It's surreal.

I wake up.

It's as simple as that- or at least, it almost is. The action itself requires no effort, as I only need to open my eyes. However, an odd sensation complicates things. It's difficult to explain; I'm able to observe the area around me, and I'm able to recognize that I am indeed corporeal, but I feel almost hollow. A strange heat is also centered near my face, as if someone were holding a candle between my eyes.

When I attempt to move my legs, they seem to refuse to move. That is, until I realize that they're missing.

I almost scream in fright, believing my legs to have been severed, but if that were the case, then why do I feel no pain? I try to move my arms next. Thankfully, I can sense them obey, feeling the air pass over them as I swing them about. I bring one up to my face to test if my vision is faulty, and-

A long, black appendage waves in front of my eyes. My hands have been completely transformed; judging by the obvious sheen, it seems I've become metallic. I try to stifle a shriek of despair by covering my mouth, but a glass barrier blocks my limb. I give the surface a tentative prod. My arm connects with it and produces a dull thunk sound. I take both of my arms and search my body for any sort of human quality- but there is no sign of any skin or hair on me.

Despite the lack of an evident heartbeat, the feeling of panic is unmistakable. I have to get away from this nightmare; I forget about my missing legs and only succeed in falling over onto my face. I struggle and pull myself along the grass with my arms, but fear sends me into an inconsolable frenzy. This can't be happening to me! I continue to drag myself without any particular destination in mind. I just have to escape this body somehow.

Although fear has seized control over my actions, I'm still dimly aware of my surroundings; I'm in a forest of some kind, and the sun is just visible through the leafy cover of the trees. But it all blurs in my mind. With every effort I use in pulling myself along, I can feel the daze of terror slowly intensify as I begin to realize that this isn't something I can escape from. My hands have not magically reverted back into human fingers, and the heat pressed against my face hasn't lessened. I come to a stop, wanting to cry but having no tear ducts to do so. Instead, I begin to wail like a child; my voice sounds gratingly shrill against the silence of the forest.

"Why does this kind of thing always have to happen to me?" I sob.

My body is shuddering. I try to piece together how I got here; there was a cave, and Jirachi, and I made a wish…

I freeze. I did make a wish; I can remember that clearly. A new life is what I wished for, and a new life I received. But this is all so wrong- so terribly, terribly wrong!

I resume my frantic crawling, fueled by a new panic. I'm not meant to remember anything- I'm supposed to become new, to begin a fresh start towards a better future where I wouldn't plunge everyone I knew into an inescapable misery. The memory- it still rests inside my mind, I can feel it. But it's not supposed to be there, it's supposed to be dead!

Why do I remember everything? I want to forget. I went through all those perils to forget, and yet why do the memories still remain? I can recall everything, and it's in such disgusting clarity that it makes my head ring.

So I've failed. Worse than failed, really- now I'm trapped in some alien body and sent to waste the remainder of my life away in some unknown forest. I come to an abrupt stop with my crawling and let numb realization wash over me.

I contemplate the possibility of simply staying there forever until I remember another detail. Jirachi had told me to solve my own issues prior to granting my wish; maybe this misfortune is only meant to test me? Perhaps this is a trial to prove my worthiness. At this point, I'm willing to grasp onto any shred of hope left. I attempt to get to my feet again, but again notice they're nonexistent. I try to will myself into floating this time- after all, there has to be some practical method to moving aside from crawling. To my surprise, I drift upwards. I look down and see a small distance separating my body from the ground.

Levitating proves a bit tricky for me; it's nothing like walking, and although I don't especially need to concentrate, it's strange to only need to think about floating in a certain direction to move. I turn myself about, testing to see how much minimal effort is needed to remain in the air. To make things easier, I decide to equate levitating to standing, which gives me some basis of familiarity to work with. Luckily, I prove to be a quick learner, and I'm able to confidently move myself about without fear of falling down again.

I make my way past the trees. There's nobody around, which is strange; most forests are bustling with life. Without any other goal in mind, I make finding someone around here my first objective. Second would be trying to find a pond or something to better see myself with. Worry still seems to dog my every action, despite my attempt to distract myself with set goals. If there really is no hope of ever forgetting, then there would be no need for me to keep trying.

I press onward not because I want to, but because there's no going back from here on out.

As I continue my hurried journey through the woods, it becomes more and more apparent that it's completely abandoned. I don't hear any sort of chatter, and there's not even a breeze to disturb the grass. Even with the sun glittering through the leaves, it's definitely an eerie place. My calls for help go unanswered. I'm beginning to wonder if I should make my new priority finding a way out of the forest, seeing as how there's nothing of use to me here.

