July 9th, First Year

"Fifteen crates of medicine, two crates of preserved meat, and a few bushels of sand radishes. Sorry. It's all we can spare for the time being."

Jaku gingerly took two of the crates and strapped them to Ghost's back, making sure to seal the precious cargo between two layers of canvas sheets. The Pearl Clan had kept their word on helping by sending relief supplies and this was the second shipment that she had received that week.

"We didn't manage to find anything strong enough for your spore-infected sick," one of the Pearl Clan rangers murmured. "We're still waiting to see if our kin in the Obsidian Fieldlands have any extra supplies that they can spare."

"It's well appreciated either way," Jaku replied amiably. She bowed low, ignoring the sour taste in her mouth. "Thank you for the help. The Diamond Clan thanks you for your generosity."

Once the Pearl Clan Rangers disappeared behind the mountain ridge, Jaku led her trusty Luxray along as they began descending down the mountain ridge toward the Diamond Heath, watching as the tall grass many miles below wavered in a gentle breeze.

It was nice and peaceful up in the mountains where she had been stationed. Not quite within the mirelands and not quite within the highlands. An untraversed area where the warmth of the sun and the cool mountain breeze could remind her of a home she couldn't quite remember. Gravel crunched underfoot. From beside her, Ghost purred, ever so often rubbing its head up against Jaku's torso as if it too were sensing her solemn mood. And after a few minutes of walking in silence, skipping pebbles off of cliffs and watching the clouds roll by overhead, Jaku stopped and gazed tiredly at the mirelands that spread out before her in a wide array of reds, greens, and murky browns.

I wonder how they're all doing down there, she thought, her mouth twisting into a frown. I wonder when I'll have to go back. Much had happened in the two weeks since her figuring out the abilities behind the Time Pendant. She kept the artifact wrapped in cloth now, too nervous to let the dangerous item dangle around her neck; not after what had happened with Volo and Akari.

There had been an accident, one that Jaku was replaying in her mind during the cold, starry nights where she couldn't sleep. After Volo and Akari had taken their notes on a frenzied Lady Lilligant from afar, the group had accidentally run straight into a deformed Parasect King; nearly the very same one that her and Akanti had run into before Jaku had gone back in time to save Hassun. And even that memory bothered her.

On their way back from Brava Arena, Akari had been paralyzed by a stray spore attack from the terrible beast after shielding Volo from the very same move and even now- to Jaku's knowledge- the poor girl was still halfway paralyzed in the Diamond Settlement, unable to move and at times, unable to breathe.

"That girl has to be either incredibly lucky or destined to decay like the others," Rez had murmured to Jaku the day after. Jaku knew better, but she hadn't said as much, helping to turn Akari over and check for bedsores. Almighty Sinnoh wouldn't let its champion perish so easily. It was all just a matter of waiting.

After that, things had changed. Rei had taken up the mantle in charting notes on the frenzied noble. Jaku had been switched out for a different ranger that would keep Rei safe- which stung even more harshly than it had when Jaku found out it would be Akanti that replaced her. Adaman had made up the excuse that he simply wanted her to help with getting the trade items on the border instead and sent her up into the mountains to make camp alone. She had later caught wind that Commander Kamado of the Galaxy Team had heard of their team's blunder.

Jaku had never felt so embarrassed or incompetent before. She had had everything under control before the Parasect King had shown up- something that her clanmates had remarked on upon seeing her out of the settlement on the path toward the mountains. Even Akanti hadn't relentlessly mocked her about it. As a matter of fact, the man had barely spoken to her since the day she had gone back in time to save Hassun.

And after nights of considering where she had gone wrong, Jaku did the only thing she could think of that might put herself back in the Diamond Clan's favor; she used the Time Pendant. She went back in time in an attempt to divert their course so that Akari would never be injured in the first place. She didn't account for the terrible sickness that stalked her each time as she warped several days before she was due to accompany them.

