151 Phase 127: Rescues

Meanwhile, Colin was hearing screams as he rushed on.

Fear. Panic. Desperation. Despair. Pain. Even anger. Those screams, he expected.

But the ones that haunted him, truly troubled him, were the screams of grief.

{Why? How?} Those screams were so raw, so intense, he couldn't believe mere friends would cry out over each others' demise like that. Something more was going on, something that caused sorrow and regret so tangible…

And then the mountain disappeared. The caverns disappeared. The Ancient Ways seemed to vanish entirely.

Colin stood in the midst of swirling mists. Like he stood in the way of a stream of fog rushing past him at breakneck speed.

"Where… what…?" Colin trailed off. "Oh."

He {felt} it. The realness of this place. The realness of the emotions behind every voice he heard. The un-realness of the ground under his feet. The not-realness of the fog sweeping past him like wind.

This was a realm where feelings were more real than the environment. Where voices were more solid than land. {I'm in the Lower Plane.}

And he was falling. Falling endlessly, though he felt like he stood on solid ground, and the fog rushed forward, not upward. But the sensation of falling was undeniable, as if he stood on a high speed elevator going down… {more like a piece of broken mountain. I was wondering how Skycrown would look in the Lower Plane. But…}

The glorious heights. The noble, towering majesty. The sheer grandeur of its size. The gentle mists drifting down as a waterfall, like a veil… all of it was gone.

Colin found himself flooded with regret. Not just filled; flooded. It overwhelmed him, surrounding him on all sides with the truth of the matter. {It's my fault. They came for me, because they saw me on the news. They came for ME… and now Skycrown Mountain, the crown of all mountains on Nakama World… is gone.}

"WHY?!" Colin screamed and found his grief echoed by a thousand voices across a hundred broken pieces of the fallen mountain.

Eyes. Leering eyes… sneering eyes… mocking eyes… accusing eyes… they surrounded him on all sides. Seeing him. Seeing all he had caused. Recognizing him, without a doubt, as the one to blame for all this.

"I- I just…" Colin fumbled, not surprised to find himself on his hands and knees.

And then a tongue appeared. A small tongue, a child's tongue.

It asked, in Gracie's voice. {"Where are YOUR friends? Huh? Huh?"}

"Down there." Colin whispered. "Katrin is… Katrin is…"

Another tongue appeared. A larger one. It spoke in Michi's voice. {"She gave you her strongest… the one guaranteed to bring you back safely. Colin… she gave you Raiki."}

"Katrin!" Colin leapt to his feet and started running.

Another tongue appeared. A far more familiar voice spoke. His own voice. {"Katrin, it's okay. You can stay here if you want… I… I am a Traveler."}

More. Satrox's voice. {"You left Katrin behind again."}

Katrin's voice. {"Colin… what do you think of me?"}

Colin heard his own voice answer her, skipping through passed and past time as if replying at once. {"Kat… whatever happens, I'm not going to abandon you. You're the most important friend I have. You're swell, and cool, and always seem to know the right thing to do. I don't know what I'd do without you."}

Katrin's voice, now angry, from yet another time. {"Didn't you say you weren't going to leave me?!"}

And then Katrin again in a soft, sad voice. {"Colin… these past two nights have been the worst nights I've ever spent on Nakama World. Do you know why?"}

Colin remembered, even as his own voice answered. {"Honestly? No. Why?"}

Katrin's reply. {"Because these past two nights were the only nights I've spent in Nakama World that I haven't seen you at all."}

"Katrin!" Colin lunged, and then suddenly found that there was nothing under his feet. "UWAAAA!!!"

If he hadn't been sure about falling before, he was certain of it now. Colin was very definitely falling through the sky this time, and if feelings were any indication, he was falling faster and faster and faster into the Lower Plane.

But clarity was beginning to dim. Fear and feelings were beginning to dim. Logic faded. Sense faded. Colin tumbled through the air and for a fleeting moment, forgot where he was or why he was there, or why he was falling in the first place.

The ground appeared before him… beneath him, really, but it looked more like 'above' than below… {does that mean I'm facing 'down'? What's 'down' again? Oh yeah. 'Down' is THAT way.}

He fumbled. Flailed. {Wait. What was I doing again? I was going down… falling down… why am I falling down? Hmm. This position… maybe I'm diving? Am I diving? That means that gray below… is water? The sea?}

Someone was screaming. Actually, a lot of people were shouting and screaming. Why? Was there some sort of competition going on? {Maybe I'm in an international diving competition… that's why there's so much screaming while I'm diving. My fans are cheering me… I better dive properly…}

Oh wait. He didn't know how to dive. Colin frowned. How did diving go again?

