Imagine Ch.4: The Dream!

Dream Forest – Sky:

"Please help us down guys!" Ruby yelled from up in the tree. As it turned out, the glimpse of trees we saw through the portal wasn't exactly at ground level. Serena and I had made it to the forest floor safely; however, Ruby and Ryan weren't so lucky. The two had gotten stuck on top of one of the tall, flat-topped trees with seemingly no way down. Luckily, the trees in the area had a peculiar way with foliage. It seemed as though the entire treetop was a solid mass of leaves, rather than the usual bunch of branches and flimsy foliage. By all means the two were ok, but Ruby looked about ready to faint.

"Alright guys, hold on!" I shouted back as best I could. Despite my best efforts, my voice just didn't carry as well as it usually did, and no matter how I tried, I couldn't seem to amplify it any further. Rather than waste any more time, I raised my paw up towards the tree and paused before making a swift downwards motion with it. Immediately afterward, a ripple appeared near the top of the tree before a trail of rainbows began spiraling down to the ground, connecting in strange ways until they stopped right in front of me. It wasn't until about a minute later that I realized that they had created a slide. "Ok. Not what I intended, but it works!" I pressed my pads down on the rainbow's surface just in case. Sure enough, it was solid! "Ok guys! You're good to go!" We ended up sitting there for a full ten minutes waiting for them to slide down. Apparently, Ruby had a fierce fear of heights, and it didn't help that the slide was so steep. Regardless, Ryan took the time to convince her to slide down with him, at which point we were able to meet up and regroup.

Ryan sighed. "Man, this place is weird. What's with these trees? They're like mushrooms!" He shuddered and adjusted his scarf. "Not that I'm complaining. We would've had it a lot worse if we had to cling to branches."

"Ryan, I'm a guy who can create things from my imagination and shapeshift on a whim." I flexed my claws for emphasis. "I think mushroom-shaped trees are the least of our problems." I chuckled.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, I get it. You're a cat, now." He glanced around, overwhelmed. "So, uh. Any idea what we're doing? What exactly did that girl do?"

I turned and examined the path ahead. "I say we just walk that way until we find something." I suggested, leading to a series of less than enthusiastic frowns from my companions. "What?"

"Sky, we don't know anything about this place. We can't just explore it blindly." Serena glanced around, seemingly looking for signs of a path. "If only there were a path to follow." The rosy vulpix sighed. "Any ideas, Ruby?"

Ruby padded along ahead, dipping a paw gingerly into the plush grass of the open woodland. The blades had an eerie glow to them, as if infused with some kind of energy. Multicolored motes of light sprung into the air at her touch, prompting her to step back. "At least it's pretty." She glanced back. "It's not like we have any other choice. Let's go with Sky's plan."

I grinned. Finally someone wanted to go with my plan! "Alright! Seems like we're in agreement!" I padded along to join Ruby, signaling for the others to follow with my tail. "Come on! We can't keep the town waiting all day!"

"We'd better not be headed to our deaths." Ryan sighed, taking the initiative over Serena and joining up with Ruby. "At least it doesn't look that dangerous. We travel through the woods to school all the time."

"That's true..." Serena admitted. "Fine. I suppose if we don't have a choice." The sapphire-eyed vulpix strode ahead to join us. "Well Sky. Lead the way!"

I nodded and took the lead, taking the first step into the grass ahead as the others trailed just slightly behind. The motes of light only seemed to increase in number as we walked, as if our weight contributed to their release from the energized grass. It wasn't an unwelcomed sight; however, I found myself hoping it wouldn't stick the whole way. It was enough to be distracting, and the last thing we needed in an unfamiliar location was distracting lights. Something that would become immediately apparent as, after some time of travel, we approached what could only be described as a bottomless pit. There seemed to be nothing connecting the two sides of the chasm, nor were there any apparent means of crossing it. No bridges could be seen for miles, nor did I fancy our chances of knocking down one of the nearby trees.

Ryan plopped down on the ground, the honey-eyed riolu taking the opportunity to do some stretches. "Great. Now how are we gonna fix the tree?"