Every time she would arrive in the past, she would begin to wither like a plant out of the sun for too long. Her eyesight would fail her and her lungs would weaken until she could scarcely breathe after rising from her futon. She would trip and stumble where her footing was almost always sure and confident. Migraines would come and go and leave her a sensitive, irritable mess in her tent, always excused from her duties by Keiji. She would never get the timing right either. She would be forced to relive days from her past over and over to the point where she knew everything that could happen to her, Volo, and Akari for the entire month of Mid Year.

Every time she tried to protect Akari, something else would happen. Something new and complex that would have unfavorable effects if Jaku were to have let them be. The first time she had tried to protect her younger charge, the Parasect King had mauled Akari's Glameow to death, inciting the brash pokémon wielder to throw out the rest of her crew which all eventually succumbed and were subsequently killed. The second and third attempts had been no better. Jaku quickly recognized that no matter how many times she went back, Akari would always be the subject of fate's torment. No matter how many different tricks Jaku tried- how many times she had told Akari to run back to camp or avoid fighting or shielding the young girl with her own body- no matter what Jaku did, the end result was always the same: Akari unconscious in a cot, struggling to breathe, oblivious to the world.

So Jaku had decided not to attempt to fix things this time around. Akari was paralyzed from the neck down, but she was still alive. It didn't sit right with Jaku and left the ranger wondering if there was something else she could've done. Wondering whether there was a limit to how far back she could go. Wondering whether there was a way to break the rules- to ensure that what she wanted was what would ultimately happen.

For the time being, Jaku had been camping in the mountain range that separated the Coronet Highlands from the Crimson Mirelands. It was really just a big cave that had a large rock slab partially covering the entrance. Hidden by sight and hidden by the noise of a nearby stream, it had been the first place Jaku had set up shop since she had arrived in the mountains. And for the first time in many many months, Jaku was alone again with her pokémon and her capricious thoughts.

As the sun traced its way toward the horizon, Jaku took her time walking through the gaping canyons, listening to the rough winds whistle through the narrow channels in the rock. Thin grass rustled in the breeze. As the sky began to darken, she reached the lip of a ravine in the mountains where the soft grass of the mirelands turned to large boulders and gravel. Water thundered through the narrow channel below, shaded by scraggly trees that hung from the cliff edges.

Jaku's pokémon carefully followed behind her as they descended down the side of the canyon and out into a y-shaped clearing. The waters slowed until they slapped into a still pond, bubbles gurgling to the surface as the extra river water surged over another steep drop to her far right. This was a place that sunlight had not touched in decades, possibly centuries. Dust gathered on every surface, tiny specks glittering in the weak sunlight. Stagleap Clearing.

Jaku let her feet guide her deeper into the narrow passage until she eventually erupted into the warm light of dusk. There, hidden a few paces away in the shadow of a sprawling desert-willow tree, was the entrance to her secret base. Now, she would wait until tomorrow for the Diamond Clan rangers to arrive and pick up the rations. She began calling her pokémon forward. "Alright Ghost. Let's get this stuff off of you."

After stacking the crates in the driest section of the cave, Jaku lit a fire in the make-shift hearth, having Lilith dig up a mass of stone and dirt to prevent a draft from moving in. It wasn't a great door- it wasn't really a door at all- but it was better than the first day when sudden gusts of icy wind kept putting out the hearth in the middle of the night. She had gone to bed hungry and cold that day.

It was quiet up there. Lonely. Adaman still hadn't sent her any word about how the clan or the mirelands were faring or when she could come back. She was supposed to mind her own business up in the mountains until Lady Lilligant had been calmed. While it would prevent her from claiming the time gear at Lake Valor for a while, she appreciated the relative peace that being alone gave her- both to settle her thoughts and plan her next moves.

"...Hello? Is anybody here?"