Just as I'm wondering the best method to find a route out of this place, I hear a small sound. I immediately turn towards it, but the sound doesn't return. Before I brush it off as only my imagination, I hear the sound again. It's more recognizable now; there's a clear sorrowful tenor in its voice, almost like a whimper. I float towards the noise, eager to finally meet another soul.

I come across a clearing, where I see the source of the noise. It's a Buneary, sitting against the gnarled roots of a tree. Its ears are tightly rolled up against its head, and it's hiding its face in its paws. I rush over to it, thinking that maybe it's crying or in pain.

"No!" Its forceful voice surprises me into stopping. Although a slightly higher pitch, its voice is decidedly masculine.

"S-Sorry," I stammer out. "I just ended up here, and I haven't seen anyone else, so…"

The Buneary lifts his head and gives me a cold stare. I mistakenly try to take a step back, but this breaks my slight concentration and I unceremoniously fall onto the ground.

"Leave me alone," he warns, luckily seeming to ignore my little mishap.

I clumsily return to my levitating and give the Pokemon a better look. He's hidden his face again-probably the reason he didn't mention my embarrassing fall- but it's apparent that he's undergoing some type of trauma.

"Do you need help?" I ask as gently as I can.

His answer comes immediately. "No."

This Buneary is getting me nowhere. Leaving the forest seems more appealing at this point; I turn and begin drifting away. I'm just about to leave the clearing altogether when the Buneary pipes up once again.

"Wait! Wait, get back here!"

I pause, mid-flight, and turn around again. What a bothersome Buneary this little one is! Even so, I admit I'm still slightly relieved at being called back- the prospect of leaving him behind would only add to my list of worries. I obey and float back to him. He's looking back up at me, and I'm able to see how glazed over his icy blue eyes are. The sight is strikingly sad. I reach out one of my arms to him, but he only stares blankly at it.

"I don't need help getting up," he grumbles, getting to his feet to prove his point. "But if you could show me the way out of here, that'd be nice."

I find myself laughing awkwardly. "Well, uh, I'm actually just as lost as you are."

The Buneary narrows his eyes before giving the ground a frustrated kick. "Perfect! Just perfect," he says, exasperated. "I wake up in Arceus-knows-where and now I can't even get out."

I fall silent, not wanting to say anything that might rile him up even more. However, this in itself seems to upset him; he gives me a vicious glare, as if it's my fault he's in this predicament. In a feeble effort to offer my aid, I ask, "How did you get here in the first place? Maybe I can help you backtrack."

"Look, I don't know!" the Buneary shouts. I flinch at his harsh tone. "I don't know anything! I've already tried remembering, and I can't seem to do it."

He… can't remember? I blink in mild surprise at this great irony; if only I had been the one who forgot everything instead. The Buneary plunks himself back down and leans against the tree roots once more, crossing his arms in obvious indignation. I make no movement to console him this time. I fear he might possibly try to bite one of my limbs off.

"So we're both stuck here, then," he mumbles to himself.

I say nothing.

"Well?" he says, annoyed. He turns his head and faces me. "Don't you have anything to say?"

"Not… Not really," I reply hesitantly. "I don't have anything that could help you."

He scoffs and returns to averting his gaze. I look down in shame; I really am useless to everyone else, even in this new life of mine. "I guess I'll be going now," I mutter. If I'm no use to him, there's no need to stay and continue to annoy him. I begin floating off once more.

I'm surprised at my own exasperation when the Buneary calls me back. "Wait!" I turn and he blanches at my expression- my irritation must be visible. He hastily continues, "I'm sorry, alright? Don't leave me behind."

He hops up onto his feet and shuffles his paws. "I know we're both lost, but I'll go along with you. Okay?"

"Okay," I say with a nod. The Buneary seems to brighten at this; he doesn't smile, but there's a new vitality in his eyes. He marches over and follows me on my way out of the clearing- albeit still at some distance away from me. Overhead, the sun remains as radiant as ever, its light trailing behind us in dappled spots. There's still no draught whatsoever; an odd stillness permeates the atmosphere. Similarly, an uncomfortable silence ensues with the Buneary and me- after all, silence can only be awkward when there's another person there to make it so.

To break the tension, I attempt a conversation with my new companion. "So, um… what's your name?"

He groans. "I already told you, I don't remember anything. Why the heck would I remember my name?"

"Oh. Right," I mutter, embarrassed. I pause before continuing, "Well, my name is Kara. Maybe we can come up with a name for you in the meantime?"

The Buneary doesn't say anything, so I try to press the question further.

"What would you want to be named?" I ask. I try to put a positive spin on it by adding, "Hey, you can name yourself anything you'd like! This is a unique opportunity."

