Chapter 11: The Eastern Forest

It took a while for Laura to calm down, and by then it was too late in the day to get any exploring done. Plus Paula had to pack, as she was leaving for the reunion the next day.

When morning came, Laura accompanied Paula all the way to the crossroads. Once they had reached them, Paula turned back and asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this, Laura? I mean, this will be the first time I've left you completely on your own…"

Laura smiled and nodded her head. "I'll be fine. I can do some jobs, paint… maybe try to find that forest…"

Paula slapped a paw to her forehead. "I completely forgot about that!" she exclaimed.

Laura giggled and shook her head. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Just have fun at the reunion, and say hi to Ricky for me!"

Paula rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah…" Then she took on a more serious tone and said, "Seriously, though. If you haven't found it by the time I get back, I'll definitely help you look for it. I promise!"

Laura smiled in thanks before pulling Paula into a hug. As Paula walked away, Laura waved and called out, "Have a safe trip!"

"Yes!" Paula called back. "I'll see you when I get back!"

After that, Laura headed back to Treasure Town to stock up on supplies and chit-chat with the residents, who were all worried that she might be lonely. Then she headed off to the Mystery Dungeons to do the jobs that Team Rainbow had picked off of the boards the day before. All in all, it was an ordinary day. That is, until evening came…

The night started off fine. Laura was tired and quickly fell asleep, curling up into a ball. But after a few hours, she began to twitch as a dream began…

Laura couldn't see clearly. Everything was sort of… fuzzy. It was like when she tried to remember something from long ago, or from when she was still a human. Finally, though, her vision cleared a little, and Laura could tell that she was in a forest. A very familiar forest…

Behind her, someone was talking. But their voice kept wavering in quality and volume. She could barely understand it… but she was certain that it belonged to a male.

"…Already there… so many trees…" he was saying. "Just think! ... only the beginning… but the name… the… Forest… boring…"

Another voice chimed in. It was as indistinct as the first, but Laura could tell that this one belonged to a female. What little dialogue she could make out sounded very lovely, and held an almost musical quality.

"Really?" she asked. "What… name should…?"

"Let's let… decide," the boy suggested.

At this, Laura turned around. She could see two blurry figures—obviously the ones who had spoken earlier—but she couldn't really tell what they looked like… except for their eyes. Those were astonishingly pure and clear. One figure had eyes of a familiar blue-green. The other… the other's eyes were the most beautiful shade of gold that she'd ever seen…

Laura opened her mouth to speak, but the words that came out were not her own. And her voice held the same poor quality as those of her… companions?

"Let's name it for…!" Laura said, her voice sounding bright and happy. "How about… Forest?"

The figure with the blue-green eyes laughed, and Laura could tell that this was the female. "The…Forest, huh?" she repeated. "It certainly… I like it! Let's hope it sticks!"

"I like it too!" the boy chimed in. "I have to hand it to …! It's a great name!"

At this glowing praise, Laura woke up. She looked around, and, to her surprise, found that she was holding a paintbrush and sitting in front of a finished painting. She looked down at it curiously.

It appeared to depict the forest that she had just been dreaming about… but the boy that she had painted yesterday was there as well. He was smiling, and wore an expression of adoration and pleasure.

Laura felt tears come to her eyes. Then she got a determined look as she came to a decision. She looked outside to verify that the sun was up before she put up her art supplies and hung the painting up to dry. Then she snagged one of her other forest paintings, stuffed it into her treasure bag, and headed towards the guild.

Laura had just reached the second level and was preparing to descend to the third when she heard someone call out to her.

"Oh! Hey, Laura!"

Laura looked over to see Bidoof and Sunflora looking at the outlaw board, and Chimecho in her usual spot behind the podium. Laura nodded in greeting.

"You're up early today," Bidoof noted.

Sunflora fidgeted. "Um," she began. "I didn't get a chance to tell you yesterday, but… I'm sorry we looked at your picture without asking."

Laura cringed, recalling her actions and feeling very embarrassed. "It's… it's fine. Sorry for overreacting…"

"No worries!" Chimecho said with a smile. "Was there something you needed?"

