108 Phase 94: Sekai and stuff

Colin sat there like an idiot as everybody in front of him scattered in all directions.

He saw Sekai's eyes narrow, and saw her gesture with her hand. He saw razor leaves rain down in a storm, each one slashing down hard and fast enough to leave holes in the marble floor.

Tony barely made four steps before he was killed. Viking and his friends managed five. Katrin got to her sixth before she disappeared, and Ginny actually reached seven.

Colin stayed right where he was, not stirring an inch, not yet recovered from Silvero's kick and not quite able to run even if he tried.

Sekai saw him and her eyes narrowed even more. "What have you got to say?"

"Um…" Colin winced. "Hi?"

Sekai gestured and Yggdrasil lowered her to the ground. She stepped forward and gave him a flat look. "{Hi}. What are you doing here?"

{Does she know me from somewhere…?} "I was actually here to rescue Sora." Colin said simply. "So don't kill me. We're on the same side."

"Nice to know." She shook her head. "So, what's stopping you from wiping out this miserable ruin on your own? It's not like you didn't have the power to do it."

{She knows. Somehow, she knows I'm the Forester.}

"I… didn't want to get the Forest involved." Colin said.

Sekai sobered up. "You could have ended all this before I even arrived on this world if you had."

Colin winced. {Chalk all this destruction down as MY fault, would you?} "My job as a Forester is to protect the Forest, not use if for my own purposes."

At that, Sekai blinked. "You?! You're no Forester! You're…"

"Sekai!"

Colin glanced up to see the sky filled with birds. Forest birds, sea birds, mountain birds, all swooping down on them from all sides.

That voice sounded familiar. Colin's eyes spotted her at once, at the center of the flocks. The three largest birds were there, one blue, one black, and one white. Each had someone on their back.

All three came in for a landing to meet Sekai on the ground.

"Lynn." Sekai called the girl in the middle by name, the same girl who voiced her name earlier. Then, she turned to the other two. "Iylara. Casiphia."

Colin stared. Lynn the Forest Princess, Iylara the Ocean Princess… and unless he missed his guess, that silver-haired girl, Casiphia, must be the Mountain Princess.

Three of the most powerful people in the world gathered in one place… this meeting should be recorded in history!

Lynn's eyes noted him there, blinked, and then turned back to Sekai. She stepped forward to meet Sora's sister. "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Sekai."

"Very long." Sekai said, walking towards her.

{If they fight here, I'm dead for sure. I and probably everyone else left still alive in this ruined city. A battle between people of THEIR level…}

"Um…" Colin racked his brains to think of a way to keep them from fighting but try as he might, he couldn't think of anything. "Guys…"

"Girls." Casiphia cut in, with a tilted sort of voice.

"Huh?" Colin blinked.

"We're not guys. We're girls." Casiphia told him. "Address us as such."

"Sorry." Colin winced.

By then, Lynn and Sekai had met and were giving each other close inspections. Colin braced himself for a mighty explosion and wondered if the entire continent was about to be destroyed.

Lynn moved first.

With a laugh, she closed the distance between herself and Sekai and…

…put her arms around her in a hug.

"Wha..?!" Colin blinked.

Sekai too, was laughing softly, embracing Lynn back. "Oh, Lynn. Whatever have you been doing? How have you been?"

"It's been troublesome." Lynn told her. "What about you? I haven't seen you since I took your old title."

"Old… title…" Colin paused. "Hey… that means…"

"Sekai is my predecessor." Lynn told Colin over Sekai's shoulder. "She was the Forest Princess before I came to power."

"Well… that explains Yggdrasil." Colin winced, feeling the soreness of his stomach where Silvero had kicked him. "But what happened to her?"

"I finished my Journey." Sekai shrugged. "And completed my term of service as Forest Princess."

"Completed…" Colin paused. "You're saying Lynn's got a limited time to rule."

"Sort of. You can ask her later." Sekai said. "Right now, I want to know what happened to my brother. Where is he?"

"Here." Sora's voice floated out from the fireplace behind Colin.

***

Sora Melody did not look like he'd been a prisoner or under torture of any sort. He was wearing a formal suit complete with the regalia of the Lamico Republic, a little worn, but in no way torn. In fact, he looked like he'd just strolled in from a walk in the park.

Under his arm was Lucy, looking very red, and giggling.

{Don't tell me the two of them took a minute to snuggle while we were fighting for our lives trying to buy them time…}

Sekai's eyes went very narrow as she looked him up and down. "You could have busted your own way out of here any time you wanted. Why didn't you?"

