Note: "Hello" is speaking, Hello will be telepathy, and 'Hello' is thoughts Manny is going to have. This story will mainly be in first person. Enjoy!

Prologue: The Disappearance

12/27/2016

11:00 am

Entrance of Weird Woods

Cord was… a strange person to say the least. I didn't really get to know him that much since I met him four months ago, and yet I still consider him as a best friend. But I wasn't really sure why he would call me to go to Weird Woods.

And I didn't question it either.

Weird Woods got its name after two 90's kids disappeared and never came back. Despite all the work done in the investigation, the case went cold. But there's a weird rumor in all of this that the woods somehow change its layout every day… It's not like I believe that rumor.

Anyway, I placed my bike in the pathway that led to the woods and saw a tall boy with tan skin, dark hair—which was always a mess—and blue eyes standing right at the entrance. It was Cord, waiting for me to come. It felt creepy, but he's probably done that to other people before.

I took a couple of steps toward him and finally said, "Hey Cord! This better be important because I had to stop my homework to get over here."

"Trust me, Manny. It's worth it."

Cord made a hand gesture and entered Weird Woods. I-reluctantly-followed along and got my very first look at the forest. Trees surrounded the both of us with grass covering our feet. There was this weird smell in the air that I couldn't identify immediately. And there were no signs of wildlife, which was pretty weird.

Eventually, we reached an open field full of grass. Cord ran in front of me and took a heavy sigh. "You know… The first time I met you, I never thought my life would change right in front of me."

I squinted my eyes to create a stern expression. "You're stalling," I responded

Cord smiled and chuckled. "You see right through me Manny. I guess I'll have to tell you. The reason why we're here is because of this."

Cord moved his hand to what was behind him, an empty grass field. Suddenly, a bright light flashed blinded me. It was white at first, but changed into red, then orange, until all the colors of the rainbow were shown. It definitely wasn't human, that was for sure.

He turned around and started walking toward the light. "Cord? What are you doing?"

"I'll see you in a year, Manny," Cord simply responded. He moved his left hand—like he was dropping something—and kept moving forward until I couldn't see him again. Then the lights just disappeared into the regular skyline. Did that just happen?

In front of me was a tiny box. I picked it up and it had the title, "Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky." Cord's favorite game. "What have you gotten yourself into, Cord," I said to myself, looking up to the sky after. I never thought I would see him again…

Until now.