//------------------------------//
// Answers Bring Questions 
// Story: We're all a little crazy 
// by Draconaquis 
//------------------------------//

Franky blinked repeatedly, trying to focus his eyes in the darkness. He could faintly see the girl in front of him, heading deeper into the tunnel. He realized that at such close quarters, his gun wouldn’t do much good, so he drew his hunting knife. 
        “So hey,” He said to the girl, “where are we going?”
She chuckled darkly, not turning around. “You’ll see, darling, you’ll see.”
That does not sound good. Also, she called me darling. There was a scrabbling sound, as if a huge rat was in the tunnel with them. 
“What was that?”
The girl turned around slowly, her green eyes flashing in the dark. “It seems as if you’ve got some company.” She smiled.

Suddenly, something knocked Franky to the ground from behind. He landed hard, dazed for a moment. Whatever it was snarled and clawed at him, but failed to do any harm thanks to his backpack. He rolled over, pinning his attacker down, and used his elbow to ram it in the sides. It yelped, and tried to push him off, but he held firm. He swung the knife behind him into what he hoped was a throat. Based on the spray of blood that coated him, he was correct. He rolled to his feet, and kicked the creature away. He saw now that it was vaguely dog-shaped, except for the legs, which were much too long. It had a long, worm like tail that thrashed around as the creature gurgled on its own blood. It hopped to its feet, however, and advanced clumsily at the tall man, growling. Franky drew the Ruger, and shot it in the head. 

The tunnel amplified the sound into a tremendous explosion that made his ears ring, and the shot echoed for a long time. When it finished, a disoriented Franky turned turned to the girl. 
“Thanks for the help.” He scowled.
She grinned innocently. “What could I have done? I’m just a little girl.” She turned around, and continued into the darkness. Franky, muttering darkly, took off his backpack, located a flashlight, and followed after her. 

Several more times they heard the scrabbling, and several more times he was attacked. But, thanks to the flashlight and the forewarning of the sound, he was able to dispatch them easily. Or, relatively easily. After a pair of dog-creatures had managed to land a rather nasty bite on his arm, Franky exploded.
“Why do they hate me?!” He shouted. “What did I do? And why aren’t they attacking you?” He kicked a rock in the direction of the black haired girl. 
She laughed. “They don’t hate you. You’re all they think about!” She turned to walk away again. “They love you.” 
Franky stood for a moment, before stomping after her. “What?”
“You are their god, their father. When you are here, you’re the  only thing that matters.” She chuckled again. “Unfortunately for you, all that they know is violence. So, when you occupy their mind, the violence is directed at you.”
He was stunned. “What - What are they?”
“They’re thoughts. Random, violent little thoughts that you’ve had over your life. They happened, so their in your mind, but you don’t remember having them consciously, so,” She waved a hand around, “they come here.”
Franky broke into a jog, trying to catch up with her. “What about all of the nonviolent thoughts I’ve had? Where are they?”
She shook her head. “That would take a long time to explain.”
“Simplify it.”
The girl spun around, and her eyes were gone again, replaced by gaping black holes. “Fine.” She said.

“This is not your subconscious.” She gestured around the tunnel. “Neither is the white.” Franky was confused, but remained silent. “This is a creation, a collaboration between all the thoughts that want to interact with you.” He was even more confused now, and his face showed it. She sighed frustratedly. “Look. All the thoughts that aren't violent, don’t really care about you. They don’t want to interact. So, they stay in the real subconscious, which is beyond anything you could understand. But the ones that do want to interact, they created a place for you, where things were physical, and where they could play with you. A place you could understand.” She stomped the floor of the tunnel. “That’s this place.”
Franky thought he grasped what she meant, and nodded, but she was already moving on. “Hey.” He said after her. “Does that mean you want to hurt me?”
She stopped, and very slowly turned around. “ I really, really do.” She said, her eyes green and hard as diamonds. But then, she was moving again. “Unfortunately, I can’t. At least not until I bring you to a friend of mine. He want’s to talk to you.”
The black haired man watched her back as she walked on, before slowly starting to join her. “Well that’s reassuring.” He said. “Sort of.”

