September 24th, First Year

Ingo heard the noise: the sound of ice shattering. A noise that usually meant one thing: a slow and terrible death. Ingo moved without hesitation toward the source, chills racing up his spine as nausea began to build in his gut. He knew the bone-chilling shock of hitting the water. The fear of being twisted around beneath the ice. The piercing darkness and the abstract horror of attempting to surface only to beat one's fist against thick, unbreakable ice. Snow crunched under his shoes as he sprinted toward the sound, his pace slowing dramatically as his eyes landed on the culprit. He paused and stared almost as if being frozen by the lights of an oncoming train in the night.

A figure hunched over and twisted loomed at the river's opposite edge, their hair disheveled and their clothes askew. At their feet, a large, gaping hole in the ice. In their hands, a sharpened branch, the subsidiary twigs having been snapped off in the snow around them. The figure turned and stared back at him, their face hidden in shadows, their hands and fingers twisted. Twisted like claws. Pale like a ghost. Like the ice. Like the snow.

"Ingo?" A warm hand clapped down on his shoulder, removing the man from his paralyzed thoughts. Emmet, his brother, had moved himself carefully in front of him, his eyes glinting dangerously before they softened with irritation and mild concern. He turned to Ingo. "Is all well on your tracks?"

A fuzz hissed at Ingo from the recesses of his mind. He stared again at the opposite side of the river. There had been no ghost. Why had he thought it was a ghost? In the place of his ghost was just a person. A frostbitten person. A human. A living, breathing human, their breath turning to clouds of steam as they reflected his confused stare. Ingo spoke first.

"Ah. Miss Jaku, is that you?"

The person across the river muttered something in response and before Ingo could speak again, they had pushed themselves across the ice, seamlessly gliding across the slippery surface until Ingo could see them clearly. It was just Jaku. Only Jaku. Frostbitten and covered in ice and snow. White, white snow. No red. No yellow.

"Hey Ingo. Long time no see."

"You are. Insane." Emmet had met the ranger as they came to a sliding stop on the pebbly bank, grabbing them roughly by the hem of their fur cloak as he dragged them to shore. "You could have fallen. Through the ice."

"No. Really? You think so?" Jaku immediately snarked back.

Emmet pulled harder on the fabric to where he and ranger were glaring at each other nose-to-nose. "Do not talk down to me."

Jaku didn't so much as flinch, her teeth glinting as she sneered at Emmet. "Get taller then, twink."

Emmet's expression morphed from anger to confusion to grief to fury and then to dismay in the fraction of a second. He momentarily released the grip on Jaku's sleeve, his mouth losing its signature smile before a new kind appeared; a smile full of sharp teeth and creased eyes. "How dare you- "

"You're not denying it," Jaku chuckled. "Case closed. Oh, and where are my pokémon? Where are my children? My babies? My boys? Hand 'em over."

Ingo felt goosebumps break out over his arms and legs as Jaku's Zoroark released itself from its confinements and launched itself bodily at its trainer. Where he expected the sounds of tearing flesh and gaudy snarling came instead… gentle coos and ecstatic whimpering. Jaku had immediately bundled the Zoroark in their arms in a tight hug, ruffling the reddish fur atop the fox's head before picking them up out of the snow. The Zoroark continued to struggle excitedly, hopping, skipping and draping itself over its trainer. If Ingo didn't know any better, he'd think it was the friendliest he'd ever seen a Zoroark.

One by one, each of Jaku's pokémon launched themselves out of their pokéballs and onto their trainer, smothering her with fur and scales and teeth. I don't understand. If they're meant to be an antagonist, why do all of their pokémon partners adore them? Especially the Zoroark. Zoroarks are not friendly creatures. And yet Ingo read what was before him; a trainer loved dearly by their pokémon who loved them in return. There were no deceptive grins or malicious stares; only excitement, happiness, and sheer adoration.

"What is going on over here?" Irida had appeared over the crest with Akari close in tow. Upon sighting the great big huddle pile nearly toppling onto the ice, Ingo's clan leader smiled and padded closer. "Well, doesn't that look fun?" she edged past Ingo, carefully moving forward until she was standing a pace away from the tangle of limbs in the snow. "Excuse me."

"Yeah?" Jaku's head made a brief appearance from the pile alongside the swaddled face of the Zoroark who had stuffed its trainer into its long mane like some kind of prison. "What's up?"

Irida made a choking noise, hurriedly stepping away as the ranger struggled to pull herself free. "You… is that a… a Zoroark?"

"Yeah, this is Jester. He don't bite." She held up one arm in front of the Zoroark's face, maintaining eye contact with Irida as the fox in question playfully chomped down hard on its trainer's hand and wrist. "I lied. He does bite. A lot. He does that. Emmet, where are their pokéballs? I'm gonna need those; they're getting a bit too rowdy."