Laura nodded and gripped her treasure bag tightly. "I have a question for Chatot."

"I think he's in the Guildmaster's quarters," Chimecho said.

"Yup, yup!" Bidoof agreed. "I saw him enter with Corphish and Officer Magnezone. I think they're giving Corphish a special mission, like when they sent Sunflora after the 'Invincible Haunter.'" Bidoof said, nodding in Sunflora's direction.

Laura nodded her thanks. "I'll just go down and wait for them," she said.

She headed down the ladder and patiently waited by the window near Wigglytuff's door. Soon enough Officer Magnezone, followed by one of his deputies, came out. She moved closer to the door, and they nodded to her in greeting before leaving. Chatot, Wigglytuff, and Corphish exited the room after them.

"Hey, hey! So all I have to do is capture this 'Growlithe,' right?" Corphish was asking.

"Yes," Chatot confirmed. "It should be easy for you since Growlithe is a Fire-type and you are a Water-type, but we've also heard some unfounded rumors that she has a Water-type partner."

"Hey, hey! I'll be careful!" Corphish assured.

Wigglytuff noticed Laura and called out a greeting. "Well hi, Laura! What brings you here today?"

That caused Chatot and Corphish to notice her, and Corphish jumped in fear, thinking to himself, "L-Laura?! Is… is she still mad about the picture? Could she have found that I was the one that took it out of her bag…? H-hey, hey! No way! That's impossible… right? Unless… if she had a Dimensional Scream…"

"I had a question about my picture…" she began, pulling a folded paper out of her bag.

At the word "picture," Corphish freaked out. "Ah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he frantically apologized. "It was me! Okay? I admit it! I'm the one who took it without asking!"

Laura stared at him in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she asked, a bit worried about him. "I just painted this last night…"

"H-huh?" Corphish asked, calming down slightly. "You're… not talking about the portrait of that weird creature?"

"'Weird creature?' What is he…?" Laura thought to herself with a frown before it clicked. "You're the one who took my painting the other day?" she demanded with a glare. He flinched and nodded timidly. Laura crossed her arms and opened her mouth to say something else.

Corphish, who feared that she was going to yell at him, quickly interjected. "H-hey, hey! S-so what was it that you wanted to ask Guildmaster and Chatot?"

Laura snapped her mouth shut and looked over to where Wigglytuff and Chatot were watching. Her crossed arms dropped and she blushed with embarrassment. She took a few breaths to calm down, and unfolded the picture. "I was wondering if this forest looked familiar to you," she said with a sigh.

Chatot took the picture, and he and Wigglytuff studied it. Corphish leaned in as well.

"Oh!" Corphish exclaimed. "That looks like the Eastern Forest!"

Laura frowned. "Why does that name sound familiar?" she wondered. Then she remembered, "Oh! That's where Corphish's team was sent when we were looking for the Time Gears… and where Grovyle said he ended up after Darkrai attacked us!"

"Can you show me where it is?" Laura asked, getting excited now that she knew the identity of the forest.

"It's really quite simple. Open your Wonder Map, please," Chatot requested. She did so, and he pointed out an area on the map, saying, "As the name suggests, it's this forest here, far to the east."

Laura studied it briefly before she folded up the map with a nod of thanks.

"Are you going to explore there?" Wigglytuff asked eagerly.

Laura nodded.

"Hey, hey! Really?" Corphish asked in surprise. "There's really nothing there but trees… I don't think you'll find any treasure…"

"…I'm not looking for treasure," Laura quietly admitted.

Corphish was confused. "Hey, hey…? Then why are you going?"

Laura glanced away, unwilling to answer.

"In any case, Laura," Chatot began, capturing her attention. "It's a rather dangerous trip for a solo explorer. Especially one as young as you… are you sure that you don't want to wait to explore there until Paula returns?"

Laura nodded, standing firm.

"Don't worry, Chatot!" Wigglytuff said. "Laura will be fine! Have lots of fun, okay?"

