July 21st, First Year

Quick footsteps echoed on the cavern floor. Behind them, a wave of sand and pebbles showered down, spilling over the lip of the perilous drop in one noisy cascading landslide. A silhouette struggled out of the powdery sand, reaching out to grab a stalagmite before pulling themself free. They shook bits of rock and debris from their clothes as they made to stand, reaffixing their headscarf snugly around their head. Jaku grunted as she braced against a wider stalagmite, her eyes zeroing in on the dimly lit entrance to the cavern that was slowly but surely sealing itself shut, the limestone congealing into a solid wall. "What a way to make an entrance."

Almost immediately, a persistent ticking sound began to play incessantly within the strange space, the sigils along the time pendant glowing a serene teal. The pendant then thrummed once on her chest, the stone backing melding with the flexible gear.

"Welcome To The First Trial, Champion."

Jaku, feeling a cold presence right at her neck, quickly shut her eyes, her legs inadvertently lowering into a kneel as the unknown entity wrapped a smooth, cold tendril around her neck. She only barely recognized the feeling, remembering the harsh, rough wooden boards of the bridge in the Obsidian Fieldlands. "Y-you again, huh?" Jaku rasped.

The tendril squeezed a little tighter. "Yes. I Return To You, Champion. Though-" the weight upon her neck increased- "I Fully Expect Your Cordialness. Any Insubordination To The Task Ahead Will Make Things More… Difficult."

"Sure- I mean, yeah. Of course."

The squeezing lessened. Now, a ghost of something soft wavered over her ears. "Will I Have Your Full Cooperation, Champion?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then Listen Well." The presence on her neck vanished. "You May Open Your Eyes, Champion. I Must Impart To You Some Knowledge Before You Continue On."

Jaku hesitantly opened her eyes, adjusting to the sheer darkness of the cave. The air was stagnant and rank, thick dust falling from the ceiling and with it ice cold drops of water. Piles upon piles of sand sat around her, so thick that she couldn't feel the solid floor beneath her feet. Once again, a terrible sense of deja vu forced her body into motion, closer to the edges of the room where the sea of sand thinned out. To her surprise, the disembodied voice kept on talking inside her head.

"You Are Here To Recover The First Time Gear And You Are The Only Champion Able To Do So. Recovering The Time Gear Will Not Be Easy; I Suspect That Your Time Idling In The Present Has Sapped Your Knowledge Of These Places. You Might Need The Assistance Of A pokémon. Call Upon One If You Wish It."

Before Jaku could reach for her belt, the third pokéball on her belt burst open, Peanut the Eevee leaping forward with a bark of delight. It ducked around her feet before sniffing at the air, the hair along its spine raising.

"Good. Your Partner Seems Ready For The Task Ahead."

"What… What is the task ahead?" Jaku paused, not quite sure what to call the voice that rattled around in the back of her head. Anger burned at her throat as she reached to pick up Peanut, combing her fingers through its silky coat. She was beginning to hate telepathy and was unsure why the prospect of taking Peanut with her made her skin prickle uncomfortably. "What am I supposed to do…? I'm sorry. I don't know what to call you."

The voice gave a dry, rasping laugh. "Azelf. I Am Azelf, The Willpower pokémon."

"Alright then, Azelf," Jaku swallowed, edging away from the perilous drop in the cave. "How should I proceed?"

"You Are Ready To Act. This Is Good."

Jaku was quickly turned around to face the depths of the cave, her feet involuntarily moving her toward a winding slope into the darkness etched into the side of the cave wall. It was barely wide enough for her to walk on and looked too frail to support her weight.

"The Time Gear Lies In The Drenched Depths of Lake Valor. In Order To Reach It, You Must First Persevere Through The Challenges This Cave Will Force Upon You. Beware, The Trail Into The Depths Is Long And Arduous. For This, I Will Enable A Gift Upon You To Better Help You Reach The End. Prepare Yourself, Champion."

"...What?"

A blinding flash of light lit up the caverns forcing Jaku to avert her eyes as the floor spun away from her. The drawling voice wavered and ebbed, a pit of nausea forming in her gut as she braced against the cold cavern floor. Her limbs felt as though they were burning, a faint shock of pain pulsing along her hands, feet, and face as she fell to her knees, cradling her head in her hands as she resisted the urge to vomit. This is like a second bought of time sickness. And just as suddenly as it had come, it had vanished. She was then left to flinch back as a wet nose poked into her side, soft fur brushing against her flank.

"Hey, hey! It's okay, buddy! You can get up now!"

Jaku blinked. That didn't sound like Azelf. She blinked open her eyes only to stare as she came face-to-face with Peanut who was now staring at her quizzically. Did Azelf shrink me down to size or am I still reeling from whatever Azelf did to me? Jaku only shrugged off the confusion, chuckling nervously. "Oh, it's just you, Peanut," she mumbled coarsely, taking relief in the fact that her pokémon was still by her side.