Irida balked at the mention of the item and the friendliness on her face evaporated like dew under a hot sun. "I am Irida, Clan Leader of the Pearl Clan. Who are you and why are you so close to the Pearl Settlement with a Zoroark?"

"Well… I am Jaku of the Diamond Clan. Just a ranger." Jaku carefully bowed her head to Irida who motioned for her to rise. "I mean no harm. I had to make a detour to Snowpoint Temple and I didn't realize I was so close to the Pearl Settlement. Jester- my Zoroark- also means no harm." At her words, the Zoroark snapped the rope belt holding Jaku's pokéballs to Emmet's waist. "He's simply excitable. Please forgive him as well."

Irida blinked, shooting a furtive gaze at Ingo and then to Emmet. The leader adjusted her long kimono and crossed her arm, clearly not swayed over by the ranger's statement. "I will take your statement into consideration, but make no mistake, do not let me nor my scouts catch you lurking around our settlement with that… with your friend, there."

"Of course, Lady Irida," Jaku responded calmly, recalling Jester into its pokéball. "You have my word. I'll take my leave immediately."

Emmet took the chance to butt in, his gaze never leaving the ranger. "Hold on. Burr. I want a word with you." He then turned to Ingo. "You too, brother. Privately. Leader Irida, may you escort Akari to the Pearl Settlement in our stead? There is much my brother and I have to discuss with our passenger here."

Irida's eyes narrowed. "No. I must make sure Clan Leader Adaman is aware of his errant ranger. You will come with me- to the Pearl Settlement- for more thorough questioning." Irida's tone with scathing. Vindictive as if looking for a reason to banish Jaku right then and there. "Under no circumstances will you set that Zoroark or any of your indentured pokémon free within the confines of my hold. You will keep it in those horrible contraptions you call pokéballs. After your business with Ingo & Emmet has ended, you must return back to the Diamond Clan. I will not permit your staying in the clan after nightfall."

Most likely because of her hazardous passengers, Ingo guessed. He himself had had issues sleeping when the Zoroark had first arrived and had immediately acquaintanced itself with his brother. But now it has a chance to relay what has happened as of late. Ingo's eyes widened. It can commune with Jaku. It can inform her of what I've done to it.

Ingo would admit that he was at fault for allowing his past transgressions to forge his judgement into nearly charring the fox pokémon alive without so much as a chance to fight back and then leaving Jaku's Mandibuzz to fend for itself in the wastes of the icelands. It wasn't the act that had scarred him into feeling remorseful about his actions but rather the lack thereof. Ingo only remembered giving his Chandelure the order to attack. To burn. To scorch. He did not remember what came after. Had the fox howled in agony? Had it retaliated against him? And yet, he remembered returning to his hut after the incident and Chandelure had looked none worse for wear except for a horrified gleam in her luminescent eyes.

For all the time that it had followed around after his brother, the Zoroark ignored Ingo and only Ingo, pointedly avoided him wherever it could. If it was called upon, it would only listen to Emmet's orders and it would quickly retreat back to its pokéball. Seeing it acting so impetuous and silly around its original trainer formed a thorn that stabbed at his throat. Would that be grounds for retaliation? If it were one of his own beloved pokémon- Freight, Chandelure… Lady Sneasler? He swallowed those thoughts, reining in his mind as he focused back on the conversation.

"That's fine," Jaku muttered. "Thank you, Lady Irida."

They had reached the Pearl Settlement shortly after sun high, Ingo leading the way alongside Irida to the leader's tent. On the way, Ingo had expressed the need for somewhere private to speak where their possible blasphemous talk wouldn't be interrupted or overheard. Irida had asked what the topic was and after figuring it out, insisted on being present in the matter. A listener in the back car, Ingo supposed. I can only hope that this gathering remains between those in this room. The less who become involved, the better.

Ingo pushed open the tent flap and waited until the hearth was lit and his fellow fallers were seated before seating himself at the forefront of the fire with Emmet on his left, Jaku on his right, and Akari directly opposite him. Irida sat on her own cushion at the far side of the room, poised to listen but to remain quiet as she reclined on her cushion. Ingo cleared his throat. "Well then. All of our cars are now parked and settled and we are well out of earshot of other villagers. I suppose now is the time that we must 'catch up', so to speak."

"But how can we do that when we've all been all over the place?" Akari queried. "How much stuff do we have to talk about, really?" She then turned to Jaku who was sitting patiently on her left. "It feels like it's been forever since we last talked, Jaku! How have you been?" She placed a friendly hand on the ranger's shoulder. "I've hardly seen you in the mirelands. Adaman asks about you sometimes, but I can't really tell him anything."

Jaku blinked, carefully blowing on her tea. "Oh. I thought he forgot about me, what with the thing with Lady Lilligant and being confined in the mountains," she mumbled, moving a strand of hair out of her face. "Oh well. I really should pay him a visit when I have some time available. Oh, and I've been better, Akari," she grumbled, softening her tone before she replied. "Thanks for asking. How's it going with you?"

