This is a story I had wanted to do for quite a long time, and thus I'm glad to finally have finished it. If I remember correctly I got the idea somewhere around autumn 2006 and ever since that point in time I kept thinking about its details and what I wanted to include. In January or February I finally started writing it, and... Yeah, once again it took me more than three months to finish it. In any way, this story is different from the others I uploaded to this site, as it is very surreal and contains a lot of symbolism. There is, of course, a certain meaning or message, which shouldn't be too hard to figure out; still, it's open for interpretation, so there are probably a lot of things you can get out of it if you just think about it for long enough. Well, that should be enough introduction. Please enjoy this unusual, surreal story.


PLEASE NOTE: I do not own Pokémon, and I have to say that I'm kind of proud of it, because the idea of capturing animal-like creatures to make them fight each other is pretty sick, actually. Whatever, every species of Pokémon referred to in the following text is the property of their rightful owner, however, the actual story belongs to me. 



WARNING: This story contains scenes of sexual intercourse between one female and one male Pokémon. If this offends you, then I ask you politely to leave right now; I will not be held responsible for any possible occurrences of mental damage you might experience from reading this.

Thank you.


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One Day. One Eternity.





The fog was so dense that Dawn could barely make out her own paws right in front of her face. Then again, even if the air had been clear, she probably wouldn't have been able to see anything, either, as it was the darkest of nights. Dawn didn't know whether it was cloudy or if the light coming from the stars and the moon just got swallowed by the thick forest canopy above her head, which she, of course, only assumed was there, since the fog kept her from finding out the truth. However, she was certain to be in a forest, as her hind paws sometimes rather painfully made contact with roots. In spite of this being her natural habitat, it was still impossible for the young Grovyle to orientate herself. Her eyes were basically useless because of the thick darkness enveloping her, and trying to hear anything didn't work, either. There were absolutely no sounds in these woods, except for the steady noise of her hind paws brushing across the leaves covering the ground. To an extent, it was scary; then again, no noise meant there could be nothing in the forest that'd be able to harm her. Still, the silence irritated her somewhat. She wasn't used to not hearing anything and it made her feel nervous not to know what lay before her.
Dawn had been walking for quite a while now, and she was starting to feel tired. Her movements had become increasingly sluggish and lifting her hind paws seemed to be a lot harder than it had been some time ago. Unable to pay attention to the ground, she suddenly tumbled over a root and promptly fell, hitting the ground with a dull noise. She growled lowly; even though it hadn't really hurt because of the layer of leaves covering the earth it still made her angry that she had become so clumsy. The Grovyle slowly stood up again and stretched her neck with a soft sigh. Trying to continue on through the woods was useless in her exhausted state; sooner or later she'd fall again and maybe even injure herself. Not willing to take such a risk she slowly turned around, keeping her paws stretched out in front of her chest in the attempt to find something in the thick fog; after a short moment she noticed the familiar feeling of bark. Dawn smiled to herself and stepped up to the tree in front of her. Its trunk seemed to be thick and strong, and as far as she was able to tell it had to be a rather high tree. In spite of her exhaustion she began climbing nimbly, the short claws at the end of her paws digging into the bark. Within just a second she had already reached the lowest branch, and yet she kept going up higher. She just wouldn't feel safe sleeping too close to the ground, no matter how silent and lifeless this forest seemed to be. When she spotted a strong branch hanging in an acceptable height she sat down on it, giving her aching hind paws a well needed rest. Dawn closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back against the trunk. In a moment she would lie down right where she was with her claws dug into the bark as deeply as possible, and then she could finally get some sleep... Her last rest now seemed like it had been an eternity ago. The Grovyle opened her eyes again, but before she could lower her gaze to the branch beneath her she noticed something else. It was almost impossible to tell because of the fog, but Dawn was sure she had seen something; something bright, deep within the thick darkness in front of her. She slowly made her way along the branch, and indeed it became easier for her to see. There definitely was something that glinted in the darkness, and it seemed to come from the ground. For a moment Dawn wasn't sure whether she should investigate it or not, since she was extremely tired, after all. Then again, maybe it was something dangerous, something that could take the chance and kill her while she slept? She had to find out about this light, or else she wouldn't be able to properly rest anyway. The Grovyle did her best to memorize the direction out of which it had come, and then jumped off of the branch.
Although she had not been able to see the ground she still landed safely and without making any loud noise except for a slight rustling of the leaves beneath her hind paws. As she had predicted, she wasn't able to see the light from here. But since she still knew where it had come from, the Grovyle could quickly draw closer to it, paying attention to keep her hasty steps as silent as possible. After a few moments she could see it again; it flickered slightly, it became stronger and weaker, but it never went out. As she further approached it, her tempo slowed down. If this was something dangerous, it'd definitely be a bad idea to arouse its attention, but she felt like there was no going back now. She had to find out what this thing was, or else her curiosity would kill her. The closer she got to the light, the thinner the fog seemed to become, as if it needed the darkness of the night to exist. And before she knew it, Dawn had clear sight on the source of light. It was a small lantern hanging from the top of a wooden pole that was stuck in the ground, and it served to illuminate a rather large, circular area. But what caught her attention now was the male human sitting on a fallen tree trunk next to the pole.
He was wearing something like a robe, which covered his whole body. It was of a simple grey hue, had a silky brace, which had a darker grey color, around the waist, and from what Dawn could tell it even had a hood, which the human, however, did not have on his head, so that his silvery hair was visible, slightly shining in the light of the lantern. In spite of this particular feature he seemed to be fairly young; Dawn only had a very basic knowledge of humans, but she was able to tell that he probably hadn't been considered an adult for too long yet. The human had his torso bent forward as he seemed to concentrate on the open book he was keeping in his lap. Because of this, the Grovyle was unable to see his face.
After having examined him for a short moment Dawn suddenly noticed she was standing there without any kind of cover. But for some reason, she didn't feel like it was necessary for her to hide. The human seemed not to be dangerous to her, which made her feel calm and serene. Instead of running away the Grovyle further approached until she was standing right in front of him. Looking up, she was now able to see his eyes; they were gray, just like his robe and his hair. His facial features were somehow inexpressive; there was nothing exactly special about them, everything seemed to be pretty average. Letting her gaze wander from his face to the book in his lap, which had a red, blank cover, she blinked in surprise. Dawn knew what letters looked like and she could even read, but the pages just appeared to be covered with strange symbols that didn't make any sense to her. She looked up at the human with a questioning expression. He shrugged.

"I don't know, either," he said. "I can't read it." His voice was calm and sounded somehow mature, which was in contrast to his otherwise young appearance. Dawn answered with nothing but a confused look. Trying to talk to him would be useless anyway, as humans couldn't understand Pokémon language.

"It's not mine," he spoke in a tone of voice that made it seem as if this would explain everything. And indeed, the expression in his eyes showed the Grovyle that he wouldn't give her any more information on this subject. She kept her gaze locked with his for a moment and then turned back to the book again, trying to decipher the strange symbols. They seemed completely random to her; some of them were squiggly, others edged, and they also varied in size.

"What's your name?" she heard the human ask, still feeling his gaze resting on her as she kept examining the book with her eyes only.

"It's Dawn", she replied absentmindedly, forgetting about the language barrier for a second.

"No, it's night." Dawn looked up at the human again. He was smiling at her, but even this warm expression didn't take her attention off of the fact that his face looked strange. Everything seemed to be smooth and even, artificial in some way... As if he was wearing a mask. But that wasn't what the Grovyle was focusing on right now.

"You understand me?" she asked in a surprised tone. The human nodded; he didn't appear to be surprised at all.

"Dawn..." he repeated slowly, "that's a beautiful name. Why don't you tell me what you're doing out here, all alone in the woods?" Dawn blinked. Her surprise still hadn't worn off.

"Why don't you tell me first why you can understand me?" she countered, the long leaf hanging from the back of her head shaking a little. The human gave a slight chuckle.

"Oh, I can do a lot of things which others can't..." he replied in a tone as if it didn't really matter. "Now that you're here there will probably be a lot of things you won't understand, so I propose you don't even ask in the first place. Just accept them; otherwise you'll just become confused." While Dawn was thinking about whether or not to take this for an answer, he went on: "However, I might be able to help. Please, tell me the reason you're here... I'd really like to know." The Grovyle frowned, but responded after some time:

"I'm trying to reach Tomorrow." The human nodded.

"I already thought so," he said. Then he closed the book in his lap and sat upright, turning his head to look in a different direction. "Almost everyone wants to get there... I don't know why." He turned back to look at Dawn. "You're from Yesterday, aren't you?" Before she even had a chance to answer he continued: "That was a silly question, of course you are. Everyone who passes through here comes from Yesterday." Dawn just nodded as she thought that, the moment she'd open her mouth to speak, she would just get interrupted. What followed was a moment of silence.

"Why don't you have a companion?" the human asked. Dawn shrugged.

"I don't need one," she replied. "I can take care of myself." The human raised his eyebrows.

"Have you never heard of the Mist Monster?" he asked in an unbelieving tone. The Grovyle grinned.

"Of course I have," she said, "but that's just some old fairy tale, isn't it?" She looked back over her shoulder at the foggy wall through which she had come. "Someone probably just got lost in the woods, and then they started making up stories about a monster. Only children believe in things like that."

"I wouldn't be so sure about this, if I were you," the human said, making Dawn turn her attention towards him again. "A lot of people are talking about it, and all of them are adults, just like everyone in Today." Dawn shrugged.

"Just because a lot of people believe in something doesn't have to mean it's true," she argued. She then looked around demonstratively. "Besides, which people are you talking about? I haven't seen anyone since I arrived in Today, there's just a lot of fog and trees..." The human shook his head and she fell silent.

"You haven't arrived in Today yet," he lectured. "These are the woods of Tonight. They surround Today, forming a perfect circle around it." Dawn was surprised yet again.

"Really?" she asked. "That's not what my parents told me. They said..."

"Your parents only know the Today of their own time, Dawn," the human interrupted. "It was different back then, of course. Everything changes over time, except for maybe a few things that might be eternal..." He shook his head. "I shouldn't get started on that. Anyway, I really don't want to offend you, but you definitely should have brought a companion if you're trying to reach Tomorrow. Even if you don't believe in the Mist Monster it's unnecessary to tempt fate, isn't it?" The Grovyle turned her eyes to the ground and the leaves on her body drooped.

"Nobody was interested in going together with me," she mumbled lowly. "I had no choice but to try it on my own." From the corner of her eyes she saw the human's hand starting to caress the book's backside.

"Maybe you should have waited a little longer, then", he said in a soft tone so as not to make it sound like an accusation. Dawn shook her head rather vehemently.

"It was time for me to go." She looked up at the human's face again. There was a strange expression in his grey eyes that she couldn't really figure out. "Why are you looking at me like this?" The human sighed softly and then lowered his gaze.

"I just had to think about how everyone wants to get to Tomorrow as soon as possible," he replied. "I never understood why they're all in such a hurry. It can be really nice in Today if you just stay there for long enough, you know..." This was an unusual thing for Dawn to hear. Back in Yesterday, everyone had always said that reaching Tomorrow was the most important thing in the world, and that Today was a sad and miserable place where she should not stay for longer than absolutely necessary.

"What's it like, living in Today?" she wanted to know. The human smiled a little.

"It depends on where you live," he replied. "There are many interesting places... But I shouldn't tell you about them, I hardly think my words would be enough to describe them properly. But the train's going to arrive in a short time, then you'll be able to see it all for yourself." The Grovyle immediately took a look around. There were trees, there was fog... nothing else.

"Train?" she repeated, not believing what the human had just told her. He just nodded in response.

"It can get you to any place in Today or even the forest of Tonight rather quickly," he said. When it still didn't look like she was believing him, he added: "Remember, don't ask questions about this place. If you want to go to Tomorrow you don't really need to know anything about Today." Dawn opened her mouth to ask in spite of his words, but then just sighed.

"What's your name, anyway?" she wanted to know. "You haven't told it to me yet." The human nodded.

"You can call me Dusk." Once again, Dawn blinked in surprise; then she smiled.

"That's not your real name", she stated. The human shrugged.

"Well, if someone calls me by that name it should become at least real enough for me." The Grovyle shook her head.

"I don't think I understand," she began. "Why can't you just tell me the name other people know you by? Or maybe the name your parents gave you?" What she got in response was a soft smile and these words:

"Why should I? Don't you think knowing me as Dusk would be enough for you?" Dawn frowned.

"But if it's not your real name..."

"Since when does anyone get to decide what's real and what isn't?" he interrupted. "Really, this does not have to be complicated. Dusk is a nice name, isn't it?" Dawn nodded slowly. The human smiled. "In your reality, I will always be known as Dusk." The Grovyle wanted to say something in return, but then realized there was no point in extending this discussion. At least now she had a very basic idea of why she shouldn't try to understand things in Today. For a moment, there was silence. Dawn looked around once more, turning her head first to the left, then to the right. She still wondered where that train was supposed to come from.