Ah. Jaku slowly rose from the cave floor, Dusk and Peanut padding forward to sniff at the mouth of the cave. Jaku took up her saber from her belt, quietly moving until she could just barely peer over the wall of dirt and stones piled high in front of the entrance. Somebody had shown up to her secret hideout. Somebody that, by all means, shouldn't even know where it was. It was secret for a reason.

Jaku carefully took stock of the clearing, the draping branches of the desert willow obscuring a good chunk of what she could see in the remaining light of dusk. She saw a figure pivot around a large boulder, a familiar black-and-red coat flapping in the wind as they raised their hand to hold down their beaten hat. "Warden Ingo?" Jaku called, her voice laced with confusion.

At the sound of her call, the man in question turned on his heel, his eyes seeming to glow as he turned this way and that, followed closely by Chandelure. The crystalline pokémon almost immediately turned its blisteringly bright eyes toward Jaku, floating slowly in her direction.

Jaku sighed and chucked it up to the ghost-type pokémon being able to sense her presence. No other way it could've happened, she supposed. "Over here, warden!" she called, moving around the pile of slag. "Please ignore the mess."

Ingo turned around and once he saw her leaning against the cave wall, he nodded. "Jaku. I was told I might find you stationed here. A clanmate of yours mentioned to me on my passing through of the Diamond Settlement that you are helping escort rations through the mountains."

"And who told you that?"

Ingo tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I believe his name was 'Akanti'. Quite an odd fellow."

Jaku groaned and shook her head. "That guy. Makes sense he'd be the one to tell you- he's constantly got his nose in my business. Would've figured it'd be Adaman, though. So what brings you here?" Jaku asked plainly, crossing her arms. "Don't tell me something else is going on in the mirelands."

"No, no. Nothing like that, though your worry is to be expected. Lady Lilligant is still frenzied but I do bring you some news." Ingo glanced fondly over at the expanse of the mirelands below them. "Lady Irida of the Pearl Clan has sent one healer from each settlement of ours to assist the Diamond Clan in caring for their sick. It was a suggestion by Warden Calaba of the Droning Encampment that was passed through as of late."

"Really now? That's great news. I'm happy to hear it." Jaku eventually put away her saber which drew the curious eye of Ingo.

"I have also heard that you've been stationed up here for quite some time now."

"Eh, it's been two weeks- something like that. I don't know. I'm not keeping track."

"And-" Ingo continued, his eyes scanning the dark cave disapprovingly- "I don't believe this is the safest station for you to rest your cab. I was given the distinct impression that you would have at least established a safe platform here. Or perhaps a campfire. These are certainly… lackluster conditions."

"I'm more than aware of…this-" Jaku bristled, pointing at the pile of stones and dirt behind her with a mixture of embarrassment and shame- "but listen to me- it beats the sinkholes and spore-filled woods down in the mirelands."

"Did Adaman not at least send you off with supplies?"

Jaku sheepishly rubbed at the back of her head. "Let's just say that everything is in the cave rather than outside the cave. Learned that the hard way."

Ingo cocked his head, his eyes sparking with interest. "Whatever do you mean?" His tone was light. Confident. As if he had predicted what Jaku was about to say.

"Let's also just say that my tent may or may not be at the bottom of the mountain after getting swept up like a dry leaf. It was pretty fucking windy the first day I was here."

That got Ingo to chuckle, shaking his head as he laughed. "I see. I thought as much after sighting something rather colorful on the side of the river some few miles away. But you do have supplies inside the cave?" Ingo then smiled, his eyes crinkling. "You are not lying to me, are you? There wouldn't happen to be a futon on the barren floor inside, is there?"

Jaku went silent, grimacing. "Okay, no more questions from you. I will not be bullied in front of my own cave in front of my own pokémon, thank you very much." She kicked yet another pebble off of the clearing's edge, fixing the man across from her with a stern glare. "And you know, you still haven't told me what you're doing here. I thought you were supposed to be in the icelands? And speaking of which, where's my Mandibuzz? Is he sleeping or something?"