There was little conversation between the two, and there were no more attacks either. There was just the sound of boots on gravel as the pair walked further and further into the seemingly endless tunnel. 
“Alright look.” The girl kept walking, but nodded her head to show that she was listening. “I don’t mean to be rude, but can we hurry the fuck up? I need to find Crash and Reggie.”
She nodded again. “Don’t worry. Your friends are safe.”
Franky glared. “Why should I believe you?” But he did believe her, for whatever reason, and he was relieved a little.

Suddenly she stopped. The tall man reached for his knife, and crouched, ready for whatever came next.
“We’re here. Finally.”
He looked around. “Uh. What do you mean we’re here? This is the same as-”. And then he saw the doors. They were a brilliant, creamy, ivory white, inlaid with gold, and massive didn’t even begin to describe them. They stretched to the top of the huge funnel that the tunnel had somehow become. He almost asked how he hadn’t seen them, but chalked it off to dream physics. Instead he asked, “How do you plan on opening those?” The girl scoffed, tossed her hair, and planted a soft kick on the doors. There was a pause, and Franky almost started laughing, when a rumbling practically knocked him over. The monstrous gates growled as they slowly swung open. He shaded his eyes as a bright light shone on him, as if he hadn’t been outside in a long time, and was just now seeing the sun. And then he heard the screams.

Well, not screams, exactly. Some were growls, screeches, roars. Somewhere a lady was singing. But all of these together created a chaotic scream, as beautiful as it was terrifying. The tall man was still partially blinded, but he could see the silhouette of the girl as she strode through the doors. He stayed close behind her, and good thing too, for the doors swung shut soon after. He rubbed his fists on his eyes, and found that his vision had mostly returned. He also found that he was extremely glad it did. 

“Whoa. That’s freaking awesome.” As it turned out, the brightness wasn't sunlight at all. In the center of the massive cavern the pair had entered sat a fire. It resembled a campfire, almost, or a burn pile. But it surpassed both of those things, because this fire was the size of a city. It may have been  a city at one point, judging by the buildings Franky saw at it’s base. It swept all the way up to the ceiling of the cave, and Franky suspected that was miles away. It crackled with a huge ferocity that made the black haired mans jaw drop. All about the fire, and even it it, things fluttered and soared, crawled and slithered, gyrating around the raging flames. Some stopped  to look at the newcomers, but most simply went about their business. In fact, strange creatures were everywhere, turning the huge cavern into a bustling metropolis.Strange buildings littered the floor, walls and ceiling, and their residents were all busy doing… things. 

A sharp  blow to the ribs broke Franky out of his reverie, and he turned to face his assailant. She crossed her arms.
“Come on. He want’s to talk to you.” She said gruffly, and began marching towards the city of fire. He rubbed his ribs, and wondered if it was illegal to spartan-kick little girls in the subconscious. 
When he caught up, he asked, “So, who is ‘he’ anyway? What does he want with me?” Instead of answering, or even looking up, she just pointed a finger at the fire.” At any other time, he would have had no chance of spotting what she was pointing at in the massive cyclone. Right then, however, something was happening. Near the top of the flaming spire, a dark hole seemed to be growing. It was a spinning vortex, opening up the flames. Somehow, Franky knew it was a portal. From the center of the dark pit there burned an ember, a light, one that seemed to be getting closer. It grew larger and larger, until out of the pit shot a ball of flames, roaring like a meteor. It raced into the cavern, looking like it would smash into a wall, before halting abruptly in the air. There was an explosion, and the fireball dissipated, revealing a figure in the center, who began to descend. Now that, thought Franky, is an entrance. 