"Can you hold this for a moment?" she heard Dusk's voice. "I need to get something to drink." She looked back at him and slowly took the closed book he handed her with her paws, being careful not to let them come in contact with his fingers. She didn't like it when strangers touched her. Dusk then turned his head and reached behind him with his right hand; the Grovyle stretched her neck and saw that behind the fallen tree he was sitting on there sat a small bag made from cloth. However, her attention was quickly turned to something else: Letters had suddenly appeared on the red cover of the book she was now holding. They were large and white, and they read: "Your Destiny". Dawn gasped in surprise, which made Dusk turn his head back to her.

"I something the matter?" he asked. The Grovyle wanted to answer his question, but then she thought it'd be better to let him see for himself. She turned the book around and showed it to him without saying anything. The human just shrugged.

"Is anything wrong with the book?" Dawn quickly looked at it again; the letters were still there.

"Can't you see it?" she asked in an unbelieving tone of voice. Dusk narrowed his eyes, seemingly trying very hard to spot something unusual on the cover of the book.

"What's there to see?" Once again, Dawn checked the front side of the book she was holding. It seemed completely impossible to her how anyone was supposed to miss those two large words.

"There are letters on it now!" she shouted excitedly, keeping her eyes on the red cover. Dusk was looking at the exact same place as she was. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" he didn't sound too surprised. "What do they say?" Dawn slowly shook her head, still not fully believing that she was seemingly the only one who could see the words.

"Your Destiny," she said, trying her best to keep her voice calm and stable. A small smile appeared on Dusk's face.

"Oh. I guess this means it's yours, then." He turned his head again and started rummaging through the bag behind him with his hand once more. Dawn blinked, futilely attempting to grasp the situation. She first kept staring at the book and then looked up at Dusk again, who had just taken a wooden bottle out of his bag. An old cork kept it shut. The human pulled it out with some effort and drank some of the bottle's content. When he lowered it from his lips again he chuckled.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Dawn shrugged.

"Because you're strange, I guess." It only served to make Dusk smile more.

"I'm strange?" he repeated. The Grovyle nodded in response. "What's strange about me?"

"Well, you're sitting out here in the woods, waiting for a train to appear out of nowhere with a book you can't read, you can understand what I say, and now you're not even the least bit surprised that this book..." she shook her head, searching for words, "...reacts towards me! And what did you just say? It's mine?" Dusk shrugged.

"Yes, that's what I said." The look he received from Dawn made it clear that she wasn't going to settle for this, so he continued: "You can read what it says and I can't. And it seems to contain your destiny, doesn't it? So why should I keep it? It'll be much more useful to you than it could ever be to me." The Grovyle frowned.

"It contains my destiny?" she repeated, trying to understand what these words actually meant. The human nodded.

"Yes. Whenever you're in doubt about what you should do, just ask this book about it. It will know the answer." Dawn slowly let her paws brush across the big white letters. She looked up at Dusk again.

"How come you know about this?" Dusk smiled.

"I know a lot of things," he replied. Dawn shook her head.

"That's not an answer. I want to know why..." A sudden loud noise interrupted her, and she jerked in surprise. She quickly turned her head to the left, where the ear piercing howl had come from, but except for a seemingly very strong light deep within the dense fog she couldn't see anything. Still, whatever it was that had made this noise, it seemed to be rapidly approaching; the light became bigger and stronger, and Dawn suddenly knew it would be a good idea not to keep standing where she was. The Grovyle quickly leaped forwards, almost tumbling over the fallen tree Dusk was sitting on. As it turned out just one moment later, this dauntless jump had probably saved her life; a gigantic colossus suddenly burst through the gray barrier, rushing past her and Dusk, who was still sitting as before, obviously not even surprised in the least. The howl Dawn had heard a few seconds ago was nothing compared to the pounding catastrophe that was this long, shining contraption. She would have covered her ear holes with her paws, had she paid any attention to what she was hearing, but her eyes were so occupied with trying to take in this new sight that she forgot about all her other senses and just continued clasping the mysterious book. The giant machine appeared to be slowing down now, but it still went by so fast that the Grovyle could see little more than a blurry, silvery beam pounding through the forest. When it had finally lost enough speed for Dawn to be able to recognize something, she gasped; it was clear to her that this was a machine, probably crafted by humans, but it looked so perfect and flawless that she almost got the impression this was a being emerged from nature. There were no seams or scars on its exterior, so it didn't look like anyone had put it together. Even the, as it seemed to Dawn, billions of wheels on which it moved along appeared to be a part of this machine just as the Grovyle's hind legs were a part of her. They were also made from the same shiny metal as the rest of this technological beast. Dawn narrowed her eyes. She knew this had to be the train Dusk had been talking about, but it was still much more than just strange; not only was this train obviously capable of driving straight through a forest, it also didn't appear to have windows, or doors. It was just one big metallic block with wheels attached to it, and, as she recalled, a headlamp on the front and an incredibly loud whistle. Still, whoever was in this machine seemed to have taken notice of Dawn and Dusk, since the wheels were now gradually turning slower and slower until it came to a halt. Dawn looked to the right and to the left; because of the fog it seemed like the train stretched forever, but even if this wasn't the case it still had to be extremely long; after all, the metallic block had just run past her and Dusk for at least one and a half minutes at a very high speed, and there was still no end in sight. When the train had stopped completely, it gave off a loud wheeze. Dawn was finally able to turn her head away from the machine, and so she noticed that Dusk had already stood up and now reached for his bag and the wooden pole. He attached the bag right next to where the lantern was hanging and then stepped towards the train. The human reached out with his hand and touched the machine's shiny surface. For a small moment, nothing happened; then suddenly there appeared thin black lines on the exterior of the train, quickly forming a large rectangle. Dawn gasped as she saw the metal between the lines seemingly vanish into nothingness, opening up an entrance that was big enough for Dusk to step through. The human looked back over his shoulder at her.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Do you want to come with me?" The Grovyle blinked, her gaze wandering between Dusk and the metallic beast. The thought of going in there made her feel rather uncomfortable; then again, it could probably help her to reach Tomorrow at a much quicker speed. Unsure about what she was supposed to do now Dawn suddenly thought of something; she looked at the book in her paws, and, after hesitating for not more than a second, hastily opened it.
The first page was completely blank, except for two words right at the top: "Follow him." Dawn swallowed. She really didn't know whether she should feel frightened or encouraged about all this, but since it was everything she had at the moment, she just decided to do as the book had told her. The Grovyle quickly walked over to the human's side. Dusk smiled at her and then they both entered the train. The door immediately fell shut behind them.






It was absolutely dark, but only for a short moment. Then, a lamp on the ceiling seemingly switched itself on, basking the small room they were in in a cold, artificial light; however, this impression could also have been invoked by the train's interior. Just as before, everything was made from the same metal, which felt frigid and uncomfortably hard under Dawn's hind paws. Except for a strange looking machine right in front of Dusk and her, there was nothing in this small room. This new contraption looked like a metallic cube on a table made from the same material; attached to it there was something that looked like a very simple version of an artificial human arm with only three fingers instead of five. Because of how thin the bar was that connected the metallic hand with the cube, Dawn found herself reminded of a skeleton, which definitely did not serve to make her dislike this train less. However, the arm was not the only thing that Dawn noticed about the cube; there was also a small slot on the front side. She looked up at Dusk with a nervous expression.

"Don't worry," he said. "This won't take long." He reached into his bag on his rod and took out two round coins, which seemed to be just as shiny as the train was. The human inserted them both into the slot, and after a second Dawn could hear a low whirring sound. As the artificial arm began to move she had to spend some effort on not trying to somehow get away from it as far as possible. It brought itself close to Dusk's face and then stopped. The hand opened its three fingers and then, after a few seconds had gone by, closed again. Now it moved towards Dawn's face. The Grovyle took a deep breath, trying her best to stay calm. The hand opened once more, and she saw what had formerly been obscured by the metallic fingers: a small, blue, rectangular area. It blinked two times, changing its color from blue to yellow and then back again. Then the fingers closed and the machine pulled back its arm. Dawn was still nervous. For some reason she feared that something horrible might follow; that the machine could suddenly go crazy and lash out at her with its metallic appendage. But nothing like this happened. Instead, the arm seemed to get sucked into the cube until it had fully disappeared. Just a moment later it emerged from the contraption's shiny surface again, but now it was holding two small, rectangular cards between its fingers. One of them was of a pale green tone, the other one was colored in the same yellow that the blue rectangle had changed into for a moment when Dawn had looked at it. The metallic arm first gave the green card to Dusk, and then offered the yellow one to the Grovyle. She reluctantly accepted and placed it on top of the book in her paws.
Right after Dawn had taken the card, there opened a door to the left. It was just like before, on the exterior of the train; the metal seemed to disappear and granted access to a very short corridor that neither had a door on the right, nor did it have one on the left side. The walls were, once again, completely even and shone slightly in the bright light that came from the ceiling. When both Dusk and Dawn had entered the corridor, the wall behind them closed again. The Grovyle took a deep breath. It was hard for her not to panic; after all, she couldn't be sure if she'd ever be able to leave this train again.

"I'll do it first," Dusk said, pointing at a small slot in the right wall. Dawn hadn't even noticed that it was there until now. The human inserted his card and then pulled it out again. He then stepped aside. "Now you." Dawn's paw shivered as she slowly raised it to the slot in the wall. She then quickly repeated Dusk's motion, inserting her card and quickly retracting her paw again as if she feared the wall might just swallow her yellow card and forever keep her trapped within this gigantic machine.
And then something happened that the Grovyle found to be very relieving. The metallic wall next to the slot changed its appearance; its color became darker and less shiny, its whole surface started to look less artificial and a golden knob appeared on it. The wall had changed into a wooden door, big enough for Dusk to step through. The human turned the doorknob and then entered the room lying behind it, beckoning Dawn to follow him with his hand.

The Grovyle gasped as she stepped through the door. Where everything had just been cold, metallic and repelling it was now just the opposite; the room was not all too big, but that only served to make it appear all the more cozy. The wall was covered with aesthetic wallpaper that was of a very gentle rose tone, and there were four or five paintings showing nothing but beautiful and peaceful landscapes. In the middle of the room there stood a wooden table with rather elegant ornamentation and a small white table cloth in the middle on which a plate full of fresh cookies was positioned. On both sides of the table there were sofas, both of them being of a puce color. From what Dawn could tell, they looked extraordinarily soft and comfortable; probably even softer than the warm carpet she was feeling under her hind paws. This room was not dominated by a single, strong light source, but was basked into the warm glow of four large candle holders, of which one of them was positioned in each corner, not too far beneath the ceiling. However, the Grovyle's attention was mostly caught by the large window on the wall lying across from the door. It consisted of maybe half of the wall's complete area and granted Dawn a view on the foggy darkness outside of the train. Still, it was easily noticeable for her that the large machine had begun moving again, and at a very fast speed even. It was strange that she wasn't able to feel this movement in the least, and neither could she hear the noise the train had to be creating. The room lay in complete silence and not even the plate on the table budged in the least.
Very slowly, Dawn closed the wooden door behind her while she was still trying to take in all the aspects of her new surroundings. Dusk had already seated himself on the sofa to her left with his pole placed right next to it. He looked at her with a somewhat strange expression; it wasn't exactly friendly, it wasn't exactly expectant, but it wasn't indifferent, either. The Grovyle shook her head and then made her way over to the other sofa, sitting down opposite to the human. It was indeed very comfortable and Dawn was glad to finally have a chance to rest her weary paws. She placed her book in her lap, looked down on it, then turned to the window that still didn't show anything else than black mist, and then looked back at Dusk again. The Grovyle took a deep breath.

"What's the meaning of this?" she wanted to know. A slight expression of surprise was now visible on Dusk's face.

"What's the meaning of what?" he asked. Dawn shook her head.

"The meaning of this place, of course!" she replied heatedly, gesturing with her front paws, pointing first at the window, then at the table and the door. "Why does this train suddenly appear out of nowhere? How can it change its own appearance? And where are we going, anyway?" Dusk raised his hands in a calming manner.

"Please, calm down," he said in a soft tone. "Remember, things are not as easy here as they might have been in Yesterday. I cannot answer your questions, because you probably just wouldn't understand what I mean." Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but the human quickly went on: "However, I can tell you that we're heading home. Well, towards my home, that is." He smiled at her. For a moment, Dawn wasn't sure what to say. Dusk leaned forward and took a cookie from the plate. "Here, try one of those," he said. "They taste great." The Grovyle didn't move.

"What business should I have at your home?" she asked in an unbelieving tone of voice. The human shrugged.