"Relax Ryan. Getting across this chasm should be a piece of cake. I just need to create a bridge." I reassured him as I turned towards the chasm's edge. "Not that I've done that before, but I'll try." I made a lifting gesture with my foreleg, yet nothing seemed to happen. Not a single apparition, nor shift in the landscape resulted from the action to my dismay. "Hmm... Maybe one more time." I repeated the gesture several times, but to no avail. I turned around and shrugged. "It's not working." I sighed. "Come to think of it, that slide from earlier was meant to be made of ice, not rainbows. I think this place is interfering with my abilities."

Serena looked at me thoughtfully. "Can you create a snowball?" She asked.

"A snow ball? Why?" I frowned. By all means, a simple request like that should still be possible, but I couldn't fathom how that'd help us out.

Serena shook her head. "Just trust me. I've got an idea."

I shrugged. "If you say so." I created yet another snowball. As luck would have it, the powdery substance remained unaltered by the strange realm's effects. "Here we are." I grinned. "At least I can still do this much. Now what?"

"Try throwing it over the chasm." She instructed. "I have a hunch, but we need something of yours we can throw. Just try it." She urged.

I didn't quite understand what she was getting at, but nevertheless I balanced the snowball between my forepaws and threw it the best I could towards the chasm. Oddly enough, it broke apart right as it was about to start flying above the pit, as if there were some sort of barrier there. "What the..."

"Just as I thought. Sky!" Serene puffed her chest out proudly. "I think there's some sort of barrier over the chasm that prevents your powers from affecting the area inside of it. It looks like we'll have to find some other way to cross this thing." She explained. The explanation felt cobbled together at best, but sounded right enough. If it was true, I had even greater questions to ask about my powers, something I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about.

"You mean it's blocking my powers? Like that snivy from before?" I shook my head. "Geez. And here I was thinking they were special." I snickered, a flashing the others a mock-pout. "Well how do you think we're gonna get over there? If that area is a dead zone for my powers, I can't fly us over the chasm. And I'm pretty sure we shouldn't climb down there. That uh...purple stuff doesn't look healthy." I asked, pointing a paw down at the poisonous looking substance at the bottom of the chasm. For all we knew, it wasn't even tangible! The moment I reached over the chasm, however, my paw began to lift against my will, as if some force was pushing it upward. "What?" I yanked it back and stared warily back at the pit. "Was that wind?"

Serena grabbed my outstretched paw and took a close look at the fur, which had fluffed out in response to its exposure to the chasm. "I'd say so. It looks like you just blow dried it." She giggled. "Oh! Speaking of, have you ever done that?" She inquired. "Curious about how much you know of fur care."

"Not uh..." I frowned, the thought never having crossed my mind. "I've never really given it thought, no." I shrugged. "I just transform back whenever it gets messy."

"Shame." The rosy vulpix pouted. "Come on! You have to let me show you later! You can never go wrong with a good makeover. You'd be surprised how great a good dry feels after a soak." Her tails swished about excitedly as she spoke. "I'll even show you how to brush your fur." She clapped her paws enthusiastically. Somehow I doubted there weren't strings attached. "How bout it? I promise I won't prank you with makeup!" Now I was even more suspicious of the vixen.

"Maybe later." I nodded. "Let's just focus on the chasm for now." Before I could make another comment; however, the vulpix tackled me over the edge of the chasm. Instead of plummeting down to the purple substance below; however, we found ourselves thrown off balance as the ground lifted up from beneath our feet. A feeling of weightlessness came over me as a rush of warm air encompassed my form, supporting the two of us as we practically hovered across the length of the chasm. "What the!" I searched frantically for something to grab onto but failed miserably. The only thing I found was a strange railing near the other side of the Chasm. It was like the safety rails that most city walkways and stairwells had, but impossibly thin, and anchored to one side of the chasm by a single pole. "I think I found our way back!" I shouted over the rush of the wind as we landed in a tumble at the other end of the chasm, pointing out the rail to Serena. "I don't know what that thing's about, but we'll find out!"

