Tanner waited for what felt like hours in the blackness of the forest, jumping at any sound he heard. He kept quiet, hiding in the nook of a pile of rocks and shivering until the whispering stopped.

It did. The lights returned too, illuminating the dark forest. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

The only thing he could do was lay there. He couldn't sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw the bones lying in the chasm, covered by moss. He saw the vines reaching out to grab him.

This place wasn't uninhabited like Hoopa said. Something had managed to hide from Hoopa. Both the plants and the bones. Or worse yet, Hoopa knew that something was living here, and he lied to Tanner.

No, he couldn't think like that. He needed to trust Hoopa.

Tanner stayed curled up into a ball, hiding in the darkness. This dimension sucked. It was pretty until you realized how terrifying it was. Hoopa wasn't kidding when he said that dimensions could be dangerous. He just wanted to go back. He missed Landon and Tessa. He missed home.

Tanner sighed and looked back at the passageway where he came. Could he stay here? Staying in one place worked when he first appeared in the Shadow Grove, but he was saved by Tessa and Landon. He couldn't count on dumb luck again. He would need to get back to Hoopa somehow.

He tried calling out for help again, but instantly regretted interrupting the deathly silence of the forest. If anything were to find where he was, he would be dead…

Or, maybe not. He wasn't defenseless. He had slash, and he could make shadows appear around his body. That was pretty scary, if harmless.

All he had to do was follow the chasm back to the pool where Hoopa was. That would be easy. He could do that, as long as he didn't disturb the forest. Tanner worked up his courage and stood, cautiously placing one foot in front of the other. Tanner walked slowly through the chasm, keeping his distance from any plants. His pads crunched quietly on soft grasses, his claws dug into the fertile soil.

As he progressed, the chasm narrowed until it was little more than a crack. He hesitated, not wanting to get stuck. There really wasn't much other option. Carefully, he squeezed through the crack in the rock.

It was almost too tight. He was close to getting through though. Tanner pushed himself harder and exhaled as he wiggled his body through the crack. It worked- finally Tanner finally made it through the crevasse.

He shook himself out and looked around. Above him was a source of light that was casting strange shadows on the grass by his feet.

He cast his eyes up and saw a huge willow tree, hundreds of feet tall, glowing like a christmas tree. Streams of lights like neurons flowed through the tree's branches towards the ends, where the lights floated off into the wind. They drifted in the air, flying off into the distant forest.

Tanner lowered his ears and gasped at the sight. It was incredible. It was larger than the largest tree he had ever seen; it spanned the whole hillside, dominating the starry sky.

"You do not belong here, little monster." A cold voice resounded in Tanner's mind.

Tanner's heart skipped a beat. Did the tree speak to him? Was it as dangerous as the rest of the forest?

What was he supposed to respond to it?

"I uh… I know. I was brought here- I'll go, I just need to get back and-"

"I know you are not of this forest, or the deep. Your soul is incongruous with what you are."

"I'm… I'm a human. I was brought here to-"

"You do not belong in this world, you do not belong in your body. You do not belong anywhere. You are halfway between life and death, and you misunderstand your purpose."

The words stung. He belonged. His purpose was to return Hoopa's power. That was where he belonged… "What do you mean… I'm a ghost type. I'm helping Hoopa."

"Your roots stretch deep, your branches touch countless. Your fruit will nourish, but death follows you. You are a danger to this place."

Okay, this tree was cray. Tanner needed to get out of here and back to Hoopa. He stepped back and away from the hillside.

"I don't know what you mean. I'm sorry. If you can tell your tree friends, I can go-"

"Your time is precious short. Ask of me one question ere you go - there is time for no more."

Tanner looked around curiously. This was bizarre, yet it seemed insistent.

"Possibility stretches before me like endless branches, and your course will be set. Ask, child. The genie comes."

Tanner winced as the branches of the tree lit up brightly like neurons, lights traveling from the trunk down the boughs until they ended in motes of light that floated off.

The genie. Hoopa. How did it know Hoopa? How did it know… it didn't matter. The tree wanted him to ask a question. Then it would let him go. What should he ask? If he could see his friends again? When he could go home? He could go home if he knew how to help Hoopa get his power back… He wanted to be specific.

"What should I do to help Hoopa?"

"Grow your strength as you can. Avail him faithfully until you cannot, for your journey ends lost and alone."

"Wh…"

"HEY!" A squeaky voice called out behind Tanner. The Legendary pokemon floated through a ring behind Hoopa. "You really shouldn't wander off. I mean, this place is safe but on principle… woah. I guess this is where the little lights come from, huh?"

Hoopa reached his hand out and moved it through the cloud of lights that were drifting through the valley.

"I didn't…" Tanner looked back at the tree. It didn't look any different, but he didn't hear anything. What it said though… It knew about Hoopa, it knew that his soul wasn't in his body. It said that he would be alone…

"Hoopa, we need to go. This place isn't safe. I saw bones, and this tree-"

"Oh uh… you didn't eat the fruit did you?"

Hoopa floated closer to the tree, examining it, before looking back towards Tanner.

"Umm… Yeah? I was hungry, then I climbed on a tree and fell."

"Oof. Yeah, last time I ate the fruit here, I was trippin balls. That's on me, I should have mentioned it."

Tanner nodded. The fruit was hallucinogenic. It wasn't real… None of it was real.

Tanner shivered. Tanner had never been high, but he wouldn't have thought it was so scary. Why did it feel so real?

He turned back to look at the tree, the floating motes of light. The forest around. The tree itself was real. The voice…

He couldn't stop thinking about that voice. It was just talking to him until moments ago.

He didn't belong. He would be alone. Surely it was a hallucination, feeding off his own fears.

"You alright? I'm feeling a bit more rested" Hoopa stretched.

"Yeah. I'm okay." Tanner didn't feel rested at all, but he at least wasn't hearing voices. "Do you want to stay here longer?"

"Not unless you want to. I have a good idea on where we could go next." Hoopa floated down towards Tanner, and tossed out a portal. Through it, Tanner could see a castle with stone walls and purple flags.

"No, we should go." Tanner responded. He didn't want to stay here any longer.

"Aight." Hoopa paused, and looked back at Tanner curiously. "You sure you're alright?"

Tanner nodded quickly. He just wanted to go.

"Coo coo coo. Anyways, I was thinking- you need to figure out how to do illusions. That's like, a big deal. It's literally a Zorua's entire thing. So…" Hoopa gestured towards the ring.

Illusions. Hoopa wanted to teach him illusions. He could get excited about that.

Tanner glanced back towards the tree, with its glowing branches and motes of light. He shivered, then hopped through the portal.