"Well, I've been banished from Jubilife." Akari noted sarcastically. "Take a wild guess why."

Jaku scowled. "Kamado?"

Akari nodded glumly. "Kamado."

"That rat bastard," Jaku hissed, taking another swig of her tea. "If anyone was to banish a literal child, I bet all the hairs on my head it'd be him. What happened?"

"Language. That is what we will cover together," Ingo parted through. "Now, where to begin?"

"I'll start," Jaku volunteered. " We've been through this whole song and dance about knowing things we shouldn't." Jaku shot an apologetic glance at Akari. "I know you're not up to stuff because Kamado has been treating you like his errand girl."

"True." Akari took a sip of her own tea, her expression barely muted with anger. "I only found out a few days ago that you were up to something. That you've been up to something. Without me." Akari tapped one finger against the table. "I feel like everybody has been keeping secrets from me."

"Necessary secrets," Jaku grumbled. "On second thought… maybe one of you guys should go first. I don't think I have anything important to mention."

Emmet immediately responded. "You kidnapped me," he pointed at her across the table. "Took me took a dungeon, turned me into a pokémon-"

"I didn't do that!" Jaku argued. "That was interdimensional interference! You can't blame me for that!"

"I can blame you for holding me hostage and then biting me when I tried to capture you to help you." Emmet held his arm, peeling back his white kimono to reveal a swathe of bandages dangerously close to his wrist. "I am still waiting on an apology."

Jaku balked. "Yeah, it's no wonder you've barely got new pokémon when you throw leaden balls at the ones you want to catch. I don't even blame myself for biting you if it means not getting concussed by one of those fucking things-"

"Language!" Ingo spoke up again. He turned his steely gaze to Jaku. "While it may be the case that you were under a status affliction, you are still liable for injuring Emmet. You are also liable from withholding important information from all of us. Not only that, but you have been caught erasing our memories several times according to Emmet- whether it was for your own personal gain was unclear but you have shown that you will use that power whenever you yourself feels it necessary. Speaking as the supposed leader of this table, you owe an apology to everyone here."

Jaku seemed stunned at Ingo's words, taking a long pause as she stared at the walls of the tent. "Okay. Fine. I'll apologize." She turned first to Emmet. "I owe you the biggest apology- and I hope you don't think I'm making fun of the situation or just being a jerk. I'm legitimately sorry for everything I've put you through. I'm sorry for holding you hostage due to my paranoia that you'd snitch to Ingo about what you saw back at Lake Valor. I'm sorry for dragging you along to Lake Verity. I should've made sure you were out of harm's way, but I was eager to get things done and I almost ended up getting you hurt because of it."

"You should thank me too," Emmet grumbled. "I pulled you out of that distortion with your Yanmega. When you fainted from your injuries."

"That's what Jester said, yeah," Jaku responded quietly, rubbing at the back of her head. "I can't thank you for that. Really, I can't. I won't say you saved my life- that's not how time rifts work- but I can try to pay you back for my sheer incompetence by being completely honest from now on. No more secrets," Jaku vowed solemnly. "But if it means anything to you Emmet, thank you for getting me out of that rift. Thank you for coming to find me when I was horribly confused and thank you for being as patient with me when I was. I owe you, big time."

Emmet was silent for a moment, clicking his tongue. "...I still don't forgive you," he eventually spoke. "But. I will hold you to your word."

"Okay, so that's not mildly concerning," Akari piped up. "Jaku? You did all that? In the gap between us last talking and now- what, you're some sort of criminal?"

Jaku grinned mischievously. "I mean, when you put it like that…" She then shook her head. "I shouldn't be nearly as cheeky about this- anywho- apologies. Ingo, you're up next. I'm sorry for repeatedly erasing your memories. I know you may not believe me when I say this but I never did it just to be evil or to mess with you- I truly thought that what I was doing was the right thing to do. Regardless of whether I thought at the time, it was wrong of me to weaponize your amnesia against you and it was wrong of me to threaten you with taking your memories. I was being a major asshole and I'm sorry."

Ingo hummed. "You really must do something about your atrocious vocabulary. Like Emmet, I will not forgive you just yet. I want to see whether you keep your word about remaining honest. And I should hope- during this conversation- whatever you have been hiding from me- from all of us- will finally be brought into the light."

"Only if it's necessary for the plot," Jaku muttered. "Trust me; you don't need to know the page-by-page recount of how my summer vacation has been going thus far. Emmet can tell you that; he was there for my fun trip to the lake. There's nothing vitally important about me spending two whole mounts learning cartography."

"Cartography for what?" Akari asked. "I'm completely lost. You can erase memories- that much is obvious. But I have to ask- am I included in that?"

"Oh, absolutely," Jaku grumbled. "You were the biggest pain in the ass to deal with." In a much softer, kinder voice, Jaku explained. "It took me so many tries for you to not die against that Paras we ran into a few months ago. Crafty little fucker- you being in a coma was the best timeline I could find."