"Well, I figure you might be pretty tired, so you need a place to sleep. And going there means getting closer to Tomorrow for you." He was still offering her the cookie. Dawn reluctantly reached out with her paw and took it from him.

"I guess those are good reasons..." she mumbled slowly, raising the cookie to her mouth. It was true, she was feeling incredibly tired, and the train was definitely moving faster than she ever could have. It had probably been a good idea to follow the book's advice. She lowered her gaze and rested it once more on its cover while taking a small bite out of the cookie. She blinked. A wonderful sweetness had suddenly filled her mouth; without hesitating for another second she eagerly swallowed the rest of the cookie as well. The Grovyle smiled softly and let herself sink deeper into the comfortable sofa. Something this tasty couldn't be anything to worry about.

"It certainly is nice in here," she mumbled, taking another look around the room. It had such a warm and cozy atmosphere... After the cold darkness of the forest this felt like paradise to the Grovyle. Dusk nodded. He was sitting motionless, keeping his eyes locked on Dawn.

"I figured you'd like it," he said. After this, there was silence, but it didn't make Dawn feel uncomfortable. For some reason she wanted to talk, and thus there was nothing wrong with Dusk not having much to say.

"I think you were right," she spoke while leaning back and closing her eyes, being careful not to squish her large leaf between her back and the sofa, "I could never understand what's up with all those things here... the forest, the book, the train... I should probably just learn not to worry so much." Dusk didn't interrupt. Dawn went on: "There've been a lot of things on my mind, ever since I left Yesterday... About how to get to Tomorrow, about how to find my way through Today... You know, things like that. But for some reason I can't help but believe that it'll all go well somehow, no matter what I do. Maybe it's because of this book...?" She opened her eyes again and looked at Dusk. "By the way, where did you get it?" The human shrugged.

"I've had it for some time," he said. Dawn nodded. She hadn't expected to receive any kind of real answer anyway. The Grovyle stretched her neck.

"Since how long have you been living in Today?" she asked.

"For a long time," Dusk replied. She giggled.

"Can't you be at least a little more specific?" He smiled softly and looked out the window.

"It's been an eternity, and not even one day. It's been forever, and yet I have just arrived." He nodded to himself. "Today is more than what you might think it is." Dawn blinked.

"So?" she asked, reaching for another cookie. "Well, since I know you won't tell me what it is... Can you at least tell me what it isn't?" He didn't answer right away, so she added: "Can you tell me what I think it is?" Dusk turned his head to look back at her. Even though there was still little to none expression recognizable in his gray eyes, his stare was focused and precise.

"You think that Today is just a bridge between Yesterday and Tomorrow," he said. "You think that you just have to get through there, and then you can forget about it again. A lot of people believe that." The Grovyle had just been about to eat her cookie, but now she stopped.

"Are those people wrong?" she asked with a frown. Dusk smiled slyly.

"What do you mean?" Dawn shrugged. She was a little confused.

"Wasn't that a pretty clear question?" Dusk shook his head.

"You can't just use terms like "wrong" and "right" without further defining them," he explained. "They don't even really exist." Dawn slowly brought down her paw in which she was holding the cookie.

"They don't even really exist?" she repeated in a surprised tone. Dusk nodded.

"Of course they don't," he replied, "or do you claim to be in possession of the absolute truth?" Dawn slowly shook her head. He continued: "You see, we may call any kind of opinion or way of behaviour wrong or right, but we must always be aware of the fact that these terms are defined by our subjectivity. From an objective point of view they cannot exist, for who should have ever defined them without regarding their own opinion?" He leaned back in his sofa. "So no, those people aren't wrong. Today will appear to everyone just like they want it to appear to them. If it is your will to get to Tomorrow as quickly as possible, then I am not going to try and hold you off. However, I might try to make you comprehend my point of view, but please remember that I'd never want to forcefully change your opinion." Dawn smiled.

"I see," she spoke. "Well then, how about you explain to me your point of view?"

"That'd be pointless," Dusk claimed. "An explanation could never be thorough enough for you to understand what I mean. You have to see it for yourself." He gestured towards the window and the Grovyle followed his hand with her eyes. It was still dark outside, but it wasn't perfectly black anymore. She was able to recognize the shapes of trees rushing by on the other side of the window. The fog had seemingly grown thinner as well. Dawn nibbled on her cookie as she kept staring at the glass. It was a mystery to her how the train was obviously able to rush right through the trees without knocking them down, but she knew it was pointless to ask Dusk about this, so she just decided not to pay it any attention. There was a moment of silence between him and her, and Dawn was almost sure that it was now becoming gradually brighter outside.

"We're going to leave the forest behind us soon," she heard Dusk say after a while, which made her turn her head towards him once more. "We will then reach the wasteland." The Grovyle frowned.

"The wasteland?" she repeated. Dusk nodded.

"Most of Today consists of barren land," he explained, "but there are other places as well. The city, for example, would be such a place." Dawn's eyes widened in surprise. She wondered how there could be a city in Today, when everyone just wanted to get through this area as quickly as possible. But before she could ask, Dusk finished: "And then there are the Dreamscapes, of course." Having heard this sentence, all thoughts of the city were wiped from her mind.

"What do you mean?" she asked. For some reason she was now getting increasingly excited. Dusk seemed to know that; he smiled, looked out of the window again and took a deep breath before he answered:

"They're the most beautiful places in Today and the only way to reach them is to know where they are or to search for a very long time with just the desire of finding them on your mind." He paused for a moment, then went on: "If you should decide to stay with me for a little longer, then I could show you some of them... It'd definitely be worth your time, I guarantee it." The Grovyle nodded a little absentmindedly. She was still not quite sure about what she should do; on the one side she remembered her parents' words, telling her to try and get to Tomorrow as soon as possible, but on the other side what Dusk had said sounded really interesting.

"So you know how to reach those Dreamscapes," she assumed. Dusk nodded, but kept looking out of the window.

"It's not that hard," he replied. Dawn expected him to further explain to her exactly why it wasn't hard, but then she remembered that this was definitely not going to happen.

"Do you go there often?" she asked.

"Yes." Dawn frowned. It seemed to her like the human didn't want her to really know anything about those Dreamscapes, even less than he wanted her to know about the rest of Today.

"What's so beautiful about them?" she wanted to know.

"I can't tell you," he replied. "They're all unique." He turned his head back towards her. His expression didn't let Dawn recognize what he was feeling at the moment even in the least. "You will find out for yourself soon enough," he went on. "I could never describe the beauty of those places. You'll understand when you'll see them." The Grovyle thought about his words for a moment. Maybe he was just giving her so little information because he wanted her to stay with him. Maybe this was all a trap, and in the end he would take her to some horrible place... But this assumption didn't seem very logical to her, as she didn't know what the human could possibly get out of this. She shrugged it off.

"I guess I will," she said. Dusk remained silent. Dawn certainly did have a lot more questions in her mind, but she knew it'd be pointless to ask. Trying to distract herself from her own thoughts a little she turned her head and looked out of the window. The Grovyle nodded to herself as she saw her thought from earlier being confirmed; it was definitely getting brighter outside. The trees were a lot easier to recognize now as the fog seemed to have grown much thinner as well; she could even see their leaves, which shone in a soft green.
Dawn slowly shook her head. She could basically watch the night disappear and a soft golden border around each of the leaves told her that the sun had seemingly risen a little above the treetops already. In addition to this, the forest had grown a lot less dense and as Dawn looked at the ground she could see that it was not completely covered with leaves anymore. It was grassy at first, but the longer she watched, the thinner the green shrouding became. It was only mere moments later that she saw the last tree and the last bit of grass on the ground; the landscape then turned into a flat, yellowish-brown ocean of slightly sandy earth.

"The wasteland," she spoke lowly. From the corner of her eyes she could see Dusk nod. However, her gaze was still focused on the scenery outside of the train; aside from the dry ground and the blue sky she could also recognize a lot of blocks in the distance, which were seemingly made from stone, above which the morning sun stood. Dawn blinked. It took her a while to notice that those rectangular gray blocks were houses, that they had a lot of small windows and that there were many tiny dots moving around between them. It was now that she remembered that she had actually wanted to ask Dusk about the city he had mentioned. She turned her head to look back at him. It appeared he had been watching her all the time.

"Are we going there?" she asked, pointing out of the window and at the buildings in the distance. The human shrugged.

"I wasn't planning to," he replied. Dawn gave a relieved sigh.

"So that's not where you live," she stated. The human smiled and shook his head, but didn't say anything. Dawn's gaze slowly turned towards the city again.

"Who lives there?" she asked, trying to make out any details on the many tiny dots she could see, which proved to be a futile effort.

"A lot of people," Dusk replied. "Humans and their Pokémon. Although I think they always have to be kept on leashes there..." He shook his head. "I'm not sure about it, though. I don't go there very often. It's a sad place." Dawn blinked. For a moment she had been sure to see a somewhat melancholic expression on the human's face, but it had disappeared so quickly that she didn't know whether it had been real or if it had just been her imagination.

"Why..." She cleared her throat, which had suddenly felt very dry. "Why is it a sad place?" she asked. "Aside from the leashes," she added after a second. Dusk lowered his gaze. The Grovyle couldn't help but think that something about this topic was making him feel uncomfortable.

"I think it'd be better if you saw that for yourself," he spoke in a low tone. Dawn shook her head.

"But I don't want to go there." For a moment there was a tense silence, during which she just stared at Dusk. He didn't look up. "I want you to tell me about it," she went on. "I want you to tell me why it's a sad place." It seemed to take a while for the human to understand her words. From the corner of her eyes, Dawn could see the scenery on the other side of the window rush past the train. However, the city in the distance didn't disappear. It had to be gigantic, since it was taking up the entire horizon. The only thing that really seemed to change was the sun; it slowly moved across the sky, sneaking closer and closer to its highest point.
Then, Dusk took a deep breath.

"Imagine a place," he began slowly, "in which everyone is determined to move along somehow, and to make progress, not only for themselves, but for the place in its entirety as well. And imagine how they all desperately cling to this tiny bit of hope they have, this hope of maybe reaching a brighter tomorrow if they just try hard enough. Imagine how malcontent they all must be, imagine how disheartened they all have to feel as soon as they notice how futile all their efforts have been. Imagine the look on their faces when they've been hoping for the best, when they've been sure to have reached their goal, and when they have to recognize that all this hassle has been for naught, and that everything will go on just like before, with their life time being nothing but an endless waste and a mass of tribulations. Imagine how they feel when they notice this. Imagine how they feel when, for a moment, they're absolutely sure that their life has no sense at all, just before their troubled and defeated minds find something else to cling to, another bit of hope that seems like the end of all this suffering to them, but it will turn out to be just another delusion again. Imagine all this, and you might have an idea of what's going on in the city." Dawn shivered lightly. Having heard these words from Dusk, she suddenly felt cold and frightened. She turned towards the city once more, now looking at it in a different way. The gray buildings seemed like false gods to her, and the tiny creatures running around between them were trying their best to serve their masters' wills.

"Why don't they just leave?" she spoke without actually noticing. She had just thought these words and was surprised to hear them come out of her mouth.

"They can't," Dusk replied, which made her turn her attention towards him again. He had stopped looking at the ground and was now facing her. "This is what they try to do all the time, this is the goal they cannot reach. They try to find their way out of the city, but if they ever reach its border they see nothing but barren land, or maybe the deep forest. However, many of them give up long before they come to this point, thinking that the city just goes on forever." He stopped talking. Dawn didn't understand why.

"But if they can reach the border, how come they..."

"Because they're scared," Dusk interrupted while shaking his head. "They are so scared of the emptiness in the wasteland and the forest that they just turn around and go right back to where they came from. This is when another small bit of hope dies, just to get instantly replaced by another one. That's why they will forever keep wandering through the artificial canyons of their city, always looking for an exit that doesn't scare them and then heading back again in order to wait for the next glint of light to show them the way."
The Grovyle blinked and lowered her gaze. What Dusk had just told her had not only been very confusing, but rather saddening as well. But it wasn't going to get her in a bad mood, since right now she was looking at the plate with the tasty cookies on it again. She reached out with her paw and took another one, quickly taking a large bite out of it. Dawn closed her eyes, savoring the sweetness that filled her mouth.
She just kept her eyes closed from then on, suddenly feeling very tired once more. The Grovyle started thinking about just having some sleep right where she was, when suddenly she heard Dusk's voice proclaim:

"We're there." She opened her eyes again. The train had come to a halt, which she hadn't noticed at all; then again, this seemed only natural to her, since before she had also been incapable to tell that it had actually moved at all. As she looked outside she was surprised not to see the city anymore. The wasteland seemed to go on forever. Dawn turned her head towards Dusk, who had stood up already and was now getting a hold of his wooden pole.

"Where is "there"?" she asked in a confused tone. The human showed her a small smile.