Peanut gave her a confused blink, cocking its head to the side. "This is… weird," it whined, its large ears falling flat against its neck. "It's gonna take some time to get used to… this."

Jaku gaped at her partner. "…Did you just talk?"

Peanut narrowed its eyes. "…Yes? Why wouldn't I? I'm not mute."

"You- you're a pokémon! You- I shouldn't be able to understand what you're saying!" Jaku blabbered. She took a step back, noting with abject horror the clawed, golden appendages where her arms were supposed to be. "Ack!" She turned herself around in circles, her eyes landing on a flame-tipped tail that dragged in the sand. "Oh, fuck."

Where her arms used to be were now long scaly, golden appendages with patches of glittering ebony scales, five serrated black claws taking the place of her fingernails. She stared at her scaly feet with their long, webbed talons and then at the long serpentine tail that glittered with golden flames, pointy scutes sticking up along the length of her entire body. No matter where she looked, nasty scars could be found on every part of her body. Her legs, her belly, her arms- even her throat.

Jaku opened her mouth to speak aloud, pausing when her tongue slid over a row of only sharp incisors and a tongue that felt awfully thin and cold. "You… you turned me into a pokémon," Jaku rasped, one scaly rubbing hand rubbing along her face as she recoiled from the transformation.

"Get Accustomed To Your New Body," Azelf commanded. "Once You Are Ready, Proceed Into The Cavern. But Be Warned: You Cannot Rest Here Forever. Time Within This Rift Is Limited, Champion. Once You Begin The Trial, You Cannot Leave Until It Is Finished."

"And if I fail?"

"You Won't." And with a quiet whisper, Azelf had gone, the cold presence vanishing from the cave completely.

"This is weird," Peanut commented weakly, coming over to inspect Jaku with its wide dark eyes.. "Never thought I would see you as a pokémon, mast- I mean, buddy."

"You think? Try being turned into a pokémon." Jaku shakily took a step forward, struggling to adjust with her new proportions. "I need to get used to this flesh suit first before I go anywhere. Won't be of any use if I'm tripping over myself."

"We," Peanut corrected. "Before we go anywhere. Didn't you hear Azelf? We're in it together." Peanut carefully guided her along as Jaku took practice steps across the cave. "You helped me out when I was in a pinch so I'm gonna help you too!" he vowed. "I've been waiting to prove that I can help you just like you helped me! So just watch me!"

Jaku kept her dubious thoughts to herself as her partner helped her get used to her new body. Is he being serious or will this just be a staple that Peanut regularly uses whenever I happen to get into this situation? Before her first skip, Jaku would've been over the moon about being able to speak and work with her pokémon. Now? She gave Peanut a fleeting glance when the pokémon turned away, biting her tongue in frustration. Now, she couldn't see him as anything more than an assistant. She'd just lose him too when the time came to it. No need to forge bonds meant to be broken later on down the line.

"So… how on earth do I use moves?"

Unknown Day, First Year

Azelf had truly understated how difficult the trial would be.

Jaku wheezed as she slid from the cave wall, a sharp pain lancing up her spine as the hostile pokémon lunged closer still, Peanut trying his best but failing to intercept as the enemy Tyranitar tossed him into the cave wall like it had her. She struggled to her feet, blood dripping from her mouth as she spat and dove back into the sand. The earth shook. Jaku dug her way through the sand before emerging behind the great beast, clawing her way up its back snarling with fury. Peanut hissed as it tossed up a volley of stars, the little pieces smacking uselessly into the Tyranitar's hide as the little Eevee tried its best to stay out of close-range.

"Hey, partner!" Peanut called. "I don't think we can win this one!"

"Heard you the first time!" Jaku retorted furiously, trying to sink her claws into the Tyranitar's eyes. "I need to make a diversion!" She had tried. Really, she had. Being a fire-type pokémon in a place exclusive to rock and ground types just made every defeat sting more. She took a deep breath and vaulted onto the pokémon's face, breathing out a plume of thick soot and smoke directly into its eyes.

The Tyranitar bellowed in rage and with one massive hand, grasped her by the base of her tail and slammed her into the sandy floor, raising one foot to stomp on her. Jaku barely managed to throw herself out of the way, getting a mouthful of pebbles and sand for her trouble.

"Come on!" Peanut wailed. "Let's get out of here!"

Jaku didn't need any other convincing. They had run from numerous other fights and this would be their seventh failed attempt to escape the over-powered Tyranitar that blocked their attempts from progressing to the lower depths of Quicksand Cave.

Peanut shot into a narrow crevice in the side of the sandy cave, reaching through to help pull Jaku in as the Tyranitar came barreling toward them. Jaku scrabbled harder against the cave walls until she pulled herself free, trying to keep pace with Peanut as they ran as fast as their legs could carry them. The cave shook. The rock wall that they had squeezed through cracked under the force of the Tyranitar trying to break through.

