Author's Notes: I just can't seem to get this chapter right. I've revised this far too many times for my liking now, and it still doesn't feel like it's the right chapter for this...chapter... Ugh...
Darkness...
I've been here before, haven't I?
When was it, though? I couldn't remember...
But I'm sure that I've been here before...
The weird and cold feeling is definitely familiar...
...the sensation of feeling your body, yet at the same time, the absence of it...
...phantom feeling? I remember reading about it back home.
...I wonder what's going on...
...wait...weren't...weren't we supposed to return the evolution power? Y-yeah... We were supposed to do that. So what happened? Why am I here? Am I unconscious? Was the process of giving the evolution power back already over?
If it was already over, then maybe my spirit is already inside the Soul Dew. I guess that would make sense. Strange that I don't remember what happened though.
No... Not strange. Sad. It's sad that I don't remember any of it. It would have been pretty interesting. Or probably pretty boring.
...but the saddest part is that I don't remember saying goodbye to my friends, especially to Vixie...
Sigh... Well, my adventure kinda started like a Mystery Dungeon, so I hope that...I'll suddenly go back down and...wait... Won't that mean that I'll be staying forever? No idea about Gates to Infinity though. I haven't played that game yet, though I started watching playthroughs on YouTube. I think I'm still on that part where Hydreigon revealed itself as...not the bad guy. Plot twist!
...
...is something burning? Why do I smell smoke all of a sudden?
I looked around and saw fire. There was fire everywhere. A burning forest. I looked around myself, and I was literally in the middle of a burning forest! What the he—
"Ma! Pa!" I...shouted? That voice sounded mine, but I didn't shout anything.
I looked at myself and found out that I was an Eevee again. Hooray for having a body once again, I guess?
"Cerulean! Ruby! Ack!"
Sounds of falling and crashing trees cut the voice off. There was a yelp, and sobs soon followed. My ears twitched as I tried to pinpoint where that voice was coming from.
The severe heat of the burning place is making my throat all watery... Furred creatures sweat through their noses and tongues, right? Right, whatever... I need to get outta here.
I yelped when I heard a loud cracking noise. Turning, I saw a burning tree slowly bending towards me. I kicked my hind paws and made a run for it. It crashed a few meters behind me, and I panted for breath as I looked at the spot where I stood a few seconds ago...
"M-ma! Pa!"
I turned and yelped when burning twigs fell around me. I jumped ahead and looked around myself. The sparking and splitting and burning noises were still ringing in my ears, yet the sobbing was clearer now. I can just run away, but gah, leaving behind whoever was crying for help will make my guilt kill me later, I'm sure of it... Sigh...
"H-hey!" I shouted, and ignored the fact that my voice sounded...not mine at the moment. Probably caused by the severe heat. "Hey! Where are you?!"
Creaking noises. I turned and saw another tree falling away from me. I cringed as it crashed over burning grass and bushes.
The fallen tree looked like a makeshift bridge now for me to cross over the burning debris of wood and leaves. I climbed up on its wooden trunk, wincing at how hot it felt on my paws.
After I crossed over the burning everything, I jumped down on the ground, ashes flying upon my landing, and yelped when burning twigs landed behind me. Shaking them off, I then looked around, and froze when I saw a burned...figure... The burned thing was pinned under a burned trunk of a tree, the ground underneath was covered with dried blood. I can't tell what the poor thing was, but it looked slightly bigger than me...
"'lean... R-ruby..." the sobbing snapped me back. "...pa...ma..."
Through a burned bush, I saw a crying Eevee, lying on the ground in front of a burning tree, its trunk on a slight uphill of land, where a...den was slightly blocked by the said tree... The den itself was pitch-black...where a burned...paw...was sticking out from it...
The sobbing Eevee stood up, and then tried to push the trunk away. "...ma...pa..." He pushed, and pushed, and his hind paws slipped, and he fell down on the ground with a thud.
A rather loud cracking noise snapped me back. I looked back and saw a rather large and burning tree slowly leaning towards me...and towards the Eevee.
"He-hey!" I looked back and ran towards the yelping Eevee. "We've gotta get outta here!"
He was surprised to see me for some strange reason, but his eyes then switched their focus on the creaking tree behind me. "N-no!" he cried, pushing the trunk yet again out of the den.
I bit his tail and pulled him away, but damn, I think we have equal strengths if I can't pull him away.
"L-let go of me!"
"You'll die if you stay here!"
"Let go!"
CR-CRACK!
I gasped as I stared at the creaking tree falling towards us. I quickly pulled him away, managing to pull him—which surprised me—but the tree finally fell down on the ground with a loud crash, swallowing the both of us with its burning leaves and branches...
...and everything was darkness again...
...despite the darkness though, I could clearly see Darkrai floating in front of me. Although he wasn't really looking at me.
I felt like I was sitting. I blinked. Was it all just a dream? Have I fainted at some point? Wait, Darkrai's here, so what I saw was a nightmare, right? But, it didn't feel like one. Sure, everything was burning everywhere, but—
"I didn't want to be reminded of that," said a familiar voice beside me.
I blinked, turned, and saw an Umbreon, who was looking away with gritting teeth.
"I was too weak to save my family, okay? I just wanted to be stronger so I can protect Levie..."
He threw a glare at Darkrai, but then he blinked, and finally took notice of me. He stared at me with wide and surprised eyes.
"...w-who are you?" he asked, dumbfounded.
I was about to answer when I felt weird about myself. I then looked at myself, and noticed that I was a human again. ...without clothes... I pulled my knees against my chest and wrapped my arms around to cover myself...
Darkrai cleared his throat, catching our attentions. He was looking at me. "Jay, Mew just finished returning the evolution's power from your...erm...shared body. So—"
"J-Jay?" Shadow interrupted him, looking at me in shock. "You're Jay?"
I frowned. "No. I'm Fred. It's nice to meet you."
He growled and jumped at me, claws and fangs at the ready.
I yelped and raised my hands to shield myself. I felt his claws...run through me? It was quick, and was instantly followed by a weird and shivering feeling of something...weird...passing through me. I...cracked open an eye, and saw Shadow no longer there. I looked behind and saw him standing, his back on me.
"...what?" he growled, turning and glaring at me. "What trickery is this?! Humans can't do what you just did!"
"I don't even know what I just did!" I spat back, and flinched when he growled at me.
Someone sighed. I turned and saw Darkrai scratching his nape with an arm. "You both are...consciousness. I don't think consciousness can hurt each other..."
"Consciousness?" I blinked. "Wouldn't 'spirit' be a better word to use?"
"I guess so," Darkrai shrugged, making me shiver internally. He really ruined the cool legendary that I pictured of him in my head. Sigh...
"Don't you ignore me!" Shadow growled, catching my attention. "We could have already gotten away if it weren't for your meddling!"
I blinked, enjoying the safety of untouchability. But it didn't save me from the irritation I felt. "Me? What did I ever do?! I was dragged into this world!"
He stomped his paw on the non-existent ground. "You controlled my body!"
"I see no reason why you couldn't just take it back! And it's not my fault that I was stuck inside your body!"
He opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. He closed it and looked away. "...then again, it gave me the time to understand how to properly evolve into other evolutions..." He then glared back at me. "But how dare you use me to mate with someone I didn't even know?!"
My eye twitched, yet I took a deep breath to calm myself. I then turned to Darkrai. "...how did I got here in the first place?"
The legendary blinked at me. "...I have no idea."
I sighed, ignoring Shadow's angry snarl for being ignored again.