"We're at my house," he replied and then stepped up to the door. Dawn slowly got up from the comfortable sofa, taking care to leave neither the book nor the yellow card behind as she followed the human out of the room back into the metallic hallway, which was illuminated by a cold, artificial light that came from a small lamp on the ceiling. She sighed inwardly, as she definitely preferred a nice, cozy room with a carpet and sofas to this corridor. As Dawn looked back over her shoulder she noticed that the door she had just stepped through had now disappeared somehow.

"Dawn?" She quickly turned her head towards Dusk again, who was holding out his hand in her direction. "I need your card." She nodded and handed him the small yellow rectangle, watching him closely as he first shoved his own and then her card into a small slot in the silvery wall that lay opposite from that through which Dawn and Dusk had entered the hallway. It didn't take longer than a second in order for a large opening in the wall to develop. Dusk immediately stepped through it and Dawn followed him, attentively eyeing the landscape outside of the train. She saw the dry ground that had a color somewhere between yellow and brown, and also the blue sky, but nothing else. The land was flat and there seemed to be nothing special about it.
When Dawn had left the train, she first turned to the left and then to the right, which didn't serve to surprise her with any new impressions. She then turned around completely, expecting to see the train standing in front of her. It was nowhere in sight. Instead, just a few steps away, there stood a rather large building, apparently made completely from wood. Dawn had seen houses before, of course, but this construction still managed to make her eyes widen in surprise. The first story seemed to be perfectly round, as it formed a large cylinder on which the second story was balanced, which was obviously too large to be held by this base. Because of this it was supported by many wooden pillars wherever it projected over the edge of the wooden cylinder beneath it. The second story wasn't symmetrical at all, instead it seemed to Dawn as if it had been put together without any planning having happened before its construction. However, she could recognize something that looked like a small wooden pyramid emerge from the middle of this chaos, forming a very small third story. The whole building also had a lot of windows, but it was hard for Dawn to recognize anything behind them since the sunlight was reflecting off the glass quite strongly. The Grovyle looked up for a moment and noticed that the sun seemed to be standing exactly above the strange house. When she lowered her gaze again she saw something that hadn't noticed before; in the cylinder that formed the first story there was a door, and on this door there hung a black plate with white letters on it.

"Home," she read aloud and flicked each of her two leafy tails once. She then looked up at Dusk, who was standing motionlessly, returning her gaze without showing any real facial expression. A very soft wind gently moved the large leaf hanging from the back of her head.

"Where did the train go?" she asked, trying her best to forget none of all these new questions that had suddenly developed in her mind.

"It's gone," Dusk replied. Dawn shook her head.

"That's obvious," she stated. "I asked where it went." The human shrugged.

"Whenever you or I need it, it'll come to us. Knowing this, does it matter where it is now?" The Grovyle thought about his words for a small moment.

"Maybe it doesn't matter," she agreed, "but I'd still like to know." A small smile formed on Dusk's face.

"Why should you inquire about anything that's basically of no concern to you?" he asked rhetorically. Dawn didn't say anything in return. Dusk turned his head towards the building and then said: "Follow me." He walked up to the door in the cylinder and put his hand on the wooden doorknob. The human looked to the side, seemingly expecting to see Dawn standing next to him. However, she was still waiting at the same place as before, now frowning at him. Suddenly she wasn't so sure anymore if she should just let him invite her into his house. Dusk blinked and then looked over his shoulder back at her.

"Is anything wrong?" he asked. Dawn bit her lip.

"I don't know," she replied. "Something might." The human smiled at her.

"Do you trust me?" Dawn opened her mouth to decline, but then didn't say anything. For some reason she knew she didn't not trust him, but she was still unsure as to whether this meant that automatically the opposite would have to be true. For a moment she just stood there, looking at Dusk with a strained expression, but then she thought of something. The Grovyle quickly opened her red book. As before, except for two words, the pages were completely white. "You do."

"I do," she whispered to herself. She then closed the book and looked up at Dusk again. "I do," she repeated loudly. The human nodded and Dawn quickly made her way up to his side. She was now standing next to him, smiling in anticipation. Suddenly she had gotten very curious about finding out what this house looked like on the inside.
Dusk turned the doorknob and opened the door. The Grovyle slowly stepped inside and blinked unbelievingly. Not only did the cylinder appear to be much bigger from the inside than it had seemed to be from the outside, but its walls also looked like they were made of stone instead of wood. They obviously consisted of many large, gray bricks; however, Dawn's focus was quickly taken by something else. The round walls were almost entirely covered up by drawings of both Pokémon and people, males and females alike. Dawn reclined her head and gasped; the cylinder also seemed to be a lot higher than she had assumed from the outside. She could see the ceiling far above her; it was made from stone as well, just as the walls, which were covered by drawings up there as well. The Grovyle turned around and took a closer look at a picture that hung next to the door; it showed a Charmeleon which was lying on a bed, quite obviously sleeping. Even though the drawing had no colors it was so incredibly detailed and seemed so real that Dawn wouldn't have been surprised if the Charmeleon had suddenly started to move. Now that she paid closer attention to it she noticed that all those pictures showed a Pokémon or human sleeping in what appeared to be the same bed. Once more she reclined her head and gazed up towards the ceiling. There had to be more than a thousand drawings in this room.
She shook her head and then lowered her gaze again, now noticing that Dusk had walked up to the beginning of a staircase that was attached to the wall, leading all the way up to the ceiling in a spiral. Once more, the steps were made of stone; however, the staircase had a wooden rail, which seemed to have been crafted by someone rather talented, as it was curved and looked very elegant. Dusk had placed his hand on a large wooden sphere on top of the beginning of the stair-rail. He was looking at Dawn with a patient expression, obviously understanding that she needed some time to take in all those new impressions. Except for the staircase, the many drawings on the wall and a few large windows here and there the cylinder was completely empty, which made its center appear somewhat naked. The Grovyle slowly shook her head and then walked over to where Dusk was waiting for her. The human nodded and then began his ascent, always keeping one of his hands on the stair-rail.
For a reason she couldn't explain, walking up the stairs didn't seem to exhaust Dawn even in the least. The movement of her hind paws kept going without her really noticing it, as she was much too distracted staring at all the drawings she passed. She was almost constantly shaking her head as it was hard for her to believe that anyone could draw well enough to create pictures that looked so very real, and because she was wondering why all of these drawings showed people or Pokémon sleeping. She blinked as she passed a picture of a Grovyle that was a little smaller than her but had larger leaves on its body. After a while Dawn turned her head towards the human walking upstairs in front of her.

"Who made these pictures?" she asked. Dusk kept walking and didn't even look in her direction as he answered:

"It was me." The Grovyle stopped moving, noticing from the corner of her eyes that they had already gone up about half of the staircase. She frowned as it seemed to her as if they had started walking just a short moment ago; however, Dusk's words were far more interesting at the moment. The human had stopped going upstairs as well and was now looking over his shoulder back at her.

"That must have taken years," she assumed, to which he responded by shaking his head.

"It hasn't." Dawn looked around the room once more. Now that she was a little closer to the ceiling the drawings seemed to be even more numerous.

"But there's got to be more than a thousand pictures in this room!" she insisted. Dusk shrugged.

"That's right," he said. The Grovyle's facial expression obviously made it clear that she found his short answers to be rather unnerving, as he then added: "Here in Today, it's always today. Whatever I do, I will get finished with it before this day ends." Dawn blinked. What Dusk had said made sense, in a very strange way. The human then started going up the stairs again. Dawn quickly followed him, not wanting to be left behind. Their steps on the cold stone beneath them were the only sounds heard in the large cylindrical room. They echoed slightly from the walls, making it appear as if there were more than just two persons using the staircase.
Once again the Grovyle concentrated on the drawings they were passing, and once again she felt like only a moment had passed when Dusk stopped walking. She looked up at him as he reached out to a wooden handle that was attached to the ceiling. Dawn blinked, but then decided not to be surprised about how quickly they had gotten all the way up here. Dusk pulled the handle, opening up a rectangular hatch in the ceiling. A few more steps, made from wood this time, granted him access to the second story. Dawn quickly followed after him again.
There was nice, soft carpet beneath her paws now and as she looked around she found herself reminded of the train compartment from before. What had appeared to be a chaotic mess from the outside actually was one very large room on the inside, with bright wooden walls and a lot of light coming in through the windows. The ceiling was supported by a lot of pillars, which were made from wood as well. The soft dark red carpet Dawn was standing on covered the floor of the entire room. The Grovyle wondered why someone like Dusk, who seemingly lived alone, obviously needed more than a dozen sofas that were standing in various places; then again they made everything appear very comfortable. There were a few cupboards standing at the walls and right in the middle of the room was another circular staircase. It was considerably smaller than the one they had just come up, since the distance between floor and ceiling was not nearly as large here. These stairs were, just like the walls, made from a bright kind of wood, and they ended at what seemed to be another hatch in the ceiling. There also were a few pictures on the walls of this room; however, they showed nothing but beautiful landscapes. Dawn slowly walked up to one of them, taking a thorough look at the peaceful mountain scenery. In opposite to the drawings in the first story, these ones were colored. Dawn kept her gaze on it for a while, then turned her head to the left; there was a bed standing in one of the corners. The Grovyle frowned a little as she recognized the simple ornamentations on its headboard. It was quite obviously the same bed that all those people and Pokémon on the pictures had been sleeping in. Nevertheless it looked like it had never been used before, as it was clean and tidy, its bed sheets being flawlessly white. A small table stood next to the bed, and apparently the whole area could be closed off from the rest of the room by a dark red curtain, that was currently pulled back all the way to the wall. Dawn kept looking around the room for a while and, at one point, stopped at one of the many windows. There she noticed something.

"How come I can't see the city from here?" she asked.

"That's because I don't want to see the city," Dusk responded. She turned her head towards him; he was sitting on one of the sofas, his pole with the bag and the lamp leaning against it right next to him.

"This is the right direction, isn't it?" The human nodded. Dawn frowned slightly. "I don't understand," she said. "Is it too far off in the distance?" Dusk smiled a little.

"No," he answered. "It's just that you can't see the city when you're in or around my house." The Grovyle nodded, although she still hadn't really understood what that was supposed to mean. She decided to change the topic.

"All those drawings in the staircase beneath us," she said, "were all those Pokémon and people really here?" Dusk replied with nothing but a nod. Dawn blinked.

"And this is the bed they slept in?" she asked, pointing at the bed. Once again, Dusk nodded.

"You seem to have visitors quite often," the Grovyle noted. "Do you live here all by yourself?"

"I do," Dusk said. "Most of the time, that is. My guests always tend to stay for a while." Dawn turned her head from the bed back towards the window. She could see the sky and the wasteland; nothing else.

"Nobody ever decided to stay here?" she asked.

"No," the human replied. "They all had to leave again. Except for me, nobody stays here forever." The Grovyle placed her front paws on the thin window sill after leaning her book against the wall; she kept looking outside, knowing that no matter how long she'd keep staring out the window, there would never be anything else to see than the sky and the empty land.

"Doesn't that make you feel awfully lonely?" she inquired in a lower tone. She preferred not looking at Dusk when talking with him; this way she could at least imagine that there was a real expression present on his face when he answered:

"It does, at times. However, it has always been this way, so I've grown used to it." Dawn took a deep breath.

"Does that mean you don't intend to change it?" She wasn't quite sure why she was asking this question. After all she would just stay here for a short while, and then continue on in search of Tomorrow, so she probably wouldn't see Dusk ever again. Thus, there was no actual reason for her to be interested in how he lived.

"Whether or not these circumstances will ever change is beyond my power," he replied. "I can't make anyone stay here forever when they still need to go somewhere." Dawn came to think of all the drawings in the first story again. All of those people and Pokémon had been on some sort of journey, just like her.

"They all wanted to reach Tomorrow," she presumed. The Grovyle turned her head, looking over her shoulder back at Dusk. He nodded. "Why don't you go there, too?" Dawn asked. A small, somewhat inexpressive smile appeared on the human's face.

"Why should I?" he said. For a moment Dawn tried thinking of a good reason for Dusk to go to Tomorrow, but then she just shrugged.
There was silence. Dawn and Dusk simply looked at each other without saying anything. The Grovyle blinked. Now that all those distracting things and thoughts she had had to deal with until this moment were gone, she suddenly felt very tired again. Dawn had to think about how she originally had wanted to go to sleep when she had still been in the forest, and so much had happened since that; she was surprised that she hadn't just fallen unconscious from exhaustion already. She raised one of her front paws to her mouth and then yawned deeply.

"Do you want to go to sleep now?" Dusk asked, pointing at the bed in the corner. Dawn turned her head in the same direction. The bed appeared to be soft and comfortable, and now that she was feeling so tired it looked all the more inviting. She nodded slowly.

"If that's really alright..."

