Twenty minutes ago, Alicia had been giving Colin a hard time about the way he treated his sister.
"You should be caring toward her." She said as she made the most scenic site in Sanctuary her new Home Base. It was a hollow with a waterfall, a lake, lush grass and tall, well-shaded trees with plenty of branches for her birds. "And considerate. Love her and share with her and you gotta {communicate}..."
"I don't see it happening." Colin had said dubiously.
Still, he had to pick her up. After leaving Kyubia and Asblar in charge at Sanctuary, Colin had Alicia kill him back to his Home Base (with all benefits involved, including her claiming yet another kill bounty and them getting an instant teleport halfway across Nakama World) and warped in Kirin to get them to the airport from there. The flight from his Home Base to Lynn Airport was a lot shorter than it would have been all the way from Sanctuary.
It didn't take long for Satrox, Rita and Henry to meet him there. All three were most insistent on knowing exactly how it is he changed the map.
Colin wasn't too eager to tell them, but Alicia being there made it moot. Straight out, she told them, "Colin is the Forest Prince."
Rita and Henry froze, but Satrox said, "Wait. Are you serious? Sekai said the same thing at Lamico, but she was just kidding, right? I mean, she was just saying that to protect Colin, because he was a Forester and all..."
"You knew?!" Rita jumped. "You already knew?!"
"I didn't think it was real. The CEO of the Lamico Union was hot on Colin's heels until Sekai said that, but I thought it was just some sort of trick." Satrox scratched his head. "Think about it. There hasn't been a Tournament of Ascension. Lynn has never made such an announcement. Colin can't be the Forest Prince. Sekai had to have been lying to protect Colin."
"It's no lie." Alicia said. "I heard this from Asblar and Kyubia both."
"Who?" Satrox blinked.
"Stop!" Colin stepped in. "Alicia! Don't tell them!"
"What? About..." Alicia paused. "{Them}?"
"Don't tell." Colin shook his head fiercely.
"Well." Alicia thought for a bit. "Regardless of who said what, you have to believe the evidence in front of you. The Uber Marshes just turned into a completely different place, and from what I understand, no Traveler can bond a Comrade in Sanctuary. I didn't test it earlier, but I have no doubt that if you try it, you won't be able to. I don't think you could even Tame anything there."
It was about that time that Gracie arrived and the broadcast happened.
They met. They argued. And off Gracie ran with Colin's birthday present.
***
{A pass to Adventura Dreamworld. It DID have an age limit of twelve and above. If I had that... I could get away from the Green Men... Mom knew they were after me... Mom wanted me to have it so I could get to safety... but...}
"Gracie!" Colin barked sharply, but the little girl never turned back.
{She's stealing my present. She's stealing my chance to get to a safe world.}
Rita had her hands clasped over her mouth. "I'm sorry! Did I say something wrong?! I shouldn't have mentioned that... but I was just trying to help, and I thought... I mean..."
"Stop her!" Colin told Kirin. He tapped his badge. "Foxie! Stop her!"
Foxie whuffed at him as she appeared, with a blue beret on her little vixen head. [Who?]
"Gracie!" Colin pointed. "She's going to get herself killed running around without a Comrade!"
Foxie squinted. [Should I protect her or kill her?]
Colin bit his lip. "Protect her."
Foxie dashed off after Kirin, both of them trying to make their way to Gracie through a throng of passengers boarding the next flight out.
Rita was still chattering away. "...And I didn't mean for that to happen, but when my dad found out about it, well, he..."
"Rita?" Colin turned to her. "Was there something you wanted from me?"
"Wanted? Ah. Yes. Right!" Rita pulled herself together. "I want you to return to the Justice Knights under my grid."
Rita's ambitions were obvious. {She wants to be able to boss the Forest Prince around.} "No way."
"We can issue you full Pardon! I mean, destroying a village is a crime for a J-Knight, but if you were acting as the Forest Prince, it explains a lot..." Rita began.
"Not interested." Colin backed away hurriedly.
"What about a new Forester?" Henry stepped up next. "I could use a job."
"I'll think about it..." Colin said, looking for a quick way out.
"Could you at least answer one question for me?" Satrox cut in next.