Serena simply giggled in response. "Sounds good." She nodded. "Sorry about that, Sky. That snowball traveled way higher than it should, especially when thrown by a quadruped. And the look of your fur was all the proof I needed." She poked at my foreleg. "Speaking of..." She giggled. "You're lucky you don't have a mirror."

"Don't need one." I returned the gesture. "That's an interesting fur style." I giggled. "That being said, if a blow drier feels half as good as that air current, I suppose I might take you up on the offer." I stood up and dusted off my fur, then glanced back at the others. "Hey! Ruby, Ryan! It's safe!"

Ruby was way ahead of me; however, having leapt over the chasm with Ryan shouting alongside her. Something told me she'd pushed him, but I didn't have to wait to validate my suspicions. The riolu landed with a soft thud in the grass beyond the chasm, and he looked about ready to puke. "Ugh. I wasn't ready, Ruby." He coughed. "Just because Serena does it, doesn't mean you should."

Ruby simply peppered the riolu's cheek with her scarlet-furred tail. "Relax! It was fun." She giggled. "Certainly more fun than crashing into trash cans. And, mind you, you invented that sport~" She teased, then padded along ahead to search for a clue to the path ahead. "So what now?" She pondered. "We've got to be close."

I pondered her question for a moment while I observed the previous area from my new position. "Hmm..." I sounded. Suddenly my eye caught sight of something strange behind some bushes. "Hey! Check behind those bushes over there! There's something behind them!" Pushing through the foliage, aside from an abundance of blinding motes of light, we came across a clearing with a small slope, atop which something seemed to shine. It was a bight light, brighter than that of even the grass motes. The only thing shielding our eyes from its harshness was the foliage of the trees, which had, thankfully, grown so lo in this region that they could practically be climbed with a short hop!

"That it?" Ryan shielded his eyes with a paw. "I kinda expected our destination to be darker, ya know?" He seemed almost disappointed. "For a dark void, this place has been too pretty. Where's all of the danger?" He paused, raising his paws in front of himself in response to the strange looks he'd received from the others. "Not that I wanted it to be dangerous, but I expected something cooler!"

"I wouldn't count out the danger just yet." Ruby strolled along the path, making her way up the slope backwards. "Come on! Like you said before, we don't have time to sit around!" She called back. "And don't blind yourselves! Do what I'm doing!"

"Backwards?" I shuddered. "Uhh..." I twirled about, stumbling over my own paws as I struggled to take a single step. "Wait up!" I called over my shoulder. "Never done this before!"

Serena came to my rescue, using her flank to support me as she forced me to stop. "It's just the usual, but backwards." She marched in place, making broad stroking motions to demonstrate walking, then reversing said motions. "It's a bit different with your hind legs, but stick with me." She giggled, forcing me along with her as she took a step backward. Slowly but surely, we made our way up the slope, the light growing brighter with each step until we came to a stop at the peak of the hill. The light was so intense at this point that we were forced to look downward.

"Can't you do something about that light, Sky?" Ryan groaned. "We're not getting anything done this way!"

I was already on it. The moment he finished his sentence, an umbrella made up of thick, black tarp-like material formed between the riolu's paws. He didn't hesitate in raising it above our heads, allowing us a clearer view of what lie beyond the light's source, which was...not much. Not far from the slope, the forest appeared to stop as yet another chasm opened up ahead. This one was different; however. Light seemed to bend and twist before the chasm, as if a prismatic barrier had been erected just before the drop. Not a single tree could be seen beyond the edge of the chasm. In fact, there didn't appear to be another side to it at all! There was nothing but the sickly purple liquid for miles.

"What's that?" Ruby shifted her gaze to just behind the light source. Directly in our path, half-buried in the dirt of the slope was a peculiar purple crystal. As if in response to the light source above our heads, the crystal appeared to flash to life with an eerie purple glow, before immediately flickering out. Each time its light died out, the ground beneath our paws shook softly, as if the crystal itself were throwing a tantrum. "That our target?"

I padded forward and attempted to place my paw on the crystal's slick surface, only to recoil in pain as the crystal delivered an electrical shock. "What the?" I shook my paw, wincing as the fur of my foreleg stood on end. "It's definitely not safe!"