"Of course it is," Dusk assured her. He stood up from the sofa and walked over to the bed, motioning her to follow him. She quickly reached for her book and took it with her. His gaze rested on her as she climbed up on this wonderfully warm and smooth sleeping place, sitting down on its edge. She looked up at him with a questioning expression as it was clear to her that he still wanted something. Finally he spoke:

"Would you mind if I made a drawing of you?" Dawn swallowed. Even though she had somewhat expected him to ask this, it still was a strange request.

"I... I'm not sure," she answered truthfully. Dusk didn't reply, but he nodded slightly. The Grovyle understood; she slowly opened the book that she had placed in her lap. There were four small words in the middle of the blank page. "Let him do it." Dawn smiled a little, not understanding how she could have been uncertain about this before. Why should there be anything wrong with Dusk making a picture of her? She looked up at him again.

"I don't have anything against it," she said. The human smiled.

"Thank you very much," he spoke. "Please, lie down." The Grovyle put her book on the side table next to the bed and then slowly lay down on her side, placing her cheek on the large pillow. She didn't cover herself with the blanket as this would, of course, have made it impossible for Dusk to draw her just like he had drawn all the others. She tried to keep her eyes open, watching him as he pulled up a stool to the side of the bed and then opened a drawer in one of the cupboards that were standing at the wall. However, she couldn't see what he took out of it, as it had become increasingly hard for her to fight the exhaustion she was feeling, since the wonderful softness of the bed was basically pleading her to fall asleep already. Her eyes closed somewhat against her will and she let out a soft sigh. One moment later she drifted off to sleep at what had to be the sound of a pencil moving across a sheet of paper.









There was a low sound that awakened her. Dawn kept her eyes closed, though, simply enjoying the comfort of her head resting on something else than a hard branch. She purred lowly while listening to something that she soon identified as steps on a wooden ground. The Grovyle wondered how late it was, but then smiled as she remembered that time didn't pass in Today. However, as she was not feeling tired anymore she figured she should probably stand up. Dawn opened her eyes, immediately noticing the source of the sounds she was hearing; Dusk was coming down the small spiral staircase in the middle of the room. He turned his head and looked at her, now seeing that she was awake.
The Grovyle slowly sat up in the bed. Her gaze moved from the stairs and Dusk up to the hatch in the ceiling.

"What's up there?" she asked. He looked up at the hatch as well.

"That's just two more rooms," he replied. "One of them is mine." He then came down the rest of the stairs and walked up to the side of Dawn's bed. "I hope you slept well." The Grovyle nodded, smiling up at him.

"It was great," she confirmed. "Thank you for letting me stay."

"You don't need to thank me," Dusk said as he now sat down on the stool that was still standing next to the bed. He carefully straightened out his gray robe and then interlocked his fingers in his lap. "Now that you're well rested, would you maybe like to visit one of the Dreamscapes with me?" Dawn blinked. She remembered how back in the train Dusk had described those Dreamscapes to be very beautiful and how she had instantly wanted to see at least one of them for herself; however, she also wanted to reach Tomorrow. But the human had told her that she shouldn't be in such a hurry to get there... Dawn shook her head. She quickly jumped off of the bed and took her red book from the side table. For some reason she felt relieved as she read: "Accept this invitation." The Grovyle turned her head to look up at Dusk with a sparkle of happiness in her eyes.

"Sure, I'll come with you."

The human smiled.









When they left Dusk's home, the train was already waiting for them. To Dawn it looked like a gigantic metal beast taking a nap in the midday sun, which was still standing right above the human's strange house. Of course she found it weird that the train was there, seeing as she hadn't noticed Dusk summon it in any kind of way and also because it had just suddenly been gone back when they had arrived at Dusk's home, but she just shrugged it off. Had she asked, she probably wouldn't have received a satisfying answer, and even if, she felt like she wouldn't really be interested in it. Right now it was much more important to her to see this Dreamscape, that the human had spoken so highly of, with her own eyes. Just like before they both entered the train, and then waited for the machine to hand them their cards. Dawn got another yellow one, while Dusk's was orange this time. She didn't ask why.

Their train compartment seemed to be the same as before. The Grovyle passed most of the time looking out of the window; after a while she could see the city again in the distance, which made her sigh softly, since it reminded her of what Dusk had told her about it. Dawn looked up at the sky, concentrating on the sun. She was sure that it was slowly sinking, and when she noticed that the entire sky started to turn slightly orange she knew she was right. Other than that, nothing changed; there was the city in the far distance and the wasteland right in front of the window. She slowly turned her head towards Dusk.

"If we kept on going, we'd reach the forest," he said. Dawn remembered how he had told her that the forest of Tonight surrounded Today in a perfect circle. She nodded.

It wasn't much later that she noticed the buildings of the city passing by slower and slower. She blinked in surprise, as she tried her best to see for which reason they were stopping; there was nothing but empty land around them. Once more she turned her head towards the human. He stood up from his sofa and then reached for his wooden pole; Dawn quickly jumped to the ground as well, clutching her book to her chest. As long as she was in Today, she felt, she'd need it wherever she would go.
They left their compartment and entered the small hallway, where they once again had to give away their cards. A rectangular opening appeared within the wall. Dawn gasped and almost dropped her book. For a moment she didn't move at all, then she quickly jumped through the opening to make sure that what she saw was real and not just a strange illusion of some sort.

As soon as she felt the soft grass beneath her hind paws she knew it wasn't a hallucination. She took a deep breath, smelling the sweet scent of what had to be more than a hundred different types of flowers, which were all growing on the wide, lush meadow right in front of her. Just a moment ago she had been sure to see nothing but the wasteland, but instead there was green grass, there were bushes and gray rocks, blue, yellow, red, white and violet flowers everywhere; and still it was the rest of this scenery that she found to be the most breathtaking. Within a certain distance from her there was a cliff, not too steep, but it went down incredibly far, finally ending in a valley that was divided into two large meadows by a small river. When Dawn focused on it she could even hear the water running, which was a peaceful sound that made her feel happy and relaxed. To her right, as well as to her left there began a dense forest with all kinds of different trees, thus making up the natural borders of the meadow on which she stood. Far off in the distance she could recognize the peaks of two very impressive mountains, which were covered with trees in their lower regions and consisted only of solid rock at their highest points. The evening sun was standing directly between those two peaks, making it appear as if they were made from pure gold and basking the large meadow in a warm, comforting light. Dawn didn't know for how long she just stood there, looking to the left, to the front and to the right, taking in the unique, indescribable beauty of this place, but it felt to her like even an eternity would never be enough to really see and enjoy all of it. She slowly shook her head and then sat down right where she was, feeling the soft grass caress her hindquarters. She carefully reached out with one of her front paws and picked a yellow flower that was standing near her, now examining it more closely. The Grovyle inhaled deeply, enjoying the strong, yet not even in the least irritating scent. She then sighed happily and closed her eyes. A broad smile had spread on her face as she slowly let her torso sink backwards into the bed of grass and flowers that was even more comfortable than the mattress in the human's house.

„You seem to like it here," she heard Dusk say. Dawn chuckled lightly.

„It's wonderful," she confirmed, stretching her neck a little. „It's always evening here, isn't it?"

„That's right." She heard someone sit down next to her in the grass, but she didn't open her eyes.

„Is the train gone?" she asked.

„It is," he replied. „We're alone." Dawn let out a soft purring sound and carefully placed her book next to her. She opened her eyes again, looking up at the orange sky; however, something else quickly caught her attention. What was sitting next to her wasn't the human, as she first had suspected. It was a male Grovyle. She slowly sat up, staring at him with a surprised expression. There was nothing about him that seemed to be unusual, except for that both his pink colored chest and belly and his green back, as well as all his leaves didn't have a very intense coloring. They all looked slightly pale, but it was really only noticeable upon a very thorough examination. From what Dawn could see, the Grovyle was a bit taller than she was, but this size difference wasn't exactly big, either. When he turned his head to look at her she noticed that he had gray eyes.

„Dusk?" she asked in a low tone.

„Yes?" said the Grovyle with Dusk's voice. Dawn frowned. Dusk didn't appear to find it unusual that he obviously was a Grovyle now.

„What happened?" she asked. Dusk smiled softly.

„Nothing happened," he replied, and then turned his head to look at the sunset. A weak gust of wind brushed across the meadow, moving the grass, the flowers and the large leaf on the back of the Grovyle's head a little. Dawn shook her head.

„How come you're a Grovyle?" Dusk shrugged and kept looking forward.

„I thought it'd be better this way." Dawn blinked in surprise.

„Does that mean you can change your appearance whenever you like?" Dusk slowly ran one of his front paws through the grass, letting the leaves on his wrist brush across the ground.

„Yes, I can do that," he confirmed Dawn's thought. The female slowly shook her head, then looked at the setting sun that would never set. Her left front paw was softly caressing her book's front side.

„This is a really beautiful place," she spoke in a low tone, trying her best not to disrupt the comforting silence in which only the sound of running water could be heard. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Dusk nod.

„That's what I meant when I said I couldn't describe the beauty of the Dreamscapes," he said. Dawn smiled softly. He had been right indeed; this place was beautiful because it invoked a feeling of peace and calm deep within her. Something like that could never properly be expressed through words.

„I could sit here for all eternity..." she whispered, not even noticing that she had actually thought out loud.

„You could," Dusk confirmed. „A lot of things are possible in Today. Things of which you would never have even dared to dream back in Yesterday." The female giggled softly.

„Like turning myself into a human and back again?" Dusk didn't look at her as he nodded, and yet she knew he was smiling. She shifted her body a little so that she was now facing him.

„Is this your real body?" she wanted to know, speaking in a somewhat low tone. The male Grovyle shrugged.

„I don't know," he said. „I don't know what's real." For some reason this sentence made Dawn smile. It was as if Dusk had just revealed a truth to her that she had always known, but had never wanted to accept before.

„Do you think this moment is real?" she asked lowly.

„I'm not sure," he replied.

„But do you believe it?" She attentively observed the side of his face as he took some time to think of an answer. He lowered his gaze a little.

„Does it matter?" he then asked. Dawn nodded.

„It matters," she claimed. Dusk didn't move. She was waiting for him to say something in return, but he didn't open his mouth. The female kept looking at him for a while and then carefully reached out with one of her paws to open the red book in front of her, as she had suddenly become curious about what it had to tell her in that matter. As usual, there was only one sentence to be seen; „It doesn't matter." Dawn blinked.

„Yes, it does," she said. She then looked up at Dusk again, only to see that he still hadn't moved. When she lowered her gaze once more the first sentence had disappeared, and there were different words on the white page. „It matters." Dawn smiled.

„Dusk," she spoke lowly and without looking up at him, „I think this moment is real." Now she was sure that he smiled as well. She didn't see it, but she could hear it in his tone of voice as he said:

„That's very nice of you." Dawn nodded slowly and closed the book. She then turned her head to face the sunset. The river in the valley beneath her glistened in the golden light. She took a deep breath, enjoying the warm feeling of a peaceful moment without worries, for all the bad thoughts and uncertainties that once might have been on her mind had vanished long ago. Right now she only wanted to keep watching the flowers that were nodding at her, being moved by a gentle wind.

„Thank you for taking me here," she spoke after a while. „I never would have thought a place like this would actually exist." 

„There are a lot such places," Dusk replied. Dawn nodded quietly. She then turned her head and looked at him; he did the same, so that their gazes met. Even though Dawn was sure to look into the same eyes that Dusk had had as a human she still believed that something very important inside them had changed. They still didn't show a definite expression, but there was something like a sparkle of life, which had previously been missing. She was sure that those eyes could be full of emotion, if only someone could remove the foggy veil in front of them.

„There is only one place like this," she said. Dusk blinked. For some reason the female Grovyle felt like she had to get closer to him in order to truly understand this sparkle in his eyes. She slid across the soft grass, shortening the distance between them. Had she reached out with one of her paws, she could have touched him. When Dusk didn't try to move away, she was sure he approved of her actions.

„Why don't you live here?" she inquired in a low tone. „You could have all of this all the time..." She made a gesture with her front paws, symbolically embracing her surroundings, „...and yet you have your house in the wastelands. Why did you make that decision?" Dusk slowly shook his head.

„I didn't decide anything," he responded in an equally low tone. Dawn blinked.

„You still wouldn't have to return there," she argued. „You could just stay here for all eternity, enjoying the endless beauty of this place." The male Grovyle kept looking her in the eyes. Dawn was sure to see his eyes become even grayer as he said:

„There are things I have to do." He had spoken these words in a somewhat exhausted tone, as if he actually wanted to do just what Dawn had proposed, and thus was disappointed that it was not possible, for whatever reason. The female shook her head and a concerned frown appeared on her forehead.

„What are these things?" Dusk didn't say anything, but he didn't look away, either. Dawn swallowed.

