Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Dare to Dream
Chapter 1
A Warm Welcome
Water.
Underwater.
Beneath collapsing waves, compressed and racked from each blow.
The world had contorted itself and conceived ways to deceive the senses.
Waves of blurred colors could be seen through shut eyes; indescribable sounds were attempting to push themselves through the haze, desperately trying to be recognized.
Was he underwater?
He was. He wasn't. His senses had told him conflicting truths. That he was flying while stationary. Agonized and unharmed. Frozen, but warm. Conscious, nor unaware.
Dead, yet alive.
He didn't know how long he lay on the ground. Time was but a suggestion now; hours or seconds, it all felt the same. The stream of time was ever continuous as it flowed over his body.
He stirred in the fog of uncertainty. His eyes refused to open, acting in defiance as they remained tightly locked against his will.
Felix weakly waved an arm into the air, trying to feel for anything.
The sensations continued, but they became somewhat clearer.
A quick nudge.
Then again.
Prodding.
A feeling he could understand as truth.
Snapping free from the deep fog that blanketed his thoughts just a moment ago, he wrested control over his body once more.
Awake.
The world was inconceivable as his eyes slowly opened. They had yet to adjust to the setting sun that idly drooped in an evening sky. The world was a blur as he threw his head forward from the ground. Only broad strokes of red, orange, brown, and green could be comprehended in front of him and beyond.
His body retched and he coughed violently, trying to guzzle in air as shock took hold from his sudden movement.
Rolling to his side, he pressed his hands into the ground, attempting to stand before falling over clumsily as he misplaced his leg. His balance was wavering; the ground seemed to shift below him. Each moment felt as though his limbs were not muscle and bone, but exhausted flesh and cartilage.
Something was felt underneath his arm, pushing him up. Warm. Something warm.
He tried to stand and stumbled once more, but was quickly caught on his side by a broad warm surface, which helped to stand him upright.
His thoughts were scattered. Voices contested one another, from his mind and from the world he stood in, battling for the sliver of coherence that was present.
The cave.
Help.
Jhett.
They're here to help.
Stairs.
Am I alright?
Where am I?
Who are you?
Walking. He was slowly walking. Or at least, he had been. He only noticed after he stumbled to his knees once more, and that warmness returned, aiding him back onto his feet.
He emptied his head. Cleared his thoughts. The world was still a blur, but sounds had become somewhat understandable. He tried to gather his thoughts, to think straight once more.
Help.
They're here to help.
Who are you?... no, who am I?
These were not his thoughts. No, someone had been speaking to him.
Felix spoke of what had happened: the cave, Jhett, and the stairs. He asked if Jhett was unharmed, if the cave was to be condemned. What were those stairs?
That's what he wanted to say.
What could only come out of his mouth was a mess of gibberish and mumbling.
He collapsed to the ground once more, and began to push himself back up.
Warm again.
Standing on his feet, he steadied himself. Felix closed his eyes. And took deep breaths for several moments. The world began to settle. The uneasiness began to fade. And his thoughts began to finally make sense.
And he opened his eyes.
"… hey, can you hear me? Are you feeling better?"
Shapes.
Colors.
Dimension.
The scenery finally revealed itself.
Tall, lean trees surrounded him along the beaten and wide dirt path he stood on. Their leaves a hushed green, calmly swaying in the cold autumn breath of nature, with suppressed bark. The sun seemed to hover just above the horizon, setting to the west with a pleasant orange glow, and the sky loomed above in a clear transition to darkness that would soon unveil the stars.
He turned around to answer the question that came a moment ago.
"…I'm a bit shaky, but I can-"
Fear.
He froze in place.
Two monsters stared straight at him.
A red, fiery coat of fur, curled hair, and a small stature carrying a satchel which hung around its body. A Vulpix.
And beside it, a beast he could not identify as anything other than a nightmare given form. It was a hollow tree, its six roots above the surface, hoisting its trunk off the ground. Numerous cracks and gouges lined its body and barked arms; its crevices filled with a dark energy. And a singular, red, piercing eye.
"What's the matter? Do you still hurt? Oh! It's a headache, right? Wait one second!"
The fox had turned its back to him and knelt to the ground, letting the bag it carried slide off onto the dirt, and it began rummaging through it.
"I'm sure I packed a persim berry in here..."
The ghastly tree kept a watchful eye on him, its cool gaze betraying no sign of weariness.
Felix took a slow step back.
Then another.
And one more.
He ran.