"Really?" Ruby asked. Despite my warnings, the scarlet-tailed fennekin strolled up to the crystal tested her luck with it herself. Curiously, unlike the harsh treatment that my pads had received, the fennekin's paw remained unscathed as she climbed atop its surface and stood proudly, her prettied mane swaying in the breeze as she smirked my way. "Guess I've been chosen, hmm?" She danced about on her paws a bit before staring down at the crystal's eerie surface. A darkened reflection of the fennekin's honey-yellow tufts and ruby-red eyes stared back at her. Lucky her. "What should I do?"

"Well..." I thought back to the appearance of Ho-oh's feather and its strangle hold over the void. Its brilliant shine had a remarkable resemblance to the glowing object above our heads. At the same time, the void, while not purple, hadn't been the brightest thing in the world. "Maybe this is a physical representation of the void we entered?" I offered. "Think about it. It's struggling against that light. Maybe that's the light of the feather!" I grinned. "Either way, you're the only one who can touch the thing. It's up to you."

Serena approached Ruby with a worried look about her muzzle. "Wait! What happens if we destroy the void while we're here?" She shuffled her paws nervously. "Let's think through this carefully."

Ruby shook her head. "Not a chance!" She grinned. The enthusiasm exuding from the fennekin was almost intoxicating. "Come on, Serena! This is our first adventure together!" She glanced back down at the crystal. "I won't accept any excuses." She reared back a forepaw, ready to strike at its cracked surface. Curiously, as she did so, her forepaw seemed to shift similar to the prismatic barrier ahead. It was only for a split second, but for a moment it looked as if all color and form had left her paw as she slammed it down on the crystal. In response, the gemstone began to crackle with energy for the last time as its surface-level cracks began to fissure. Then, in the blink of an eye, all that remained of the thing were tiny, black shards. "Whew!" Ruby shouted. It seemed not even the shards were safe. The moment the crystal shattered, familiar motes of light began to swarm the area beneath the fennekin's paws. Then, as if they had minds of their own, they vanished, leaving nothing but loose soil in their place. "Guess that's that!"

Serena shook her head. "Just one question. How do we get out of here?"

It was then that Ryan lowered the umbrella. In place of the blinding light that occupied the space above our heads earlier was now a similar portal to the one we'd entered at the tree. It was oriented in a vertical fashion; however, it was no higher than any of us could jump. "Hey!" The amber-eyed riolu shouted, pointing to the portal above. "I think I might've found it!"

Fermata Town - Melody Tree:

After a moment's struggle spent climbing shoulders and hopping through the portal, we finally made it out. Despite being a completely different portal, our exit took us directly back to the base of the Melody tree, albeit in a messy heap upon the ground. "Oof!" Ruby huffed, scrambling to free herself from beneath Ryan and Serena. "It couldn't have been an exit we could walk through?" She slipped out from under the two 'mon and began to dust off her fur. "Come on! I just tidied my fur up this morning." She pouted.

"Speak for yourself." Ryan groaned. Out of the four of us, the riolu's fur had held up the least. It was matted in several places by sweat and dirt, and had yet to recover from our trip across the windy chasm. "I'm gonna need at least an hour in the shower to clean this up." He sighed.

Ruby shot him a teasing grin. "I told you conditioner is important!" She snickered. "It's ok. I'll let ya borrow some of mine. Now, get off my girl!" She nudged the riolu forward, if only to get him off of Serena.

"Oh shoot!" He scrambled to the side on his rear. "Sorry Serena!" He apologized profusely, stumbling to his paws as if she might retaliate; however, the rosy-pelted vulpix simply rose to her paws and dusted off her fur.

"Relax." She giggled. "I've got too much fur shielding me for a riolu to cause any damage." She hugged her six tails to her chest for emphasis. Each tail had more fur than the mane of most eevee, yet they still managed to maintain the iconic curls of a vulpix. "That being said..." She glanced out to the courtyard, finding it mostly empty. "Loyal crowd, huh?" She chuckled.