„Dusk," she spoke, and her voice sounded a little hoarse, „do you want me to trust you?" The male Grovyle nodded slowly. Dawn carefully reached out with her right front paw and took his left one. He loosely held on to her paw. Dawn was surprised to find that Dusk's touch was feeling so cold in spite of the warm evening air. „Tell me what you have to do," she went on in a softer tone. „Please... Maybe I can help you..." Dusk shook his head.

„You don't need to know this in order to trust me." The female Grovyle lowered her gaze. She wanted to retract her paw, but Dusk kept her from doing that by placing his right one on top of it. She looked up at him again.

„Dusk..."

„There is beauty in this world, Dawn," he spoke firmly while gently holding her paw, „this is what I want you to know. There is beauty in this world, and we can see it whenever we truly search for it. Even though you might think sometimes that you will never be happy again, for whatever reason, even though you live in the empty wasteland with the desperate, cold entity that is the city being the only other thing you see, then there is still beauty in this world, if you just look for it." His eyes were glistening in the sunlight, just like the river in the valley. A golden shimmer lay deep within them, and Dawn could feel his paws getting warmer. „You can make your life a happy one, Dawn. You can remember the beautiful places, and whenever you feel sad or angry they will still be on your mind. They can make you be happy again. This is the magic of the Dreamscapes." Dawn nodded lightly. She knew that Dusk wasn't quite finished yet, so she didn't want to interrupt him. Once more she shifted her body a little, so that she was now sitting directly in front of the male Grovyle.

„You came here alone, Dawn," Dusk went on. His voice was just barely above a whisper, but since the female was so close to him now she had no trouble understanding him. „You never had any good friends, so nobody wanted to accompany you. You had to leave your parents behind because they do not belong here. But that's alright. You don't need anyone, especially not here in Today. You can have whatever you like, and you can have it all by yourself." He was now gently caressing her paw. „There is a power that you possess, and the reason you have this power is that you learned how not to need anyone but yourself. It's the power to do whatever you want, whenever you want it. It's the power to be free." Dawn swallowed. Dusk's gray eyes had seemingly become as golden as the evening light.

„I... I don't think I've learned that yet..." she whispered. „I don't feel powerful." Dusk smiled softly.

„It'll take some time for you to notice," he replied. The female Grovyle nodded. She wasn't sure that what Dusk had said was true, but it had still made her feel special to hear it. Dawn slowly let her torso sink forward until it came in touch with Dusk's. She sighed happily as the male slowly embraced her and held her close to him.

„Remember, Dawn," he said, „the only strength you need comes from inside you. You don't need anyone to look out for you. You can do that yourself." Dawn had placed her cheek on his shoulder. She closed her eyes.

„I don't know about that," she whispered. „I have trouble believing this..." She hugged Dusk with her front paws, suddenly feeling like she needed to hold on to him. „Right now I need you," she said.

„You don't know about your own power yet," he spoke softly. „Almost no one knows about how much strength they truly possess." Dawn could feel one of his paws tenderly slide up and down the large leaf coming from the back of her head. She purred in enjoyment, as this was one of the more sensitive areas of her body. „That's fine. I can teach you." Dawn was rubbing her cheek against Dusk's neck now, trying to snuggle a little closer to him.

„Is that the same kind of power that lets you change your appearance?" she asked with a soft giggle, indicating that she wasn't serious. Dusk tightened his embrace a little.

„It is," he whispered. Dawn opened her eyes and retracted her head a little in order to look at his face. His expression told her that he was completely serious.

„I told you that it's the power of being free," he explained. „You can do whatever you want, whenever you want it." Dawn blinked unbelievingly. Just the thought of her being able to do the same things as Dusk seemed absurd; however, there was something in Dusk's voice and eyes that made her unsure about this being so impossible. She was in Today, after all, and in Today everything could be different from what it had been like in Yesterday.
Dawn slowly placed her cheek on Dusk's shoulder again and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his paws carefully caressing her large leaf.









They stayed in this position for a long while, as it seemed to Dawn, but not even nearly long enough. However, when they entered the train again that suddenly stood behind them she knew that not one moment had passed. Dusk wanted her to step inside first, and so she did. When he stood next to her just a second later he was a human again, wearing his gray robe and holding on to the wooden pole. While the train was driving them back to Dusk's home, Dawn kept thinking about what had happened at this first of many Dreamscapes the human would show her, and how much she had enjoyed it when he had held her. Before she even knew it, the train stopped again.

Once they arrived on the second story, the Grovyle suddenly felt very tired again. She quickly lay down on the bed; Dusk told her that the drawing wasn't finished yet, so he would further work on it as soon as she was asleep. Dawn nodded and then placed her cheek on the soft pillow, instantly drifting off to sleep.









„This is wonderful," Dawn whispered. She felt she had to speak lowly, as she didn't want to destroy the quiet atmosphere of this second Dreamscape. She was sitting on bright, warm sand, staring out into the distance, with her book lying right next to her. Both the ocean and the sky were as blue as they could get; Dawn couldn't say where the water ended and where the horizon started. Judging from the position of the sun, it was almost noon. To her left and to her right there stood a few palm trees; other than that, there was nothing on this small island in the middle of the sea. The male Grovyle that sat next to her seemed to be just as serene as the leaves of the palm trees and the water, which did not move at all. There was no wind that could have made this Dreamscape any less calm.

„What's wonderful about it?" Dusk asked lowly. Dawn shrugged.

„Everything," she replied. „It's the water and the sand and the calm... It's everything." Dusk looked at her with an expression that was somewhat hard to figure out.

„Is that so?" he asked. Dawn turned her head to look at him. „If it's everything, then that would mean it'd still be a wonderful place if one of those things were missing, right? It'd just be a little less wonderful." The female Grovyle blinked.

„I guess so," she answered. Dusk nodded.

„Well, would it still be a wonderful place if there was no sand, and if we sat on grass or rock?" Dawn slowly let the claws on the end of one of her front paws brush through the sand.

„I'm sure I would still greatly enjoy it," she said. Dusk turned his head in order to look at the sea.

„And would it be a wonderful place without all the water?" he asked. „Would you enjoy it if there was a desert instead of an ocean?" Dawn turned to look at the sea as well and thought for a while. She then smiled.

„I would," she replied. „It'd still be nice here. Maybe it would be a little boring, but certainly just as relaxing." Dusk didn't turn back towards her. Instead he rose to his hind paws and slowly walked over to one of the palm trees.

„I see," he said. „Now imagine this place during a thunderstorm. Imagine how the trees would become uprooted, imagine the sea turning into a roaring beast fighting against its natural restraints, imagine high waves rolling towards this tiny island and imagine the sound of the world coming to an end all over this." He placed his paw on the palm tree and let one of his claws scratch across the rough bark. The sound seemed irritating to Dawn as it was an uncomfortable noise in an otherwise silent surrounding. „Would it still be a nice place?" he asked. Dawn slowly shook her head.

„No, it wouldn't," she spoke, picturing the scene Dusk had just described in her mind. The male Grovyle nodded.

„That's right," he agreed. „You can take away everything from this place, and it'd still be enjoyable to stay here. That is, unless you take away the silence." The female lowered her gaze. She carefully picked up a paw full of sand and then watched it running through her claws.

„This is a wonderful place," she whispered, „because we're alone here." She could see Dusk nod from the corner of her eyes. She blinked.

„But what if you were gone?" she asked not necessarily the male Grovyle a few feet away from her. „I'd feel terribly lonely."

„Have you ever felt lonely?" Dawn heard him speak. The sound of his hind paws brushing across the sand as he stepped in closer towards her reached her ear holes. The female shrugged.

„I don't think so," she replied in a low tone. „All my life, my parents watched out for me, and they even told me I could see them again as soon as I'd reach Tomorrow. The only time I've ever been alone in my life was in the forest of Tonight..." She fell silent as she tried to remember how she had felt back then. It seemed to her like an eternity ago.

„Is loneliness truly such a bad thing?" Dusk asked. She felt him place his paw on her shoulder and a slight shiver went through her body. She normally didn't like to be touched, but it was something different with Dusk. „Do you remember what I told you why the inhabitants of the city cannot leave their home?" he went on. The female Grovyle nodded slowly.

„They're scared," she replied. „They're scared of what's unknown to them."

„Yes," Dusk whispered, placing his second paw on her other shoulder. „And what is it they don't know? What is it they have always been scared of?" Dawn didn't say anything. The male Grovyle slowly moved both of his paws closer to her neck, gently caressing its sides. „Is it freedom, or is it loneliness?" She felt him lower his head a little until it was right next to hers, so that their cheeks almost came in touch with each other. „Maybe there's no difference between those two things. Maybe they're two words for what is essentially the same." Dawn took a deep breath. She kept looking forward, her gaze focused on the endless ocean in front of her.

„I'm not sure that's what I want freedom to be," she spoke in a slightly shivering tone. Dusk retracted his head a little.

„I understand what you mean," he said softly. He stepped to the side and picked up Dawn's red book from the sandy ground. „There is a desire you feel, and this desire is to have everything at once. It's not unusual to want this, but it might prove to be a hindrance in the end. And remember..." He walked around her so that he was now standing right in front of her face. There he opened her book, showing her the white pages. „...once you are truly free, you can have anything you want. But first you have to decide what's more important." Dawn stared at the pages hanging in front of her eyes. Out of nowhere a few black letters appeared. „You want to be free," they said. The Grovyle quickly turned her head to the side.

„I don't want to make such a decision," she mumbled. „I don't want to be free if it means..." She couldn't finish her sentence, as it was too hard for her to say these words. From the corner of her eyes she looked back at the book. The words hadn't changed. Dawn swallowed. „I don't know what to do," she spoke. Dusk slowly closed the book again and placed it in the sand to his side. He then kneeled down in front of the female Grovyle, who turned her head back in his direction.

„Everyone's scared of making decisions," he said in a soft tone. „But this fear is illusionary. There is nothing you have to be afraid of, once you're truly free. None of these things that make you worry are real." He reached out with both of his front paws and took hers. „Think," he said, steadily keeping up eye contact with her. „Every problem can be solved through thinking." Dawn nodded slightly and took a deep breath, trying her best to stay completely calm.

„I could go on, heading for Tomorrow," she whispered while softly kneading Dusk's paws with hers. „Then... then I would never see you again. But I could be with my parents once more, living in a world that I understand." Dusk nodded, silently urging her to go on. „Or I could stay here," she continued, still in a very low tone. „I could stay with you forever. I could be immortal, just like you, and I could... We could..." She shook her head and closed her eyes. She was sure that this was not what Dusk wanted to hear. „Or I could..." She swallowed. „I could be... I could become free..." She opened her eyes again and saw the male Grovyle smile at her. „But I would never be able to see you again!" she nearly shouted. „And neither could I be with my parents! I would be alone..." Dusk slowly shook his head.

„You would be alone for a moment," he replied in a calm tone, „and maybe that moment would feel like an eternity to you. But it would pass. There are few things that are eternal, and fear is not one of them. Then you would learn what true freedom means. You would recognize that there would be no more borders as to what you can do. And if you can do anything you want, Dawn, then you can also be with anyone you want to be with. It'd be different from what you're used to, but..."

„Different?" she repeated shakily. „What do you mean?" A soft smile spread on Dusk's face.

„Do you not think I am different from other people or Pokémon?" he asked her. He slowly let go of her front paws and then rose to his hind legs. „Your life would never be the same again, Dawn," he said, now sounding very serious. „In order to be free, you have to forget about all the illusions you've lived with so far. This will essentially lead to the creation of your own world, as you will see everything in a different way than before. Everything will change. Thus it is only natural that you cannot go on like before. And those who cannot see those changes might not be able to understand you anymore." Dawn blinked. A suspicion had risen within her mind, and she didn't like this new thought at all.

„Are you talking about my family?" she breathed. Dusk slowly turned away from her, now facing the sea.

„I am talking about your parents," he replied in a low tone. „I am talking about two Pokémon who decided to have a child. And by sheer coincidence this child turned out to be you." He took a deep breath. „A family consists of all those in your life who you need. But you don't need anyone but yourself, Dawn. You can be your family, all by yourself." Dawn blinked.

„But they would miss me..."

„If they loved you, they would want you to be free, especially since they obviously could not reach this goal by themselves. They'd be proud of you." Dawn slowly rose to her hind paws as well. She was looking at Dusk's back. The male didn't move.

„My parents told me I should pass through Today as quickly as possible so that I'd get to Tomorrow soon," she said. Dusk nodded.

„What else did they tell you?" Dawn frowned.

„They told me I should take care not to be taken by the Mist Monster..."

„There," Dusk said. „They feared you might recognize how beautiful Today is. Thus they decided to tell you about the Mist Monster, so that you would be scared and really try your best to leave Today as soon as you could." He turned around to look at her and then took a step in her direction again. „It's a good thing you didn't believe them." Dawn blinked in surprise.