Ingo immediately stiffened, adjusting his hat so that a shadow fell over his face. "I was in the icelands- that much is true. Wardens meet whenever our leader sends for us." And then Ingo clasped his hands in front of him. "I am very, very sorry," he rasped, bowing his head. "During my time in the icelands, I was sent to deal with an infamous passenger that calls the icelands its home- do you know what Zoroarks are?"

"Can't say that I do," Jaku replied hesitantly. "Why? What happened? Is Mandibuzz okay?"

"I am… not sure. My deepest apologies, Jaku. Zoroarks are known for their tendency to cast illusions. I did not think your Mandibuzz would become susceptible to them, but I fear…" Ingo suddenly went pale, his eyes briefly unfocusing as he studied her and then Lilith which had one rounded ear pricked at their conversation.

"Ingo? You alright?" When he hadn't responded, Jaku continued. "It's okay," she murmured, taking a deep breath. "Things happen. Mandibuzz is my pokémon and if he's as strong as Lilith, he can survive on his own." And somehow, despite the edge of anger that had bristled at the notion of the older man somehow losing her pokémon, Jaku calmed herself down. "I can ask Adaman to send a replacement so I can go look myself."

"That would be… deeply unadvised," Ingo responded cautiously. "I would rather have a Pearl Clan ranger accompany you. They know the lay of the land better than you might. I thought it might be polite to stop by and… share that news with you. More and more, I've been called on to act in the past few weeks and I figured that telling you of my recent mistake should take priority."

Jaku could only grimace. She didn't blame Ingo. She had had a few days to get to know the Mandibuzz and from what she had gathered, it was a righteous and rowdy creature. It would do as it pleased and then perhaps fly home when it was satisfied. Or at least, that was what she felt in her gut. "...Well, thanks for at least coming to tell me. I appreciate it and I'll think about getting some help in tracking my boy down."

"I only know that your Mandibuzz was tricked into helping escort the injured Zoroark deeper into the woods. They fled, the both of them. I believe the Zoroark was using your Mandibuzz to hasten its escape. I have only the faintest idea where that particular Zoroark could have gone off to. Again, my most sincere apologies."

"Oh hush. There's no need for that," Jaku waved Ingo away. "It's not your fault. Some things… some things you just can't control," she muttered, shifting her gaze to land on the mirelands and in tow, to where she knew the Diamond Settlement lay. "My pokémon will come home eventually. They always do. They're more than capable of taking care of themselves." With a loud huff, Jaku rolled back her shoulders. "It's getting pretty dark outside. You can stop and rest here for the night if you'd like. A group of Diamond Clan rangers will be coming by tomorrow morning to pick up some supplies. That way, you can travel with them."

"Thank you. I shall accept your gracious invitation if you'll have me," Ingo rumbled warmly, his apprehensive expression still remaining on his face.

The cave isn't all that bad, Jaku thought defensively as she motioned the warden in. She was still making space in the back and filling in the drafty cracks with mud and wet clay. It certainly helped that Lilith knew Dig. She knew she needed to find something sturdier to serve as the door along with a better light source than her sticks-and-stones hearth. She was thankful that it wasn't snowing there or else she would've considered retreating back to the hearth a long time ago.

Ingo seemed to pick up on her slight embarrassment, a tense smile on his face as he eyed the makings of the entrance, a shrew pile of slag with the beginnings of canvas cloth covering a narrow hole. "I hope you didn't live in caves where your home station is."

"I might have," Jaku alluded meekly, moving off to help her pokémon smoothen down the clay in the floor. "It's better than nothing, I guess. Nice and quiet. No Parasects or dangerous spores or dangerous patrols."

"Ah. I remember the patrols from when I was a ranger. They are worse in the icelands." He carefully seated himself down next to a makeshift table that Jaku had constructed out of bound wood slats and a flat stone, setting down his pack by the wall. "It's not too quiet here, I presume?"

