ARC I: ARRIVAL

- Chapter 1: The Cat in the Tree -

"Where…where are you…?"

"Where did…you go…?"

The strong rain had passed by sunrise. But there were no traces of what a windstorm would typically leave. No fallen trees or branches. No tossed objects. Even the morning birds sang again.

Dewdrops were like glitter as they twinkled on nearly every plant's surface. A Blipbug crawled its way down a branch, plucking the droplets from the leaves. A Pachirisu scurried past, weighting down the branches as it took an apple to eat.

Both Pokémon froze at the sound of a tired voice. Peering over, something is there. Taking another step, and they saw it.

It moved. It spooked them away.

"Don't leave me!"

A loud wheeze was the first sign of life.

A horrible and painful cough followed, clawing at her throat until she held it down. It was too painful for her lungs. The strong efforts to keep it down failed as she sputtered and coughed again. She rolled to her side, gasping for air. Deep breaths relieved the pain, and it tamed her coughing until she was merely gasping for air.

(Why…why is it so hard to breathe…?)

Too slow. She was breathing too slow. Her lungs burned as she locked her muscles still. Whatever ailed her was slowly fading. Her breathing quickened. She was going to live another day.

After taking a minute to recuperate, all that remained was a scratch in the throat, and maybe a massive headache. No. It wasn't a maybe. It was more like head-splitting and throbbing, like she had the bright idea to ram her skull through a wall. Another groan escaped her as she made the mental note to search for medicine to ease the stabbing. Something happened yesterday, or at least, she believed so. Her mind was clouded and blank. She couldn't remember any details that would give clues to what happened. But at that moment, she wasn't worried about it. Everything was too groggy for her to think straight. It would ease with time, or at least she hoped.

A sharp spike of pain throbbed in the sides of her skull. It almost made her hiss. Yes, it was going to be one of those very annoying headaches.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she was greeted by blinding sunlight that burned deep in her skull. She squeezed her eyes shut with a suppressed groan. How long was she in the dark for her eyes to have such a negative reaction?

Careful, she opened them bit by bit, giving her eyes time to adjust. She focused on other things to keep her body from turning against her once more. There were the soft sounds of chirping birds and whispering leaves. Strong petrichor carried in the gentle breeze flooded her nose. The air was damp and thick; It had rained the night before. It was the first comprehensive thought that crossed her scrambled mind.

The second compressive thought was that she was outside.

Why was she outside? Again, her clouded mind gave no immediate answer. Trying to recall the previous day's events was like clawing at a wall. There was nothing but strain, and all it did was make her headache stab her again. Maybe later. She would think over it later.

As she sat up, her vision doubled and her head spun. A small shake of the head tamed some of the unpleasant sensation. Her hands brushed across the bark's surface of the tree branch beneath her.

A tree?

She was wide awake now.

She was in a tree! Several feet from the ground! Her arms flew around the trunk as she pressed her chest against it. She felt her heart pounding through the surface.

(What…what is going on?! Why am I up here?! How did I get up here?!)

Not a single answer came to mind. Blank. Every thought was blank. The only conclusion she could come up with was a sleepwalking incident. Logically, that would be impossible. Never were there any cases of anyone climbing a tree half asleep. They would simply slip and fall in the process if they made it that far, anyway.

Perhaps she was placed there? But for what reason? Some sort of cruel prank? Was she that bad of a heavy sleeper?

Better question: How did she not fall off?

She waited for laughter, or any signs of movement that would give away a hiding person. But either they were simply too good at hiding, or she was too high to see properly.

No. Something was off. She could see below, but everything looked foggy. At least, that was the best description that crossed her. She knew there was grass far below. They swayed like waves every time the air hissed. Blurred splotches of colors were flowers, maybe? She blinked and hoped her vision would correct itself, but nothing changed. The sun almost made everything too bright. It wasn't normal. Her mind knew that much. She should be able to see better. Her mind almost spun as it searched for a reason, so she looked elsewhere. The sky. It was a pretty shade of blue. The clouds were little, with only a few occupying the vast canvas.

She only admired it for a short moment before she searched her surroundings in hopes for any form of familiarity, but there were none. Everything was all too foreign, as if she awoke in a house that wasn't her own. She tried to search through her mind again, but her mind drew another blank. A small stab of fear shot her. She feared she would not remember. It had been some time since she woke, so surely her mind would have started sorting through the pieces? It felt like nothing had changed.

Deep breaths. Sometimes the mind liked to take its time. It would come. She just had to wait a little longer.

(What stupid joke did I get myself into yesterday?)

The possibilities only made her mind run frantic again. She decided that it would be best to ponder where it would be safe to stand. With caution, she stood, half expecting for the thin branch to snap underneath her weight. Her legs were like jelly, and her entire world started to spin again. She leaned against the trunk for support as she tried to regain focus. Once everything stabilized, she took a look below. She could see the bark in such crisp detail, it made her head spin. But, she had to focus on getting on the ground.