„Does that mean the Mist Monster doesn't exist?" she asked. She remembered that, when they had first met, Dusk had seemed to believe the exact opposite. The male Grovyle smiled softly.

„I didn't say anything like that," he replied. „All I'm saying is that it was a good decision not to rush through Today, leaving all of its wonders unseen." Dawn opened her mouth to say something, but then couldn't think of anything; what Dusk had just said had left her with a strangely comforting feeling. Instead she just returned his smile.

„This is all so strange," she spoke, slowly shaking her head. Her mind was full of thoughts, which made her feel a little tired. She slowly sat down in the warm sand again, looking up at the male in front of her. Dawn then patted the spot right next to her. Dusk silently accepted the invitation and sat down besides her. They were both staring at the horizon without saying anything, enjoying the silence. Dawn slid a little closer to Dusk and then leaned against him with her cheek resting on his shoulder. He didn't try to push her off of him in any way. She sighed happily.










It was in a clear night that was illuminated by an uncountable number of shooting stars and a bright, full moon on top of a mountain consisting of some sort of sparkling rock, so high up in the sky that the clouds formed a thick, dark carpet beneath them, when Dawn experienced the first kiss of her life with the male Grovyle.










Dawn awoke; however, she was still feeling rather tired. She didn't know why. Dusk was sitting on the stool next to her bed. He had changed into his human form and was apparently holding the picture of Dawn in his hands. He had its back turned to the Grovyle. She yawned deeply and opened her eyes about halfway.

„Can I see that drawing?" she asked in a low tone, as she didn't feel up for any kind of greater effort at the moment. Dusk smiled at her and shook his head.

„It's not done yet, I'm sorry." Dawn blinked, trying her best to keep her eyes open.

„When will you have finished it?" she wanted to know.

„It won't take too long," he replied. „I promise." The Grovyle chuckled lowly as she sat up in her bed, softly rubbing her forehead with one of her front paws.

„Of course it won't," she agreed. „We're in Today, after all."







When they entered the train Dawn became a little more awake. The large machine started moving. Just before she was about to sit down on the sofa that stood opposite to Dusk's, a strange feeling overcame her. She remained standing and slowly opened her book. „Choose the left one," it said. Dawn slowly turned her head to the left, looking at Dusk's sofa. He was sitting there in his Grovyle form.

Had the train stopped anywhere, Dawn wouldn't have noticed it. She had lost herself within Dusk's gray eyes, in which a frozen flame seemed to wait for someone to rekindle it.







„You never showed me your room," Dawn noted. She was feeling strangely exhausted again; it had happened much sooner than when they had visited their first Dreamscape together. Dusk was currently coming up the stairs to the second story of his house. He was human again. The Grovyle's gaze was fixated on the ceiling, the spot where the small wooden spiral staircase led to.

„You never asked me to show it to you," Dusk said as he closed the hatch behind him. Dawn nodded and then looked over her shoulder at him.

„I'm asking you now." The human showed her a soft smile.

„Very well, then." He slowly began his ascent up the staircase. Dawn was grateful he didn't hurry, since she was feeling way too tired to follow him any faster without taking the risk of tumbling over her own legs and falling back down the stairs. When he had reached the top of the staircase, Dusk opened the hatch in the ceiling and entered the third story. Dawn mentally braced herself for any strange things she perhaps would see up there and then followed him as quickly as she could.
She was somewhat disappointed to see that there was nothing unusual in this small room that had the shape of a pyramid. In fact, there was nothing at all in here except for a very comfortable looking red easy chair. It seemed like nobody had used it in quite a while, as there was dust all over its cushion. Dawn frowned and looked around her. Finally she came to see something a little more interesting; there was a door in one of the walls. It had a golden doorknob, which appeared to be so clean that it was almost shining a little. This was strange. Dawn remembered that, when she had seen the house from outside, there hadn't been any kind of room next to the small pyramid that was the third story. Maybe this door led straight outside, onto the roof.

„What's behind that door?" she asked, pointing at it. Dusk looked at her for a moment, then slowly sat down in the dust covered easy chair.

„Why don't you see for yourself?" he replied. Dawn nodded. She carefully reached out with one of her front paws and turned the doorknob. A low clicking sound reached her ear holes, telling her that she could now push the door open. For some reason she was feeling very excited about this; however, this still didn't let her forget about how tired she was. The Grovyle shook her head in order to keep her mind clear and then opened the door. Her eyes widened in surprise of what lay before her. It was a room that stretched on for such a large distance that she couldn't even see the wall that lay opposite to the one with the door, as the illumination was not exactly the best. There were torches hanging on the wall left to her, which seemed to be made from stone. She was able to recognize small spots of light in the distance where the wall continued. It seemed to go on forever. Dawn slowly shook her head. The room appeared to be filled with, as it seemed to her, thousands and thousands of rows of bookshelves, and they all were filled to the brim with books with red backs. She stepped into the room and carefully pulled one of those books out of the shelf that was standing the closest to her. The Grovyle gasped as she noticed that it was similar to the one that contained her destiny. She quickly opened it and stared at pages filled with strange characters and symbols that she couldn't read. When Dawn closed it again she saw that there were no letters on the book's red cover. It had been just the same with her own book, when Dusk had still held it in his hands in the forest of Tonight.
Dawn quickly shoved the book back into the bookshelf. One quick look confirmed her first thought. All of these books standing here were the same. She took a deep breath in order to stay calm and then left the room as fast as she could without running, slamming the door shut behind her. Dusk was still sitting in the easy chair, watching her with seemingly no emotion in his gray eyes.

„What does all this mean?" she wanted to know. The human shrugged.

„What do you think it means?" he responded. Dawn slowly shook her head. She had left her own book in the second story of the house, but now she wished she would have taken it with her.

„I don't know," she spoke lowly, trying her best to make sense of what she had just seen. She swallowed. „You... Did you lie to me when you gave me that book?" Dawn could see something happen within Dusk's eyes. It seemed like that veil of fog in front of them became thicker. He blinked.

„It saddens me to hear you make such an assumption," he said, his voice just as calm as it was nearly all the time. „I thought you trust me." Dawn nodded.

„I trust you!" she insisted. They just looked at each other for a moment without saying a word. The Grovyle gritted her teeth.

„Can't you just tell me what this is all about!?" she shouted suddenly. „This would be a lot easier for me if you didn't keep so many secrets!" Dusk seemed to think about what to say for a moment. He then spoke:

„You're not the only one with a prewritten destiny." Dawn frowned. This answer didn't really help her. She wanted to say something, but then had a better idea. She quickly opened the hatch in the floor and went down the staircase in order to pick up her red book that she had placed on the ground right next to the hatch in the second story. Dawn then turned around as she wanted to return to the third story; however, Dusk had followed her. He was sitting on the first step of the small staircase, in his Grovyle form.

„Who do you want to tell you what your destiny is, Dawn?" he asked. „Your parents? Me?" He slowly stood up and placed one of his front paws on the book that the female was clutching to her chest as if it were her greatest treasure. „A book?" He was standing right in front of her; there was almost no distance between them. Dawn immediately felt the desire to kiss him again, to experience this unique sensation once more that she had first felt on top of the highest mountain, right in the middle of an ocean of stars.

„I wouldn't mind if it were you," she whispered, her gaze locked with his. He smiled at her. It was a wonderfully warm smile that made her feel special. It told her that she meant something to him.

„I know," he replied in a low tone. „But you should." His paw traveled across the back of the book until it reached Dawn's chest. „This is your destiny, Dawn," he continued. „There is no reason anyone else than you should have the right to shape it." The female Grovyle shook her head.

„I don't even know what a destiny is," she said. Dusk nodded.

„Neither do I," he replied. „But it seems to be pretty important to you." The male slowly retracted his paw and pointed at the book that Dawn was tightly holding to her chest. She swallowed.

„I got it from you," she murmured. „Of course it's important to me." Dusk carefully placed both of his front paws on the book again.

„Please give it to me," he said. Dawn immediately let go of it. Just like on the small island they had visited he opened it and showed her the white pages. „Do you love me, Dawn?" he asked. The female held her breath. She was staring into Dusk's eyes, which had turned into a gray tornado. Something was about to break free from its cage. The female smiled happily.

„Yes," she said. „I love you, Dusk." She could see one of his front paws move as he pointed at the white pages. Dawn lowered her gaze a little. There were letters on the page. „You don't," they said. The Grovyle shook her head. „I do," she spoke. Some of the letters disappeared. „You do." Dawn quickly looked up at Dusk again. He slowly closed the red book.

„You know better than to listen to this," he stated. Dawn blinked.

„But it seemed to guide me so well," she argued. „Without it I probably would have never..."

„Is this what you believe?" he interrupted her. Dawn closed her eyes for a moment. Her head hurt. The mass of different thoughts she had to deal with seemed to have combined with her exhaustion. She raised one of her front paws to softly rub her forehead.

„I'm not sure," she spoke with a hint of a shiver in her voice. „I... I'm finding it hard to think." She felt Dusk place one of his front paws on her cheek, which made her open her eyes again. All of a sudden she felt better, although she was still tired.

„Do you need a guide that disagrees with you on the most important of questions?" he asked firmly. „Do you think you don't know what's good for yourself? Do you think this book knows what freedom truly means?" Dawn swallowed. She remembered how the book had told her she'd want to be free. This confused her. She quickly took it from Dusk and opened it again. „You don't want to live without me," it said. „You want me to be your guide." The female Grovyle didn't know why, but these lines scared her. She dropped the book and hastily stepped backwards. Dusk quickly picked it up and offered it to her again.

„It wants to help you," he said, narrowing his eyes. „It wants you to be free in a way that appeals to itself." There lay an amount of anger in his voice that Dawn had never before heard from him. „Take it!" He shoved the book in her direction. „Take it if you want that kind of freedom!" Dawn quickly took another step back and held her paws in front of her as some sort of protection.

„I don't want it!" she shouted. „I don't want to see that book ever again!" Dusk froze.

„Are you sure about that?" he asked lowly. Dawn nodded hastily.

„Yes, I'm sure. I don't want anything like that to control me!" The male Grovyle threw the book to the ground. It landed right in front of Dawn's hind paws. She quickly kicked it away from her. It slid across the ground for a couple of meters and then came to a halt. The female watched as its cover changed from red to gray within a few seconds. The book then seemed to lose its shape; from the sides to its center the cover as well as all the pages turned into dust. Just a moment later there was nothing left except for a small gray spot on the dark red carpet. Dawn noticed that her breathing had gotten a lot faster than usual. She quickly turned away from where the little pile of dust lay and looked at the male Grovyle again. Dusk slowly walked up to her.

„You won't regret this," he whispered.








When Dawn woke up the next time, she felt an urge to instantly go to sleep again. However, there was an even stronger desire that kept her awake. She wanted to be with Dusk, and she was curious about what he was going to show her. The Grovyle slowly opened her eyes and caught sight of the human, who was sitting on the stool, working on the drawing. He turned his head a little and smiled at her.

„I'm almost finished," he said.







„Dusk," Dawn whispered, thus breaking the silence that had stood between them for a long while now. They were sitting on a strong branch, close to the top of a gigantic tree, which was higher than any of the others that formed a lush green forest that seemed to stretch on forever. Wherever Dawn looked she saw the topside of its canopy, which was of a more than healthy color that shone softly in the afternoon sun. There were hills and valleys, but it was impossible to catch even the slightest glimpse of the ground, as the forest was everywhere. And the tree they were sitting on was its king. Its branches were thick enough so that Dusk and Dawn could have walked along one of them next to each other, so neither of the Grovyles had needed to dig their claws into its bark. They wouldn't fall down.
Dawn was clinging to Dusk, tightly holding on to him with her paws. Had she not known how much this would have hurt him, she would have dug her claws into his skin, just so that she would never have to let go of him again. The male Grovyle's claws were softly massaging her long leaf, and Dawn had to fight to stay awake, as nothing could make her more relaxed than a treatment like this, and she was feeling tired anyway. She had placed her cheek on Dusk's neck, directly under his head.

„I love you, Dusk," she whispered. Even though he did not react in any kind of way she still knew that he had heard her.

„I love you, too, Dawn," he replied after a moment. The female closed her eyes and smiled softly.

„Is that a bad thing?" she asked lowly. Dusk shrugged.

„I don't know," he said. Dawn chuckled lightly.

„It doesn't feel bad," she murmured. She shifted her body a little bit, snuggling closer to Dusk. „I don't want to leave you, Dusk," she continued. „I don't want to leave you ever again. You're the only one I ever truly loved. I don't want to lose you."

„You won't lose me," he whispered. „But you will leave me. And you will want to leave me. And you know this is true." The female sighed softly.

„I'm still scared," she admitted. Dusk slowly moved his paws away from her leaf and instead hugged her tightly.

„I know," he spoke softly. „And you will keep being scared unless you see for yourself that there is nothing to be afraid of. But that's alright. You know how to handle your fears." Dawn nodded slightly, not opening her eyes.

