"You still got the key?" Kiara asked as she stood in front of the pink crayon-building with Garry. The two had left the house where Mary had been defeated after Kiara had returned Garry's coat. After that, they were back in the area with pink crayon paths and headed to the last place they could go.

Garry checked his coat pocket for a moment before pulling out the pink key. "Yep!" he grinned before it soon vanished into thin air, followed by a click coming from the door. He turned the crayon-knob and opened the door, holding it up for Kiara. "Ladies first," he said politely.

"Why thank you kind sir!" Kiara giggled, curtsying before entering the building. She blinked in surprise to see everything back to normal and no longer crayon-drawn. That's a good sign! Now that Mary was out of the picture, Kiara felt strangely confident. Sure, they didn't know what lay ahead, but she knew that they had to be close to the exit by now. Whatever happened now, they would pull through together.

Garry shut the door behind them, his eyes widening in surprise as he also seemed to notice their environment return to normal. He stared past Kiara, and she followed his gaze to see a dimly lit staircase ahead leading down. The tall man took the girl's hand again and began to lead the way down the steps. "It's dark…Watch your step Kiara," he warned.

Kiara let out a grunt of acknowledgement as she headed down the stairs, holding Garry's hand in her own. She bumped into his back as he suddenly halted, but it was too dark to see what he was doing. She heard the click of a door opening as the staircase was lit up by the familiar gloominess of the ominous forest.

"Looks like we're back to square one…" Garry sighed, exiting the building and stepping aside to allow Kiara to exit as well.

Kiara looked back to see a gray plaster building as Garry shut the door behind them. She couldn't help but sigh as well. There wasn't anywhere else to go but forward, and all she could do was hope her predictions were right and that the exit wasn't far now.

Garry led the way down the path through the forest, which was still as silent as it had been. The rhythm of their footsteps was the only sound in the area. There weren't even any signs or ghost Pokémon around.

Maybe that means we're leaving them behind and getting closer to reality… Kiara thought optimistically as Garry suddenly halted.

"You hear that?" he whispered.

Kiara blinked in confusion before listening carefully around her. She then heard what Garry was talking about. It was a strange sound, kind of like rushing wind, but different. It was coming from up ahead where a clearing was starting to open up. She followed Garry as he led the way into the clearing, her eyes widening in disbelief at what she saw. At the opposite end of the clearing was a white vortex, which also appeared to be the source of that strange sound. Next to it was a wooden sign with writing on it. She followed Garry's hesitant lead towards the two things, beginning to read the writing on the sign out loud. "'In order to remember, you have to forget…'"

"Wonder what that means…" Garry mumbled before staring intently at the vortex.

Kiara thought for a moment before sudden realization hit her. "Our memories…I think it's telling us if we want to remember our old lives, we have to forget something else…"

"But what?" Garry questioned in confusion, returning his gaze to the girl.

"Well…Think about it. This was all just a dream in a way, right? Normally you forget your dreams once you wake up…What if we have to forget this dream in order to remember everything else?" Kiara asked, all the pieces starting to fit together.

"Forget the dream? But that means we won't remember meeting each other!" Garry argued. However, before Kiara could reply, a large rumbled sounded from the vortex. Though it was huge, it was starting to shrink. "The portal! Kiara, I have a feeling this is our way out of here…There's no time to think about our memories! C'mon!" he growled, positioning himself in front of the vortex before suddenly leaping inside. However, he still lingered inside and turned back to Kiara. "Let's go!" he called, his voice nearly drowned out by the noises bouncing off the portal.

Kiara nodded, shaking nervously. I can do this! I've faced worse in this dream, she told herself determinedly. Bracing herself for the leap, she halted abruptly as she heard stomping behind her. She turned around in confusion to see a figure walking towards her. She squinted as she tried to make it out as it stomped closer. Her eyes widened a she recognized someone vaguely familiar. "Mama?"

The parent Pokémon had entered the clearing, everything about her suddenly becoming as clear as day. "Hello, my dear," she rumbled.

Kiara blinked in shock as all her memories of Kangaskhan suddenly flowed into her mind in an instant. "W-What are you doing here?" she stammered in bewilderment.

The girl hardly heard Garry's voice behind her. "Kiara, what are you doing?" he snapped. "Come on!"

"I came looking for you dear. That right there isn't the exit. Come with me and I'll show you the real way out," Kangaskhan began to turn her body back down the path, beckoning the girl to her side.

Kiara hesitated. "But, Garry…" she glanced back to the white vortex, where the young man stood as it got ever smaller.

"Kiara, I promise it isn't scary! You can do this! I'll be here to catch you!" Garry insisted in a gentle but urgent tone.

Kangaskhan turned to face Kiara fully again, a glare on her mug. "Kiara, what did I tell you about talking to strange men? Do you never want to see your mother again?" she snarled threateningly.

"Kiara!" Garry and Kangaskhan called at the same time, their voices ringing through the girl's ears.

Kiara gazed frantically between the two. She stared intently at the parent Pokémon, backing away from her. This wasn't her mother. The real Kangaskhan would never speak in such a harsh tone like that. "Garry!" she wailed, whipping around and sprinting to the vortex, which was barely bigger than her now. She heard a roar of protest as she dived into Garry's waiting arms and the vortex closed completely. "Garry…" she whimpered, hugging him close.

Garry hugged her just as close, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Shh…It's alright now. We're safe," he promised soothingly.

Kiara shook for a moment longer before calming down, turning her head to look at their environment. The two were floating in whiteness, nothing at all around them. "Where are we…?" she asked quietly.

Before Garry could answer, she suddenly felt something pulling her out of his grasp. "G-Garry? No, Garry!" she wailed, fighting to get back to him.

"Calm down, it's okay!" Garry insisted. "I think it's time for us to go back to our bodies and wake up," he explained gently.

"But I want to stay with you! I still don't remember anything about my life!" Kiara protested.

"Don't worry! Just have faith that everything will work out for the best. Here," Garry stretched out his hand, his pinky poking out. "I promise we'll see each other again one day."

Kiara blinked slowly before stretching out, intertwining her pinky with his. "Promise," she agreed, feeling a large amount of grief as she felt herself being pulled farther away from the young man. She blinked again, suddenly finding herself floating somewhere else in the whiteness. Garry's hazy figure was a few feet away from her. Ahead of her, Kiara squinted to see outlines of people that seemed oddly familiar. There were two bulky ones and several tiny ones surrounding them. The closest outline wasn't much bigger than her and there was a smaller outline next to it.

"Hm…" Kiara grumbled, struggling to remember. She knew whoever these outlines were, they were from her old life. The memories were there…She knew it…She just had to remember. "Ugh…" she grunted, squinting at the nearest outline. Slowly, she started to see faint features appear until it suddenly hit her. "Wolf!" she exclaimed happily.

The outline nodded, fully turning into the boy whom Kiara called her friend. The outline next to him turned into Vulpix, and all the other outlines behind them revealed themselves as well.

Kiara smiled broadly as she recognized them all. Kangaskhan, Darmanitan, and all the baby Pokémon she had befriended. "My friends…" she breathed, blinking in confusion as she saw something out of the corner of her eye fading away. "Garry?" she called out sorrowfully.

"Don't worry," the young man told her. "You might forget about me…But with our promise, I can come back!" he grinned, glancing down at this pinky.

"A promise is a promise!" Kiara smiled at him.

"Til then, I'll be in your heart," Garry vowed with a smile in return.

"That's right," Kiara nodded. "Forgotten, but not lost."