He could see that he was a ways off from where the figure was going to land, and he looked at the girl on his side. She wasn’t smiling, by any means, but her scowl seemed to have lightened, at least a little. As they approached, Franky saw that his host was indeed a man. A big man, about six feet tall and broad shouldered. He wore black pants. and a red leather vest. Over that was a dark cape that almost scraped the floor. He had black, neatly cropped hair and a short, well kept beard. Kind of how I would picture Satan, The killer thought. Before they were close enough to speak, however, Franky noticed something. “How come,” He addressed the girl, “everything is white out there, but it’s red in here.” Indeed it was, and unlike the white outside, the ground was made of natural rocks and dirt, accentuated with a red tint. Like Mars. It didn’t seem as if she was going to answer, but fortunately, the man in red had heard the question.
“No one really cares what goes on out there.” He said. “Why make it pretty for nothing?” Franky couldn’t argue with that, so he just nodded. The man turned to the girl. “Thank you for doing this for me, Claire.” 
She nodded. “Whatever. Just call me when I can break his skull.”
Franky watched her walk a few meters away and sit on a small rock. “Charming kid you got there.”
The cloaked man smiled, and offered a hand. “My name is Gabriel.”
Fitting. The killer took the hand. “Pleasure. I’m Franky. First order of business, where are my friends?”
Gabriel smiled. “They are safe.”
“That’s what I hear. I’m here for them , and I’m not leaving without them.”
The bearded man nodded. “I can take you to your friends. But meanwhile, you and I need to speak.”
Franky brushed some hair out of his face. “So I gathered, from Happy the Dwarf over there.” He ducked a hurled rock from Claires direction. Gabriel chuckled, and beckoned for Franky to follow him. They started off towards a far wall of the cavern, away from the burning city. 

Gabriel brushed a glowing ember off of his shoulder, and opened his mouth, then closed it. 
“First of all,” He began, “I would like to dispel any notions that I am evil.” Franky glanced at him, but didn’t say anything. The cloaked man continued. “The subconscious is not one unit, as it is in your area.” Now Frankys glance was more confused than skeptical, which seemed to him to be a popular theme lately. The other man sighed. “Every time you’ve been attacked, or captured, that wasn’t an expression of the subconscious as a whole. That was just individual… thoughts, acting out their aggression.”
“The killer frowned. “Wait, so they aren’t united or anything? They don’t have some evil leader that hates my guts?”
Gabriel shook his head. “They are about as far from united as one could get. Sometimes they band together, but not for long. Most lack the…” He struggled for the right word, “brain power to work together strategically.” The pair skirted around what appeared to be a massive fuzzy caterpillar, which was slowly encircling a stone building.
“Huh. Ok.” Franky said. “What about you?”
Now the cloaked man was confused. “What do you mean?”
“Well, aren’t you the leader of theses guys?” He gestured around him. “They all seem to respect you.” As he spoke, a group of ghostly white women in flowing dresses nodded at the cloaked man, who nodded back. “Plus,” Franky added, “you’ve got the whole Lord and Sovereign Satan outfit going on.”
Gabriel nodded to this. “If there ever was a representative of the subconscious, it would be me.” He said. “But a leader? Heavens no. Everything and everyone acts independently here. When our goals happen to coincide, we may work together, but otherwise, anarchy would be the best way to describe it.”

They walked in silence for a moment. All around them, the red land bustled with activity, random creatures and beings doing things that didn’t make any sense. Sidestepping a metal pole that had suddenly shot out of the ground, Franky spoke again. “Alright then. So not everyone down here wants me dead. Was that all you wanted to talk to me about?”
The cloaked man hesitated for a moment. “You need to understand, that even as you and I walk side by side, we are the same being.”
The killer nodded. “Uh huh.” He had come to terms with this long ago, accepting long ago that his personalities were just different parts of him. “What about it?”
“Well,” Gabriel said, “that means your mental stress affects our processes. When you exert yourself or worry to much, the subconscious is in turmoil. Or, more than normal.”
Franky frowned. “Why are you coming to me with this now? I’ve been in plenty of stressful situations before!”
“Yes, but normally you have ways to alleviate that stress. When you are just sitting around in a cell with nothing to do but think…” The killer nodded. That made sense. “So,” The cloaked man continued, “in interest of your general mental health, I have come to eliminate as much as much stress as possible.”
Franky barked a laugh. “Well, hell of a way to do that, kidnapping my friends.”
Gabriel scowled. “When it was agreed that you should be summoned to the subconscious, I did not have a say in how it was to be accomplished.”
Franky shook his head. “Whatever man.” He stopped walking, turned to his companion, and held out his arms. “Alright.” He said. “Do you your thing. unstressify me.”
Gabriel chuckled. “That’s not exactly how it works. It’s not a ray gun.” The black haired man hung his head, disappointed.