"Wait… you? But… How did you…?"

"Whenever I go back in time and change something, everything after that initial change gets wiped," Jaku explained slowly to Akari. "You don't remember what originally happened- only what I want to remember and what you probably remember is seeing the damn thing and then blacking out, am I right?"

Beside Ingo, Akari looked terrified. Not at the predicament but at the ranger sitting calmly beside her. "Y-yeah. That… that sounds about right."

"Hey. Remember. This timeline is currently at its best. Having you paralyzed and unconscious was the best outcome I could've gotten amongst the… the other ones. Eugh. Okay. Can we please move to another topic before I have to explain time travel?"

"We may," Ingo rumbled, "but seeing as how you are the most aware of the changes to this current timeline, it would be best for the group to start with what you know. Once we've established a base, we can all add in what we know. Does that sound agreeable?"

"Yyyup."

"Sounds good," Akari murmured."

"Sure."

Ingo nodded. "Very well. Miss Jaky, you may begin."

Told by Jaku, the timeline came much smoother than Ingo had been anticipating, almost as if the ranger had been reading from a hidden script. Lord Kleavor had been frenzied around the same time that Emmet had arrived into Hisui, Ingo had returned to the icelands, and Akari had been stationed in Jubilife. "Here's where things start to get messy. I don't mean that in a good way. Emmet, I'm going to need your help with this part since you can resist you-know-who's ability."

Ingo twitched up an eyebrow. Now that he was privy to the main secret concerning him, Ingo wasn't about to let others talk over him. "Are you referring to Uxie?"

"…" Jaku immediately turned to stare at him, immediate relief shining clear as day in her eyes as she leaned forward in her seat. "You know about Uxie! That means- finally!" The ranger let her head bang onto the table, slightly deranged laughter peeling out of her. "I can finally tell you what that little gremlin wouldn't let me all those months ago."

"Such as?"

"Okay. Whenever I try to tell you something very important, Uxie censors it with their powers because you're not supposed to know at that given time. Verbatim. Their words- not mine. If you know about Uxie, then I can say whatever I want, granted, it all depends on what I'm trying to say. Okay, Ingo. You're aware that Uxie is the pokémon that's wiping your memories, yes?"

Ingo nodded. "I am aware. I recovered that information using the Lustrous Orb quite some time ago."

Jaku excitedly clapped her hands, her eyes shining. "Fucking finally. There's so much I can finally tell you without Uxie jumping down my throat. Okay." Jaku folded her hands neatly on the table, looking as determined as ever. "If you have any questions- any at all you think I'd know about- ask them now."

Ingo immediately jumped on her offer. "How does memory wiping work? Emmet told me that you have the ability to trigger it via your Time Pendant but that it doesn't work on him. And also, would you happen to know whether Uxie was responsible for my main state of amnesia?"

"Uxie does whatever it pleases- its a legendary pokémon- and Ingo, it wasn't Uxie that stole your memories; It was probably Almighty Sinnoh who did it. I have yet to ask Uxie personally but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. As for Uxie, it will show up if I talk about something that you shouldn't know such as when I was telling you about what it was doing or what our task was being here all that time ago."

"To fix the flow of space and time in order for something else to happen?"

"Bingo! I'm so happy I don't have to re-explain that section! Very good! Uxie will pick and choose what it wants you to know which could be just about anything. Most of the time, I have no idea what the trigger is. However, like the time by the lake when Emmet caught on to my whole gimmick, I can manually override the erasure process via the Time Pendant. It's a lot more drastic and dangerous- I get really sick when I use it- but I can essentially rewind time back to before it happened and by doing something different, rewrite your guys' memories. Thus, memory erasure. Any other questions?"

"No," Ingo rasped. "That will do for now. It was the only pressing question I had for you." Ingo then turned to Akari. "I presume you should speak next. After all, it was due to your unfortunate accident that we are all here."

"When you put it like that, it makes it seem like I did it on purpose." Akari tensed up at the prospect of speaking, fidgeting with her hands as she sat up straighter. "I haven't been doing much aside from quelling nobles. I only have one thing and it's that I accidentally killed Lord Ursaluna a few days ago."

The room was silent for all of a moment before Jaku whistled. "I'm gone for a few months and you've already murdered a noble. In self-defense?"

"…Yes."

"Not bad, kid. Not bad! Wasn't Lord Ursaluna like three meters tall? I've gotta give you props for that!" She playfully patted Akari on the shoulder. "Wait, is that why you were banished from Jubilife? Man, what the hell did Kamado do?"

"Language!" Ingo interrupted. "Miss Jaku! Please, mind your words! I understand the need to express yourself but there is no need to do so quite crudely. And mind Lady Irida. We are still recovering from the loss of the noble and of Warden's Calaba's potential recovery from the ordeal."

