PHANTASIA by R. Atlas Page A

about a place called star world,” she added grimly. “The crystal works by keeping you trapped within cycles of your own negative energy. If you can stop the flow of the energy, find another way to channel it, or eliminate the fear all together, you can free yourself from the nightmare.”  
    “What now then?” Red asked despondently. “Can we pull her out and bring her back to the surface? There must be a cure for this type of thing. I can carry her myself.”  
    “From what I know, there’s no way out —   besides getting over the induced nightmare. It’s an eternal sleep,” Magnus answered thickly. “Moreover, someone can only wake up while they’re exposed to the glow of the same ainmosni crystal that put them to sleep. We have to wait for her…there’s nothing else we can do.”  
    Red looked back and forth between Raven and his team, hoping that someone would come up with a solution. The eye comes a voice in his head said. The sound of umbriel dripping rhythmically unto the floor below suddenly reminded him of a ticking clock.  
    “I have an idea,” S began, as the other three jumped in unison with an excited “What!?”
    “The mental connection healers share with their team members or those they’re close to, I’ve heard it being used to enter someone’s dreams as well. It’s a method of curing people of deeper mental complexes that manifest themselves as physical ailments. I’ve done something like it before… with Raven nonetheless —”  
    “Raven has nightmares?” Butz asked.
    “She’s never mentioned anything about them to me,” Red added skeptically. He wondered briefly if they were something she had wanted to hide.
    “You can connect to her dreamscape? You can help pull her out then!” Magnus exclaimed after the two of them.  
    “Exactly. Not just me, a healer’s connection can span multiple people. I think I can get all of us there. We can use the crystal to enter into the same deep sleep she’s in so that we won’t accidentally wake up and leave someone behind.”  
    “That’s risky,” Magnus replied. “We’d be bringing in our own fears as well…”  
    “It’s worth a shot,” Butz replied. “We can’t just leave her here, and she’d do the same for us.”
    “Butz is right,” S answered. “We have to give it a shot. Plus, it will still primarily be her dreamscape. I’m sure our influences will be negligent.”  
    “What do we do then?” Red asked, looking directly at Magnus. Magnus looked surprised to be suddenly given charge over the decision, but hesitated for only a second before replying.
    “We’ll give it a shot,” he sighed.  
    “How will it work?” Butz asked.  
    “It’ll be just like any of the connections I’ve made before, it’ll just feel more powerful. Don’t begin staring at the crystal until I tell you to,” S replied. The healer planted herself right next to Raven and dug deeply into the flazb until she was securely strapped inside. The other three did the same right after her.  
    “Okay, sure,” Red said. “What if these toadstool things notice us?”
    “They won’t feel our presence until we’re asleep. They can only sense you in the astral plane. Raven must’ve stared into the crystal before realizing what it was,” S replied. “And anyways, all they’d do is stick us into these spires, and we’ve already done that for them.”    
    In the next few minutes, Red felt the familiar sensation of his own conscience meshing with S’, recalling emotions and memories that he knew weren’t his. He was somewhat used to this, having gone through the connection several times before, but soon felt Butz, Magnus, and Raven as well — an overwhelming wave of emotions he wasn’t expecting. His vision blurred, and he felt as though he were sharing their physical senses as well. I guess she wasn’t exaggerating about this one being more powerful, he thought to himself as he struggled to distinguish between his own