He only waves his paw absently at my shabby attempt to make naming sound exciting. "Yeah, yeah." He falls quiet again, which I decide to interpret as him being tired of me trying to talk to him; not a very chatty fellow, it seems. We continue in our trek through the forest in silence for quite some time. I can see the sun beginning to dip slightly lower in the sky, tinging the sky a faint orange. I've almost forgotten about the naming when the Buneary suddenly bursts out, "Emmet! That'll be my name." He turns and gives me this brash, boyish smirk, obviously pleased with himself.

I don't feel as though there's anything particularly special about his chosen name, but I give him a small smile in return anyway. "There you go," I say, hoping I don't sound condescending.

As we keep walking further and further, the passage of time becomes more evident from the sky turning a more intense rouge. I look up and observe this worriedly, noting how we haven't seen any other Pokemon all day. Also, the forest seems endless; even after walking all this time, there's been no sign of the trees becoming scarcer. I glance over at my partner, but he's remained quiet ever since naming himself. Despite that grin earlier, he must not be entirely at ease with me- not that I can blame him.

The sun finally dips completely beneath the horizon, and we're plunged into almost complete darkness. The moon offers some light, but I also seem to be generating my own. The area around me is illuminated in this gentle blue glow; it must be emanating from the same source as the heat near my face is. The color is a chilling reminder of my prior ordeal through Jirachi's cave. I shake off the memory- no use dwelling on it and only adding to my paranoia. I look down at Emmet, curious how he's faring, and am surprised to see him shaking.

"What's the matter?" I ask him.

He gives me another one of his annoyed looks. "It's getting cold. Duh."

Cold? Come to think of it, I haven't exactly been able to feel much of anything aside from the constant heat near my face. I reach out my arm to him. "Hey… maybe if you move closer to me, you'd feel warmer."

Emmet regards my arm with distaste. "No thanks." He doesn't move any closer to me. Curiously enough, he also doesn't continue to tremble.

I draw my arm away, wondering if he was only lying about the cold, and stop moving forward. Emmet walks ahead a few feet before realizing that his light source has failed to follow behind. He turns and puts his paws on his hips. "What is it now?"

"I think we should rest for the night," I say. "I mean… it's gotten dark already."

Emmet stares at me with his glassy eyes, probably doubting that resting is indeed a good idea. He then replies with a shrug and a noncommittal grunt. I'm about to urge him to make a more definite answer, but something else distracts me in the next instant.

The heat I'm creating has been foremost in my sensory distractions, but a chill suddenly cuts into my body. At this, I let out a startled yelp; the sensation of cold has already become uncomfortably foreign. I turn away from Emmet and scan the area behind me, thinking maybe someone had tapped me, or perhaps an unexpected gust of wind caught me off guard.

There is nobody behind me. And there is no cold draft, either.

My mind immediately scrambles into panic mode; most of my energy has already been spent attempting to keep together what remains of my sanity, and a mysterious unknown chill only piles onto my mountain of stress. The possibilities of what it could be swerve through my thoughts with nauseating rapidity- a hex placed upon me? Some sort of invisible attacker? Have I gone so mad that I'm imagining things?

This added issue breaks my concentration with my floating and I tumble downwards. The trees and the sky blur past my vision until my head meets with the ground with a dull thud. Emmet makes a noise that I'm only dimly aware of hearing, as it's barely registered in my mind- there's just been too much happening to me all at once since my awakening in this forest. I remain there, stunned, but fully aware that I must be an utter mess if all it takes is the cold to shatter my stability.

Emmet's still moving his mouth. I attempt to return to my airborne position, but numbness still has its hold on my body. However, in the next instant I hear his voice suddenly split through my vague focus.

"Kara!" he's shouting. "Kara, behind you!"

With some effort, I manage to roll onto my side. That single thought circles around my mind: There is something behind me. It continues on its constant spiral as I move my eyes to see exactly what Emmet's referring to.

At first, I can't tell exactly what I'm looking at. The trees behind me are still visible, but there seems to be a strange veil covering a portion of it; I can barely make out the outline of a gaseous purple figure. I try squinting, but it only limits my line of sight and causes the figure to waver into a vaguer shape. Having regained some of my composure- mostly due to my shock melting away into confusion- I return to my levitating. It's strange. Although I've stopped squinting, the unknown being still flutters between nonexistence and the material plain.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Who cares?" Emmet says in a voice that almost squeaks. "It's super creepy! Let's get out of here!"

I have to agree- there's nothing friendly about the figure, and it did give me quite the scare. And judging by how Emmet has drawn closer to me, he's frightened as well. I nod slowly, as if the slightest movement would anger the mysterious shadow. "Yeah… Yeah, let's just-"

A hoarse cackle cuts me off, as well as causes me to jump in fear. The figure shudders, much like one does when letting out a hearty laugh. It… thinks this is funny? Emmet grabs ahold of one of my arms in one swift maneuver. I have no time to react to that, however, as the figure draws closer to where my light reaches.