Dreamworlds is a psionic network that links the dreams of billions of people.
Colin is a Dreamer, like Katrin and Edward. Every night, Dreamers put on the Dreamworlds Headband when they go to sleep and share their Dreams with each other in Dreamworlds.
Tonight, Colin and friends Dream in Nakama World, a Dreamworld where animals become the Comrades of humans. Comrades help Dreamers with all sorts of things, but are especially important to Travelers like Colin, who faces many dangers like Wild animals.
Colin has gone through his third night in Nakama World… and it is now time to Wake Up.
***
Colin Rivers opened his eyes to find himself in the real world, lying on his bed with the Dreamworlds headband on.
"Well, that's that." Colin said, getting up.
He half expected to hear Shiro say 'Yip!' in reply, and was a bit sad when he didn't hear it. Colin glanced around his room in the real world and sighed.
Of course Shiro wasn't here. This was the real world, not the Dreamworld called Nakama World.
"Colin! Breakfast!" Mom called.
"Yeah." Colin said. "Coming."
***
Breakfast. School. Lunch. Homework. Revision. Following his family to the mall where Mom and Gracie (Colin's younger sister) usually went shopping. All of those things passed by in a blur for him.
Colin bought cans of tuna in real life and wished he could take them to Nakama World. All his Comrades liked fish.
He went to bed immediately after dinner and a shower.
"Good night, kids!" Dad said. "See you in Dreamworlds, or something."
Very funny. Colin almost never saw any of them in Nakama World.
"Good night." Colin said, whether or not they heard him.
He put on the Dreamworlds Headband, went to sleep, and opened his eyes to find himself back in Edward's barn.
"I'm back." Colin grinned.
"Yip!" Shiro wagged his tail right beside him.
***
Colin heard Katrin's voice on the other side of the Haystack. "For goodness' sake, you guys, stop making it sound like the end of the world!"
He peered over and saw her talking into her watch.
Someone else's voice came over the comms channel. "Kat, you know what it's capable of! We have to move, NOW!"
"Maggie, calm down! So it's killed two yellow-badge Travelers. Big deal." Katrin groaned. She turned around and saw Colin. She smiled.
"Kat, we gotta do this together." A guy's voice said. "We'll meet you at the Ants Nest. Between us, we'll put that Frenzied down once and for all!"
"No need for that." Katrin shook her head. "Listen, Foxtrot, Maggie, relax. It's just a squirrel. Leave it to me."
Colin scratched his head as Katrin cut the link and sighed. "Those two…"
Colin remembered Satrox's opinion of 'those two'. "Foxtrot wouldn't know Scarlet if she waved a banner in his face and Maggie would be eaten for supper…"
But Colin frowned. Whatever Satrox said, the two were experienced Justice Knights. If they were worried about this, maybe they had good reason.
"What exactly were you talking about?" Colin asked.
"Frenzied." Katrin said. "A Wild that got a taste of killing people. This one's a Command-type Flying Squirrel."
"A Command-type…?" Colin stared. "Then…"
"It's got friends." Katrin confirmed. "The report said a few hundred, but I think it's just two or three. I can handle it."
"Maybe." Colin frowned. "But you're new at this, right? Those two have experience in this sort of thing. Maybe they have reason to be scared."
"Maybe." Katrin said, doubtfully. "Should I call them in?"
"Nah. You already told them to leave it to you." Colin said. "But I can come along just in case."
Katrin grinned. Then, she frowned. "Colin… last night, you said you wanted to Travel and find out what Traveling was for, before it was too late. What do you mean, 'too late'?"
Colin stopped. He just stood there for a few seconds before answering. "Katrin… I have a room now, and I need to fill it with habitats, right?"
"Yeah. That's normal." Katrin said, still not sure what he was saying.
"But I'm a Traveler, remember? I'm supposed to Travel, aren't I?" Colin sounded troubled. "I'm doing more and more things for the farm and then Satrox wants me to join the J-Knights…"
"I think you should join too." Katrin agreed.
"But what does it all mean? If I join the knights, if I stay on the farm… I won't be able to go anywhere. I won't be able to really Travel. I don't even know where I'm supposed to go."
Katrin nodded. "I know, that's why you're going to find out. But why the hurry? Why say 'before it's too late'?"
Colin frowned. "It's… hard to explain. But I have to do this now, or else I might never go."
Katrin came up to him then. "Then… is it really okay for you to come with me?"
Colin nodded. "I think that's okay."
Katrin smiled again. "Then let's go."
***
Edward met them as they left the barn and waved. "Are you ready, you two?"
"Ready for what?" Colin blinked.
"Have you forgotten already?!" Edward stared. "Farm Wars! Our special training game!"