The two pokémon came to a screeching halt as the cavern ended in a large cliff, too high for either of them to climb properly. Jaku gritted her teeth and approached, her breath coming out as smoke. "Hold on to my back," she commanded, lowering herself down onto the dusty floor. "I can get us both up there."

"We won't manage it!" Peanut retorted. The Eevee trembled as wave after wave of vibrations assaulted the cavern. "It's breaking through!"

"Just hold on!" Jaku snapped. She hastily grabbed Peanut's scruff between her teeth and hoisted him up as she hooked her serrated claws into the cliff wall, her muscles screaming in protest as she slowly began to scale the rock wall.

Something squeaked from below. Peanut jerked in her grasp before attempting to quicken up the pace, scrabbling at the rock wall with his useless, blunted claws.

"Come on! Come on! There's a Sandslash right below us!"

"Mhm syyng!" Jaku heaved Peanut up higher, her jaw and arms burning. The wall quaked around her and the squeak grew into a frenzied shriek of anger.

"Almost there-!" Peanut wrenched out of her grasp and fought its way onto the clifftop, reaching down to pull Jaku up in return. Its grip was too weak. Jaku instead fought her way up until she collapsed, heaving as she fought to get air into her lungs, her mouth choked with Peanut's shaggy fur.

"No time to rest! Let's go!" Peanut tried to swing Jaku onto its back, failing miserably. He then shoved his nose under her side and attempted to heave her upwards. Another failure.

"I'm too heavy for you to carry," Jaku grumbled in response, ignoring the glimmer of pain that flashed in her partner's eyes. "You lead- I'll follow."

The two made a mad dash for another cleft in the rock, darting through hallway after hallway until they came to a pool of sinking sand. Once they were sure that they weren't being followed, they separated and lay quietly in the dark room, their labored breathing filling the silence.

Jaku was the first to speak, having kept a watchful eye on the entrance to their crawlspace. "Do you- hggh- do you think we- we- stars above, its so hard to breathe!" She swallowed. "Do you- I think- we should be in the clear now."

Peanut shakily got to their paws, staring worriedly around the cave. "I think… I think we're safe. For now," they added quietly. They laid one long ear against the cave floor, seemingly satisfied with what they detected when they laid their head back on their paws. "I don't hear any approaching enemies. We're good."

"Oh, goody. Finally, I can breathe."

For a few minutes, the two partners collected their breath, studying their surroundings before falling into a contemplative silence. A silence that Peanut broke with a whine.

"Hey… partner?"

"Yeah?"

"I- I don't think we can progress from here. I think we have to head back the way we came."

Jaku merely chuckled out of exhaustion and went back to laying lazily in the sand. "I hope you're not suggesting going out there and getting clobbered. I'd rather not. Anything but starting over from the beginning."

Jaku hadn't known what Azelf had been hinting to when the deity had mentioned that she couldn't fail but after their first defeat at the hands of a Sandslash, she'd gotten it pretty quickly: they couldn't fail because time- while being an ever-present constant- wasn't exactly linear there. That is, the time limit on their escapade would repeat each time they failed and when time reset, they would wind up back at the entrance to the sandy cave with their memories intact; but not their wounds. They could try forever and still be locked into an endless time loop should they fail to succeed.

"But hey! We're getting stronger," Peanut had cheered, Jaku remembering that his previously weak Swift now managed to break through rock walls. "If we keep trying, we can overpower the enemy pokémon in one run. Hopefully, soon!"

Jaku ran one scaly hand down her snout, grimacing when one of her claws caught along a crack in the mud plating on her face. "I don't know how many runs we can do before I start to lose my sanity, Peanut." She gingerly peeled off the mud plating, revealing her sensitive scales underneath and with it, the large slicing scars across the bridge of her nose. "I'm starting to see why Azelf had to give me some warnings before they pushed us in here."

"Aw! Cheer up, partner! At least we're working as a team!" Peanut got to his paws and pointedly moved to lay down beside her, his dark eyes still glittering with hope. "I've got you and you've got me. We're in this together, and two heads are better than one. We'll find a way through this eventually."

…Through. Jaku peered tiredly at the ever-sinking pit of sand before her, her eyes widening as she felt around in the ground. Sand. Moving sand. The sand is going somewhere. She shoved one clawed hand as far as it could go in the sand. Clack! The terrain was hard about an arm's length beneath her feet. Steady. Solid. "Peanut, I need you to hear me out but… I think I know how we can progress from here."

"How?" Peanut stilled, following her line of sight to the cascading waves of sand. His muzzle immediately scrunched up, his eyebrows screwed up as he stepped back a few paces, his tail between its legs. "Stop that thought immediately. If we jump in there, we'll get smooshed no matter what. You really want to chance that?"

"Think about it," Jaku cut through. "This is the furthest we've managed to make it in here. We've never made it to this room before. How many days have we been stuck in this loop? Think. The ground beneath us is solid." And as if to prove a point, she used her tail to gesture the depth, Peanut cautiously sticking his paw into the hole. "All this sand has to be coming from somewhere, but it doesn't flood the cave. I think there's another room beneath us. All we have to do is have the courage to jump in."