They resumed walking, and the cloaked man kept talking. “We can,” He said, “start with the easiest thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“The guard from the hallway. The one that crossed his chest.”
“What about him?”
“You can stop worrying about whether or not to trust him. He is a true Child of Chaos.”
Franky cocked his head. “And how do you figure that?”
“The… people that take care of that sort of thing recognized him from a rally. Several rallies, in fact.”
“Then why didn’t I recognize him?” The pair slowed, allowing a gaggle of children to pass. 
One of them, a red eyed boy with sharp teeth and several extra arms, saw the cloaked man and laughed. “Hello, Prince Gabriel!” 
When they had passed, Franky raised an eyebrow. “Prince?”
Gabriel shrugged. “It’s more of a title than a role. Anyway.” He said. “You didn’t recognize him because you only glimpsed his face in the crowd. He was also one of your helpers during the ‘Hollywood Horror’, but you barely spoke with him.”
The black haired man was still skeptical. “Wait. If you’re me, and I didn’t notice him, then how did you  notice him?”
There was a sigh. “Look Franky, it’s hard to comprehend, but there isn’t anything that you’ve ever done, seen, felt or thought that isn’t in your mind somewhere.” The prince ran a hand over his head. “Every thought  you've ever had, every minuscule thing even within your peripheral vision, every smell. It’s all there. It’s just not always easy to access.”
Franky gaped. “But- but why can’t I remember everything?”
Gabriel shrugged again. “No idea. That’s not my department. But it’s all in the subconscious. Or, more accurately, it is the subconscious. And Franky?”The two faced each other. 
“It is so small. Your entire life, all of your experiences, only take up a little space. Have you ever heard that people only use ten percent of their brains?” The killer nodded. “Well, that’s pretty accurate as well. There is so much, and we,” He gestured a hand around, “have no idea what it does.”

They walked in silence for a while, each pondering the conversation.
“That’s not exactly relaxing thought-fuel.” Franky said.
“I know. But at least it’s not stressful.”
“... Alright. What else you got to ‘Ease my mind’ ?”
“Well, there is the matter of Empathy.”
The black haired man growled. “What about him?”
“He is not what you think.”
“Goddamn right he’s not! He’s a spy!”
Gabriel shook his head. “No. When you banished him here, he was simply dormant. None of us interacted with him, and no one recruited him as a spy.”
Franky couldn’t place it, but something struck him as false about the prince’s words. He glared. “Whatever. I hope you know I’m leaving his ass with you.” Gabriel just sighed, so Franky continued. “Which brings us to the next issue, that’s causing quite me a bit of stress. Celestia.”

The prince whirled to face Franky, his eyes wide. “Whatever you take from this meeting, brother, know this. I have nothing to do with her, and neither does the subconscious.” The killer sneered, but Gabriel kept talking. “I don’t know what she is, but she is no kin of mine, and she is not a product of your brain.”
Something about the mans ferocity made Franky trust him now, at least partly. “Alright, so what? Is she a hallucination?”
“No. If she was, I would know about it. She appeared in the Dreamscape, which is partly under your control, and partly under ours, but you were in something she created. She made a dream to contact you.” 
Franky frowned, something he seemed to be doing a lot of in a conversation that was supposed to relieve him of stress. “Are you telling me there’s a real magical unicorn that appears in my cell? And in my head?”
Gabriel was only able to shrug. “I’m as baffled as you are. She shouldn’t be able to exist, and yet she does. Whatever you do, don’t trust anything she says.” 
The killers hands knotted into fists, and he spoke through clenched teeth. “I don’t plan to.” Franky didn’t like being lied to, especially by snotty, entitled little horse princesses. I wonder if she has to breathe like a normal creature? I guess I’ll find out. The prince just watched Franky take slow, deep breaths, reasoning that it would be smart to give him a moment. The killer was trying to figure out how he would get his hands around her throat, without her pulling that little teleportation trick. I would have to knock her out first. I might be able to-
Nope. He thought.
“I’m not going to worry about that now.” He said out loud, and stomped off in the same direction that they had been going before, and Gabriel followed. When the prince said nothing, Franky spoke. “She said that you didn’t receive any thoughts from me.”
The other man waited. “...And?”
“You knew that I was angry with Empathy, so clearly you get some thoughts. What I want to know is, how many?”

