Hello again everyone! This is the second to last chapter, but the last one will likely be on the longer side. I'm sorry that it's taking so long for me to get these done, but with schoolwork and other things I just don't have the free time I would like to.

Rocker on: Part of it is showing how Tobias has changed as a character. At the beginning of the story he would have helped the houndoom rather than leave it there, but now he more understands that he has to find his own path rather than help others along theirs. Read the chapter, you'll find out what's happening. That's correct. The pieces have mostly come together already, I think. Part of the reason for collaboration is that I like to see someone else iterate on my ideas to see what happens. I think I might use a pen name, that's a good idea. Then again, I've been thinking I might just risk it and use my real name. I don't get the reference, sorry. I don't think I'll be putting another story on here, and if I do end up doing another it won't be for a while.

On with the story!

The next morning brought chills and the first sign of fall. I shivered, pulling myself closer to Alejandra as we lay together. A single leaf on a single tree had begun to show orange, a sure sign of the changing season. I wondered how it might affect me, since I was at least a little bit plant.

Alejandra awoke soon after me, and we packed up camp, listening to the sounds of the forest at morning. I checked the compass once more; it's bearing had changed slightly west now. We set out in the direction the needle pointed.

A few hours of walking later, we came across a small clearing, surrounded by particularly dense groupings of trees. It took me a second to recognize it. "Hey, wait a moment." I said, gesturing to the clearing. "This is where I first woke up as an eevee."

Alejandra stopped, surveying the area. "It's amazing how far you've come from here." She said, after a few seconds.

"Well, I had you with me most of the way." I said, causing her to smile. It was then that I remembered the reflecting pool. That wasn't too far from here, if I was right.

I gestured for Alejandra to follow me, and set off in the direction I was pretty certain the pool was. It took only half an hour to reach it. We sat together by the water's edge looking down at our reflections. In it, we saw not us as pure humans, but as we were then. My hair was starting to get a bit long, I realized, staring at my reflection. I'd have to cut it eventually.

I turned my eyes to her reflection, her beauty just as striking as when I had first seen her in this form. It was amazing how simple relationships were when the creator of the universe decided you should be with someone. I cut off that line of thought before I began considering free will and choice. It didn't make a difference either way. I felt the way I felt, and nothing could change that.

We didn't linger long at the pool. After all, it had shown us next to nothing we couldn't already see. I found myself checking the compass often as we walked, slight changes in direction making more and more of a difference as we approached supposed destiny.

We reached it by nightfall. It was a cave, smooth walled, and dark. I had spent a night in the mouth of it, sheltered from the rain. I circled around it once, and the compass pointed steadily inwards. I looked to Alejandra.

She was staring off into the darkness, not at ease in the slightest, tensed as if gearing up for a fight. "Something's off about this place." She said, quietly.

I knew what she meant. There was something in the air here, something intangible, that was unnatural very unnerving. Still, I had to press on. "I guess we should go in." I said, taking a step forward. Alejandra followed a step behind, igniting a small fire in one hand to cast light on the cave. We delved deep, the cave branching and turning multiple times. The walls remained the same smoothed stone, the tunnel ever the same size, the curvature never changing. Eventually we reached a massive cavern, tunnels going off in seven directions along the walls.

What looked like stone houses stood in the center of the cavern, all empty. There were no signs of life anywhere around here. "This is so strange." Alejandra said, inspecting the ground near one of them. "It's like these houses were once single chunks of rock." She was right. The structures were seamless, and all of the same gray stone as the rest of the cavern.

"I guess we just pick a direction now." I said, looking down at the compass. It was spinning around wildly, never staying in one place for long, even as I moved around the cavern.

There was a sound of footsteps, but both Alejandra and I were standing still. We both looked around wildly. "That won't be necessary." A voice I had only heard once before called out. I turned to look at him. He was old, much older than he had been in the message on the watch. His hair was white, and he wore a coat that had been patched so many times that it was impossible to tell what the original color was. He walked with a cane of wood. His hair was white, his eyes a colorless gray. He shared several features with me, from the shape of his nose to the pronounced veins on his hands.

"I'm glad you finally made it here, and just in time at that. I'm just about ready to die." He said.