"You realize that if we jump in and it's just deadly quicksand, then we'll sink and have to start all over again, right?" Peanut queried. "I don't want to drown in sand."

"Well, neither do I," Jaku admitted, "but I also don't want to be stuck here wandering in aimless circles forever. This is our first lead to getting out. At least, I think so. You want to leave this place too, right?"

"…Yeah. Yeah, I want to get out of the place," Peanut grumbled. "It was fun at first but now it just stinks being here." The Eevee narrowed his eyes at the large bag that Jaku wore at her side, a mixture of disgust and annoyance clear on his face. "Too many items. Too many strange pokémon- can't even tell if they're actually real or not. This whole place stinks."

Jaku snickered, knowing that her partner had had a number of mishaps including mixing up seeds. "Then help me find something long so that I can test my idea. Oh! Find a stalactite and I'll stick a few together. We can see just how far this pit goes." Within the hour, the two had managed to stick three rather large stalactites together, and with a firm grasp, Jaku proceeded. "Let me do it," she had argued. "It was my idea."

"Sure, sure," Peanut nodded dubiously, "But if you get sucked in then we both go straight back to the dungeon entrance. Don't forget."

"Don't call it a dungeon. You make it sound worse than it is. And besides," she remarked snidely, using her heated breath to melt the rocks. "You're just mad that you're colorblind."

Peanut immediately turned red, his ears flattening on his neck as his fur began to bristle. "Now see here! That was an honest mistake! How was I supposed to know the difference between heal seeds and warp seeds?"

"Heal seeds have stripes on 'em," Jaku replied, her enjoyment clear in the hushed laughter of her tone. "Warp seeds are hollow and if you shake them, they sound like maracas."

"You're crazy. And we're stuck in a time loop on some mystery task to appease a deity pokémon. What else should I call it, hmm? A 'mystery dungeon'?"

A moment of silence passed between them before they both chuckled. "Nah."

The stalactite lurched in Jaku's talons, pulling her small frame dangerously close to the edge of the pit. As soon as the large hunk was in position, Jaku let go, watching as the rock sank into the depths. And then, it jerked forward and fell numerous lengths before thudding into something below.

Jaku turned and grinned at Peanut, her tail wagging behind her as she started toward the pit. "I knew it!" she cheered. "And you didn't believe me. Alright, it's go-time."

Unknown Day, First Year

Jaku dug her teeth into a Skorupi's exoskeleton, reducing the bug's exoskeleton to ash as its visage disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She sent a look to Peanut who had finished chasing an overwhelmed Nincada away. They both nodded. Peanut clambered onto Jaku's back and with a heave, Jaku carefully slid down along the cliff until they reached the bottom of the quicksand pit.

Jaku's body ached, littered with numerous scars and bruises from the fights that had awaited them the moment they had set foot into the pit. This space was tougher than the quicksand cave, but at the very least, whenever they failed, they were sent back to the room with the spiraling sand instead of back at the cave entrance.

The more they battled, the more Jaku became accustomed to acting as a pokémon. Moves came easier. Conjuring fire and swimming through the earth became like second nature as she swung her tail forward to light up the cave. Whenever they passed a pool of water, Jaku would take a moment to study her reflection carefully. It always unnerved her slightly when they passed by pools of still water. She would glimpse her own blackish-brown eyes. A face covered in golden and brown scales. Four curved horns.

"Think they're any oran berries in the next room?" Peanut asked cheerfully.

Jaku dragged herself away from the small pool of water, shaking off the feeling of intense deja vu. "I hope so. We could both use a pick-me-up."

They emerged into a wide cave. Long, stalactites like fangs of stone jutted from the cavern ceiling forming wide steady pillars creeping with lichen. Water sloshed against limestone, the ticking noise from earlier becoming a long, steady tempo that pounded in Jaku's ears. The silence was deafening. The two pokémon approached albeit a little slower, their eyes widening at the visage before them.

There, in the middle of the cave supported by two arching pillars of limestone adorned with glowing ancient sigils glowing an unearthly hue of teal that seemed almost too bright to witness,was a shivering, pulsating object. It undulated, clicking incessantly in one direction as its shining emerald-green silhouette twitched in the opposite direction. The water around the object rippled as though reacting to unheard music, beads of water rising from the wavering surface to hover before falling back into the crystal-clear water.

"Did we-"

"We actually did it?" Jaku breathed.

The time gear spun in place, illuminating the strange carvings within the cave walls, long lost to time and erosion from the underground lake. Jaku felt herself instinctively move forward, the waters of the lake parting to reveal a natural bridge of stones as she approached. A sense of wonder, dread, and temptation ticked along her spine as she reached forward with one clawed hand.