Upon further questioning, Akari took over the recap of Lord Ursaluna's frenzy from start to finish, ending with her perilous battle underground where she had accidentally sent the noble to a watery grave. Akari blinked towards the end. "Wait, Jaku. If you could travel back in time, could you prevent Lord Ursaluna from dying? Could you potentially save Warden Calaba?"

Jaku shook her head. "It depends. Once I gain a Time Gear, I can't go back and alter anything before I got it. Once I took the Time Gear from Lake Valor, I wasn't able to go back and prevent that thing with the Parasect but I could reverse time and mess with Ingo and Emmet… okay, that was out of pocket. But technically, I'm in timeout and I can't do anything right now."

"You can't time travel?" Emmet interjected, disbelief clear in his voice. "You have the Time Pendant. I gave it to you before you left with Celebi. It's not working?"

"My Time Pendant doesn't work anymore. It's a story all on its own."

"Elaborate," Emmet demanded. "You still have to tell us how you became a human again. And I have a question I need to ask you."

"Fine. Pushy. To be honest, I have no fucking idea."

"Language." Ingo and Emmet chided together.

Jaku sighed loudly. "I don't know- well, that's not true. I don't know the physics behind it. Celebi and I were traveling through the icelands when they pointed me toward Snowpoint Temple in the north. They suspected that Giratina might've known something about my transformation but she disappeared. Haven't seen her since. "

"Snowpoint Temple?" Ingo echoed confusedly. Snowpoint Temple was an abandoned place of worship by the Ancient Celesticans, that much Ingo had been taught during his first days at the Pearl Settlement. Apparently, some kind of pagan worship had been occurring in the bowels of the temple. Something that had to do with forsaking Almighty Sinnoh. According to Pearl Clan mythology, some kind of ancient pokémon lurked in the temple and would cause intruders to vanish or go mad. The name now came to him. Giratina, The Renegade Pokémon. If Giratina truly had been involved, then Ingo knew there would be dark times ahead.

"What were you doing in Snowpoint Temple?" Irida asked quietly from her position in the back. Heads turned back to stare at her. "Snowpoint Temple used to be a holy site for the Ancient Celesticans, but it was banished after the Mid-Century Massacre when the temple's last priest's were killed in gruesome fashion." Irida shuddered. "To the Pearl Clan, Snowpoint Temple is a place of demon worship. You should not go there again."

"I don't want to go there again," Jaku retorted. "You're right- it's creepy in there and I had a feeling something was off. Anywho, a pokémon that I met led me there. Coincidentally, a Zorua. One of the funny-looking white ones."

White fur. Looks like a Zoroark. Ingo held up his hands and motioned for Jaku to be quiet. "My… apologies. Did you just imply that you met and followed a Hisuian Zorua to an abandoned temple known for devil worship far away from known human civilization on a whim?"

Jaku paused, her eyebrows furrowing. "I mean, when you put it that way… I'm just gonna keep going. The Zorua's name was Glacier. He and his buddy- some Riolu named Tibal- were tailing Celebi and I until I confronted them. Tibal had to go home early so it was just Glacier and I for a long while."

"Those pokémon are known for deceiving people with illusions-"

Jaku only waved away his concerns. "Yeah, I know. I let him practice one on me; it was pretty good, to say the least. Jester can do the same things, I think."

"Were there others?"

"Zoruas? Apart from Glacier? No. As a matter of fact, I was about to teach him how to fish out of the river when you guys showed up. I wonder where we went off to. I would've loved to introduce him to Jester; they would've gotten along like a house on fire, the scoundrels. Anywho, Glacier and I went into the temple where we met this old lady named Cogita. I think she was praying there or something."

"…What happened next?"

"She seemed to know who I was and that I was a human. She gave me some seeds- Gracidea Seeds- to help clear up that nasty bout of confusion I was inflicted with and then she used a mirror to turn me back into a human. Again, I have no clue how she did it, but she just kind of handed me a side quest and told me to come bother you about it, Ingo."

"For Ingo specifically? That sounds verrry suspicious," Emmet chimed in.

"Tell me about it. It's an escort quest. I need Ingo to go somewhere with me so that he can get something relevant to his quest; some kind of book spine, I guess. It only shows up in time distortions, but it's located in a spatial tear, thus, you have to be with me to find it, Ingo. Also, I can't do my job again until you help me with the quest so I'll put it bluntly; either you help me get this side quest done and over with or we're all going to be stuck here until you do."

Ingo narrowed his eyes. "That is not so much as a favor as it is an obligatory demand, is it not?"

Jaku shrugged. "I don't make the rules and I don't really care since it's not an item I need. Remember, it's for you. It's some kind of thing to contain your Old Verses if Cogita told me the story correctly. If you don't want to, I'm not going to force your hand. I'll probably just fuck off back to my mountain cave in the meantime. Maybe go say hi to Adaman. Take a nice vacation from getting my bones juiced and my organs pulped in dungeons."