Gabriel stopped him, and turned a corner into a small alley between two buildings. They kept walking and he spoke. “Do you know how sometimes a random thought will occur to you, completely  irrelevant to anything you were doing?” Franky nodded. “Well, normally it’s from the subconscious, and that’s about how often we get thoughts from you. But,” He said, “When you are here, somebody receives almost everything you think. I don’t, but some of the people who do report to me.”

The pair were now in the center of a clearing, surrounded on all sides by huge red spires. Creatures milled around, but they seemed different from the other inhabitants that Franky had seen. They were tall, and extremely skinny, and they had hoods hiding their faces. Some carried large sticks, others had large knives. They all silently watched the two men through red lensed goggles. The black haired man jumped back, drawing his gun and selecting a target.
Gabriel held a hand up. “It’s ok! They're not hostile!”
“Bullshit they’re not!” Franky glared. “They attacked me in the white!”
“No, they’re-” The prince sighed. “It’s hard to explain. They did you no harm! They just-”
“- broke my nose. Knocked me out. Tortured me with a memory I’d rather forget.”
“They did their job. And besides, here, they won’t even bother you.”
Franky slowly lowered the gun. “Alright. I’m trusting you here.” He was silent for  a moment, and then his eyes widened. He spun towards Gabriel with an expression close to panic. “Why did you bring me here?!”
“To get your friends.” The prince responded confusedly
“Do they have them?!”
“What?”
Franky grabbed the other man by his collar. “Do they have,” He hissed, pointing at the red eyed creatures, “my motherfucking friends?”
The prince swallowed. “Look, they aren’t in any danger!” But the killer had already dropped him, and was frantically looking around. And, to his distress, he found what he was looking for.

A group of the tall creatures had congregated to the mans right, and they were circled around something. Someone, to be more precise, and three someones, to be even more.Crash, Reggie, and Empathy were all sitting on the floor, bound back to back. They seemed to be unconscious, but every once in a while one would twitch, and moan as if in pain. The tall man stared for a split second, then sprinted as hard as he could towards the captives. He leveled his gun at the creatures, but did not fire, for fear of hitting his friends. His charge was interrupted, however, as he was seized from behind, and held in a sort of bear hug. Gabriel, although inexperienced with combat situations, outweighed Franky by at least a hundred pounds. That is not to say it wasn’t a struggle, though, as Franky squirmed, and pummeled the big man with his fists. 
“Wait!” Gabriel shouted, as the killer broke free of his grasp. The tall man didn’t pause as he continued towards the creatures. He had drawn the Ruger and his hunting knife, and when he was close enough, swiped at the first hooded being. The creature nimbly sidestepped the attack, and brought a stick down on his shoulder. The blow hurt immensely, and nearly stunned him, but he kept attacking, firing the gun point blank into the creature's stomach. It doubled over, but didn’t fall, so Franky swung his knee up, into it’s face. There was a sharp crack, and the killer gasped, stumbling back. It had been like kneeing a steel basketball. Suddenly, another blow connected with his chest, and he flew back, landing hard. He coughed, and tried to sit u, but a sharp golden blade stopped him. Over him stood one of the tall creatures, but this one carried a long spear, which was currently pointed at his throat. The creature drew back, and prepared to impale the black haired man, but someone shouted, “Wait!”

Gabriel frantically ran up, and held his hands out to stop the creature. It slowly uprighted the spear, and nodded to the prince, who said, gasping, “Thank you, Brother Sorrow. Your mission here has been completed. No more is necessary.” The tall being eyed Franky on the ground, then nodded again It spun around, and made a hand motion to it’s comrades, who followed it as it stalked away. Silently, they disappeared into the red spires.