The time gear burned cold against the flesh of her palms, singing with a feeling Jaku couldn't even begin to describe. Why do I feel so apprehensive about this thing? She breathed as a gentle headache throbbed at the base of her head. Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something important? Jaku cleared her throat. "Do we… Azelf wanted us to take this and bring it back to them."

"Then we take it," Peanut replied tersely, shuffling his paws. "I don't think retrieving it will be all that easy. We might have to make a grab-and-dash."

"Fine. That's… fine." Jaku felt her headache worsening, one hand reaching up to massage her temple. "Okay. Once I snatch it, we need to get out of here as fast as possible. Are we on the same page?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking, partner."

The headache grew even worse. Jaku took a deep breath, the corners of her mouth wavering. "I hope we have enough Reviver Seeds. Do you still have that Quick Orb?"

"No idea. I've got three of those glassy things tucked away in here somewhere. You can tell them apart. You tell me," Peanut commented, reaching into the ruff around his neck to seize a shiny cobalt orb. "Is this it?"

Jaku peered at the crystalline orb, catching the glint of the two identical layers formed within the orb. "Yup. That's a Quick Orb. You ready to go?"

Peanut rolled the orb forward. "Ready to use them whenever you're ready, partner."

Jaku's headache grew even worse, her peripheral vision beginning to waver. "You know you can call me by my human name, right?"

"Well, you don't call me 'Eevee'- you call me 'Peanut'. Think of 'partner' as my nickname for you. And anyways, we don't have time to argue about names." He reared back onto his hind legs and using his teeth, threw down the Quick Orb. It shattered into a million little pieces. Peanut seemed to vibrate with energy as he flashed toward the cavern entrance. "Let's get this done."

"Right."

The moment Jaku snatched the time gear from its place, the ground beneath them began to heave. The stalagmites crumbled. In her hands, the time gear lost its glow, the ticking noise growing faster and faster until Jaku could no longer keep pace with the object. Time was flowing faster. She froze; Azelf had mentioned that this trial would be timed. She stumbled forward, her heartbeat quickening.

"Go, go, go! The time rift is collapsing!"

They barreled down corridors and turned down halls, Jaku noticing with increasing fear that the rooms behind them were vanishing into thin air. She picked up the pace, tossing Peanut up a cliff before dragging herself upward just as the cave floor behind her turned into an abyss. It was a race against time and the further they moved, the faster the time gear spun.

They shot through each room at a feverish pace, avoiding any and all conflicts with enemy pokémon that had begun to melt into formless shapes, eyes gleaming the same monotone color that the collapsing time rift gave off. Their squeals and roars of anger turned to unintelligible gobbledygook, almost a perfect replica of a human's as they gave chase.

The time gear burned colder in Jaku's hands. The team leaped over a gully and skidded across the now still ocean of sand at the door to the dungeon's entrance, throwing up waves of grit as they chased the fading light ahead. They gave no thought to their own limbs, practically throwing themselves at the cliffs as they came upon the waterfall of falling sand that led them into the pit. Peanut paused and with a huff, boosted Jaku onto a hanging stalactite who then dragged the Eevee upward and out of the pit of sand.

A loud bell-like chime echoed once then twice, a cold spike of apprehension causing Jaku to throw down yet another Quick Orb as they reentered the quicksand cave. They dashed through caves, clambered over fallen stalagmites, and even busted through a few cave walls out of sheer desperation, the color starting to fade from their surroundings.

Jaku nearly cried with relief as she finally sighted the entrance to the cavern, her claws clicking loudly on the rock floors as she raced toward the burning light. And it was like breaking through the surface tension of a lake. She tumbled forward before she collided face-first into the ground, some invisible force stopping her dead in her tracks. Peanut followed suit and stumbled as well, sliding across the cavern floor before they both fell quiet and stilled.

"Peanut…?" Jaku called weakly. She couldn't move. Her headache had gotten so bad that the vision in her right eye had cut out completely. It now seared at the flesh behind her eyes, throbbing as if someone was pumping her head full of water. She hissed in pain, curling in on herself as she strained to find her teammate. "Hey, buddy?... Are you alright?"

The room grew cold and quiet. "They Are Fine. They Have Served Their Purpose And So I Have Returned Them Back To Their Capturing Device. Worry Not."

Jaku breathed a sigh of relief, letting her head slam back into the sand. She knew that voice. It was Azelf. They had made it. They had made it out of the time rift. She closed her eyes and let the pain of her migraine wash over her, desperate to sleep. I just want to sleep. I've earned this.

"And So You Have," Azelf mused. "Do Not Forget That I Can Hear Your Thoughts, Champion. Nonetheless, You Have Passed The First Trial."

"Okay, cool," Jaku gasped, burying her head into the sand in an attempt to block out the deity's all-consuming voice.. "I'm gonna take a long nap now, okay?"

The cold presence from before returned with a vengeance, forcing her into a standing position as a silky tendril wavered over her shoulders. "No, You May Not. There Is Still Work To Do. You Are Only Still On The First Trial Of Many."