"My turn," Emmet butted in. "Going by that logic. There is a time limit," Emmet proposed. "There are two trains running toward the same destination. One is quelling the nobles- Akari is driving that train. The second is enabling the conditions for space-time to be properly maintained. Burr- you are currently driving that car but Ingo is supposed to take over after you… pass away. This is my question. How does that work?"

"Well, I get all the time gears, take them to my end goal- Temporal Tower- beat up Di-" she paused, sending Irida a wary look as she recollected her words. "...I take the gears to Temporal Tower-, one, two skip a few, we're not talking about the second part due to threat of violent excommunication- put the gears right, and then I go… wherever I'm supposed to be after Hisui. Then, Ingo will gain custody of the gears and do his thing. I don't how you-know-who wants to do things- that's none of my business."

"Would you care to elaborate on your second step?" Irida spoke up, nearly rising from her pillow. "I didn't quite catch what you said. What's this I hear about potential excommunication? And why did you look specifically at me when you said that?"

Jaku nervously whistled. "I'd rather not be crucified this coming sunday so let's just uh… skip past that part. Akari! You look like you want to say something!" Ingo heard the ranger mutter a strangled 'please' under the table.

"Why is it that I'm just now finding out about all of this wacky nonsense!" Akari burst out. "You're all telling me that all kinds of mystical, theatrical encounters and fights have been going on while I've been playing catch-up with the nobles? And you're supposed to die? Why are you so calm about that? Don't you want to go home? What about your pokémon? Are we going to die too?"

Jaku took another light sip of her tea. "From what I know, you guys are going back to wherever you came. I'm absolutely going to die. Can't wait to be done as a matter of fact." Jaku took another long sip of her tea. "I think there's a clause somewhere that all of my things are coming with me… maybe. Almighty Sinnoh will probably make an exception for me."

"Doesn't that make you… sad?" Akari murmured. "What if there are people waiting for you at home?"

Jaku reached over and gently set her hand down on the girl's shoulder, a gesture Ingo hadn't expected from the brash and over-confident ranger. "Akari. I appreciate your concern but I don't need it. I'll be fine. Worse case scenario, I settle in for the long nap. Best case scenario, I end up back at home with semi-permanent amnesia. It's technically a lose-lose situation; one that's not as bad as it seems when put into practice. Okay, let's stop talking about death. You guys are making it incredibly morbid in here."

"Last question," Emmet piped up. He turned so that he was directly facing the ranger, his eyes narrowed. "You have a scar on your neck. Where did it come from?"

Ingo nodded. "We are investigating what may or may not be an individual that is targeting us fallers." Ingo succinctly summarized the events of when Jaku had been unconscious, Emmet chiming in here and there to fill in the gaps Ingo wasn't certain of, that being what had led to Jaku being incapacitated in the first place. "When you first turned into a pokémon, do you remember why?"

Jaku shook her head. "No. I woke up confused and covered in my own blood in a body I didn't remember. I was zonked out. I had no idea what was going on and with Fake-Mesprit yapping around in the back of my head, I just kind of listened to my intrusive thoughts. Cogita said that I apparently phased into the Distortion Realm through some kink in time physics but according to her, even Giratina doesn't know how I just busted into their house for an entire month. Why?"

"My brother and I have a theory," Ingo put forward. "Apparently, some kind of fight happened in the ward shortly before you awakened. Emmet happened to notice that something had been trailing you after the incident via bloody handprints and footprints on the nearby trees in the woods behind the Galaxy Headquarters. I myself was attacked not too long ago on the beach in the same fashion that you were. Do you remember being assaulted by any individual?"

Jaku shook her head. "No. I was practically dead for all purposes and concerns. When I came to, Fake-Mesprit told me that you- Emmet- had attacked me while I was unconscious. They didn't explain how I became a pokémon, but I always had the suspicion that I was being followed by something."

Emmet leaned forward, tenting his fingers. "By the river where I captured you. There was another person there- with a Gabite. Do you remember what they looked like?"

"Sorry, Emmet. All humans look the same to me when I'm a pokémon. But I think I remember a few things. It was definitely a man- a tall one. He had… ginger hair? Or maybe it was red?" Jaku shook herself out. "Sorry. My mind is pretty addled from when I was confused. I could be misconstruing what I actually saw."

"No, no," Ingo reassured her. "None of us have any better clues so yours are most helpful. Emmet?"

Emmet tapped at his chin with a finger. "At the lake. How did you become a pokémon? Celebi said it had something to do with distortions."

"Not quite. Only pokémon can handle active time gears without tearing themselves apart by messing around with what are essentially holy items. Thus, in order to steal a time gear, I need to be a pokémon. Plain and simple."

"What pokémon did I turn into?" Emmet asked plainly.

Jaku hummed for a moment. "I think you were some kind of grass snake."