Gabriel tried to help the killer off the ground, but Franky ignored him, and scrambled to the bound prisoners. In the absence of the creatures they gasped awake, shuddering. Soon, Franky had their ropes off. Crash and Reggie lay on the ground, panting, holding themselves tight in fetal positions. Crash’s eyes were wide open, and they flicked around in terrified spasms. Eventually they settled on his black haired savior. 
“F-franks?”
“Yeah, man. It’s me. You’re all right.”
Crash got to his hands and knees, still shaking. He spotted Reggie next to him, and crawled to his side.
“Regg? Reggie! Dude, it’s all right. This one’s real, I’m pretty sure. I think we’re fine.” Reggies eyes slowly opened, and when he saw the red head, his face broke into a grin.
“It’s amazing to see you.” He said, and they embraced. They didn’t speak for a while, each simply relieved to see their brothers alive and well. 
Eventually, Crash turned to the killer. “Franky! How did you find us? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It’s a long story, but I’m getting you guys out of here.” He knelt next to Empathy, who hadn’t said anything. “Hey kid. Can you walk?” There was no answer, as Empathy hugged his knees to his chest, wide eyes staring straight ahead.
“No more.” He whispered. “No more.”

Franky stood, and walked towards Gabriel, who started to back away. “You said they were safe.” He growled in a low voice.
“Yes, and-”
“You said they weren't in any danger!” Franky’s voice was rising now.
“They weren’t!”
“They were being tortured! Look at him!” He roughly seized Gabriel, and pointed him in Empathy’s direction. He threw the prince to the ground and pointed the Ruger at his head. “No one hurts my friends.”
Gabriel held his hands up, as if to stop the bullet he knew was coming. “There was nothing I could have done!” He said. “I have no control over the Sorrows!”
Franky’s finger twitched on the trigger, but he didn’t shoot. “Oh yeah? They sure did seem to obey when you told them to leave.”
The prince nodded fearfully. “Yes, but that was because they had already done what they had come to do. If I had ordered them away any sooner, they would have refused.”
The killers scowl darkened. “You tricked me. You lured my friends in here to torture them. You made sure I took my goddamn time in reaching them, too.” 
Gabriel’s eyes widened in panic. “It wasn’t my decision! I couldn’t-”
“Fuck you.” A shot echoed between the spires, and the prince’s head thumped into the floor, a bleeding hole in his forehead. Franky marched back to the other personalities. He handed Crash the Ruger and his knife, and he and Reggie grasped Empathy under each arm. “Come on.” He said. “Let’s get out of here.”

The departure from the subconscious was not swift, due to Empathy being dead weight, but any curious creatures were warded off by Crash and his weapons. Eventually, the group was back in the massive cavern, with the city flaming behind them. 
“There!’ Franky said, indicating the huge doors he had entered through. They were still a ways off, but the sight of a goal renewed the brothers energy. He shifted the teenagers weight on his shoulder, and began to pick up his pace, when something rammed him in the stomach, knocking him down. He gasped for breath, and rolled to face his attacker.
“You hurt him! I’m going to kill you!” Claire stood over him, eyes replaced by gaping black holes. Crash tried to level the gun at her, but writhing black tentacles exploded from her back, knocking it out of his hands and winding around his throat. Reggie, who was left alone with the unconscious boys weight, was struck in the chest by a tentacle and knocked over. Claire lifted Franky in front of her, black appendages constricting his breath. “He has never been anything but wonderful to you.” She hissed. “All he has ever tried to do was make you a better person.” She brought the killer close to her face. “And you torture him like this?” Suddenly the hunting knife was in her hand, and she smiled. “I’m going to carve your heart out.”
Franky gasped, struggling to speak despite the tentacle crushing his throat. “He lied to me, told me they were safe.” He gasped again. “Let them be tortured.”
The girl’s eyes flashed green for a moment, and her head tilted in confusion. “What are you talking about?” But then, the eyes were gone, and the tentacle tightened. “I don’t really care how you justify it. I’m going to kill you.” And she would have, had not Reggie spoken up.
“Empathy!” He said. “She’s talking about Empathy!” 
She turned to the suited man, and dragged him to her. “What?”
“Franky didn’t touch the boy.” He said. “The tall creatures tortured him in his mind, and he hasn’t spoken since they stopped.”