Jaku grimaced, nausea building in her stomach. "How many trials do I have left, Azelf?"

"Accounting For The Minor Gears, Nine. You Must Find And Retrieve All The Time Gears. But For Now, You Have Finished Your Task. I Will Return You Back To Your Human Form. Once You Awaken," Azelf began, a comfortable warmth spreading from her shoulders to her legs, "You Will Wait Until A New Gear Becomes Ready To You. Do Not Seek The Gears Until You Have Received A Sign. Am I Understood?"

"…Yeah, Azelf," Jaku rasped, the edges of her vision darkening. "Sure thing… I just… I need to- I need to just… rest… here." The force holding her aloft disappeared, finally allowing Jaku to collapse into the sand. She burrowed deep beneath the shifting surface until her claws tunneled through solid earth, feeling more at ease with the loose soil on her scales as she finally drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

July 21st, First Year

Jaku emerged shakily into the grayish light of the outside world, shivering at the loss of her fire. After dreaming a dreamless sleep and recovering her strength, she had finally mustered up the courage to exit the cavern, turning back into a human the moment the light of the sun touched her skin. She would've thought it a dream if not for the time gear that jangled around in her bag.

Jaku pawed at her belt, giving Peanut's pokéball a firm squeeze. He deserved a nice rest after everything he'd helped her through. A shame that she would never be able to speak with him like that again; not unless Azelf decided to turn her into a pokémon the next time she went gear searching.

She turned, feeling the familiar humid heat of the Crimson Mirelands spread across her skin. Just a hair away from her spun a rift, its transparent perimeter revealing a paralyzed world within. It had opened only moments after she had made it to the lake's edge. She reached out her hand, surprised when her fingers made contact with something cold and hard. Ah.

"There! There she is!"

Jaku recoiled back, turning on her heels. Two tall figures had spotted her and were now making their way toward her, one with a scowl and the other with a confused expression.

"…Warden Ingo and… o-oh. Uh… hey Emmet. So, you uh… you finally found him, huh? It's about time." Jaku wincing as she heard the crack in her voice. She really needed to eat and drink something before she fainted. Though she had regained her strength, her body still ached from the effort of fighting and dodging. Her head still pounded from the remnants of her migraine. She was still adjusting to being a human again after being a pokémon for what she felt to have been weeks.

"I… I do not wish to comment on that particular happening," Ingo began. His eyes roamed along her form, widening at the state of her torn, blood-spotted apparel. "Is your cab in need of repairs?" He attempted to approach, Jaku involuntarily taking a step back before the man could even blink. Ingo grew hesitant. "You do not look well. You look as though you are in need of maintenance. Come. We should put distance between this station and our next."

Jaku laughed nervously. "Because of this rift?"

Emmet blinked. "This… we are standing next to a distortion which is verrry dangerous." He then took a pace back and stared fearfully at the branching web of cracks in the sky. "We should depart immediately for the nearest station."

Jaku could only blink tiredly. She was injured. She felt sick. She was still fatigued and exhausted from her trials. All she wanted to do was find someplace quiet and dark and go to sleep; preferably her cave. "I-I'm sure it's just a- probably a side effect from the rift- the one above Mt. Coronet." She felt herself begin to shiver. "I-I need to get back to my s-s-station. I-I think I may have c-caught something."

Ingo immediately turned his gaze back to her, folding his hands in front of him. "Oh. Well, if that is to be the case, perhaps we might accompany you back to make sure you properly rest your cab? The journey from this station to the next is quite perilous."

Jaku sensed something else in the older man's tone; something that didn't sit well in her ears. "W-what for?" she stuttered, crossing her arms to conserve her dwindling heat. She would have reached for her pokéball belt if not for the sheer weight of her aching limbs. "I-I'll be- I c-can- you two-" she grimaced, embarrassment making her face flush. I probably look incredibly suspicious or incredibly sick, neither of which are good. "I just- I-I think I need to sleep this off."

"You are planning on returning to your cave? Your home station was a mess," Emmet piped up, flinching as Ingo fixed him with the most venomous glare Jaku had ever seen the man wear. Emmet then added in a much softer, frankly uncharacteristically gentle tone, "Ingo thought that you might have been summoned back to your clan. We were going to go to the Diamond Settlement, but it's gone."

"Oh, t-that," Jaku remembered. "I'm still- I s-saw it but- well- I'm still wondering a-about that."

"Really?" Emmet echoed. "I thought… you would know what happened."

"Sorry," Jaku croaked. "I-I don't really know. I don't- nobody really- t-told me so when I came done- when I was o-on my way to the c-camp, I didn't know where everybody went."

A few moments of silence had passed before Ingo lifted up the brim of his hat and fixed Jaku with a piercing gaze that made her feel… guilty. Vulnerable. Ingo took out his leather pack and cradled The Lustrous Orb with his two hands, clearing his throat loudly. "What were you really doing out here, Miss Jaku? Your abode was in a state of shambles as if something had broken in."