"Now?!" Colin stared. "But…"
"Ed, I have a mission. Colin wants to come along. Can you wait until we get back?" Katrin asked.
"A mission?" Edward frowned. "Where?"
"East Sunshine Forest." Katrin answered. "A squirrel's gone Frenzied and killed two yellow-badges."
"Ah. Justice Knight work." Edward nodded. "I can wait. There's stuff to do around here meanwhile. But maybe I should come along…"
Katrin laughed. "It's just a squirrel."
"True… squirrels in the East Sunshine Forest should be easy for a Green Badge like you." Edward agreed. "You should be fine. It's just… well… I'm going to be bored."
Katrin laughed. "Sorry, Ed. We'll try to hurry back."
Edward nodded, and waved as they ran off to get ready.
***
Katrin brought Velvet, Streak (brown and white weasel), White-tail (flying squirrel) and Spray (watergull).
Colin figured Spray would be enough for a scout, so he left Warc to enjoy the pond some more. Bubba seemed to want to sleep, and Rall looked like he was concerned over Bubba, so he let them stay too. Meek was nowhere to be found, probably playing with other Lynxmice in the barns.
He brought Shiro, Raiki and Fireheart.
"We should train Raiki's electric attacks and Fireheart's claw attacks." He told Shiro. "And your H-bolt."
"Yip." Shiro wagged his tail.
Their target was in the East Sunshine Forest. To get there, they needed to cross the river at the Ants Nest, where large rocks made a natural bridge to hop across. Katrin had been there before. "That's where I met Velvet."
Velvet, her purple beaver, gave Colin a broad smile.
Katrin projected a map from her watch and traced a line with her finger. "It would be easier to go out by the pool and follow the river to the ford. We can cross there."
Image link:
https://imgur.com/jvPsSaa
"So East Sunshine Forest has mainly beavers and squirrels?" Colin asked.
"And snakes." Katrin grimaced. "Lots of snakes. But around the river, and especially the lakeside, we might be able to find water birds or crab types."
"Water birds…" Colin paused.
He still hadn't quite given up the idea of taming a Watergull or a Fisherbird yet.
"What kind of crabs are we talking about?" Colin asked.
"I didn't really check." Katrin admitted. "I was looking for something to help me with wood, so I went for the beavers straight away."
They followed the River down towards the Ants Nest.
"You bonded a Red Panther…" Katrin recognized Fireheart. "Is it a 'he' or a 'she'?"
"She." Colin answered.
"Oh." Katrin said. "I thought you got a mate for Raiki."
"Uh…"
"So, a blue cat, a red cat, and a green cat, all girls…" Katrin mused.
"Green cat?" Colin glanced around. "Where?"
Katrin laughed. "Me. I'm wearing green today. I'm green Kat. Mew."
"Oh."
"Yip!" Shiro laughed.
Katrin petted Shiro and he wagged his tail. "Say, Colin… is it just me or does Shiro seem as small as he ever was?"
"Well…" Colin said. "He seems small now, but I once saw him big enough for Raiki to ride on."
"Last night's Farm Wars, right? I remember." Katrin agreed. "How come he's this small now?"
Colin glanced at Shiro, sitting on his shoulder looking extremely innocent.
Shiro glanced back, and wagged his shorter tail. "Yip."
And then he jumped off Colin's shoulder to Katrin's.
Colin watched him and walked straight into a tree.
***
Everything went black for a moment.
The first thing he thought was; {Tree. Smells nice.}
The second; {Ouch.}
"Colin!" Katrin was saying. "Are you all right?"
Colin rubbed his head. "Ow."
"Yip." Shiro shook his head.
"Why didn't you warn me?" Colin asked. "You saw it coming and jumped off."
Shiro just shook his head again. Then, he scampered down Katrin and ran ahead.
Colin felt a bump growing on his forehead.
"Ow." He said again.
"Colin, there's a Watergull." Katrin pointed.
Colin glanced up. "It's too high. I won't be able to catch it."
Katrin smiled. "I can."
Colin watched her, but she didn't attack. "I thought you wanted to catch it."
"No. You wanted to catch it. I need to find that Frenzied Squirrel as fast as I can. Before anyone else gets hurt." Katrin reminded him.
"Then let's hurry." Colin said, and they started jogging.
Jogging through the forest was a relaxing experience. The Sunshine Forest wasn't the same as the Forest of Legends; it didn't have that towering beauty, or that richness of color and scent, but it was still a forest, filled with lushness and life and the smell of trees and leaves.
The edge of this forest had crossed the river to the land near Edward's farm before they expanded the place; now some of it was in Edward's farm borders. They had chopped trees down for their last round of Farm Wars, and there were still quite a good amount for another round tonight.
Colin thought about that, and thought of cutting down a tree in the Forest of Legends.