{One question? That seems do-able.} "What is it?"
"How long have you been the Forest Prince?" Satrox asked.
Colin stared. "I have no idea."
That began another uproar which Colin found himself literally running away from.
{Since when?} Colin had to wonder that himself. {How long exactly have I been Forest Prince?}
Asblar clearly recognized him from the start. She wouldn't care a whit about Alicia, but she definitely recognized Colin as the Forest Prince. That means, it had to have been before he ever went to the Uber Marshes.
{Iylara was adamant that I not take part in the Tournament of Ascension, yet she treated me like a younger brother and tried to take care of me. Casiphia, too, was jumpy about my joining her Tournament until I told her I didn't intend to win it, just to have a bit of fun. That means... they both knew already?! Even before the Mountain's Tournament of Ascension.}
{What an idiot. Why didn't I think of this before? Bonding people and Comrades, even Pardoning Cour... that isn't something a Forester does. That's the power of the Forest Princess... or the Forest Prince.}
{Speaking of Princesses and being recognized... Sekai recognized me! That's why she said it! Or at least she probably would have if she managed to finish her sentence. She almost told me. She said, 'You're no Forester. You're...'}
"The Forest Prince." Alicia finished Colin's train of thought for him with an amused smile on her face. Somewhere in the middle of all his thinking, she had caught up with him and Satrox was not far behind her. "And I'm dragging him around like a puppy on a leash every time I die and respawn."
"Very funny." Colin growled. "Except I'm dragging you around too."
Alicia's face said she didn't think it funny. At all. No matter what his rank.
Meanwhile, more and more people were arriving at Lynn Airport, both from OSS Nakama and from the planet's surface itself. Colin frowned, wondering what all that was about. Maybe Satrox could tell him. He was already reaching them.
"That?" Satrox mused when he asked. "I think it's about what the Gaians did. They bought over Nakama World, remember?"
"So?" Colin asked. "What can they do?"
"They can leave Nakama World and get away." Satrox said.
"I meant the Gaians. What can they really do? They don't run anything around here. Every town has their own mayor, every continent has their own rulers or something. Even the Wilds have their own kingdoms."
"A lot, actually. Remember what I asked you earlier? About whether you were the one responsible for changing my map again?"
"Yeah." Colin remembered.
"I was afraid the Gaians did it." Satrox told him. "I was afraid they'd gained admin rights to Nakama World, because they were buying up shares. And now... now they really do."
Colin paused. "Are you saying... they can do the kind of things I did?"
"More." Satrox said softly. "You're just one Prince among the Kingdoms of the Wilds. You're just the guy managing the Forests. Since they bought up the majority shares... the Gaians own this planet."
"Then... the war..."
"The Knights Alliance isn't going to let them just take over like this. Rita has a point, Colin. I think the situation calls for us to fight side by side again." Satrox told him. "The Cult is still after you, right?"
"Right." Colin shivered. "But... I mean... what's going to happen now?"
"I'm not sure either." Satrox said. "But we're about to find out."
[Colin!] The mental call came from above.
Colin glanced up to see the latest shuttle coming down from orbit. "Lynn?"
"Lynn's coming?" Satrox squinted. "Ah. I see her."
"You can?!" Colin was amazed.
"Advanced magnification functions." Satrox tapped his visor.
"I'm going to meet her." Colin declared, making his way over to the shuttle landing pad.
***
"Colin! Satrox!" Lynn waved.
"Lynn! Why are you coming down in a shuttle?!" Satrox asked.
"The Cult has revoked my Access Privileges. I'm actually here on a Visitor's Pass." Lynn said. "I just had to make sure you were okay before I left."
"You're leaving?!" Colin gaped. "But... but you're the Forest Princess!"
"Not any more." Lynn said. "Actually, my reign should have ended once I made my 7th Edict. I've used up all my power, Colin. It's up to the Forest Prince now."
"About that..." Colin hesitated.
Lynn saw the look on his face. She sighed. "You found out already? I wasn't planning to tell you until I absolutely had to..."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Colin blurted. "Since when have I been the Forest Prince?"
"Remember the time I gave you that Life Leaf?" Lynn said. "About two seconds afterward."