Looking back, he could see the fox still occupied with the bag, as the tree shifted its gaze to the fox, almost with a look of smugness in its eye.
He ran further down the path.
Anywhere.
Anywhere was better than there.
The trees became a green and brown mess in his vision as he hurriedly ran, stumbling over the flat ground as he tried to find his footing with his aching legs, looking for anywhere that might serve as sufficient cover, anywhere that might stagger their movements when they decided to pursue him.
A break in the tree line.
A grotto opened itself up to him a ways up. Its cold and hostile entrance was overgrown with trees that bunched together, but had strangely left a path open through them. The thicket was dense and dark, with many breaks in his line of sight inside, as light struggled to seep in through the condensed canopy that drooped overhead. Rotten and diseased bark lined the trees that were nearby, as a curious earthly smell seeped forth from the woodwork.
Perfect.
Back down the path, he saw the fox finally look up from its luggage with a small pink berry in its mouth, looking around hastily. It glanced up towards the tree, which gave a nonchalant shrug in response. The fox swung its head around some more, scanning the roads. It looked at him. Their gazes locking for a brief moment. It began to run at him, berry swinging wildly from its mouth.
He ducked inside.
Tumblewood Grotto S1
The glare from the setting sun was lost in the bramble, and the sky became scarcely seen amongst the low hanging canopy of branches and broad, dead leaves. The moans of strained wood could be heard throughout the area, from every direction at seemingly random intervals. A snap was heard in the distance, followed by a dull crash. Occasional coos from Hoothoots in the forest silenced at the snap of wood, before resuming after the crash.
The grotto had opened up somewhat inside. A cold wind loomed through the air, and chilled his body as he ran through the overgrowth further inside the cryptic grotto. The forest floor was littered with dead leaves, which were kicked up into the air as he ran.
A sound caught his attention. The groan of a nearby tree had suddenly turned to a piercing snap that reverberated in the air. A rotten tree now fell towards him as its branches tore at the canopy above. He dived to the side and skidded face-first to a halt along the dirt, the tree crashing into the earth beside him. Grunting as he pulled himself off the ground, he stopped his movement when a frightening sight caught his eyes.
Paws.
Blue paws.
With a yelp, he fell backwards onto his rear, and frantically searched around himself for the creature that had managed to sneak so close to him.
Nothing, save for the trees.
He looked down.
His arms.
Lined with short blue fur.
His legs.
Black and disproportionate.
The paws were the same ones that made him jump. Three digits, and a metallic oval on the back of each hand.
He clenched them, then released his grip; they had responded dutifully to his command.
These were his. And the legs. This was his body.
Felix stared forward; blank faced. And lost himself to an empty thought.
The deep fog was back again, his thoughts now lost once more.
Leaves quietly rustled.
Cool wind gently blew past.
Strained wood groaned in the distance.
He shook his head. It was a possession of the mind. It had to be. Those cursed foxes were known to have some tricks that fooled peoples' perception. And that loathsome tree beside it, though unfamiliar to him, was undoubtedly a spirit. He picked himself up off the ground, and formulated a simple plan: get out of the grotto, then find anyone who could lead him back to some sort of civilization. From there, he would weigh his options. The area before him was entirely unknown. These were not the trees or climate he knew by heart, so he would need help to find his way back home from this strange land he awoke in. Back to Ecruteak.
Speech could be heard through the woodwork, beyond some trees that lay behind him.
Voices. The sound of a one-sided conversation could vainly be heard through the trees.
That's right! The fox was speaking to me.
So they can imitate speech, too…
Felix got off the ground and continued his sprint further into the grotto, hoping for a break in the forest, and that the duo that hunted him would be lost amongst the trees.
Tumblewood Grotto S2
The forest seemed endless. Countless rotten trees were passed, and without a single sign of an opening amongst them. The only thing that Felix did find though, much to his displeasure, was a purple rodent all too familiar to him.
The Rattata stood in front of him with a wild look in its eyes; it hissed through bucked teeth as it squared itself in front of him, posing itself for attack.
Felix stiffened his back, put his feet shoulder-width apart, and raised his arms in front of him.
He hesitated.
Taking a brief moment to think about what was going on, Felix realized his error far too late.
The Rattata may have been a smaller opponent when he shooed them away from crops before...
But now, it seemed much larger than he remembered. Or he was much smaller…
It screeched, its buck-teeth now on full display.
The rat lunged at him with buck-teeth bared, landing squarely into his chest as he moved too late to dodge the frontal assault, knocking him over. It bit down into his chest, drawing a small amount of blood.
