As we were walking back to town, we kept our eyes peeled for any signs of Kabutops and their group. As tired as I was, I was more afraid of having that group of 'mons jump us, and that was enough motivation to keep walking and stay alert. I heard a rustling in the grass to our left when we were at the bottom of a small hill and all three of us looked directly in that direction, backing away from it defensively.

Coming out of the grass came a light blue and tan pokemon wearing a dark blue scarf. The Croconaw looked at us and grinned from ear to ear. He took an aggressive stance as we backed up slowly.

'Great, more trouble,' I thought.

"Well, well, well," he said. "What do we have here? Are you all lost by chance?"

"As a matter of fact, no, we're not," Eva tells him assertively. "Why don't you just move along if you know what's good for you?"

"Oh ho, is that so?" he retorts. "Well, if you want me to move along, you'll just have to give me everything in your bag right there." He points to the bag Sparky has slung on his side with a claw.

"No, I don't think we will," Sparky tells him. "Besides, what use would you have for our things, huh?"

"I could think about plenty of things I cou-" he started saying, before Eva tackled him with a Quick Attack, knocking him off balance.

Sparky then followed up by blasting him with a Thundershock, and I ran in after that with another tackle, which knocked him on his ass. Eva went to attack him again and he dodged by rolling to the side and quickly got up, getting some distance from us. He opened his mouth wide and shot an Ice Beam at me.

I went to dodge left, but it was already too late and got slammed in my side. I fell over and everything began to go white from the pain of both the impact of the attack and the aggravation of my wound. I lay there for a moment, my ears ringing from the impact and unable to move my body, the world slowly starting to come back into view as I started to see colors and vague shapes again.

I tried to look around, unable to move my head before I realized that I was frozen stiff. I hear Sparky shout something, followed by two voices I didn't recognize, but I couldn't make out what they said in my daze. I felt something warm near me start to thaw me out slowly as I began to hear clearly again.

"-ou to keep warming him up while I follow Tobias a little longer to make sure he doesn't circle back," one voice I didn't recognize said.

"You got it Ellie," the other voice I heard from before replied, the warmth stopping for a moment. "Don't worry about me and go get him."

I heard someone run off as the heat from before continued. As I thawed out more and more my vision began to get clearer and I started to be able to move my head a little. Next to me I saw a small, shrew-like creature that was red and tan colored producing flames from its back and pointing them at the ground next to me. They were wearing a red and blue striped scarf that had a badge similar to ours pinned to it.

'How rare,' I thought, 'a shiny Cyndaquil.'

"Oh, you're already able to move a little?" the Cyndaquil said to me, surprised. "Well, that's good."

"T-t-t-thanks," I stuttered out, still cold and stiff.

"No problem," she replied. "Don't worry about anything, you'll make it out alive and relatively unharmed when I'm done thawing you out. Being frozen sucks, but it's usually not life threatening."

"Dusk! Thank Arceus you're ok," I hear Sparky say behind me. "Look, we'll be getting home soon enough, and we finally have some backup."

"That's good," I say softly, still thawing out, but feeling better.

"Well, I can say for certain that Tobias will not be coming back to bother you three anytime soon," I hear the voice from earlier, Ellie, say. Looking up I see that she is a Vulpix wearing a scarf identical to the Cyndaquil's. "Sorry you had to deal with that. He's our bounty target, but he got away from our Guild on the Volcanic Continent before we got involved. We only recently learned he was in the Plains Continent."

"It's not your fault," I tell her. "Just bad luck, I guess."

"Thanks, but we honestly could have caught him if we hadn't waited until he was busy with you three," Ellie replied. "Speaking of, we're going to escort you three back to the Guild, as per the Guildmaster's orders. As soon as you're good to go, we're leaving."

"Where's Eva?" I asked, stretching my legs as they were almost done thawing out. "I don't see her. Is she alright?"

"She's fine, physically, but…she's a little upset with us," Ellie told me hesitating a little. "Since we could and should have stepped in before Tobias attacked you. You got hurt because of our decision, and, to be honest, I understand how she feels. No one wants to watch someone they care about get hurt needlessly, especially when someone else could step in and prevent it from happening to begin with."

"Well, I'm fine now," I say, getting to my feet since I've thawed out completely. "Mostly, anyway. I'll go talk to her."

"No, don't!" Sparky exclaimed.

"I concur," Ellie followed.

"What?" I looked at them both, totally confused. "Why not?"

"I'll let your friend here explain," Ellie answered, "but just know that sometimes a woman needs a moment to be alone and clear her head. Anyways, we'd better get going." She turned and led the way up the hill, followed by her partner.