"Not at all. There's always something making noise. If it's not my pokémon-" Jaku pet Lilith's head as she spoke, the large dog playfully encasing her arm in its sharp teeth- "then its the wind or a storm or some wandering pokémon. It's always something. The quiet's nice. Calming, almost."

Ingo moved his makeshift chair back, his wistful gaze trained on the darkening sky outside. "I understand. Lady Sneasler lives in a cave atop Chamberclaw Cliffs- it is not too far from here as a matter of fact. Perhaps a few hours away, if I am correct. You see, my lady's den is very much like this cave except the floor is covered in feathers and fur. But it's surrounded by sheer cliffs- a hole in the side of a cliff, rather. My trips up to it are… very tricky, but the peace it serves is quite nice as well."

"I'm surprised you haven't fallen and hurt yourself then. Can't imagine having to climb up a steep cliff just to eat dinner. Then again, you're used to it by now, huh?"

"That, I am." Ingo paused. "I just noticed. You don't have any cookware here, do you?" His tone was low but not in a way that pitied her. She could see the way his brows raised higher and higher as the man took off his hat and stowed it in his lap.

Jaku paused and pointedly looked away. Adaman still hadn't sent her the basic things that she had asked for two weeks ago. Cookware had been second on the list to bedding. "Don't look at me like that," she grumbled, thankful that her rolled-up futon was hidden in the shadows of the cave further back. "There's a hearth right here."

Ingo glanced pointedly at the hearth, the corners of his mouth twitching upward ever so slightly as they landed on the crude metal bars stuck into the earth along with the mass of branches shoved into the base. "So you eat like a barbarian."

"No, I do not-"

"I share the highlands with Warden Melli of the Diamond Clan. I've seen him eat his food with a tree branch before. Is that common in the Diamond Clan? To eat everything like an animal?"

Jaku gazed away, feeling her face heat up more and more as the seconds ticked by. "I don't know what you're trying to imply, warden. We're both civilized people here. Me? Eat with a tree branch?" she theatrically echoed, knowing fully well that she had had to result to such a tactic in order to fish out a chunk of Stantler meat out of the pot some few hours ago. "No. I don't think so. Must just be your friend or something."

"No kettle, no cookware, no bowls-" Ingo peered around the hearth, his eyes catching on the alleged branch and then on the clay-stained buckets at the back of the room. "Am I supposed to believe that you have a drawer of forks and spoons somewhere? Most likely hidden in this uninhabited cave? Melli would riot if he knew you set up a hearth in a cave- which species of wild pokémon live in here?"

"There's a spike right there," Jaku argued, her own mouth wobbling into a flustered smile. "Right over the hearth. See it?"

"So no forks or spoons then?"

"I am ending this conversation." Jaku folded her arms, her face practically burning.

"Is that a yes or a no? I'm quite concerned. Do you burn your hands every time you have to eat?"

"Ending the conversation!" Jaku repeated, refilling the pot above the hearth with water from her waterskin.

"Should I bring you some things from the Pearl Clan?" Ingo tried, a laugh threatening to break from him as he turned around in his chair to watch her fumble with the adjusting sticks. "Should I buy you some cookware from Jubilife Village? Even I had decent cookware when I was sent to live in the highlands-"

"We are moving away from this topic!"

"Of course, of course. I'm only poking fun. After all, I did not come here with the intention of making myself a bad guest."

Jaku fixed the older man with a stern glare. "Really now? That's not the vibe you've been giving me for the past twenty minutes."

"What? I am being serious," Ingo asserted, affixing the flaps of his kimono. "Besides. I didn't even possess a hearth the first time I was forced to make my own dwelling here in Hisui."

Jaku snapped around from her position on the floor, a smirk on her face. "Oh yeah? So no cookware? Who's the barbarian now?" she jeered.

"Where is your futon? I don't think I've seen it yet," Ingo immediately observed, his own cheeky grin brightening.