Right. He had to straighten his body… arms in front, legs behind, head ducked…

Colin landed with a splash and sent droplets of… {huh…?! Cement?}

There was a huge impact. Colin didn't notice it when his dive led him straight into solid cement, but now that he realized it, he found himself bouncing off to one side. There was a hole growing in the ground. Cement was flying.

{Did I just dive into cement… and cause a splash?}

More like an explosion and a crater.

{And why exactly am I tumbling around and around in mid-air…? Shouldn't I be flattened? Or dead? Or something?}

But nothing seemed real here. Nothing made sense. So maybe it was okay to dive into concrete and make a splash… just this once?

Colin took a deep breath, suddenly realized he'd been out of breath before, but instead of breathing out normally, what came out of his mouth was "KATRIN!!!"

{Oh. Right. That's why I'm here. Katrin's here. Somewhere… I have to… what was it? Ah yes. I have to rescue her.}

"Katrin!" Colin gasped in shock. {That's right! Katrin's stuck here, in the Lower Plane! I have to find her! NOW!}

"Colin!" Satrox was there, running up to him. "Are you okay?! You dropped really hard! Is your head alright?"

"Satrox… Katrin is… Katrin is…" Colin struggled. "What was it again?"

"Katrin's somewhere here. This place is dangerous." Satrox shook his head. "More importantly, Colin, you need to calm down. You're not thinking straight."

"There's no time…" Colin frowned. "Why…? Oh! That's right! The Cult! They're after us! They're after… who was it this time? Actually, Satrox, why are you here?"

"I died in the Ancient Ways, remember? That means I end up here."

Colin remembered. Alicia. Sora. Giant robots. "Wait. I didn't die. Why am I here?"

"You were saying something about Katrin?" Satrox prompted.

"…Right." Colin trailed off. "I heard… I saw… I mean…"

"Nightmares." Satrox nodded sagely.

A short whine to the left brought Colin's attention to a white, furry wolfcat. {Shiro.}

Shiro was trapped in a cage with a collar around his neck tying him to a tight, twelve inch leash. {Is this… Shiro's Nightmare?}

The little wolfcat was trembling, literally shaking in his fur when Colin seized the cage and flipped it over. He unclasped the leash, unbuckled the collar, and all of it disappeared like smoke. Shiro let out a small, grateful yelp, but still huddle there shaking and shivering while Colin took him up and looked around for Raiki.

"There." Satrox pointed.

Colin turned and found Raiki in a cardboard box marked 'Adopt Me' in front of a cardboard printout picture of a Comrade Home. {It's like she's been abandoned and given away for adoption… in front of a fake picture that only looks like a Home. Abandoned and forever waiting in vain to be adopted…}

Colin leapt for her as fast as he could, grabbing her the instant he got within reach. "Raiki, NO! That's never going to happen! You hear me? NEVER!"

"Mew…" Raiki let out a piteous moan, and buried her whiskers under his arm.

"That's good." Satrox mentioned. "It's really good that you got to them quickly. A few more minutes and…"

"Who are you?" Colin demanded. "You are not Satrox. Who are you?!"

'Satrox' froze. Turned to stare at Colin in shock.

Colin looked at Satrox's face, and said calmly. "I know you. You're Hazel."

"How did…" 'Satrox's voice trailed off, and the disguise faded. There in front of Colin stood that Hazel-haired boy with wings on his back. "Never mind. That's not important. What's important is Alicia."

"Alicia?" Colin's eyes narrowed. "She's fine. Sora will take care of her. What's important is Katrin."

"And Phillip and a whole bunch of others, sure. But Alicia… Alicia is special, Colin. Surely you realize that by now." Hazel said softly. He turned to the right. "Don't let her come down here. No matter what… don't let her enter the Lower Planes. Not now. Not like this."

"If you're so concerned, why don't you…" Colin began and then realized that he was talking to empty air. Hazel was gone.

"COLIN!" another voice shouted. Colin spun to find Michi racing up at him.

"Michi?" Colin stared. She was wearing armor. He didn't know what kind, but it was silver/blue/black and looked very, very expensive. Not quite the white lab coat he always saw her in.

"Where is he?!" Michi shrieked. "Where is Phillip?!"

"Phillip?" Colin blinked. "Casiphia grabbed him in the Ancient Ways and disappeared somewhere."

"Cass… Ancient Ways…" Michi heaved a deep breath. "Thank God."

"Michi? What's going on? Wait, that's not important. The important thing is Katrin. Have you seen her?" Colin asked.

Michi shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, Colin, but the important thing is Phillip. No matter what, don't let him enter the Lower Planes."

"Phillip?" Colin blinked. "Why?"

"Nevermind. I've got to find Cass." Michi disappeared in a blur of motion.

"Wha…?" Colin stared.