"What does being a woman have to do with anything?" I ask Sparky, still lost.

"You're totally clueless, aren't you?" he says, shaking his head slowly. "Come on, I guess I'll have to explain it to you as we walk."

We followed our escorts up the hill and saw Eva glaring at Ellie and her partner angrily. When she saw me I waved with a smile and she smiled back, then turned around and led the way down the road as we made our way back. The sun was getting lower in the sky, and it was clear to me that we weren't going to make it back before dark.

"So what am I clueless on in particular," I asked Sparky in a low voice as we trailed behind the group. "There's a lot I don't know or understand, no thanks to my amnesia, so you're going to be more specific."

"Well, I mean I guess when you put it that way…" Sparky muttered back. "I guess the best thing I could do would be to ask you a question then. Do you mind if it gets personal?"

"Um, not really?" I reply. "I don't really think I can be offended by anything you say, since I don't know much."

"What do you think about my sister?" he asked me.

"Umm…well she's an Eevee," I started off.

"Not that," Sparky interrupted. "As a person, what do you think of her?"

"Oh," I say. "Well, she's hard-working, passionate, and kind. She sometimes gets carried away, or so it seems, but her heart is always in the right place."

"Anything else come to mind?" he asks.

"Not really?" I reply, befuddled. There's a long pause in the conversation as we walk.

"Do you like her?" Sparky finally asks.

"I mean, sure, I guess," I tell him. "Both of you are my best friends. My only friends, really."

"Is that all you see her as?" Sparky replies, sounding angry, looking down at the road. "A friend?"

"Well, what else would I see her as?" I ask in an extra-quiet voice. "I honestly don't get what you're getting at Sparky."

"Do you not have any romantic feelings for her at all?" he asks, truly sounding angry.

"No," I tell him softly. "I don't really feel anything when I'm with her, or anyone else for that matter. I haven't known the two of you long enough for such feelings to even be a thing."

"Oh, that's fair, I guess," Sparky replies, all the aggression in his voice gone. "Sorry for getting angry with you."

"It's not a problem, and I don't know if it will make you feel better, but I don't really know if I ever loved someone, or if someone else ever loved me, since I don't have any memories," I tell him. "I don't think it's a problem of being able to feel anything as much as all my feelings and thoughts are too jumbled right now for me to focus on any one thing."

Sparky just looked down and didn't say anything to that. We kept walking for a bit in an awkward silence as the sun fell on the horizon to our backs.

"Sorry," I tell Sparky. "I didn't mean to be depressing."

"No, you're fine Dusk," he replied. "I honestly never thought about what you might be going through in your head, and how confusing everything must be for you, not having any memories and all."

"It's a little much at times," I tell him. "But being with you two and working at the Guild gives me direction, and that's probably what's keeping me sane right now." I paused for a moment. "But just so you know, I did start to notice when we were in the Twilight Forest Mystery Dungeon. She likes me, doesn't she?"

"It seems that way," Sparky sighed.

"Does that not bother you?" I ask him. "Her liking someone she's only known for two days? And more than that, you being her brother, how do you feel about her trying to date some stranger like me?"

"No," he says. "Well, yes, but you're different. If it were just truly some random stranger that I had never met, sure, it would bother me. But even though we've only known each other for about three days I can just tell you're not a bad person. I don't really know how to explain it, it's just the feeling I get when I'm around you. I get more relaxed, I feel safe, as if I've known you my whole life." He shook his head. "Sorry, that doesn't make any sense, does it? I must sound crazy to you."

"Not at all," I tell him softly. "I get exactly what you're saying, since I feel the same way. Although, in my case I basically have known you my entire life. At least, what I remember of it anyway."

Sparky giggled at that quietly, smiling. "I guess you have, huh?" It got quiet between us as we continued walking.

"So," I say as the sun fell beneath the horizon behind us, "do you still want me to go out with your sister?"

"Well, if you don't have any feelings for her, I don't want to force you into a relationship," Sparky replied, shaking his head. "Honestly, I'd rather you be true to what your heart says and do what you think is right. If you're not ready for a relationship, which is understandable, just make it clear to her. I don't think she'll get upset. Knowing her, she'll just try to get you to fall for her more."

"That's a terrifying thought," I tell Sparky. He giggles at that and looks up at Eva up ahead. I follow his gaze, looking at her too, before allowing myself to get lost in thought as we walked.