Claire dropped her captives, and the tentacles retracted into her back. Franky landed on his hands and knees, and Crash dropped to the ground as well. The red head staggered to his feet, gasping, then drew the hunting knife from his belt. He almost charged at Claire, but Franky held him back. The girl rushed to Empathy, who was seemingly unconscious on the ground. She lifted his head, brushing the blonde hair out of his face. She gazed fondly at him, but her face soon contorted with fury, and she stood. 
“Where are they?! I’ll rip their fucking heads off!”
Franky and Reggie lifted their limp brother. “Have fun with that.” The black haired man said. “We’re leaving.” They hobbled a few steps, but were soon halted by Claire, who materialized in front of them
“I’m coming with you.”
“Like hell you are.” Crash growled. He pointed the gun at her head, but she vanished before he fired.
“Come on.” Franky said. “Let’s keep moving.”

Finally, the trio stood before the ivory doors. 
Crash looked up at them, perplexed. “How are we supposed to…?” He turned to the others. Reggie simply shrugged, but Franky motioned for the redhead to come take Empathy’s shoulder. 
“I’ve got an idea.” He said. He approached the massive obstacle, looked back at his companions, then lightly kicked at the gigantic doors. Crash scoffed, then gaped as the doors rumbled open, and gaped some more when he saw the tiny tunnel the doors led to.
“Whatever.” He said. “Let’s move.”
 Upon entering the tunnel, Franky warned the others. “Careful guys. There are these weird dog-rat things in here. Apparently, they love me, but want to kill me.” Before anyone could comment on that statement, a female voice spoke from behind them.
“If you take me with you, you won’t have to deal with those. I can teleport you straight through the tunnel, into the white.” Claire leaned casually on the wall of the passage, and her voice was calm and steady. Her face, however, betrayed her distress. For whatever reason, she desperately wanted to accompany them. Franky weighed the annoyance of her presence against traversing the tunnel without her. If it had just been Crash, Reggie, and himself, there would have been no problem fighting off the dogs. But with Empathy’s dead weight, which also dragged down two of the others, the choice was obvious. 
“Alright.” He growled. “But hurry it up.” Triumph flashed green in Claire’s eyes, and Crash opened his mouth to object, but he was interrupted by another flash. 

This one was white, as in white hot, and enveloped everything with a painful ‘Pop!’. The redhead lay on his back, mouth still open, and coughed, releasing a comical puff of smoke. He groaned, and rolled onto his side, where he saw Reggie in a similar state. Franky twitched his fingers and toes, just checking to see if they were functional. “When his senses told him that they were, he opened his eyes. Obviously, he was in the white, but beyond that, he couldn’t even tell what direction he was facing, up, down, or if he was standing, or not. An annoying black haired head staring down at him answered that.
“Get up, you pussies. Weren’t you in a hurry?”
Reggie sat up first. “That,” He said, “was not pleasant.” Eventually, all of the brothers were back on their feet, collectively glaring at a small girl. She was holding Empathy in what looked like a piggy-back ride, but looked more like he was a backpack. 
“Well?” She smiled. “Let’s go!”
“Wait a second!” Franky exclaimed. “Why didn’t you just pop us through on the way in?”
Claire smiled wider. “I was hoping one of the dogs would get you.”