Colin remembered. He remembered feeling the sudden difference, as if the Forest suddenly meant more to him than before. "That means... even before I was a Forester..."
"The first time you met Oreb, the Lord of the Wood Owls bowed to you. Just how many people do you think the Lords of the Wilds would bow to? I seem to remember Wilds offering you lifts and everything and never mind that they weren't Tame."
{They do that all the time for me. And I didn't even think it was odd.} Colin sighed. "I'm an idiot. I should have realized it sooner."
"You had no way of knowing. I wanted to ease you into it, give you time to get the feel of your responsibilities before you realized your power." Lynn said regretfully.
"Then why did you make me Forest Prince straight away?"
"Because I couldn't risk not having a successor, in case this exact thing happened." Lynn said. "I knew my time was almost up. I could have easily exhausted my power at any time. I couldn't afford not having a Prince to take my place when it ran out. That's why the Three Keys Quest..."
"I thought that was a test for {Rangers}!"
"No, that quest lets us forge your Crown." Lynn told him. "You'll need it to use your full powers. We must hold a coronation."
"Wait. What?!" Satrox stared. "You're saying he {hasn't} been using his full powers? There's {more}?!"
"What are you talking about?" Lynn asked.
"Lynn, Colin just turned the entire Uber Marshes into something this world has never seen!" Satrox told her. "It's now called Sanctuary, it contains all terrain types, and apparently it's somewhere that any Wild can go at any time, and nobody can bond a Wild there."
"WHAT?!" Lynn gasped. "Is that even {possible}?!"
"It's already happened. About ten minutes before 3." Satrox said. "Just before the Cult bought this planet."
"But... but...!" Lynn gasped. "Colin, there are {limits} to our power! We can't just anything we want! We have to consider the ways of the Forest, the desires of its inhabitants, and its Lords..."
"It was Fenria's wish." Colin said, and Lynn froze. "Fenria begged me for it. Asblar wished for it, too, so I'm guessing the entire Uber Marshes already wanted that. All I did was grant their wish."
"Fenria..." Lynn trailed off. "The entire Uber Marshes... that... that might just work..."
"It's already happened." Satrox said, bringing up his map. "See?"
Colin paused. It was the first time he'd actually seen the whole map of Nakama World.
https://imgur.com/QRgjCWb
(Author's note: Only bigger cities are displayed. Midway Metro counts as 3 due to its size)
Looking at it now... Colin suddenly realized just how little of this world he'd actually seen or been through. He hadn't even been through half of the Crescent Continent yet, just the rightmost tip and the Forest of Legends.
But he had changed it. He'd changed Lamico and the Uber Marshes. It wasn't even there any more... just 'Sanctuary'.
{Wonder if Mandy's doing okay there? I mean, I was asked to look after her and what did I do? I changed the whole continent out from under her.}
Colin could almost see it. The Drama Queen in a pink sparkly swimsuit, relaxing under the sun on a beach chair one moment and then plunged into a lake of boiling lava the very next. Or a heap of freezing snow. Or any number of odd terrain types that didn't quite match sunbathing on a beach chair.
He almost burst out laughing.
{Okay, so maybe I've got a mean streak in me. I mean, she'll just respawn, but the idea of the Drama Queen dropping into hot water...}
"It's happening." Lynn said suddenly. "Can you feel it?"
"Hmm?" Colin asked, trying not to laugh.
"What's happening?" Satrox questioned.
"Nakama World is changing. The Forests are changing. It's beginning to affect me." Lynn mentioned. "And Colin... well..."
"It's affecting him worse." Alicia observed as Colin began to let out little snorts and chuckles.
"Why?" Satrox had to ask. "Why are they going this far? Just to catch a pair of boys?"
"I have a suspicion about that. But you'll really have to ask Philip." Alicia mentioned. "He and Katrin should be wherever the Ocean Prince hangs out."
"Come with me. I'm headed there right now." Lynn tapped her badge. "Nightwind!"
The Lord of the Shadow Hawks appeared and conferred with Lynn for a bit, then warped in three more of his Clan. The four of them took to the skies with Colin and his friends on their backs and headed south-east.