'I'm not sure if I'm ready for something like that yet,' I thought, 'but I also don't think it would hurt to give it a try. Before that though, I need to get some answers, starting with who or what the Forsaken are, and what a "Chosen" is. Those two in particular confuse me the most, and I think my pendant holds some of the answers I'm looking for. I just hope the Guildmaster has the connections he says he does.'

"Hey, we're almost there!" Eva called from up ahead. Shaking my head as I looked up, my thoughts interrupted, I saw the wall that surrounded the town in eyesight, lights glowing from windows and streets behind it like a beacon of hope. "Race you there!" Eva shouted, taking off ahead of us.

Too tired to follow, I watched as Sparky took off after her, and our escorts looked back at me as I continued on at the same walking pace from before. I smiled at them and quickened my pace to catch up to them, staying silent as we made our way closer. Passing through the main gate to the town we made our way through the winding streets, the girls leading the way as we neared the Guild.

I hear cheering up ahead as the Guild comes into view, with what seemed to be at least a hundred 'mons of varying species gathered out front, surrounding Eva and Sparky. One of the many Pokemon out front spotted me with Ellie and the Cyndaquil and pointed at us, shouting something I couldn't make out. I watched as the crowd split, with Casey and the medical group running over.

"Dusk!" Casey shouted as she jogged over to me, Ellie and her partner continuing on past her and through the crowd. "Are you okay? Where are you injured? Who did this to you?"

"Woah," I say, back-peddling a bit in surprise. She slowed down as she got close to me and began to visually examine me from afar. "I've just got a small cut on my chest and some scratches. Nothing to worry about," I tell her.

"Nonsense!" She retorts. "We need to make sure nothing gets infected and heals properly. You're my patient, first and foremost, and I say that we need to check on you and clean your wounds."

"I'm more hungry and tired than physically injured though," I tell her, yawning. "Can this wait until tomorrow?"

Casey looked like she was about to say something when Urian appeared at her side and put a paw on her arm. She looked down at him, and when he shook his head she sighed and slumped over a little. Urian looked at me with a knowing smile and just nodded.

"Go on and get something to eat, then get some rest," he told me, gesturing with a paw at the Guild. "We'll check up on you when you wake up."

"Thanks," I said to him, nodding my gratitude as I began to walk to the Guild. "I'll come by as soon as I wa-" My vision went white as I was walking past Urian and I began to stumble. I was about to fall over when I felt two 'mons press against me from either side, keeping me upright.

"Dusk!" I hear Urian shout to me. "Dusk, are you alrig-"

And that was all I heard before everything went from white to black as I passed out from sheer exhaustion. I must have gone past my limits a while back and had been running solely on adrenaline until it finally wore off completely just now.

"Steven," I heard a distinctly male voice to my right say. "Steven, come on, you need to get up. We're waiting on you to start the meeting."

I opened my eyes and found myself in a building of some kind, laying down on my back, something soft cushioning me from beneath. The walls were bare and the room was lit by a dim light embedded in the ceiling. The light gave off a low humming noise, like that of an insect, but artificial.

I looked over in the direction the voice came from, but not by choice, as if I were a passenger in the body of another person. A figure, maybe a little taller than five and a half feet, stood to my right, dressed in some kind of loose clothing that covered most of their body. They were a mostly hairless bipedal, with an arm on either side of their body, and a head at the top covered in dark brown hair. Their face had a small nose, with a mouth underneath, and soft amber eyes on either side of the top of the nose. A human. A real, living human, before my eyes.

"Oh, hey David," I hear my voice say against my will. It appears to me that this is either a memory or a really strange dream. "Sorry about that. I'll be there in five."

"Ok, well, if you say so boss," David replies, shaking his head with his eyes closed. "You need to stop pulling all-nighters. I told you, we have people who can push the unimportant paperwork for you so you can focus on other things."

"I can't very well rely on other people to do my job David," I tell him. "All that paperwork IS important, and needs my approval. If you want to lighten my workload, help me get the government to approve someone of a lower authority than mine or yours to handle these tasks."

"Okay, okay, I get it," David replies, throwing his hands flat at me in the air in defense. "I'll see what I can do later this week. Unfortunately for both of us, we have more urgent matters to attend to, which includes this meeting that you're late to."

"Well, give me five and I'll be right there. Just gotta freshen up real quick, then I can join you," I tell him.

He nods, then leaves the room through an automatic sliding door in the wall my feet are pointing at. Once he leaves, I get up from where I lay and realize I was human too as I stood on two feet. I was wearing some kind of white cloth that fit loosely over my upper body and covered it and the upper halves of my arms. On my lower I had some kind of blue cloth covering my waist and legs, all the way down to my feet, which were bare.