Suddenly, he found himself in a car, like Dad's grav-car. He was in the driver's seat. He turned around and found people behind him. Katrin, Alicia, Phillip, Satrox and Michi. He glanced to his left and found Lynn sitting beside him.

All of them seemed to be staring straight at him, saying absolutely nothing.

{I have to… have to help them… get away…} Colin turned the steering wheel, only half-surprised to find that the car was already moving and he was the driver, giving everyone a lift. But the steering was heavy… so heavy.

"Hey… someone give me a hand…?" Colin requested, fumbling. "I don't even know how to drive…"

But nobody moved. Everyone just sat there, and the car and the steering felt heavy. So very heavy.

"Someone?" Colin asked again, glancing back at all his 'friends'. But there was no response. Everyone just kept looking at him, and then when he turned back, he found a mountain in front of them. "Whoa!"

He tried to turn the car. Turn them away to avoid a collision. But the steering was heavy. The car was heavy, loaded down with everybody and their luggage. Colin panted, struggling to turn them all, just to turn and avoid disaster… "Help me! Somebody help me! I can't turn the steering! It's too heavy! HELP!"

But nobody helped. Nobody moved. Everyone just sat there like lumps, and the car was too heavy, and Colin struggled with everything he had just to turn…

"Get out!" Colin found himself angry. "If you're not going to help, at least get out of the way! There's too much weight! I can't {turn} it!"

But nobody stirred. Nobody came to help him. Nobody got out of the car. Everyone just sat there and the car kept getting closer and closer to the mountain.

"MOVE!" Colin threw all the strength he could muster to turn, just turn the steering. It felt like his arms were breaking, and his spine all but tore, but at last, he managed to turn it, somehow…

And then they were gone. Everyone, and everything was gone. The car, the mountain… all that remained with Colin were Shiro, Raiki, and the sweat covering him. {W-what… what just…}

"A Nightmare." Colin gasped, panting for breath. "It was a Nightmare…"

It felt so real. So {real}. He could still feel , the panic, the fear… and the sense of betrayal as everyone was just sitting there while he struggled with all their weight.

Once more, he heard the screams, and this time, he honestly felt like joining them. Just to let it out. Just once.

{Was it real? Was it really real? Even 'Hazel' and 'Michi'… were they really here at all? Or was it just my own mind playing tricks on me?}

Either way, Colin felt, 'they' were right. This place… the Lower Plane… this wasn't a place for them. For any of them.

[Alicia…] He called to her.

She responded. [Colin…?]

Gently, he told her. [Don't come here. Don't come to the Lower Plane. This place… right now, it's bad. It's really, really bad. Be careful.]

Alicia's reply was quiet. She wasn't in a safe place either, but she approached it with a remarkably steady heart. With this heart, she answered. [You too.]

Colin found himself with a small smile on his face. {She's not asking me to run away. She knows why I'm here. She's not asking me to take care of anyone else.}

[Where are you?] He asked her, almost surprised to find himself just as steady.

[Halfway out.] Alicia sent him a thought of Sora's explanation, a single moment of memory about some sort of map and some sort of labyrinth. She wasn't the only one with Sora, he saw now. They had met others, saved all they could, and now a force of twenty-three people were working together to escape.

Rather than that, what Colin found remarkable was the amount of time that had passed. For him, it had felt like minutes. For her, it had felt like half an hour.

[You?] Alicia was asking about him now.

[I have no idea.] Colin admitted. In a single moment, he shared with her his memories, nightmares and all.

[Could you have saved the grav-car, at least?] Alicia wondered. [Taken it out of the Nightmare and used it, somehow?]

[Could I?] Colin thought about it. [I don't think so. I think Nightmares are… well… they're a single thing that we have to fight… and once we beat it, everything in it is gone. Poof.]

[But we had a car with us last time.]

[That came with us from the Middle Plane.]

[True.]

His thoughts were clear. Colin walked through half-formed fog and images, but he didn't pay attention to them. His mind did not drift. His Nightmares did not take shape. Alicia's mind was sharp; it was clear… and it was connected to his, although it seemed to be working a lot quicker than his was. {Time differentiation. In the time I took to take a step here, she's walked down a whole corridor.}

Three steps later, Alicia was at the head of a team of six; there were twenty-four people in their group now, divided into four teams. Sora led the vanguard team. Alicia led the team on the right flank. They'd found Malcolm earlier and he was now leading the rear guard. Makoto and a girl had joined them a corridor ago, and now he led the left flank.

Five steps after that, Alicia and her team were in a fight against a Wisp seemingly made out of a school desk and piles of exam papers. It seemed to have a partner that looked like a huge ticking clock… or maybe they were two halves of the same Wisp.

Whatever it was, Alicia's team couldn't handle it with the few Adventura Import weapons they had. They called in reinforcements and the entire group came to join the battle, all twenty-six of them. Twenty-six, now…?