Jaku could feel her strength wither more and more as the seconds ticked by. She was desperate to leave the conversation, trying to rack her mind for any excuse that would get her away from the brothers as quickly as possible.

"I-I'm sorry. I was just- I'm really- I tend to be a-a little messy." She blinked, remembering Wyrdeer's presence only the same day. "I-it could have been Wyrdeer- the noble," she spoke quietly.

"What were you doing with the noble?" Ingo questioned her.

"He- Lord Wyrdeer- they just- he showed up at the c-cave. No warning. S-said he needed me for s-something. Brought me here and left I guess?" She eventually untied her jacket from her waist and tied it around her. Anything to try and regain some warmth in her body.

"Might that explain why you gave nobody an inkling as to where you had headed off to?" Ingo gave a pointed stare at the wavering distortion behind them, the air of familiarity between them gone. "What were you doing in that distortion?"

"I-I don't- can't really- remember," Jaku answered placatingly. Please stop asking me questions. I just want to lie down and sleep, Jaku repeated in her mind. I'll tell you later- I tell both of you later- just please let me go home so that I can rest my head. She briefly contemplated actually giving them an abridged version only to remember that the two would immediately forget due to censorship. No. I can't tell you- neither of you. Please don't ask me questions about the rift. Please just let me leave. I don't want to have to erase your memories-

"And how might you go about doing that?" Ingo's tone was cold, tinged with disbelief and trepidation. His eyes bored into her and as he spoke, he raised up the Lustrous Orb as if to make sure she could see it. "I can hear you. Your thoughts. I know you're lying."

Jaku froze, her heart dropping into her stomach as she stared at the shiny orb within Ingo's calloused hands. Wait. The orb? But didn't Ingo have that when he… Jaku paused and met Ingo's challenging gaze, the realization all but damning her. You knew. You knew the entire time what I was planning. "Are you…?"

"I am," Ingo replied evenly, his fingers trembling around the orb.

Guilt, anger, and shame burned at Jaku's throat. She took another step back. "I promise- I s-swear- I didn't mean any harm."

"You're erasing my memories!" Ingo spoke angrily. "I recovered a memory of us discussing a similar topic near this very same place! Why? How?" Ingo put away the Lustrous Orb, his eyes holding no familiarity or warmth as he glared at her. "Aren't us fallers supposed to work together?"

"S-separate but t-t-together!" Jaku retorted, her helpless naivete turning into defensive anger. "I'm trying- things aren't working right- please believe me- I have n-no reason to d-deceive you."

"You didn't seem to be all that receptive during the memories I recalled" Ingo replied carefully. "I saw a memory from the past. One where you revealed why we're actually here. You've known for some time now."

Jaku remembered that realization; the first time she had truly stopped to think about Dialga's words or what her purpose was in Hisui. She had managed to connect the dots rather quickly. Akari was Arceu's chosen one. Jaku herself had been chosen by Dialga. That had to have meant that Ingo had a similar role. It wasn't until Dialga had elaborated upon the relationship between her own role and Ingo's own that she had tried- and failed- bringing her other fallers up to speed. Instead, Jaku cowered back, too tired and sore and angry to justify coming to blows. "I-I don't want to- I c-can't talk to you a-about that right now-"

"Well, I do." Ingo blocked the way from leaving, shooting Emmet a quick glare when the man nearly moved to allow Jaku to pass. "You're aware of certain details- details that you're not sharing with myself or Miss Akari. And the way you're doing it- almost as if you're deliberating concealing the truth from us via spitefulness."

"Spitefulness?" Jaku bristled. She trembled but it was now more out of anger than the chill of the air. "How dare you- I worked- tried- Akari is paralyzed from the waist down- I tried to help her!" Jaku seethed. "You- you lied to me. In the mountains- weeks ago- you knew."

"It was the Lustrous Orb that had signaled me to be wary of you," Ingo admitted, "and so I thought paying a visit to your abode might give me a chance to make sense of your decisions." But then Ingo's face went blank, only his voice conveying the clear anger and disappointment in his tone evident. "But it would seem that you have no desire of telling the truth. Not to me. Not to Miss Akari."

"I can't!" Jaku argued, her face feeling overly hot and warm and clammy. She paused when the headache from before began to build up again, its dreadful pulse only worsening her temper. "You shouldn't even- ugh!" Jaku couldn't even begin to worry about the situation she had dug herself into. She only had to switch back time before the brothers appeared and hide- that or go the opposite way before they caught sight of her. "I'm too tired- I'm leaving." And with the spite that Ingo had falsely accused her of wielding against him, she commented, "Maybe I should go back- find out where you got the orb. No more mind reading."