The trunk thinned and blurred more and more towards the ground. She couldn't see an individual blade of grass.

She was far too high up.

Again, she clung on the bark for her life. It cracked and flaked between her fingers. A sensation that didn't feel quite right. Turning to her left, she could see claws anchored on the surface.

Wait. Claws?!

She closed her eyes and rattled her head. Her headache was still there, and she regretted it in an instant. When she looked again, one set of claws was brought close to her face. Her eyes adjusted, and she could see the strands of fur in fine detail.

It couldn't be.

Paws. Paws! She had paws! Out of all the wonders there were in the world, what she was seeing left her speechless. She checked the rest of her body, and a wail almost escaped her. Her feet were not her own, structured as a long paw, cream-colored and tipped brown. A thin coat of fur covered her body, shifting ever so slightly against the breeze. She felt her head, which was bigger than her body. It felt unnatural, so wrong in every sense. Where her ears were supposed to be, she felt nothing but her skull. But the subtle movements high above felt alien to her senses. Once she reached higher, she felt them. Triangular and shifting, those were her ears.

(What… What is…)

Then her paws brushed over a hard smooth surface, and she almost recoiled in shock.

Once she realized it wasn't alive, she drew her paw towards it again. A tiny tap made her withdraw again. A soft clink sounded in the air. When she touched it a third time, she realized it was glued to her head. She gripped the edges with both paws and pulled, and she screamed. The pain blistered through her skull.

STOP!

She did. She was frozen. Her breathing hitched as she lowered her arms. The scream that pierced her mind…it wasn't a sound at all. It was a silent demand from her body, as if what she had attempted would tear her soul in half.

(What…what is… This can't be happening to me…)

And as if the universe sensed her denial, she could see her distant shadow on the ground below, through the blur, unmistakably shaped like a feline.

(I don't understand! I-I turned into a Meowth! But how did this even happen?! Where even am I?! What's going on?!)

A dream. That had to be it. It was all a dream. It explained why she couldn't recall anything that occured before she "woke up" to such madness.

She pinched herself, and hissed at the stabbing claws.

Nothing changed. The slight tingly pain was too real.

It was truly happening.

She still couldn't remember anything.

"Am I dead?! I have to be dead! I…"

A paw pressed against her throat. The claws poked her as she took in a sharp breath.

Her voice. She scarcely recognized it.

It was there. Somewhere it was there. At the same time, it wasn't right. There was a sound that wasn't human. A sound she shouldn't be capable of making. It was small and quiet, but she heard it. She felt it. It lingered, and it frightened her. No matter how much she tried to repress it, it escaped her. It could not be stifled.

She sunk down, never letting go of her perch. She pressed her forehead against the rough bark. A soft clink made her recoil back again as dread swelled within her. Her paws were touching the smooth, oval-shaped metal on her head.

(Coin…I have a… I have a coin glued to my head…)

It was growing more ridiculous, she could almost laugh if she wasn't so frightened. Her paws kept touching the coin. She felt the horizontal grooves. It wasn't going away. It was real. It was very real. Everything was very much real.

And she still didn't know where she was.

All that she knew was that she needed to rein in her composure. A few steady deep breaths were enough to keep her from hyperventilating. Her frantic thoughts settled, becoming more coherent.

(Ok. Let's just…gather what I do know. I woke up in a tree in the middle of a forest. I'm in the body of a Pokémon. And…it's morning. It rained yesterday. The tree is still damp. But, I don't remember there being any rain. I don't…I…)

The leaves shifted above here head. It brushed her ears. The Meowth opened her eyes.

Silence lingered as she listened. She would try to brush it off as the wind, but no gentle breeze would be strong enough to—

Ee-eree-errre!

Screeching pierced through her eardrums. Her paws slammed against them in reflex.

Why was it so ungodly loud?

Something heavy slammed against the right side of her body.

She didn't feel the branch beneath her anymore. She slipped. She screamed. Her paws slammed on the trunk that was nearly a blur in front of her. Claws stabbed through the bark, and the weight of her body sent blisters of pain through the tips of her paws. The splitting headache tore through her skull. She clenched her teeth tight to keep herself from screaming.

Secure. She was secure. It hurt, but she was no longer falling.

One look down, and she was still high above ground.

"Okay…o-okay." She took a deep breath. "This is not okay— Why is this happening?! What did I do?! Oh, gods what did I—"

Something swept over her head, and it rammed against her right side again. Her claws tore through more bark as her body was pushed down.

"Nononono!"

She wanted to climb back up before she fell, but it meant releasing her secure hold. What if she slipped? Her arms were already protesting against her own weight. If she tried to move—

The third blow was strong enough to send her claws through the bark like butter. Her entire body was slipping.

