193 Phase 145: Burning Bridges

Thinking back, he should have figured it out.

{How did they know? How did they know what we were planning? How did they know to put Gracie in a cage, that she was someone important to us? Why did the alarms go off when the cage door opened? Was it triggered by the door opening without a key? Or was it triggered by someone? Who else did the Gaians have in here who was still conscious?}

Gracie was working for the Gaians. The concept hadn't really become clear to Colin until now, but now that it was clear, he almost facepalmed for how obvious it was. {She's even using Gaian gear.}

They had him for real this time. Green Men with guns aimed at him and Colin didn't even have his badge, so he couldn't warp in anyone. Gracie had that now, and she was studying it like it was some new toy.

[Hold on, Colin! Don't say anything, don't do anything!] Alicia knew, of course, exactly what had happened. She and the others were on the move, and they had a plan. What it was, exactly, Colin wasn't sure.

"That's quite a clever disguise." The man who spoke wore robes, green lined with gold and purple. "No wonder we couldn't find you."

Colin stayed perfectly still. {Don't say anything! Don't do anything! Hold on! Just hold on!}

"You're sure this is him?" the man asked Gracie dubiously.

"Of {course} I'm sure!" Gracie snorted. "He's my {brother}!"

For another moment, the man hesitated.

"You owe me!" Gracie stamped her foot. "You owe me big!"

Colin recognized that gesture. It's what she did whenever mom wouldn't buy her some dress or some snack she wanted. {Gracie, do you have any idea what you've done...?}

"Pay her." The man said in a cold voice. "Give her the rewards."

Gracie smirked as the notifications popped up. {What did she get? Clira? Items? Mission points? Was it worth it? Was that all I'm worth to her?}

Colin was amazed at how much it hurt. He used to think he didn't care at all about Gracie but being betrayed by his sister like this...

He was speechless... even in his head, at a total loss for words.

Oddly enough, the question that came to mind was, {how are we going to deal with this tomorrow morning when we wake up...?}

Gracie had crossed a line here. A terrible, terrible line. She might have thought it was all part of the play world, a quest to get more items and money. But this wasn't just some fantasy. Colin wasn't some programmed character. Even if this was just a dream, he was real. She was real.

The betrayal was real.

At last his thoughts moved again. Sluggishly, but coherently. {First Katrin, and now Gracie. Betrayed and betrayed again...}

[Hold on, Colin!] Alicia urged. [Just a little more. Just a little more!]

"Now." The man in the robes drew himself up. "Where is the prince?"

Colin did nothing. Said nothing. He just held on.

"What prince?" Gracie asked, blur. "The Forest Prince? That's him. That's Colin Rivers."

"I know. You said so already." The man said testily. He glared at Colin. "Do you know who I am, boy? I am Karodius Somar, Executor of the New Order of Gaia over Nakama World. You may be the Forest Prince, but I {own} Nakama World! I own this world and even you must answer to me! Now, answer! Tell me, {where is the Prince}?! Where is he going?! What does he want?"

"Who?" Gracie asked. "Who's the prince you're talking about?"

"The Seventh Prince!" Karodius seethed. "The child lost in dreams! The son of Rhema who could never wake until tomorrow! Speak, boy! Tell me the truth and speak now!

"Where is Philip Hiranor?!"

***

The name froze in Colin's already sluggish mind for a bit.

Philip... Hiranor...? Hiranor... wait... that's...

The name of his country. Colin was Hiranin. He was a citizen of the Empire of Hiranor.

{In other words... Hiranor is...}

The surname of the Emperor. And all his children.

Gracie gasped. "Oh. My. God. Philip is a Prince of the Hiranin Empire. In real life. The {real} prince."

Colin saw the blood drain from Gracie's face. Despite Alicia's advice, the pain in his heart caused him to say just one thing he couldn't keep in.

"Well, Gracie? How does it feel to have committed High Treason?"

And then the whole world went white.