Laura headed off on her exploration. The second she entered the forest she immediately got the sensation that she'd been there before, just like at the lakes of the Spirit Trio. She also got a mild headache as she desperately tried to remember the circumstances of her previous visit. When nothing came to her, she decided to just aimlessly wander around. She saw no point to a formal search since she didn't know what she was looking for. She just let her thoughts and body drift along…

"So this is the Eastern Forest…" she thought to herself as she admired the plant life. "Corphish was right. There are a lot of trees… Grovyle and I must have come here when we were travelling together in the paralyzed future… but I wonder why. Corphish's group didn't find any Time Gears here… but, then again, it took Paula and me two tries to find Mesprit's." Laura frowned. "Come to think of it… how many Time Gears are there? I know of five… but there's probably more, right? I wonder why Grovyle chose those particular five… maybe they were the easiest to gather?"

Laura sighed. She took in deep breaths and stretched out her arms. "Mm… this weather sure is nice," she thought. "I'm glad it isn't raining—"

Laura came to an abrupt halt and frowned. "Wait… rain?" she repeated her last thought in confusion. Her headache became more intense. "Wasn't it… wasn't it raining before? That time… when I…?" she began to walk again, but more slowly and cautiously than before. "That's… that's not possible," she decided. But even in her mind, it didn't sound very convincing.

"If… if I ever came here before, it would have been as a human… and that would have been when I was living in a paralyzed world. That would have made rain impossible! Unless… was it frozen in place?" Laura shook her head at the thought. "No," she decided. "I'm sure that it was falling… and we were running… wait, 'we?' Who's 'we?'"

Laura winced as her headache became even more intense. She clutched at her temples as she continued forward. "My head…! Why… why does it hurt so much?!"

"OW!" she exclaimed. But the pain hadn't come from her head… it had come from her not paying attention to where she was going, tripping over something, and falling flat on her face. She got on her knees and crawled around, looking for the culprit.

"Oh… a rock," she said in her mind as she identified what had caused her to trip. Then she winced again as her headache spiked. "But… ugh! My head is pounding! I don't think this is an ordinary rock!"

She tried to pick it up, but it wouldn't budge. Thinking that the dirt around it had formed some sort of seal, Laura twisted the rock. To her surprise it spun easily, as if it were a screw. She unscrewed it all the way and lifted it up… to reveal a handle! There was a secret door in the forest floor! Laura bent down for a closer inspection… and was shocked at what had been engraved on the handle.

"A Time Gear…!" she breathed in amazement.

She grabbed the handle, intending to open the door, but paused as a thought came to her. What if there was a guardian there, like at the lakes? She bit her lip, hesitating, but decided to risk it. She opened the door and went inside.

Laura found herself in a cavern. It wasn't as dark as she expected; the place was lit with strange, glowing, white crystals. There were shades nearby that could be placed over them to block out the light. Closer inspection revealed that the shades had been painted by someone…

"Ugh… Is anyone here?" she called out, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to relieve the ache.

There was no answer, so she decided that it was probably safe to look around.

The cavern was comprised of many small, room-like compartments. They all had doors on them. Most of them were store rooms, containing things like food, medicine, and even…

"Clothes? For humans?" Laura wondered incredulously as she stared at the pile of shirts in the trunk that she had just opened. She frowned before closing the lid and moving on.

She stopped when she came to a row of three doors on the right side of a large, open area. The one farthest from her was large and blue-green in color. The one in the middle was smaller and sand-colored, and covered with strange engravings that, for some reason, made her heart ache with a mysterious longing…

The one closest to her had a design painted on it that, to her great shock, looked a lot like the design that had been on Paula's relic fragment. Except… this one was in color.

The center was yellow, and seemed almost textured… like it was supposed to be powdery. The "swirly bits" that came out from the center were silver, tinged with purple, as if someone had wanted to portray that it was giving off a sweet scent. The wider parts, coming out from the center, were white like the original, but they had been filled in. Green showed underneath them. It looked almost like…

"It's a flower!" Laura breathed in surprise. "That design… it represents a flower with its petals open!" Then Laura gasped as a searing pain tore through her head. Her knees buckled, and she fell to the ground. A memory came rushing back…

"Why did you paint flowers on it?" a male voice asked.