"I wanted to prove myself to Silvero." Sora said. "Convince Lucy's dad that I'm serious about her."

Sekai growled. "You and me, we're going to have a long talk about this. But not here. We're going home."

Sora shook his head. "I…"

Sekai moved with blinding speed. Her scythe was out and Sora disappeared before he could say another word.

"Sora!" Lucy gasped, falling over as he vanished.

"He'll be respawning back home." Sekai said in satisfaction. "And you have some explaining to do as well! You're coming with me."

"Well, if you're bringing me to Sora…" Lucy paused, but yelped when Yggdrasil scooped her up in a branch.

"Sorry, Lynn, we'll have to catch up later. I've got a brother and a maybe future sister-in-law to deal with!" Sekai called over her shoulder as Yggdrasil took her up.

Lucy's face went even redder.

"Later, then!" Lynn waved, as Sekai, Yggdrasil, and Lucy all headed east.

Colin looked around at all the mess and said, "Now what?"

"Now, I'm going to Wake Up." Lynn told him. "It's been a really, really long night."

Colin's eyes widened in realization. He checked the time and almost fell over.

"Mercy! It's eight-thirty in the morning! I'm late for school!" Colin yelped.

***

Colin Rivers was assigned clean-up duty at the school cafeteria as punishment for being late for school that day. 'I overslept' was the only reason he gave.

After all, what else could he say? 'I was Dreaming of rescuing Lucy's boyfriend and trying to save the Lamico Continent from an ex-Forest Princess'?

***

When he finally returned to Dreamworlds on the thirteenth night since he joined Nakama World, Colin found himself back at his Outpost Base, the Forester's Hut in the Lamico Forest.

[Welcome back.] Kyubia greeted him.

Colin blinked when he saw just how close she'd brought her clan to his hut. When she said she was bringing her clan 'closer' to his place, he thought she meant some hillside caves nearby. He never expected to see her entire clan practically on his doorstep.

"Yip." Shiro wagged his tail at him. Colin's First Comrade was lounging around at the entrance of his hut. He looked like he'd been having a fun time. [Welcome back.]

"Hi." Colin winced. "Is the Protectorate still standing?"

The white wolfcat shrugged.

Kyubia barked a laugh. [We've been busy planting the forest. None of us have checked on the affairs of men.]

Sonia and Foxie were chatting at his left in short barks and whuffs. Colin's other Comrades were scattered around the area with Katrin's Comrades, all of them familiar with each other. Cour, Blackswirl, Ardent and Glide were moping together to one side.

This place seemed peaceful enough. There was no sign that tensions between the Protectorate and the Republic had erupted in full-scale battles all over again.

But just because the Forest was peaceful, it didn't mean that the rest of the continent was just as safe. For all Colin knew, whole towns could be burning by now.

"I better go check on them." Colin straightened, glanced down at himself and found the Prayerman disguise gone. Still… even without it, he shouldn't be easily recognized if he used his visor. "Sonia, Foxie, with me. What about you, Kyubia?"

Kyubia shrunk to cub-size and climbed onto Colin's shoulder. [I'm coming too.]

Colin headed off with those three, too worried about the continent to really notice that nagging thought in the back of his head that said he was forgetting something important.

***

"Colin?" Katrin called, looking around the hut when she arrived that night. "Are you there?"

She searched the whole hut, and checked around the forest, noticing that Kyubia, Sonia and Foxie were gone. Shiro was heading off with a whole group of Wilds too. The truth was apparent.

"He's gone and left me behind again." Katrin said softly.

"Hello, the hut!" a voice called.

Katrin frowned, feeling left out and angry. "What?"

"Delivery for a Miss Katrin!" a guy in an ostrich suit said.

"A delivery…?" Katrin blinked, her upset forgotten for a moment. "How does anyone even know where to find me?"

"Don't know, miss, but if you're Katrin, these habitats are for you." The ostrich suit guy said, pulling a cart with four big boxes on it. A blue bunny hopped off the cart and followed ostrich-guy to one side.

"Who's it from?" Katrin stared, although she could already guess the answer.

"Don't know, miss. My report says 'Anonymous'." The guy in the ostrich suit said. "Take a look and see the habitats for yourself."

Katrin opened the first box, finding a roofless gilded aviary with black wood fixed within. Blackswirl will love this…

"Perfect habitats for my new Transferred Comrades." Katrin whispered. "All over again. The other three are definitely going to be just as perfect. Who's this Anonymous Donor who keeps sending me these things?!"

There was no answer. Katrin turned to sign whatever it was the delivery boy needed her to sign, but it wasn't necessary.

The ostrich guy was gone.