"You can't expect them to just stand here. We were gone for a while." Ruby sighed. "A lot of them were students, and as much as I detest Burn, the guy has parents." She crossed her forelegs. "They were probably worried about the attack."

"Aha! What's this I spot?" Ruby bent down and salvaged something from the base of the tree. Curiously, it looked like a shard from that chunk of rock back in the void world. "A treasure for me." She flashed the obsidian-like find before our group. "Or, perhaps a doubloon fit for the mightiest of explorers!" The fennekin twisted her voice as if to mimic a pirate. Fancy, but not what we needed right now. Something told me she'd be fun on the road. That is, if we got to travel at all.

"Sky!" A familiar voice exclaimed and, before I could turn to address it, I was swiftly pulled into one of the tighter hugs I'd experienced as a sprigatito. Was it normal to choke on your own fur? "Are you ok?! Don't worry me like that again young man!" My mom scolded me as she continued to hug me. "Where were you? I heard there was an attack on the Melody tree!"

"Mom! You promised you wouldn't call me that in public!" I whined in response to the giggling I heard around me.

She pulled away and sighed. "Sorry sweetie. I was just so worried about you." The golden-scaled servine shrugged her leafy arms. "Besides, I heard from Summer that you agreed to make that name public. I'd assume everyone knows by now, Sweetie." She smiled sympathetically. By all means it wasn't her fault, but I felt as if she somehow blamed herself.

"I mean, she did say it in front of the whole town." Serena confirmed, meeting me with an encouraging smile. "Besides, they'll have to forget about those bad rumors once they find out about this." The pink-tinted vulpix motioned to the tree with her tails. In place of the void from earlier was now perfectly healthy bark. The feather was still bound to the tree's trunk; however, Ryan was able to pull it out with ease.

"Think we should keep this?" He stared curiously at the feather's golden plumes. "Maybe it'll work if we come across a void like that again?"

"Ah! Speaking of." My mother cut in. "I'm not just here because I was worried. Obsidian asked me to come get you when you returned." She huffed. "Can you believe the gal? He didn't even consult your poor mother before crafting up some rescue plan for the tree." She shook her head. "In any case, you're safe and that's all that matters." Her smile returned as she stood. "And yes, Ryan. Keep the feather!" She called to the riolu. "Aside from your suspicions, the mayor believes it to be a clue of some sort." She shook her head. "The theories that lucario crafts up. I swear." She sighed. "Nonetheless, he has a proposal for you. Come along, kits!" She waved her tail, signaling for us to follow as she made her way down the hillside.

"A proposal?" I glanced at Serena. "What do you think it is?"

Serena shook her head. "Whatever it is, you'll have to let me know afterward." She eyed the three of us apologetically. "Sorry, but I just can't face him. Not after..."

Ruby placed a paw to her muzzle to quiet her. "Shh!" She shook her head. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to." She grinned. "Come on. We just completed our first successful mission together! It's time to report in!"

Fermata Town Hall:

No matter how many times I'd been invited to the mayor's office, it never seemed to ease my nerves. Of course, I'd only been here twice, but nonetheless. I felt the fur on the back of my neck prickling up as we sat before the lucario, waiting for the mayor to divulge his request. Just then, Summer entered the room and sat next to Ruby, giving Obsidian a stern look. Something told me that even she hadn't been cued in on his plans. "Well then." He began. "Seeing as our beloved tree has returned to normal, I believe that you have saved it, and for that I must thank you." He smiled. "Now, on to more pressing issues." The lucario's expression shifted from one of elation to one of frustration.

"Pressing issues?" I inquired. "More pressing than the tree?"

The lucario nodded. "Yes. There have been reports of similar occurrences to what you just witnessed happening all over the continent. Reports of distorted trees, landscapes and buildings. Even water seems to be affected." He frowned. "Ordinarily, this would be a problem we'd entrust to the guilds. There have been times in the past where the rulers of this continent have organized joint efforts with guilds from Veralos to help with disasters, crime rings and the like. Unfortunately, it seems that not only are those guilds overworked at this time, but the only leads we have involving the voids are the Ho-oh feather and your abilities." He shook his head.