"Okay, okay. I'll let it slide this time, warden. You're lucky you're in a position of power. Otherwise, I'd toss you out." Jaku then got up from the hearth and began preparing a bowl of fish stew she had made the other night, preserved by Dusk who made an excellent boiler. "Got any news? Not much reaches me here in the mountains."

"I do not have any good news," Ingo replied after a minute. "Lady Lilligant is still frenzied. I have been unable to find a way to Brava Arena without risking breathing in the spores the lady produces. We are on a break, so to speak."

Jaku blinked. "So they called you in, huh? Figures. I was supposed to help take notes first but I fumbled the basket completely on that."

"Oh? What happened?"

Jaku exhaled, leaning to rest her back against the cave wall. "Maybe you've heard by now? Akari- well, I was her bodyguard at the time, but- I took Akari and that merchant friend of hers- Volo-"

"Volo?" Ingo interrupted. "The fellow with the golden hair? Works for the Gingko Guild?"

"Uhh. Yeah. Him."

Ingo hummed thoughtfully for a moment, taking a swig from his own waterskin as he sat forward in his chair. "What is your perception of Volo, Jaku? Myself, I've interacted with him on several different occasions. He seems… odd."

"Odd in what sense?" Jaku questioned Ingo further. "I mean, yeah I think it's odd that Akari is good friends with some guy that's probably older than me. But when I took them to Solaceon- some ruins in the mirelands- they just seemed like they were enjoying themselves rooting around in the rubble."

"Ah. You mentioned that our fellow faller fell ill," Ingo rumbled. "What happened?"

Jaku hastily launched into a retelling of that day's events, taking care to mention how unpredictable the event was. How Volo had tried to fight off the horrible creature, being surprisingly efficient at commanding his little league team. How hard she had tried to protect Akari before eventually being forced to take refuge in the mountains. "And now I'm stuck up here," she ended, resting her face glumly in her hands. "I don't blame Adaman. I just wish I knew how to help better."

There was a moment, and then Ingo reached down, gently setting his hand on her shoulder. It was warm as though he had been resting it by the hearth, but it was also sturdy. Rooted. "Don't feel guilty," Ingo murmured. "You tried your best to take care of your passengers. Sometimes, trying is all you can do. Young Akari is still alive and you are here in the mountains ensuring that valuable resources are being escorted to those who need them including her. I believe that you are already doing your best."

My best? Jaku grumbled to herself. Not my best. Not really. I can go back in time and save a little boy from dying but I couldn't even protect Akari with all the times I've had to try.

"Hmm. Yeah, okay." After a moment, Jaku stood. "I know you're trying to help me warden, but honestly, I'm just in a bad mood. But hey, I just remembered that I have something that might help with the whole spore situation in the mirelands. Hold on." Jaku moved to the dark back of the cave, reaching into a small wooden crate where she hoarded the shiny, various objects that tended to catch her eyes. She pulled loose the scratchy gray fabric, spotting a few spots of her own blood on the underside. She was careful upon sliding it into Ingo's awaiting hands. "I don't exactly know what it is, but it kept me safe when I was quelling Lord Wyrdeer. It's some kind of cloak that negates effects from pokémon abilities." Jaku carefully chose her words as she proceeded. "I don't know how I came to have it nor who gave it to me- something specifically about that irks me and I don't know why- I think it involves that distortion that formed over the camp?"

"Ah. That. I've been meaning to ask you a good deal about that."

"What? The distortion?"

"That is also something I must offer my sincerest apologies for," Ingo rambled. "It formed over the camp while you were unconscious. It would seem that the medics failed to evacuate you properly. I was not within the settlement while it formed- only told that you had been one of those counted missing afterwards."

Jaku scoffed. "Figures. Of course I'd be left behind as live bait." She then sighed. "Don't worry too much about that. I was asleep for almost the entire time and when I did get up- well- let's just say it was a fast experience leaving camp. Barely spent any time there," Jaku grunted, remembering all too well the harrowing experience of being puppeteered down toward the river on her own limbs. "But anyway, this cloak should help a lot in preventing you from breathing in the spores or at least, it should wipe out any potential status change you could get from the matter."