A muffled scream brought Colin's attention to a figure huddled behind a rock. Colin found Rita there, an iron lock around her jaw and a huge gag over her mouth.

{So that's the Nightmare of a chatterbox…?} Colin tapped her on the shoulder twice. She jumped, blinked when she saw him and said, "Huh?! Colin? What are you doing here?"

The gag and jawlock disappeared. Rita blinked, looked around and asked, "What just happened? Where are we? What happened to the… wait. Was that some sort of dream? Was I hit by some Comrade's Illusion technique? Oh, but that can't be true, right? We're in the Ancient Ways and there's no Comrades… huh? Is that Shiro and Raiki? How come they…"

"We're in the Lower Plane." Colin cut in, amazed to find that he could actually do it. "You were in a Nightmare. We have to get you out of here."

"Nightmare… Oh, my, Colin, you have no idea just how…" Rita began, and then trailed off, staring into nothing. And then fog started taking shape around her as she let out a terrified scream.

"Rita!" Colin shook her. "Snap out of it!"

Rita jumped, gasping. "Colin?! Where… what… how…?!"

{So that's what happens… I didn't even see what she saw… she just trailed off into her own thoughts and then the fog started taking shape…}

Alicia, meanwhile, was battling giant maggots. Somewhere between finding Rita and stopping her latest forming Nightmare, George, Scarlet and May had joined Alicia's group. Their numbers were approaching forty now.

{Katrin… where is Katrin…? And if Rita is here, probably Henry, too…}

There. Colin didn't know how he knew, but he knew where Henry was. He was just around the corner, so to speak. Well, actually, it was down a cliff or something, but close enough. Katrin, though… Colin sensed her too, sort of. But she was farther away, and getting farther. Deeper.

"Henry!" Colin shouted, hoping to jolt him out of whatever Nightmare he'd gotten mired in. He ran forward with Rita…

The Lower Plane {shifted}. Colin stumbled, not quite sure what just happened, but he'd been sure he was running straight towards Henry and Katrin before, Katrin being farther away… except now he was a good deal closer to Henry, and Katrin seemed far, far away on the left.

{What…? Why…?} Colin gave up trying to figure out the Lower Plane and just dashed forward to help Henry. He glanced at Rita only to find her drifting off again, and fog forming around her throat this time. Colin tapped her on the nose. "RITA!"

Rita gasped, eyes wide, half-stumbling over. "N-n-n-ngggh…. Huh…? But…!"

"Another nightmare." Colin told her. "We have to help Henry."

"Henry?" Rita stared. A distant look crept over her eyes and fog started forming.

"There!" He grabbed Rita's shoulder and pointed to the cliff, which was, for some reason, right in front of them now.

Henry was hanging from a thin branch just five feet below them, and hundreds and hundreds of feet above the ground below. He was holding on with one hand, and didn't look like he'd be able to hold on much longer. He saw them there, and tried to say something, but all that came from his throat was a hoarse rasp.

"Hang on!" Colin told him, although he didn't think he needed to say something so obvious. He glanced around, looking for something that could help…

Shiro swelled in size. He swelled to thrice Colin's height in a moment, and then flipped his tail over the edge. That tail stretched down past seven feet.

{Oh. That's right. I forgot. Shiro is the Lord of the White Wolfcats now. He's supposed to be able to change sizes and become really really big if he wanted.}

Henry grabbed Shiro's tail for dear life. Shiro used his tail and grabbed Henry too, just in case. With a single swift motion, Shiro tugged Henry to safety, and suddenly the entire cliff vanished.

{The CLIFF?! The WHOLE CLIFF was Henry's Nightmare?!}

The deeper they went in, Colin felt, the worse the Nightmares got.

"Rita! Snap out of it!" Colin said, nudging her without turning around.

"GWAAAH!" Rita yelped. "W-w-w-wha…?! Colin!? Henry!"

{Rita can't manage here. She's drifting off so quickly… Henry too… he's not answering.} Colin spun and found him already half-covered in forming fog.

"Raiki." Colin said quietly. "Can you…?"

Raiki pounced on Henry, who jumped six feet (count it; SIX feet!) in the air with a yowl, his hair standing on end.

"Shiro. With Rita, please." Colin added.

Shiro went over to Rita and wrapped his tail around her. She blinked at him, shook off an oncoming stupor and yet more forming fog, and then took a deep breath. "Thanks, Shiro… I think… I…"

"Katrin. Where is she?" Colin asked.

Rita and Henry just gave him baffled looks.

"There." Colin found her, still on the 'left'. "Let's go!"

He took one step…

And found himself in the middle of a pitched battle on some sort of port. Ships were sinking, Green Men were shooting guns… and there was a giant purple beaver shooting lasers out of its eyes.