"NONONONONO!"

She lost her grip.

The air rushed through her fur. The ground drew closer. She could only scream, but it was muffled as she plowed through a bush instead. The angry leaves snagged her fur but failed to cling on as she plummeted deeper into the overgrowth.

The ground felt no better. Discarded leaves piled there, stabbing her throbbing body. She grunted as the throbbing in her head doubled. She was still breathing.

(I'm still alive…?)

She was sure that a fall like that would bring anyone to their end. Instead, her entire body ached. Nothing felt broken, which was the second most surprising thing. Perhaps the bush did cushion her fall, but she was sure her body should have snapped right through it…

Her body.

(I'm in a smaller body now…right. I guess…big falls don't hurt as much…)

She decided she could lay there until the attacks stopped. At least she was on the ground, with the trade-off being a promised sledgehammer of a full-body ache. But, hiding inside a thorn bush was beginning to look like a good idea.

Something sharp snipped at her leg. She shrieked and leapt out, but her weight was pulled back to the ground instead. Pain strained from her tailbone. Something was pulled that wasn't supposed to be. Her mind couldn't fix on what. There was nothing there that made sense…

…until she looked back.

"A tail…I… I-I…of course I would have a…"

Her mind almost went blank. She reached out a single paw. It was almost recoiled back before she remembered it belonged to her.

She touched the tail. She felt it. It felt her touch. It was real.

It was truly real.

A sharp hiss from the bush sent her heart into a wild pulse. She pulled at the tail, but the thorny leaves did not let go.

The leaves further in the cluster were moving in waves. They parted closer towards her.

"No," she whispered. "Stay away…! Come on…! Let go…!"

The Meowth pulled harder. The bush's grasp did not release her. The rustling increased in volume. She pulled again.

Her body flew back. She hit the ground with a grunt.

A body lunged out from the bush. She met a pair of angry red eyes.

A Rattata. A strange one with a matted dark coat. It stood on two legs and hissed at her. But it thankfully retreated back inside. One less problem to worry about. The Meowth staggered away from the bush, feeling the sting in her—tail. A tail.

She looked over her shoulder. The tail moved on its own, arched towards the ground and between her legs. Even as she turned around, it didn't lose its position.

Ee-eree-errre!

She had forgotten.

The angry cries of her previous attacker was above, and at last, the culprit who had knocked her down was identified.

A Starly, and it dove towards her.

She ran. In an instant, she staggered and fell flat on her face. It took for her to scramble back to her feet that she realized how unnatural her body felt. Her legs were shorter than what she was used to. The length of her arms confused her. She wasn't running as fast as she would have liked.

A blur of an object dove behind her.

The Meowth ducked her head, and she fell on the ground again. The bird whizzed past before it shot back into the skies.

If only it would retreat. But it wouldn't. For what reason, the Meowth wasn't trying to find out.

On her feet again, she stumbled through the pine-needled floor. Several times she would step on her own feet, or her legs would cross over. She would flail and she would fall. The Starly was hot on her tail. She told herself to keep moving.

The Starly dove again. The Meowth was slammed on her left side. The impact sent her to the ground, but she climbed back to her feet just as fast. The bird circled the sky again. The routine was growing annoying.

"What the heck is wrong with you?! I'm not in the trees anymore! Leave me alone!"

The Pokémon attacked again. After landing a couple more hits, the victim had enough and made another run for it.

Ahead, the pine trees clustered together into a dense forest. The darkness beyond the entrance was the perfect cover from the attacker, but at the same time, she already didn't know where she was going. How could she know if it is safe?

A loud cry from the Starly was persuasive enough.

The Meowth rushed past the trees. The angry screeching of the starling faded out as she went in deeper. The sunlight started to dim, and the air grew thick, but the Starly didn't dare to pursue her.

She fell face-first to the cool ground. For a while, she lied there, as she found it to be the most comfortable place to be ever since she woke up.

Then she felt a flare of fear. She shot up quicker than she thought possible as she felt for the coin. It wasn't damaged. Thank goodness it wasn't—

(Wait. Why am I worried about that stupid thing? The Starly was—)

It was nowhere to be seen.

The Starly had given up. Its angry cries were no longer heard. The Meowth could finally sit with her thoughts without anymore interruptions.

Only, there was a new problem.

Where was the path she took to get where she was?

She stood and turned. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. The pine trees were clustered, far too clustered to be considered normal. Their branches were intertwined into endless knots, blocking out any sunlight from spilling through them. The only source of sunlight was coming from above.

Above—which stretched far higher than any tree the Meowth was sure she had ever seen. The twisted branches extended their fingers towards the sky, desperate for some sort of escape.

"Oh no…"

Just as she was.

To be Continued in Chapter 2.