Ingo let out a long, deep hum as he studied the item. He pinched sections of the strange cloak between his fingers, a strange smile flitting across his face as he folded the cloak in half before putting it into his pack. "I think I remember this item. Perhaps from my past. I've certainly seen this cloak before. Thank you for lending it to me."

"Don't worry about it. I certainly won't be needing it."

"I'm not too sure about that. I have some news that I would like to share with you. Or should I say, I've made some rather interesting discoveries."

"Such as?"

Ingo beckoned her to sit opposite him at the table and despite her strong desire not to, Jaku eventually caved in and took a seat. Once she was seated, Ingo reached into his pack and pulled out a mud-stained wooden box along with what looked to be a pearl the size of a Geodude. Ingo reached out with his hands and carefully held the orb, his eyes glinting with something that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand straight up.

"You… found some cool items?" Jaku guessed pathetically.

Ingo gave her a quizzical look. "… Not quite. These are items central to me. I might guess that you would have some items like it as well?"

He knows about the time gears? Since when? How? Jaku fought to keep her expression neutral as she put her hands in her lap. If Ingo knew about the time gears, then he would know about what Jaku was doing with them; attempting to reverse engineer fate. "Eh, possibly," she lied." I don't know. I haven't had much time to do anything besides support my clan. That and take long strolls in the mountain. Besides, what are those things?"

Igno gave her a long, curious look, his hands hesitantly hovering over the lid of a small box. "This-" Ingo held up the box- "is an Old Verse. The orb that I'm holding is known as a Lustrous Orb. Would you-" Ingo hummed thoughtfully to himself. "Would you mind humoring a few questions for me?"

Jaku blinked. "Uh, sure, I guess. What did you want to ask?"

"Back when I asked you about that Zor-" Ingo hastily cut himself off, frowning. "Back in the Diamond Settlement. Back when you had lent me your Mandibuzz. We were discussing Emmet, the man that looks similar to me. Have you seen them recently?"

"Uh…no. The last I saw of Emmet was when I sent him off to the Coronet Highlands shortly before that freak storm." Jaku still felt a smidge guilty at not using her newly-found powers to reunite Emmet with Ingo, especially considering the fact that she still owed the man for helping her fend off Akanti during the day of her trial. She felt even more guilty when Ingo's gaze suddenly sharpened.

"Of course. Right. I wished to ask more about him. If I may confide with you…?"

"Go right ahead. Any secret of yours is safe with me."

Ingo slowly nodded his hand, careful not to remove his hands from the orb. "It is not a secret, but possibly a misgiving of mine. I was going to share a more pertinent kind of news in the form of these objects." He gestured toward the box and toward the orb. "We are both Fallers, so this should come as no surprise that just now, as events form to conspire against us, a possible way to our home stations should emerge."

Jaku felt her mouth dry out. "A… a way… home? What do you mean?"

Quietly, slowly, Ingo began on a whisper of what he had been up to since quelling Lord Kleavor. The two objects- the Lustrous Orb and the Old Verse- were ancient artifacts commanded upon him by a god- a legendary pokémon- to retrieve. According to the warden, Ingo had been told with crystal clear clarity that if he were to succeed in retrieving his artifacts, that he would be allowed to return back to wherever he came from.

"If I am correct in my speculations, then the same should hold true for both you and for Akari." Ingo paused for only a moment. "Would you happen to also possess such items? Or maybe perhaps, you were contacted by a similar legendary pokémon?"

Jaku didn't respond immediately. She clasped her hands together under the table, her eyes moving to focus on the fire in the hearth. Similar introduction. Different items. Ingo also has a fetch quest now. Goody. But do I tell him the brunt of it? What I can do with the pendant? Jaku sighed. "I guess I do?" she spoke after a while, revealing the small, cloth-wrapped item. "They- my legendary pokémon talked to me some time ago too. Gave me this. Told me to go collect things." She then returned Ingo's glance, surprised to see an undisguised level of concern there. "They didn't say anything about me going home, though. Maybe that's just a you thing." Jaku rose from her seat, putting away the gear. "I… don't really want to talk about the legendaries… Sorry."

