32 Volume 2 Epilogue

Michi was watching.

Her watch beeped. She took the call. It was Connor, Colin's dad. "How is my son?"

"He's… haunted." Michi summarized. "He doesn't seem to remember anything, but everything he does is because of what he went through. He's trying to help others, hardly even thinking of how much he himself needs help."

"Maybe that's good." Connor suggested. "Is he getting along with the rest of the Eight?"

"Yes, and no." Michi paused. "He's getting along very well with Katrin, that's for sure. Rita and Henry like him too. But those old 'friends' of his… Jonah, Alicia and Larry… I don't know. And Colin hasn't seen Phillip since the first day."

"Don't worry about Jonah, Alicia and Larry. Rita, Henry, Katrin and Colin are all together in the same area, aren't they? They should be safe enough there. But Phillip…"

"He's gone off on his own. I'll have to keep an eye on him." Michi agreed. "Especially with those Green Men around. This means I'll have to leave the others behind."

"We can't let the Green Men run around like that. We're going to increase our pressure on them."

"Careful. You don't want things to blow up in our faces. Don't rush too much. Also, there's something else you should know. Colin entered the Lower Plane last night."

"He what?!"

"During the Flooding of Hot Sands Village. I just heard."

"How?!"

"I don't know." Michi thought about it. "I really don't."

***

Katrin found him lying down in the haystack. "Colin?"

"Hmm?" he asked her, turning to face her.

"I've been talking to Satrox." Katrin said softly. "Colin, I joined the Justice Knights."

"That's nice." Colin said.

"I'll be more of a resident knight, keeping an eye on this area." Katrin went on slowly. "It isn't much work. I'm just keeping an eye out for other people, that's all."

"Good for you." Colin said again.

Katrin frowned. "Colin, you seem… distant."

"I am distant." Colin agreed. "Kat… I almost…"

"What? Kidnapped a girl? Attacked an innocent victim?" Katrin laughed. "If you tried, May would have just told you the truth. Even if you attacked Scarlet, she'd burn you to a crisp. You couldn't have done it if you tried."

"But we did try." Colin said again. "And it's my fault."

"Don't blame yourself." Katrin told him. "You saw what you saw. What you didn't know, you couldn't have known."

"Still…" Colin said. "It's… odd. I kept thinking of Scarlet as bad, or evil… and then I find out that she's really just a mother who wanted to spend time with her daughter."

"Colin." Katrin looked at him seriously. "What would you have done if she really had destroyed the village? What if Scarlet really did that just to spend time with her daughter?"

"Then…" Colin thought about it. "May still wouldn't leave her mother. We wouldn't force her if she didn't want to."

"That's right." Katrin said. "Nothing you could have done would have changed that. Nothing Scarlet might have done in the past would have changed that. May is happy with her mother. That's all."

"But I almost made Scarlet an enemy of the Justice Knights." Colin pointed out.

"You, Mayor Henry, and all those who lost houses at Hot Sands. Scarlet herself didn't tell them whose fault it really was. She wanted them to think she did it… just to hurt Mayor Henry." Katrin reminded him. "That can happen when parents fight. They can drag all sorts of things into it. That can happen when anybody fights."

"So you're saying it's not my fault?" Colin frowned.

"It really isn't." Katrin said. "You reported what you saw and believed. Scarlet's the one who made you think she was bad… and she did it on purpose."

"Still…" Colin said. "I have to be more careful."

"We all do." Katrin agreed. "Is that why you don't want to join the Justice Knights?"

"Justice Knights…" Colin frowned. "It's not like that. I mean, it sounds cool and all, but…"

"But…?" Katrin asked, softly. "Colin, everyone makes mistakes. But we still try to do what we can."

"I know." Colin said. "It's just… I'm not ready."

"Ready for what? Traveling the world doing what's right?"

Colin barked a laugh. "That sounds a lot easier than it is. But that's not it either. When I think of Justice Knights and what needs to be done… it's like a huge burden… like I have to carry a heavy weight all the time."

"I don't feel any weight." Katrin said.

"That's because everything's very simple to you." Colin said. "But… seeing how much problems I can cause and how much wrong I can do, I'm afraid to get involved in right and wrong issues. It's so easy for me to be wrong and think I'm right. It worries me. A lot."

Katrin paused for a while. "I think that's good, Colin. You're taking these things seriously."

"It's also keeping me from joining up." Colin added.

"True." Katrin agreed. "Maybe you're right. Maybe you're not ready."

Colin said nothing. Katrin saw it and smiled. "But you know… if you keep growing the way you are now…

"I bet when you are ready, you're going to be splendid."