The conversation carried on bit-by-bit until Ingo was uncertain as to how much he would remember by that evening. There was much that had been revealed; the connection to his purpose, the revelation of possibly having to take over control of the Time Gears. Ingo sighed and stood, leaving his three other fallers as he exited the tent and breathed in the crisp air.

"Too much freight is tethered to this old cab." He seated himself roughly on a boulder not too far away from Irida's tent, momentarily taking his hat off to run his fingers through his hair. A headache was quietly building up behind his eyes. "But at least, I now have answers for the questions that have plagued me since I have arrived here." Uxie. Ingo turned the name over on his tongue. It was not Uxie that he had to turn his ire onto, but instead upon Arceus, the creator of all. Ingo swallowed. He would not admit it aloud, but he wished he had his own conviction and willpower to seek out both of the divine legendaries and make them answer for what they had done.

Months he had spent wondering if some undefeatable illness was going to take both his memories and his mind. Months in a silent war fighting to keep every single scrap of previous memories he could only to now realize that what had essentially been a joyous life had been robbed from him without his consent. Had he consented to that? Had he agreed to be sent to Hisui? He took his head in his hands, appreciating the biting chill of the snow. He would have to figure out that answer for himself.

Soft silk rubbed up against his side, a gentle hand settling on his shoulder. "Ingo? Are you quite alright?"

Ingo relaxed. It is only Irida. But he let himself remain vulnerable, staring wearily at the landscape of muddled greens and grays before meeting her gaze. "I am… sorting through the cargo. Performing some much-needed maintenance."

"I can see that." Irida gently leaned onto his side, her hand not leaving his shoulder. "I take it that there is much of that conversation you could not explain to me." Before Ingo could talk, Irida resumed her monologue. "You're busier now. Busier than you've ever been before. There's a time for it, I'm sure, but I want to talk to you leader-to-warden. Official business."

Ingo immediately straightened up. "Of course. What can I do for you?"

Beside him, Irida clasped her hands together, adjusting the long hem of her lavender kimono. In the cold chill of the oncoming blizzard, her voice was harsh and reprimanding, a tone that held no warmth or mercy but only that of finality and of an expectation to listen. "I have noticed that your current activities are keeping you out of the Coronet Highlands and essentially away from Lady Sneasler."

Ingo's blood immediately turned to ice in his veins. He stumbled when he realized Irida had been waiting for him to acknowledge her statement.

"My apologies. Yes, I am aware."

"Then if you are aware, you must also know that I cannot tolerate your absence any longer. Warden Melli of the Diamond Clan has been keeping an eye on your usual territory, but things have changed. Now that your role here in Hisui has been… called into question, I must terminate your role as a warden and demote you back to a Pearl Clan scout."

Many, many things were quickly speeding through Ingo's mind, colliding together in one terrible pileup as Ingo rushed to find the words for the senseless terror that made his hands shake. "I can still perform my duties!" he protested.

"I am aware that you were specifically called upon to act then," Irida responded curtly. "However, it has not escaped my notice that if your quest here is to end, there must be another warden to resume your position. As the leader of the Pearl Clan, I must take Lady Sneasler and the clan's welfare into consideration and ensure that her reign continues well into a future I will not be present for. I do not do this personally."

How long had Ingo known his noble for? Months? Years? And a tiny chastising voice pushed its way forward. You are only acting out of fear of being decommissioned from the only clan you know, it whispered smartly. That without your title, you have nothing to contribute. Nothing to your worth. Nothing to gain from. And Ingo did nothing to fight that voice because it was true. What was he in Hisui if not a warden? A title that demanded respect? A title that had guaranteed him a social rank in the Pearl Clan so that he was not completely and utterly isolated.

His memories flickered back to those two unspeakable weeks lost in the icelands. Wandering. Shivering. Confused. Mournful. Sighting light from afar but never being able to reach it. Feeling stalked but never being able to see who was following him. The sheer cold of the snow and the energy it often sapped from him. Ingo had always been sure that he was strong… physically. His mind on the other hand? He predicted that he had once thought so too before the cold had whittled him away. He could hardly remember who he was after the first blizzard. Who he had been before the first blizzard. What his mind had become after the first blizzard.

"Ingo?" Irida's hand tightened on his shoulder, shaking him forcefully out of his stupor. Her eyes met his own and she cowered away. "I… good. I will give you some time to think about what lies before you. This process will be gradual. Slow. You will have plenty of time to get your situations in order before I initiate any kind of apprenticeship. I am telling you this now so that it does not come as a surprise later. Am I understood?"

"…Understood."

Irida faltered, removing her hand from Ingo's shoulder and instead letting them lay in her lap. "I'm sorry. I know how much the position means to you, but I have to think of my clan and I also have to think of you."

"Think of me?" Ingo had regretted his harsh tone the moment the words spilled from his lips. He opened his mouth to apologize but Irida had already beaten him to the punch.