The rest of the night followed in relative peace if not for a few awkward moments of Jaku clearing space so that Ingo could sleep, making sure that the warden's pokémon could come out and stretch if need be. After the hearth had gone out and Ingo was fast asleep in his own futon, Jaku carefully crept out of her cave and found her way back to Stagleap Clearing, her hands shaking as she held the unclothed time gear between her fingers.

So that made all of us, then. The conversation that Jaku had held with Ingo all that time ago rang in her head. Ingo had realized his potential as the champion of space. Akari was already the champion of Almighty Sinnoh from what Jaku knew. And her? Of course, she'd be the champion of time. Three fallers. Three special abilities. Three unique purposes.

But Jaku didn't relish her power. She swallowed, noting with increasing discomfort the way the eroded edges of the time gear seemed to burn into the flesh of her hands. Time. She'd be manipulating time. She'd already had a taste of it and loathed it. She hated the way it made her feel. She hated the way it ladled more responsibilities onto her overwhelmingly small plate. She hated the fact that she couldn't tell anybody about her activities. She had tried to tell Talaos in the past, but Uxie had wiped their memories. She had tried with Akari in the past, but it seemed like nothing worked.

The more she used her ability to go back in time, the faster she realized that the people she talked to were not the real versions of her acquaintances or friends. They were imperfect, coming from different timelines where things either went wrong or right. She had realized too late that the first jump she had made had permanently separated her from her original timeline. The original Ingo and Akari from her timeline no longer existed. Her pokémon that she had caught were really no longer hers in a sense. Everybody she interacted with only saw the version of her she chose to let them see. The next time she slipped up and something bad happened, they would cease to exist because she would have to jump to another point in time where she could prevent said thing from happening.

Jaku's feet moved faster, her movements uncoordinated as she rounded the bend in a cliff. "Am I original?" she muttered. "Or am I a copy of myself? Am I doomed to repeat myself in every timeline? Is there a version of me that I've already erased?" She paced closer to her destination, her eyes beginning to water.

"I have to collect more of these terrible things," Jaku growled, wrapping the gear in cloth before stuffing it into her pocket, the chill of night making her face and fingers go numb. "How many more timelines will I have to destroy? How many more times will I have to make decisions along the lines of letting people I know suffer until I have no choice but to use the time pendant? And do I even have a choice in the matter?"

She found a quiet narrow crevice in a rock wall in a place she knew most wouldn't search, half-sliding down onto the ground until she had her head between her knees, sinking her hands into her hair and pulling until all she could feel was the tight pain along her scalp. "Deep breaths. Deeep breaths. Everything is gonna be fine."

Wet footsteps sounded on the dirt. "Croa?" Slimy appendages rubbed up against her leg, a familiar cheeky grin appearing in her peripheral vision as her newest partner, Castor, wiggled its way in between her arms, sitting so that it could stare directly at her, its cheeks puffed out.

Jaku snorted. "Cheeky little bastard. How dare you follow me all the way here." She scooped up her partner and brought it in closer to rest against her chest, not quite anticipating for her partner to wrap its arms around her the way a Slakoth would a winding branch. "Did you come out here to keep me company?"

"Croak."

"Of course, you did." Jaku felt her Castor settle, turning her eyes upward at the dark sky filled with stars and moonlit clouds. Ingo had been promised a return home. So too had Akari. And her? No such comfort existed in her future. But that wasn't important. What was important was accomplishing her task and finding what little enjoyment she could while in Hisui. And if there did happen to be a way home? All the better for her. She had her pokémon. My pokémon. Castor came all this way just to keep me company. I owe it to him- to the others- to treat them right and take care of them and get things taken care of.