My body made its way to a smaller room to the right of where I lay, with a singular white bowl that shined slightly in the dim light. It was hanging off the wall, and a silvery, reflective square object set on the wall above it. My body reached to the left with an arm and flipped a switch and I saw what my face looked like in what I identified as a mirror above a sink.

I was light skinned, with a small nose and two bright blue eyes. My hair was a sandy color and wild, somewhat spiky. It covered most of my head, with a red strip of cloth that wrapped around my head holding it back above my eyes.

'This is what I looked like?' I thought. 'I wonder if this is real, or just my imagination…'

No sooner than I had had these thoughts I was ripped from my body forcibly and pulled through the ceiling into darkness. Unable to control my now non-corporeal form I just relaxed and let myself be taken to wherever the dream, vision, or memory would take me.

I suddenly stopped moving and came to settle in the darkness when a light appeared before me.

"Don't forget," it said softly. "Don't forget why you're here, what it is you came to do. You must seek out the Chosen of this world and anoint them as champions."

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean Chosen? And anoint as champions? I can't do that, I can barely take care of myself."

The voice was silent for a moment. "I see, your memories are not quite all there yet," it finally said.

"Not all there?" I retorted angrily. "Are you kidding me? I can't remember shit from before I woke up in that cave about a little over a week ago!"

"You will need to seek out your kind," it replied calmly. "They will have the answers you seek, and can help guide you on the path set before you."

"My people?" I asked. "Humans are all gone as far as I can tell, and no one seems to have met one, so who am I to find?"

"Not humans, you need to seek ou-" it began, before a loud screeching and shouting could be heard from far away. "There is no more time. Seek out those who wear your amulet and you should start to find the answers you seek. Now go."

"Come on you can't ju-" I began to say before being jolted awake with a sharp prodding in my side.

"Ouch!" I shouted as I opened my eyes, my chest heaving as I struggled to breath properly, and my fur soaked with sweat. I was on a bed in the medical wing of the Guild. Next to me was Urian, who looked down at me with concern, and Spooks, who hovered nearby.

"You were having some kind of nightmare," Urian said, putting a paw on my side. "Spooks here pulled you out of it enough with Dream Eater that I could wake you up. You're safe now. Are you okay Dusk?"

"I…I think so," I managed between deep breaths, too ragged to argue that it wasn't exactly a nightmare. "Thank you, both of you."

"No problem," Spooks said cheerfully. "I'm going to go get some sleep now doctor."

"Just be ready if we have any more patients tonight," Urian called as she floated out of the room and down the hall. Turning to me, he took his paw off of my side as my breath steadied and asked "So, do you want to talk about this nightmare or not?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you what I saw," I told him quietly.

"It's a nightmare, Dusk, I don't have to believe it," he told me. "I just need to know what happened so I can help you work through whatever may have caused it." He paused, then said "If you want to, of course. I can't make you talk about it if you really don't want to, or if it's too traumatic. I just want you to know that I'm here to help."

"Thanks," I tell him, smiling slightly. "It's not so much that I can't tell you as much as I can't believe what it was that I saw."

"And what was it that you saw?" Urian asked me.

I began to recount what I saw after I passed out, sparing no detail. Urian listened to me seriously, never laughing or making fun of what I said. When I was done he began to pace across the room, clearly deep in thought.

"Have you had any other dreams like this one?" he asked, finally stopping in front of me.

"One, I think," I told Urian. "About a day back…I mean, three."

"Don't worry about it," he told me. "I already heard from Sparky about the Twilight Forest. Time is a little wonky there. So, what happened in this dream?"

"Well-" I began, before I heard a knock at the doorway.

"I see that you're up Steven," Drake says, entering the doorway. His eyes looked red and swollen, dark bags hanging underneath. "I hope you're doing ok."

*Hey guys, this is Nathan the author speaking. Sorry for the horrendous wait for a new chapter, I know it's almost been 2 years now, but I'm not dead. I've simply been too busy with things in my real life to have time to think about this story, much less write more, post and share it with all of you who follow it. I'm planning to add more to it slowly, and I'm thinking of trying to add about a chapter every month at a minimum to start with and go from there. If I get more than that finished I'll just consider them to be bonus chapters. In any case I'm back to writing now and look forward to bringing more of my story to life by writing it down for you all to read. I would appreciate any feedback I can get to improve my writing (other than the obvious massive time-gap between now and when I last released a chapter) to get you all the best story I can write.

Cheers,

Nathan