The trek through the white was relatively short, and greatly sped up by Claires insistence that she carry the blonde boy. The group was completely uninterrupted, which struck Reggie as suspicious, and he voiced his concerns.
“Shouldn’t they be pursuing us?” Franky thought that was a valid point, and looked to Claire for an answer.
She was confused. “Why would they chase you?”
Before Franky could stop him, Crash responded. “Well, Franks here shot their boss man in the head. What was his name, bro?”
The black haired man winced, avoiding Claire’s gaze. “Gabriel.” He said. He kept walking, but he felt the piercing green eyes burn into his back.
Unexpectedly, a laugh burst out from behind him, and she shook her head. “And you thought you killed him?” She laughed again. “It ain’t that easy, dipshit.” Crash snickered, and Franky shot him a glare. Claire continued. “Anyway, even if you somehow had managed to hurt Gabriel, not many would have cared. The subconscious isn’t the friendliest of places. 
The tattooed redhead rubbed his throat. “Yeah we noticed. Fuck those tall guys right in the booty.” Crash took the girl’s growling noises to mean that she agreed. He turned to his brothers, swirling a finger by his head and mouthing, ‘Bipolar’.

“While we’re on the subject,” Franky said, “who are they?” Reggie nodded to this. He had been wondering as well. “Gabriel called them Sorrows.”
Claire’s eyes were gone, and her voice took on the chilling effect that made it sound as if more than one person was talking. “That’s exactly what they are.” She said quietly. “Sorrows” she paused for a long moment, but just before they asked her to continue, she did. “Not all of them are actually Sorrow. Only the one with the spear.” She quickened her pace, and even with Empathy on her back, she passed the others. “Some of them are Guilt.” She said. “Others Mourning, Regret, Self-Hatred.” She chuckled darkly. “The oldest calls himself ‘Condemnation’.
Crash clapped his hands together. “Well, they sound like fun at parties.” Franky almost asked a question, but didn’t. It wasn’t hard to figure out why they would want him to suffer. Guilt? Regret? Definitely not feelings that were nourished in his… line of work. 
Instead, he asked, “What do they have against Empathy? I mean, they tortured him pretty severely compared to them.” He gestured to Crash and Reggie. Claire resumed making a growling noise in her throat, and he almost threw his hands up before she answered.
“They want him to be one of them.” She didn’t acknowledge the confused looks the earned her. “Think about it. Empathy? He would be just the type for them.”
Reggie nodded. “Guilt, Regret, Sorrow. They all feel remorse for Franky’s actions. Empathy probably feels the same.” They walked in silence for a while, contemplating.
“Why now?” The black haired man asked.
“Why now what?” A cranky little girl responded.
“Why would they attack him now? Why not when he was banished into the subconscious?”
She mixed a chuckle with her signature growl. “Oh, believe me. They tried.”
When she didn’t continue, Crash waved a hand impatiently. “And?”
She looked at him, smiling. “And I didn’t let them.” Crash slowed, letting the girl pass him, and shared a concerned look with Franky. Maybe they had bitten off more than they could chew. Franky realized something else, right then. That was the thing (Well, one of the things) that Gabriel had lied to him about. The prince had told him that no one had interacted with Empathy when he was in the subconscious. His fists clenched a little. If Gabriel was still alive, then he and Franky were going to have quite the reunion.

Eventually, the familiar brick building came into view. The unlikely comrades paused, unwilling to address the elephant in the room. 
That is, until Claire said, “I’m staying,” and marched inside, still carrying Empathy on her back. And since no one wanted to argue, that was that. Reggie nodded to his brothers, and followed her in, intent on making a place for Empathy to rest and recover. That left Crash and Franky, looking unassuredly at the door. 
“I don’t know about this, man.” The redhead admitted. 
Franky shoved his shoulder. “What? Don’t you like girls?”
Crash laughed. “Not before puberty I don’t.” They both chuckled at that. “Anyway, tentacles aren’t my thing.” With that, the muscled man approached the door, hesitated, then entered. 

Franky sighed. Joke as he might, he wasn’t sure about the girl either. Not only had she fended off an enemy like the Sorrows, she had defeated each and everyone of the brothers. At the same time. But, as volatile as she was, Franky couldn’t help but trust her raw emotion, as long as it wasn’t directed at him. Plus, she would kick ass in a fight. He walked the few steps between him and the door, and placed a hand on the knob. That’s my problem. He thought. I’m too trusting. Then he, too, entered the home shared by the oddest collection of thoughts in existence.