"I like flowers. And you can't really grow them underground, now can you?" she answered.

Laura was trembling as she staggered to her feet. She leaned against the wall, taking a moment to recover before cautiously entering the room.

The walls depicted scenes of a spring day: lots of grass and trees, and more of the pretty white flowers. It was also stocked with art supplies—mostly consisting of paint, paper, and brushes—and female clothing.

Laura's headache began to come back, and she fearfully backed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief as the pain lessened, and went to the other side of the cavern to explore.

On the far side of the room there was a mirror with a small table beneath it. But what really caught her attention was that, almost directly across from the large, blue-green door, there was another door. But this one was more ornate. It was made of stone… and it had engravings of Time Gears all over it…

Another memory came back to Laura.

The door made a soft sound when Laura closed it behind her. Grovyle, who had been nervously pacing, heard it and looked up. He quickly made his way over to her.

"Laura!" he exclaimed in relief. "You're awake!"

"I… yeah," she replied, sounding confused. "I… what happened? Why are we in this…" she looked around, trying to figure out where they were. "Cavern?" she guessed. "Weren't we… weren't we just outside?"

Grovyle glanced away for a moment. "What… what exactly do you remember?" he asked, a worried frown on his face, when he looked back.

"…I just had a Dimensional Scream… about rain," Laura said slowly, struggling to recall the details. "But then… my head hurt so much…! And… and then? What… what happened then?"

Grovyle sighed in relief. "Good. Then it wasn't another…" he trailed off, quickly glancing away and frowning.

"Another…?" Laura prompted.

Grovyle shook his head. "…It's nothing. After you described your vision, you just sort of… collapsed. I opened up the secret door you found and brought you in here. I also gave you some medical attention. That last fight left you in pretty bad shape…"

Abruptly Grovyle turned around walked to the other side of the room. He gestured at an ornate, stone door that had been engraved with Time Gears. "While I waited for you to wake up, I tried to figure out how to open this door," he continued. He crossed his arms and frowned at the door, muttering, "There's probably a trick to it…"

Laura stepped closer to the door to inspect it herself. She noticed an odd-shaped hole near the handles.

"I think it just needs a key. See? There's a keyhole," she said, pointing and bringing Grovyle's attention to it.

Grovyle cringed at the fact that he'd missed the obvious. "Oh… so where's the key?"

"Probably… you probably just need one of her symbols…" Laura replied.

"Like your bracelet? Let's try it!"

"No… I think you need to be one of her people for it to work," Laura stated.

Grovyle frowned. "But… aren't you—?"

"I'm not old enough to be fully fledged," Laura explained. Then she sighed in sadness. "And since I'm going to disappear… I'll never be old enough…"

Grovyle sighed. He understood her feelings. After all, he had them too. Still, they couldn't let that get in the way of their mission.

"Why don't you try it anyways?" he gently suggested. "You never know…"

Laura sighed, but complied with his wishes.

Laura undid a Time Gear embroidered ribbon tied around her wrist and fit what looked like a miniature Time Gear into the keyhole. She tried to turn it… but nothing happened.

She turned to Grovyle and huffed, as if to say, "I told you so."

"Yes, yes, you were right," Grovyle said, rolling his eyes and correctly interpreting her sounds of annoyance. "Sorry, Partner." He sighed, "Well, at least now we know where to find the bare minimum of Time Gears. Still, it would have been nice to find some extras, in case we have trouble getting one of those five."

"I don't think there's one here, anyway," Laura said as she tried to remove her mini-Gear from the door. "It's probably like with that other cave—the one we couldn't enter. This place is tied to the Time Gears, which is why I get visions, even though the gears themselves aren't here."

Grovyle noticed that she was having trouble retrieving her bracelet. "Here, let me try," he offered. But try as he might, it wouldn't budge. He frowned. "Sorry, Partner. I don't think you're going to get that thing back…"

"Oh no! That was a gift from her!" she nearly wailed. She slumped to the ground, and, in a defeated whisper, said, "But… I guess it makes sense. I can never fully be one of her people… so I don't deserve it… it probably would've blown our cover, anyways…"

Grovyle felt extremely guilty as he sighed and knelt beside her. "Laura…"

Laura looked at the door and frowned. She went over for a closer inspection… and was utterly dumbfounded.