His sore muscles filled with resolve as he tumbled back into the ground, and he threw the rat off of himself; it too rolled, but it quickly recovered. Felix took the small opportunity to anticipate its next attack- A lunge, same as before.
Once more, it lunged at him as he sat upright. With the correct prediction, Felix swung a curled, fluffy fist into the nuisance, knocking it onto the ground beside himself, as it let out a piercing screech at him.
Felix jumped onto the rodent as it tried to scramble to its feet, pinning its head to the ground with his left arm as he drove a fluffy fist into its head with his right arm. The rat scratched at the pinning arm, desperately trying to break free, as it continued to screech.
After a few pummels, the rat lay motionless; still breathing, but knocked out.
Felix got up and looked over himself.
His chest had a red stain on it that stung sharply, while his left arm was covered with painful scratches received from the Rattata clawing at his arm to escape.
As he turned to continue his trek, he heard the voices again.
"…I heard it come from over there! Come on, hurry up!"
With a huff of frustration, Felix turned and ran further in, clutching at his chest to stem a bit of the bleeding and to ease some of the pain.
Tumblewood Grotto S3
Crash!
The sound of another tree slamming into the ground was heard nearby, and the chorus of breaking branches and fluttering leaves soon came to a stop. After a moment of silence, a hoo-ing sound resumed.
It had to have been at least a few miles at this point that he's run.
The endless waves of trees did not falter, and hunger had begun to take hold.
Felix stumbled to a stop, breathing hard.
His aching body could not keep up with his exigency, and demanded rest from him.
Leaning against a stump, he slumped to the ground to catch his breath and looked at his surroundings.
The same scenery stretched before him as when he had first entered the area. Endless rows of trees in various states of decay. Branches and leaves littered the ground. Sounds of creaking wood and rustling leaves filled the cool air.
A voice was heard shouting in the distance.
"…we're over here!...Where are you?!..."
Felix grew angry at the tenacity of the fox.
Panting, both from fatigue and frustration, Felix levied himself up.
The sound of rustling leaves drew closer, before a swish was heard from the canopy behind him.
A hoot.
Felix spun around just in time to see a round, brown bird with large eyes, diving towards him. He couldn't react in time and could only give a look of shock as the Hoothoot crashed into him, knocking him down, before flying back into the canopy.
Felix struggled to get up, frantically scanning the overgrowth for the Hoothoot that had struck him. It would dive him the same way again, he rationalized.
From behind him, the leaves rustled again, and the Hoothoot reemerged, flying towards him once more. Felix threw a fist into the space of air that the bird would cross to intercept it, but the Hoothoot didn't fly straight; it sharply turned in the air, dodging his attack, and began battering at him from above with sharp talons, digging into scalp before he threw his arms up to protect himself.
Swish!
Blunt pain spread throughout his back, and Felix was thrown onto the ground as two Hoothoots surrounded him, pecking and scratching madly at his curled form.
He flailed his limbs in an attempt to strike at the birds, but they easily avoided the clumsy attacks. They wildly attacked, gouging at his skin with their beaks and tearing at it with pointed talons.
He rolled onto his other side and scrambled to get up, but was attacked from above by one of the Hoothoots which grabbed his head with a large talon and threw him back onto the ground. Felix swatted at it, momentarily driving it away. The other Hoothoot relentlessly persisted in its attack, landing a clean scratch on his undefended left leg, leaving a deep, red gouge. Burning pain shot through him. Before he could retaliate, the other Hoothoot had returned and joined its friend on the attack.
He needed help, and quick. Something to scare the birds off, or something to distract them.
He knew just the thing.
He hesitated.
But he had no other option.
"I'm over here! Help!"
He screamed with all the air he could muster from his lungs; the Hoothoots didn't seem to take notice of his plea, and continued their attack.
Felix continued to yell into the air in pain, flinching with each puncture to his skin as talons raked his limbs, and beaks stabbed at his head.
Once more, he shouted.
"I need help!"
The Hoothoots were unyielding with their assault, and Felix tightly shut his eyes as one started to scratch at his face while he held his arms in front of himself to protect his eyes, leaving his torso exposed for a quick rake from the other Hoothoot. His consciousness was faltering, as pain began to dull and his senses began to waiver. He squinted his eyes open, looking for anything that could be used to help him, any sort of miracle that lay nearby.
There was nothing, save for the crooked trees.
He shut his eyes, and resigned himself to his fate.
…
…
…
Then he was warm again.