The chill that swept over him made him stumble. Shock ran up and down his spine, and it had nothing to do with almost falling on his face.
For some reason, the thought of chopping down the Forest of Legends was shocking and painful to him.
"Colin! Are you all right?" Katrin asked, worriedly.
"I'm… fine… just… fine." Colin mumbled.
"We better take a break…" Katrin said, glancing around. "Just a little farther."
They took their break when they reached the bridge near the Ants Nest. There were so many giant Ants around, Colin didn't even bother to try counting them.
"Are all of them Megants?" Colin asked, shaking himself and trying to get his mind on more pleasant thoughts.
"The smaller ones are." Katrin said. "The bigger ones are Soldier Megants. Then there are Drone Megants and Princess Megants, but those don't come out of the Nest often. Finally, there's the Queen Megant who lays eggs."
"In other words, they're all Megants, just different types." Colin said.
"Well... yeah."
"Is it really hard to Tame them? Farmer Edward seemed to think it rare to be able to Tame Megants."
"The problem isn't the Megant. It's how many Megants. You almost never find a Megant alone. Most of the time, you find lines of them that stretch all the way back here. Attack one, and they all come after you."
Colin looked at the crowds of Ants around the Nest and shook his head. "That sounds bad. Really bad."
"Yep." Katrin agreed.
"Yip." Shiro agreed.
"Kip." Streak added.
And then the three of them looked at each other suspiciously.
Colin had to laugh.
***
Crossing the river to East Sunshine Forest was easy – there were many large rocks to jump onto. All the rocks were near each other, had flat tops, and were of about the same height. None of them had any problems.
Once there, Colin noticed a difference in the trees. The leaves were broader, the trunks were thicker, and the wood was a deeper brown than the South Sunshine Forest.
It was just a little bit more like the Forest of Legends. Because of that, Colin liked East Sunshine Forest more than the South.
He thought of going back to the Forest of Legends one day soon and smiled. It was a dangerous place, and he didn't dare to actually go in yet, but even if he could just touch the edges of it, he'd be happy.
He just wanted to see it again.
"Hey, Katrin… have you ever heard of the Forest of Legends?" Colin asked.
"Maybe…" Katrin frowned. "I think I saw it on a map somewhere. What about it?"
"It's a beautiful place." Colin said. "Someday soon, I want to go there."
"Does it have anything to do with the end goal of Traveling?" Katrin asked.
"Maybe." Colin said.
There was a bright yellow beaver sniffing at them from across the way. A big pink squirrel with dark circles under her eyes watched them pass from the treetops above.
Colin itched to try to tame them, but he continued with Katrin to find the Frenzied squirrel. He could always come back later.
Shiro, though, sniffed back at the beaver and looked straight at the squirrel.
"Not now, Shiro." Colin said. "Katrin's work first."
Shiro shifted. "Yip…?"
"I said, not now." Colin went on.
Katrin turned to her Watergull. "Spray, scout around please. Let me know if you see anything suspicious."
"Kaa." Spray replied, and took off.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Colin asked.
"Well, actually, if that Frenzied Squirrel's going around attacking Travelers, it's more like we're here to be found."
"So we're… bait?" Colin queried.
"Yeah. We wait for it to attack us." Katrin replied. "Keep a sharp eye out, everyone."
Shiro glanced behind them. Colin turned to see what he was looking at, but he saw nothing.
"We can come back later and Tame all the Wilds you want." Colin said again. "Right now, we need to find that Frenzied Squirrel."
Shiro growled at him.
Colin felt the bump on his head where he hit that tree. It still hurt.
They walked on carefully for about ten minutes before Spray came back. "Kaa! Kaa, kaa!"
"Where?" Katrin asked.
Spray darted off towards the north.
"Let's go see what it is." Katrin said, running after the watergull. Colin followed.
It was quite a run, but what they found at the end of it wasn't a Frenzied Squirrel.
There was a squirrel, sure enough, but it didn't look Frenzied. Frightened, yes, hurt, yes, but not crazy. Colin didn't think it was any threat at all.
The two boys throwing stones at it, however, was a completely different story.
"Stop!" Katrin shouted. "What are you doing?!"
One of the boys had a monkey mask on. "We're having target practice!"
The other guy had a donkey mask on. "Yeah!"
"You're supposed to touch it to Tame it!" Colin told them. "Throwing stones isn't going to catch it!"
"We're not trying to Tame it! We want it sitting still just the way it is!" Monkey boy said.
"Yeah!" Donkey boy said.
"Stop it! You're hurting it for nothing!" Katrin stepped in.
"Not for nothing. For fun!" Monkey boy said.
"Yeah!" Donkey added.
Colin growled. "Shiro."
What bounded to the front, however, was not Shiro.
It was the big pink squirrel that had been watching them earlier.