There, stuck in the keyhole, was what looked like a miniature Time Gear with a Time Gear embroidered ribbon tied to it.

"What?!" Laura blurted out in shock. "This… I put this in when I was in the future… so shouldn't this have vanished?!"

She reached out to touch it, and, to her further shock, it began to glow and spin! She heard a series of clicks before the door opened and the mini-Gear dropped into her hand.

Laura stared at it for a moment before she closed her fingers over it and turned her gaze to the now-open room. Slowly, she made her way inside.

The room was very well-lit, but also rather small. Three statues stood in the exact center of the room. Laura was a bit surprised when she identified all three as being depictions of humans.

The statue in the middle depicted a lovely young woman. She had long hair, and wore a necklace with a Time Gear pendant. She had on a flowing dress, and a bag was tied at her waist. Jewels had been placed into the statue's eye sockets, giving her shining eyes of the same blue-green shade of the Time Gears. The jewels had also been fitted onto her forehead in such a way that they created a gear shape. She was holding a giant, globular gem in her outstretched left hand, but it was black, like coal.

On the right was the statue of a girl. She was ornamented all over with miniature Time Gears. They were in her hair (which was long, like the woman's), on her jewelry, on her belt… But the most interesting feature about this statue was her eyes. They gems that had been fitted into the eye sockets made her eyes seem as beautiful as a rainbow.

The statue's eyes began to glow when Laura approached… but she was too absorbed in the remaining statue to notice.

The last statue, to the left of the woman, was that of a boy who looked to be a few years older than the girl. He also wore Time Gear accessories, but his were limited to a bracelet and an embroidered headband on his forehead. He had on a pendant with a hammer and chisel, and, like the woman, wore a bag at his waist. He, too, had jewels for eyes, but his were golden. As Laura studied him, she got a nagging sense that she had seen him depicted before, somewhere else…

She gasped when it dawned on her. "That's the boy from my painting!" she exclaimed.

She reached out to touch the statue… only to snatch her hand back when she became afflicted with a massive headache. She slumped to the ground. She took a look at the mini-Gear clutched in her hands, and silent tears ran down her face as she tied the bracelet around her wrist.

Laura spent the night in the cavern and headed back home the next day. A few days later, she went to the crossroads to welcome Paula home.

The moment Paula caught sight of Laura she immediately lunged at her and pulled her into a hug, declaring, "I missed you!"

Laura laughed and reciprocated the gesture. "I missed you, too," she said.

Paula pulled away and noticed Laura's new accessory.

"When did you get that?" she asked, leaning closer. "And why does it look like a Time Gear?"

Laura blushed. "Well… I should probably start by telling you that I found out which Forest I've been dreaming of…"

"Really?" Paula asked as they began to walk home. "Tell me everything!"

Later that night… in the Eastern Forest…

It was very dark. The wind whistled through the trees and made the leaves rustle. A figure was silently floating along… and stopped at the secret door. It entered the cavern and immediately made its way to the ornate stone door. It fiddled with something around its wrist before sticking a miniature Time Gear into the keyhole. The door opened.

The figure floated over to the statues. As it passed by the boy's statue, the statue's eyes began to glow. But the figure took no notice. It paused briefly at the woman's statue and sadly shook its head at seeing the blackened orb.

Its focus, however, was on the girl's statue.

The figure studied it closely, observing that its eyes still carried a faint glow. The figure held its mini-Gear closer to it, and the glow became brighter. The figure smiled.

"I was right!" it exclaimed happily, in a voice belonging to a young male. "You're… you're really back! But… where are you now…?" he frowned. He crossed his arms in contemplation. "Hmm… I guess I'll just have to follow your aura," he decided. He smiled again and caressed the statue's cheek. "Don't worry. I promise I'll find you, just as soon as I can…"