

She was thankful there was no one else in the hall, or they certainly would have called the police by now. And to her, it seemed to be...unnecessary. She typed, found the reservation, and nodded back at him. She handed him the necessary keys. "Room five-oh-four, sir. Just to tell you, sir, you're a bit early for real fun."

He suddenly gave her a strange look. Amused, but this time really seriously. He shook his head. "You have no idea, ma'am." with a normal tone.

She felt, more than all the rest of his goofy acts, that this look was strange, and she couldn't help but shift under the strange gaze. She looked down and her brows quirked curiously. "Do you have any luggage?"

"Wha-OH NO!! MY STUFF!!" he said, goof back online, the serious moment passed. He ran for the door, forgot somehow that it was closed. "ITS IN THAT TAXI! IF I-quuack!" he was stopped in his panicked lecture as he slammed into the door, very forcefully. He looked at the door in groggy annoyance. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING CLOSED?!?" without waiting for any kind of response, he flung it open, and ran away shouting "TAXI!!!"

She looked at the entrance for a moment, bewildered, than chuckled despite herself. The weirdest man she'd ever seen, that Brad Harmon was. What a strange personality he had! But he seemed harmless. After a minute, she shook off her thoughts of him, and reconcentrated on the swimsuit she was going to buy soon.

For some reason now, the yellow one really seemed more appealing...

That night...

It was time to begin the Grand Reaping again.

So thought the man only known as the Rainbow, leader of the secretive group that had been called and called themselves many names in the five centuries since the beginning of its existence, but which nowadays took the simple yet fitting name of the Ribambelle of All Colors. They had come a long way, each from their own mansions and places where they did as they pleased and accumulated power, and came together for the first time in ten years. Come for the Grand Reaping.

Rainbow stared at the ones who took orders from him, yet from no one else. As he was the Rainbow, so were they the Colors of it. Red, Blue and Yellow were of course the most powerful members after he, wielding great powers and influence. Followed by White and Black, and finally by Green, Orage and Purple. The lesser members, which weren't to be present to these important meetings, wore the Brown armbans, and initiates Grey ones. These were unimportant, having little power, knowing little of the Taking and the Merge.

Or of the Grand Reaping.

"So you would have us know that the time is ripe?" asked the Red, an middle-aged man of very slim proportions. There were murmurs and a feel of expectation in the room, as many had waited to have this discussion.

Rainbow, a bearded man of no more than forty, nodded calmy to his assembled brethren. "I do indeed, friends. The time has come for us to achieve what our predecessors could not fity years ago."

There was excitement indeed at this, and more murmurs. But it was contained. They knew they could not afford to be wrong on this. Already in the last fifty years their powers had decreased, and if they were unable to perform the Grand Reaping, they would decrease further, and become nothing more than shadows of their former selves, unable to call the Powers to them. It was a chilling thought.

"Let us hope we will not be confronted to such interlopers as those before us were." Said the Green softly, her feminine voice carrying anxiety at the possibility of it. Others responded to it with their own fearful musing or different degrees of anger but also stark realism. They had not forgotten what had happened themselves. The Rainbow left his hands to appease them, and slowly calm returned.

"I doubt that we'd have anything to fear from those who stopped our forefathers. Fifty years have passed since those days, and if they are not dead by now, they are very old and probably not concerned about us." he said

Many looked unconvinced, especially the man carrying Yellow armband. "But it is likely they may have told or prepared others, for it was a narrow victory the interlopers won, but they may know that we no longer have the power of those of the time."

"Which is why we must go on with our plans to perform the ceremony and regain what we have lost. That is what should be foremost on our minds. The rest has little importance compared to this task." retorted the Rainbow.

"I agree with the Rainbow Lord," purred a lady wearing Blue. "Moreover, I have predicted the Reaping myself, and so have cast minions of mine to look out the city for possible interlopers. So far they've seen nothing, heard nothing, and felt nothing of people with any special powers. It is by not means a certainty, but at least it lessens the chances of our being interrupted this time."

"And where shall this new Reaping be conjured?" asked the Black one.

"In this very city where I've asked you to convene, lords." answered the Rainbow with a slight smile.

"Salt Shores?!? Really?"

"Yes. The conjunction of the stars is almost perfect. In fourteen nights from now we will be able to test the Chanelling on a selected group of people, and then proceed to the Grand Reaping itself."

There was satisfaction in hope in the looks exchanged now, and the Rainbow knew that he had swayed them all to his cause and his goal. Indeed he had never had any doubt, since his own father had risen to this position following the debacle of fifty years past and his family had kept the Ribambelle from collapsing in the first few years. His family was now feared but also trusted, and so the present leader of the secretive group had few doubts about his charisma and abilities to convince. He looked at each of the others evenly.

"May I assume I have the approval of the people here gathered to continue with the plans?"

Everyone nodded or else gave a sign of approval. And then the Rainbow finally grinned.

"Excellent!" he said enthusiastically. "Then let the word spread to our minions to gather hence twenty days at a location I will give. Lady Blue, let your own continue their spying in case something comes up. And let all the Ribambelle know the hour of its rebirth to power is at hand!"

And as the others approved, clapped or cheer, he thought of the city of Salt Shores. Beware, people, for the Grand Reaping is upon you.

And this time, there would be no escape. He would see to that.