My eyes went wide with the news. "You mean this is happening all over the place?! How?!"

He sighed. "That's just it. We don't know. We only have you and your experiences to go off of." He tapped his desk impatiently. "That being said, Meladi has been investing heavily in the creation of an exploration team federation of our own in recent years." The mayor lucario pointed a paw to a framed picture of a castle on the wall. It was in black and white and slightly faded, but nonetheless it was a depiction of Aria Castle in the city of Conifer, the capital of Meladi. "If you choose to accept, I would have you make way for Conifer and apply for enrollment in their guild. Unfortunately, I don't have the power to guarantee you a spot, but seeing as they're currently strapped for new recruits, it shouldn't be too hard for you to make a good impression." He flashed a reassuring smile. "From there, you need only ask the Guildmaster, Broadleaf for assistance. He's an acquaintance of mine, though sadly we haven't kept in touch as of late. That leafeon could smooth-talk even the most stubborn of criminals into giving a confession. I have no doubts that he could convince the royals to grant you access to some of the more restricted areas of our continent. And, perhaps, offer you their assistance. They may not have your abilities, but a couple hundred guards and explorers scouting the land for voids is much more efficient than the four of you seeking them out one by one."

"So you're suggesting we send these kits off into the world, alone, on the suspicion that Sky's powers can put a stop to whatever madness is afflicting our land?" Summer slammed her paws on the lucario's desk. "They haven't even graduated school, Obsidian. And what of our daughter?" She growled. "No! I won't have it." She glared daggers at the lucario. "How well do you suppose it will go over with the guild if they find out these kits were sent half the kingdom over with no supervision? No matter who the guildmaster is, they won't even consider the request. It's irresponsible!"

He nodded, a calm expression about his muzzle. "I've considered that myself. It just so happens that Evelyn is nearing her end of term here in Fermata. This was to be her last year teaching." He shook his head. "As you know, she has duties abroad. And seeing as Ruby will be involved, I figured it best we send her off early." He shook his head. "That being said, you're right. There will be some lack of supervision. Evelyn won't be able to leave immediately. There is still paperwork to attend to before she'll be allowed onto a boat to Veralos, but it stands to reason that she'll be able to catch up with the kits before they so much as set foot beyond our neck of the woods. As such, it stands to reason that the proper course of action would be to have the kits head for our neighboring village, Timbre." He smiled. While his response seemed to satisfy Summer, if only by a little, it caught Ruby off guard.

"You're sending Mom home early?" She gasped. "That's not!"

"She won't be leaving alone." Obsidian cut her off. "It has always been Evelyn's goal to move back to Veralos with her family once you were finished with school." He shook his head. "As Veralos is primarily concerned with exploration, opportunities for schooling are hardly a concern there. Most children are homeschooled there, and though I certainly can't speak for your mother's intentions, Ruby, I believe a more structured environment is what she believed you deserved." He shook his head. "That being said, you have family oversees that you haven't seen. And, of course, explorers are no strangers to travelling oversees. I've no doubts that your friends will be able to join you."

Ruby didn't seem to be completely convinced, but she didn't argue any further.

"So it's an adventure then?" Ryan couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes, despite the conflicting feelings in his friend's eyes. "If we're going to be explorers, I'm in!"

I glanced at my mother over my shoulder. "Mom?" The servine simply nodded her approval. "Well, if my mom and Serena aren't opposed, then I'm in too. We'll obviously have to discuss it with her..." I paused awkwardly when the lucario avoided meeting my gaze. "Oh, but I'm sure she'll say yes. I think she's always wanted to go on an adventure!" I quickly followed.

Summer nodded. "If that's the case, I'll be the one to discuss things with my daughter." She smiled her thanks at me before standing up and leaving the room.

Obsidian cleared his throat. "In any case, if you do choose to heed my advice, head for Timbre Village!" He paused. "Oh! And don't wander too far from it. Evelyn will need to catch up, after all." He glanced at Ryan. "And please do listen to her, Ryan. She's still your teacher!"

Ryan audibly gulped. "Y-Yessir!"