Now it was Emmet's turn to stop her. His hand came down hard upon her shoulder, shaking all the while. "Full stop. Slow your engine, please." Emmet stood in between the two of them, his characteristic smile dropping to a look of unease. He stared down at her, his silver eyes paling when he reconsidered the flecks of blood and dirt that adorned her clan tunic. "I thought- This whole time, I thought you were supposed to be helping my brother and that girl. You- you've been manipulating time this whole time? Manipulating us? For how long?"

Jaku didn't meet Emmet's gaze. She still owed him for the favor he had done her back during her trial. Though Emmet's tone didn't reflect it, the clear confusion and hurt on his face made Jaku feel as though she had dipped herself in ice-cold water. "I don't know," she lied. "Too long. I don't remember. I'm sorry."

Emmet recoiled. "The tallies. Was that why-"

Jaku shook her head. "No."

"Did you ever speak with Miss Akari about this?" Ingo asked.

"No."

"Did you make this rift?"

I did. Don't know how, but I did. "No," she lied again. Please, let me leave. I'm sick and tired and injured and I want to rest."

"It is much too early to be playing the sympathy card," Ingo all but growled. "Tell me what you're hiding. If you are as sorry as you say you are, then you should have no issues confessing."

"I can't tell you," Jaku repeated stubbornly. "You're not supposed to know until after I go- when I die. And now- after this? I'll probably have to do it again- have them do it- wipe your memories."

Emmet stood loosely in front of her, his mouth opening before closing before opening again. "When you die…? What are you talking about? You can wipe memories-"

"It's not me," Jaku argued pathetically, reaching the end of her patience. "It's them- something other than me. I say words- they get censored. I don't know how it works- just that I can't tell either of you anything."

"... I see," Emmet muttered. And then, his eyes brightened. He took hold of Jaku's shoulder and shook her a little. "But! If we are currently having this conversation, that means that we are allowed to remember its details-"

"Wrong," Jaku cut him off, shaking off his hand. "You don't understand- let me leave already. I feel sick to my stomach." She shoved past him, reaching with trembling fingers to the time pendant hidden beneath her shirt. If they don't get censored, then I'll have to reverse time, even if it will make me incredibly sick. I can't have them against me.

"I knew you had something to do with Ingo," Emmet muttered the moment Jaku had turned her back to him. "You had his hat when you arrived. I always wondered why. Wait," His footsteps sounded only a pace behind her, his breath hitching as he paused. "You- don't you dare-"

Jaku already had the dial of the time pendant twisted backward, trying her best to convey what little sympathy and remorse could show despite her ebbing pain. "I'm sorry, but you know too much." She took a deep breath. "Uxie is the name of the pokémon that's been wiping your memories." She didn't care to look as the two brothers fell silent, hurrying to make it under the shelter of the mangrove trees. I've really fucked things up now, haven't I? Now I've got to be wary about everything.

A rough hand- unyielding like an iron vice- clamped down on her shoulder and hauled her back before she could find solace in the shade of the treeline. "What did you do?" came a harsh voice.

Jaku turned, surprised to find Emmet glaring at her, his breathing ragged and uneven. How did you…? That's impossible. That should've worked just fine. She could only gape at him. "...What?"

"Cut. The act," Emmet growled. "Your little memory trick? It didn't work," he spat. His grip on her intensified and Jaku knew it would bruise. "Tell me what you did to my brother," Emmet demanded. He unlatched a pokémon from his belt, his eyes searing into hers as he closed the space between them. "Tell me what you're up to. Tell me where to find Uxie."

Jaku blinked at him. That was new. "…No. Hold on. That should've worked on you." She wrenched herself out of his grip, feeling a wave of apprehension flood her as Emmet hauled her back a second time, much stronger than he had any right to be. Where he had once looked at her with mild boredom and exasperation was now an expression of contempt and fear. "What's going on?"

"Don't play dumb."

"…Oh." Jaku blinked. "That should have worked."

"How many people's memories have you wiped-"

"Let me try again." Jaku finally released the dial, watching with mild apprehension as time rewinded around her. Only one tick; just enough to put her back to when she first came out of Lake Valor. She could forge a new lie and pretend to come clean about a fake scenario to make the brothers think that Dialga or Azelf were making her investigate time rifts; just enough to throw them off of her trail. She'd have to be vigilant, otherwise Ingo might haul out his orb. She really did need to make a note to go back and get rid of the thing.

Jaku immediately felt the effects of time sickness set in. Her migraine returned with a vengeance sapping any ounce of strength that remained from her trip through the mystery dungeon. The strange feverish chill returned. Her limbs became heavy and her vision began to go blurry. She could anticipate their arrival by the thudding of boots in mud, quickly moving to hide behind a stretch of rocks. She hadn't moved fast enough.

The two men called out for her. Jaku was immediately met with Emmet's piercing gaze from afar as she stumbled just a few paces shy of cover. Emmet stopped short, his expression going blank before fixing her with a gaze of pure fury with one hand on his pokéball belt, rolling a dinged ball into his balm as he strode toward her hiding place.