"I know that you're angry and you probably feel like I'm betraying you or abandoning you, but I'm not. I want you to go home, Ingo; to the place that you belong. You don't belong here in Hisui. You want so badly for me to tell you otherwise- that there will always be a place for you here. That one day, you might find another purpose for yourself other than working for others if you were to remain here. And it would be cruel of me to perpetuate that. Ingo, out of all of my wardens, I trust you the most so I hope you can understand where I'm coming from." Irida tapped her sandals on the boulder's edge. "I want you to step down from being a warden and really take care of yourself. You work for others and take enjoyment when they're satisfied with your work. Do you ever work for yourself? Is there anything you've done or accomplished here in Hisui that wasn't at somebody else's whim or for your own survival?"

Ingo tried in vain to come up with something- anything he had done that was both worthwhile and for his enjoyment only. And as he scratched around blindly in the recesses of his mind, he found none. "And if there is no way home?" Ingo whispered. "If there are no tracks leading to the past or future? If it is all a lie and I am being led around in circles? What then?" In a much smaller voice, he asked, "Where will I go then?"

Beside him, Irida shivered. She carefully looped her arm around Ingo's and leaned against him like she used to do before she was the leader and he was one of her wardens. When times were more hectic. "To me," she murmured lowly. "You will go to me. I will always be here for you, Ingo."

Night fell. The two removed themselves from their perch, shaking off snow and frost and early autumn chills. It was time to make his decision. Ingo already knew what he was going to do. What he needed to do. He had a side quest to assist with.

"Twink."

"Not a twink."

"Twink."

"Not. A twink."

"Hairless. Thin like a green bean," There was a pause. "No maidens!"

"I am going. To strangle you."

"Ooh. Kinky."

Ingo pinched the bridge of his nose, arriving just as his brother and Jaku were beginning to throw giant wads of snow and pieces of ice at one another. Emmet deftly avoided getting struck by a bulky piece of ice, sending a wave of snow over Jaku who had immediately taken shelter behind a fallen tree.

"Take it back," Emmet demanded, scooping up a handful of snow before pouring water from his canteen onto it.

"Make me!"

Ingo sighed. "Can you two please behave yourselves for even one hour? Emmet, do not throw that ice ball. I saw what you did. Miss Jaku, please stop antagonizing Emmet. We should be working together."

"I can still clown on him even if we are working together," Jaku chimed in immediately before getting pegged with a snowball. "Worth it."

Irida only chuckled before resuming her stern facade. "Alright. Scout Jaku of the Diamond Clan."

"Yes, Leader Irida?" Jaku immediately fetched herself from the snow and moved to bow, her eyes closed and her face set with a practiced calmness.

"I have already sent word to Clan Leader Adaman about your whereabouts. He should be expecting you in a week or so. I may not be your clan leader but understand that you do still have an obligation to your own clan to be present. That is, after you finish up your task with Warden Ingo."

Jaku immediately nodded, her hands clasped behind her back. "Of course. I've been meaning to check back in. And I suppose it's time for me to leave since it's nearly sundown. Thank you again for your hospitality, Leader Irida." Jaku turned to Ingo, a wary expression in her eyes. "You. If you feel like doing the task, meet me by the ice lake come tomorrow morning or the next day. I've got things I need to track in the meantime."

"It is much too dark and cold to send our passenger off into the icelands," Ingo protested to Irida. "Surely we can't send her off into the wilderness."

Irida crossed her arms. "No Zoroark is allowed to stay in the Pearl Settlement and that is final. I understand your concern for your friend but they were made aware of my terms before stepping foot into the Pearl Settlement."

"Lady Irida is right," Jaku cut in. "I'll be fine. I actually have to go and retrieve something from Snowpoint Temple that I left behind."

"Very well. Then we shall rendezvous at the river tomorrow. Sunrise?"

"Sunrise it'll be. I'll be waiting. C'mon guys. Off we go." Jaku tightened the fur coat around their frame as they set off into the snow. Ingo watched as gradually, the ranger set out further and further and further before they disappeared altogether in the snow.

"I am coming with you." Emmet came to stand beside him, staring at the footprints left behind in the thin layer of ice. "I think. I think something else will happen. And I want to be there with you when it does."

September 25th, First Year

Illusions in the snow. Ingo had been trained to ignore them but his brother? Not so much. Tricks of the light. Of sunlight bouncing off of the ice. Emmet had remarked that he had sighted a shiny pokémon. Rare. One in a few thousand. Ingo had left his brother to it. They weren't far from the Pearl Settlement; well within shouting range for a member of the guard to hear him.

"Ingo! Over here!"

At the sound of the Jaku's voice, Ingo turned toward the frozen river. There, just shy of the shore seated on a fallen log, was Jaku. At his arrival, a familiar face popped up from beside her: Jester. On her other side was a face Ingo did not recognize. White fur, red markings, golden eyes. First one, and then two, and then the largest of them all made three. A Zoroark. A Hisuian Zoroark. Two Hisuian Zoroarks. And then, Ingo fainted.