Author's Notes: Wow, a new record, my latest chapter. I've been real busy lately, but you guys say that I don't have to worry so thanks.

If any of you remember, I've been ranting about submitting on Serebii. Well, I finally did, and I did because they give brutally honest critiques there. My story has attracted some attention and some harsh reviews. Apparently, I've been told that I have an interesting plot, but I flat out suck at punctuation and grammar. Also, one of the mods there is reading my story, and he's given me an EXCELLENT idea on how to start out the story. It turns out, I have a little rewriting to do... But in the end, my story is going to be a lot better, and a lot more realistic

Also, thanks Twilight Zone 145 for the comment. Hmm, only one, meh, oh well. On with the story

Chapter 40

I gently floated on what seemed like air, the fresh smell of forestry met me. I gently breathed in and out, listening to the birds chirp in the trees. I floated in blissful peace.

I opened my eyes to be greeted by a haven of light poor in from above me, surrounded by a frame of trees. My eyes attempted to focus to the light and the blurry vision from waking up. Upon regaining my vision, I took in my surroundings.

I first noticed that I wasn't floating on air, I was floating on water. Almost my entire body was soaked. I finally swam up to a vertical position to observed my surroundings. I could feel a wet swampy floor under my wet shoes. The water was freezing cold, sending chills down my spine.

I found myself floating in a small pond, surrounded by lily pads, and small bugs. I could feel several mosquito bites tinge and itch on my face. Surrounding me was a plethora of trees and shrubs. Some of them were natural and some of them were planted by humans. I looked up to see the circle of light in the trees, sunlight pouring in overhead.

'Hey... I remember this place! I used to relax here all the time, Terra... TERRA!' I swung my head left and right, calling for Terra.

'Calm down, Nick, I'm right here.' I stopped thrashing in the water, and spotted Terra at the base of a large tree to my right. Terra laid in her casually relaxed position with Chandler relaxed in her front legs, cooing as Terra groomed him.

I slowly walked to the side of the pond, and hoisted myself out of the water. My clothing was soaking wet, and the wind made it worse, sending more chills down my spine.

'Terra... how long have we been here?'

'I don't know, I woke up only about half an hour before you did.'

There was a short pause, where all I could here was the ambience and the wind. Terra took notice of my shivering.

Terra started 'Do you wanna-'

'Yeah, ok.' I quickly jumped down and curled up against Terra's side, wrapping my arms around her warm luscious fur, shoving my face into her side. Terra continued grooming Chandler as I laid by her side. She seemed pretty contented for being on a different planet.

'It's a pattern for mother typhlosions become contented, save for a time that any other living thing enters her personal space.'

Somewhat unnerved by Terra's comment, I laid by her side keeping an eye on her and Chandler.

It took a mere five minutes to get heated to the point that it was no longer unbearable, but it was still plenty cold. But now was the time we needed a plan.

Still laying aside Terra, I began to elaborate. 'Ok, now we need to get serious. Terra, we need to figure out where to hide you. My house isn't going to do any good, and I don't know about this place. It's smaller and busier than it looks.'

'How small is it?'

'About half a square kilometer.'

'It's doable, but why so small?'

'This forest is in the center of town!' Terra remained silent. 'Well,' I continued, 'not exactly the center of town but it is pretty busy. I few people might stroll through here every so often, so it's best that you stay off the paths, and you should find a good dip in the forest to live in, so that people can't see you from the paths.'

Terra paused for a moment, and said 'Is there anything to eat here?'

'Despite its small size, the forest does have a few thousand crows.' Terra looked at me, puzzled. 'Little black things that can fly.'

Terra groaned, 'Ugh, birds. One of the hardest things to catch for a typhlosion.'

I felt sympathy for Terra. I tried to think of her best skills, which brought me back to the thought of her before we met. 'Hey, remember when you were chipped,' Terra shuddered, 'you were jumping rooftops like nothing. This won't be the safest thing to do during day time, but at night time, however, you could get anywhere you want to.'

I saw a twinkle in Terra's eye. 'I suppose you're right. It would make getting around here a lot easier. But I don't think I can go that long without you here,' I blushed, 'I haven't actually been around here, so I don't exactly know my way around here.'

I gave it some thought. 'OH! How about you stay here in the forest until night, and I'll come for you than.'

'How will you find me?'

'First, as I said, this forest is tiny and second, we can communicate with our minds. It shouldn't be difficult to find you.'

Terra put bit her lip, and started thinking. She looked back at me and nodded. 'Alright then, it's settled. I'll meet you here in the forest tonight.' We nodded and shook hands and paws for a laugh and I made a dash for home.

I couldn't believe it, I was finally going home. After more than a year, I was finally going to get to see my family.

I ran around the pond, and stuck to the path, swerving up and down small hills. I came to a clearing, for picnics, and parties, and than crossed it out to the road. To my left was the a street crammed with houses, and on my right was the waterfront view. I decided to take the scenic waterfront view for old time's sake.

Walking on the boardwalk, I was hit by a hammer of memories, remembering playing in the park, and the picnic I had with my family, before Terra jumped on the roof of our car. It was such good time I had back then up to the point that Terra attacked.

I walked past city hall to see what time it was. 9:05 AM. Could I of possible come back to the exact time I left? This would be amazing luck. But I didn't know yet.

I ran the rest of the way home, waiting to be welcomed by my family, my games, and everything that I had left behind in life. Now was the time that I was finally going to return to normal life. I arrived to the familiar sight of my house. The memories just kept flying into my head.

I walked up to the door, and stood at the door with my hand frozen on the knob. Now was the time, the time to make my life normal again. I turned the knob and walked in. I felt as though I should make an entrance of sorts.

"Hey everyone, I'M HOME!" I heard some footsteps from upstairs, and in the livingroom. For the first time in a year, I saw my mother come around the corner. She wore a green house coat and carried a mug of coffee in her hand.

She rubbed her eyes under her glasses, and gave me a tired look. After she squinted slightly, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. Just as Karen did, Mom dropped her mug on the floor, spilling coffee everywhere.

"Nick!?... Is that you!?" I remained silently shocked at my mother's response. "IT IS YOU! Girls come down here, Nick's alive!"

"ALIVE!?" I shouted in shock.

The girls came careening down the stairway, with faces as shocked as Mom's. Dad came running out from the living room, equally shocked. They were acting like Jesus was standing right in front of them.

"Nick, where have you been!?"

"Why have you been gone so long!?"

"What were you thinking!?"

Everyone was smothering me with questions up to the point that I couldn't answer any of them.

"Guys, I- Please if you just let me talk-... STOP!" Everyone's questions came to a complete halt. "What's with all the questions?"

My family exchanged puzzled and distraught looks. My mother finally spoke.

"Nick... don't you realize?" I shook my head. "You've been missing for over a year now."

Author's After-Notes: Anyway, this chapter was intended to be a lot longer than it is now, but that would make for a massive chapter. So I decided to split it.