„All the others were scared, too, weren't they?" she asked. She had spoken these words with a smile. Her ear hole was right against Dusk's throat, and she could hear each of his heartbeats. It calmed her down.

„They were," he confirmed. „Everyone's scared." Dawn slowly opened her eyes, which was a rather hard thing to do, considering how exhausted she was feeling. She raised her head just a little and looked up at Dusk's face. His gray eyes were full of warmth as he returned the loving gaze.

„So many," the female whispered. „So many people and Pokémon were with you already. And yet I still know that I'm special to you, just like they all were." She giggled lowly. „If everyone's special... Doesn't that mean that in the end, no one is?" Dusk shook his head and gave her a soft kiss on her nose.

„It doesn't," he replied. „No one in the world is exactly like you. How could you ever not be special?" Dawn closed her eyes again and purred softly.

„You'll never forget any of them, right?" Dusk embraced her a little tighter.

„As long as someone means something to you, Dawn, you will never forget them." The female rested her cheek on his neck again and smiled broadly. She was feeling so wonderfully tired. In the distance she could hear the train pounding through the lands.









When Dawn awakened she felt so exhausted that it seemed impossible to her to even think of moving a limb. She was lying on her side like always, since this was the position Dusk wanted to draw her in. The Grovyle didn't open her eyes. She knew there was a reason she was awake, but she had trouble thinking. However, there was something that told her that this would be her last chance to see her one true love, and this thought was confirmed when she felt a soft paw brush across her cheek. Dawn opened her eyes about halfway. It took some time for her gaze to focus on anything, but after a moment she could recognize her beloved Grovyle standing next to her bed. She smiled upon seeing him.

„Dusk..." she murmured lowly, „I didn't think I..." It was hard for her to speak, since it took so much effort to move her mouth. Dusk's face came closer to hers and he gave her a kiss on her cheek.

„There's something I still want to do for you," he whispered. „It'll help you remember me. It'll help you remember that there is beauty in this world." Dawn blinked. She was feeling slightly less tired now, but she knew it wouldn't last for long. The Grovyle seemed to disappear from her viewing range. As she tried to follow him with her eyes she noticed that the curtain around the corner in which her bed stood was closed. On the stool there was a piece of paper and a pencil. She couldn't really see the drawing from her point of view, but she still knew there were only a few last details missing. Dawn finally found the strength to raise her head a little and look in the direction Dusk had gone off to. She could see him kneeling on the bed right next to her hind paws. The female blushed a little as she noticed the slightly glistening red pole of flesh between his hind legs, but it made her smile as well. She carefully rolled over on her back, moving her head a little to the side so that her large leaf wouldn't get caught between her body and the bed. Dawn spread her hind legs and then held out one of her front paws.

„Please..." she whispered. Dusk nodded at her and carefully took her paw with his. He gave her a lick across its backside and proceeded moving his tongue along one of the three leaves growing from Dawn's wrist, all up to its tip. The female purred a little and felt herself become slightly wet with excitement. She had never done this before, but she wasn't afraid. Dusk knew what he did, and he would never hurt her.
The male Grovyle slowly positioned himself, placing his front paws next to Dawn's sides and his hind legs between hers. He lowered his body until their bellies touched each other; however, he took care not to make Dawn carry any of his weight. The female arched her neck and pushed her head back into the pillow as she felt the tip of Dusk's penis come in touch with her waiting entrance. Before he pushed into her, he brought his face closer to hers and the two Grovyles engaged in a loving kiss. Their long tongues quickly found each other and started a passionate dance to which they appeared to instinctively know all the necessary moves. Dawn closed her eyes, deeply enjoying both the movement of Dusk's tongue as well as the warmth of his body that now seemed to be closer to hers than ever before. Thus, she hardly even noticed it when the male Grovyle broke through the physical representation of her virginity; however, she did notice very well that her vagina, which had gotten damp with her own fluids, was spread apart by the one she loved. It was a sensation so intense that she had never felt anything comparable ever before, and it made her instinctively wrap her hind legs around his waist, pushing them down on his bottom in order to make him push his erection deeper into her. Her front paws seemed to follow the exact same desire as she held on to him tighter than ever before, and even her tongue was wrapped around his. She just wanted to be as close to him as somehow possible, nothing else. However, when Dusk carefully pulled his hips backwards again, leaving her vagina empty and hollow for a moment, only to then thrust himself deep into her once more, spreading her walls apart and making her experience the greatest of all pleasures imaginable, she even had trouble focusing on that simple desire.

Dawn gasped loudly as Dusk broke the kiss. She couldn't open her eyes as she was too occupied with what her other senses were telling her, but she didn't need to see anything anyway. Dusk somehow managed to set up a pace of shoving his erection into her sensually, carefully and forcefully all at the same time. Still, Dawn knew he wasn't doing his best yet, as he seemed intent on not letting his entire penis enter her, but always pulled out again just a tiny moment before this would happen. But this didn't matter so much as the pleasure she was feeling was unbelievingly great anyway. She moaned his name each time he thrusted into her, and sometimes a shiver of enjoyment went through her body, which came from the caresses the male was administering to her neck. His long, slightly rough tongue was traveling between her chin and her chest, and Dawn felt the urge to stretch her neck as much as possible, just so that more of it could be licked. Meanwhile her lower body was desperately trying to get Dusk's whole penis into her vagina, and, if possible, keep it there; her hind legs were pushing down on his bottom each time he thrusted, and her hips moved upwards a little. Still, Dusk seemed to know exactly what she was trying to do and paid attention to shorten his actions in such a way that there was always a little bit more for Dawn to be desired. This didn't keep him from picking up the pace, though, and which each thrust into the female she could feel his belly and chest rub against hers, making her feel warmer and warmer.

He kissed and licked her neck, he set her body on fire and he made her squeal in pleasure, but it wasn't quite enough. Within a very short amount of time Dusk had managed to get her on the brink of climaxing, but so far he seemingly intended to keep her there. Through all the pure sexual bliss she was feeling a single thought slowly rose to life within her mind. She opened her eyes and then, just before Dusk was about to shove himself into her again, rolled her body to the left with all the strength she could muster. Since she was holding on to her love so tightly, and since her action happened too sudden for him to do anything against it, she took him with her. When their bodies had turned enough so that Dusk was now lying beneath Dawn she quickly stopped her movement. The male looked up at her; he wasn't surprised. Dawn smiled happily, brought her mouth close to his ear hole and whispered:

„I love you." Dusk quickly embraced her just like she had held him before, tightly holding her with all of his four paws. His penis was about halfway buried within her vagina at the moment, and without any further delay Dawn raised her hips a little and then slammed them down on Dusk's. His erection slid into her all the way, parting her walls just like before; however, this time its tip seemed to touch a special spot within Dawn's depths. Had Dusk not held on to her, she would have arched her back and screamed in pure pleasure; this way she only did the latter. The female kept her body tightly pressed against Dusk's as she quickly raised her shivering hips again in order to repeat the process. Each time she took in her love's entire penis it was like an explosion within her vagina, as this special spot was stimulated over and over again. Her whole body suddenly felt incredibly sensitive, and the fact alone that she could feel Dusk being so very close to her seemed to nearly make her orgasm already. Over her own yells of sexual bliss she could almost not hear the male's moans, as he responded to the movement of her hips by grinding his crotch against hers, thus slightly moving his penis inside of her and rubbing it against her most sensitive spot, which made it even better for Dawn. After slamming and grinding her hips against his for a few times she knew that this was the end; one last time she raised her lower body, one last time she lay all her remaining energy into this motion and one last time she could feel Dusk's throbbing erection deep within her, tickling her, caressing her, rubbing her in her most private area. She kept her crotch pressed tightly against his as she howled, her very soul seemingly engulfed by a flame of passion. Her vagina became even tighter than before and she could feel the muscles in her lower body contract. Each of these cramps made her shower Dusk's penis with her juices and brought her the greatest pleasure she had ever known. Additionally she noticed her love's erection twitch and throb as he shot his semen into her, making her feel even more warm and loved than before. Dusk's tongue trailed across her cheek, and this seemed to make it even better. Dawn's entire body was shivering, enjoying the incredible feeling coming from deep within her vagina and the feeling of being filled with her loved one's seed.

A blissful eternity later, as it seemed to Dawn, her climax slowly began wearing off again. She could hear herself panting deeply and smiled happily. Even though the sexual stimulation was disappearing now she could still feel the warmth of Dusk tightly holding her embraced. She sighed softly as his shrinking penis left her vagina; however, it did not make her feel empty anymore. Never before had she felt as satisfied as in this moment. Her cheek was resting on Dusk's shoulder, and all of a sudden her enormous exhaustion seemed to find its way back into her body. Nevertheless she opened her eyes in order to look at the male. He was smiling at her, which made her smile as well. Dusk gave her a soft kiss on her cheek, then carefully rolled over on his side. Dawn didn't resist. She knew what was going to happen in a moment.

„I love you, too, Dawn," he said in a low tone. „Wherever you go, and whatever you'll do there, I want you to remember me. I want you to think of the beauty we shared and always will share. I want you to never forget that you love me, and that I love you just as much." The female Grovyle giggled softly.

„You have my word," she whispered. He gave her a long, sensual lick along her nose and her forehead, to which she responded with a soft purr; he then carefully released her from his embrace and got off of the bed. Dawn turned over on her other side, positioning her body exactly like she had always done it when she was going to sleep. She felt a comforting happiness deep within her as she noticed that Dusk hadn't changed his form. He took the drawing and the pencil into his paws and sat down on his stool. One last time the two Grovyles shared a deep gaze full of love with each other, which seemed to say more than even an infinite amount of words ever could. Dusk then slowly began working on the picture again. Dawn smiled broadly as she closed her eyes, letting her exhaustion take over her body.











As soon as the last line was drawn, thus making the picture a perfect likeness of the female Grovyle, Dawn stopped breathing. The Mist Monster slowly stood up from its stool and walked over to the bed, still not changing its form. It looked at the picture and then at the Grovyle's body. It was a flawless drawing. The Mist Monster reached out with one of its paws, carefully placing it on Dawn's cheek. It closed its eyes for a moment, trying its best not to feel sad. There was no reason for feeling sad. Dawn was free.

The Mist Monster turned around and took the curtain aside, not watching anymore as the female Grovyle's body melted into thin air, leaving behind absolutely nothing. It hurried upstairs, opened the hatch in the ceiling and stepped through the door, right into the room where an infinite number of books was stored. It stepped up to the first bookshelf and reached for the book in the upper left corner. The Mist Monster then quickly made its way downstairs again and put the red book in the bag that was hanging from the top of its wooden pole. It turned towards the corner with the bed, seeing that Dawn's body had vanished completely. A soft sigh escaped the Mist Monster's lips as it took the finished drawing from the stool. It then reached for the wooden pole and climbed through the hatch in the floor.

Right above the very last step of the staircase, counting from the bottom, there was the only free area on the wall. The Mist Monster carefully held the drawing against the wall, and it stuck there on its own. For a small moment the Mist Monster kept looking at this new picture, but then it shook its head and quickly made its way downstairs.









The new Dreamscape was a very special and unique place, just like all the others were, too. There was a broad river, reflecting the rose light of the rising sun, which was surrounded by a dense forest that stretched as far as the Mist Monster could see. Eventually the river ended in a large, almost circular lake, which had an island at its center. There were a few trees on it, as well as a fallen log on which the Mist Monster was currently sitting. Many different flowers made the grassy ground colorful, and the shore of the island was at some spots enforced by big rocks, which had a rough surface that glistened in the soft light of the sun, which was just peering over the edge of the forest in the distance. The Mist Monster still hadn't changed its form. It closed its eyes, enjoying the unique feeling of experiencing a new day begin. Its large leaf moved a little when a gentle gust of wind brushed across the scenery, touching its whole body in a loving caress.

„This is just for you, Dusk," it could hear the wind whisper in the sweet silence surrounding it. „Thank you." A smile appeared on the Mist Monster's face. Here in this Dreamscape, it would forever be dawn.



It kept sitting on the log for an eternity, and yet not even for a moment. It then opened its gray eyes again; they were the eyes of a rather tall human female with long gray hair, a gray robe and a string holding a simple gray stone around her neck. The Mist Monster slowly stood up from the fallen tree and reached for the wooden pole with its thin, slender fingers. The red book in the bag made it heavier than usual.


In the distance it could hear the train pounding through the lands.











(23460 words)




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This ends the first and last chapter of this story because, as opposed to certain movie companies, I know when something is finished. I certainly hope you understood this story in a way that appeals to you; however, if you have any questions or comments please take the time to leave a review or email me at [email protected] . Thank you very much for reading, I think I'll start working on the next chapter for the Mansion now.



-- Lion vom Silberwald