October 18th, First Year
A terrible heat blanketed everything. Humidity, thick in the air, threatened to suffocate Jaku as she woke, her entire body heavy as if weighed down by pounds upon pounds of stones. Her eyes felt as though they had been glued shut and the ghost of a headache clung to her mind like fog. She grimaced and remained lying down, trying her best to focus on what exactly had happened since the last time she had been awake, the humidity making her uncomfortably aware of just how damp her entire body was.
Where even am I? Jaku paused, barely picking her head off of the ground. Grit stuck to her face. It's not raining. At least… it's not raining wherever I am. She listened hard, hearing the familiar sound of waves crashing into the shore at a distance. Jaku heard another sound as well; hissing. Muffled hissing. Blowing winds. She winced as another gust of hot, humid air settled over her. And then, the ground beneath her shuddered and moved, gently at first before rocking side-to-side for only a blink of an eye. Then, everything was still again.
The last thing Jaku remembered was taking a walk up toward the mountains south of the Trail Encampment. She had managed to triangulate the possible location of a Time Gear and had left to stake it out while Ingo and Akari had gone to investigate Lord Basculegion; that much, Jaku remembered quite clearly. It paid to investigate even when she couldn't clear out the mystery dungeons connected with the Time Gears; she could always revisit them later. But then, why don't I remember what happened after I had to cross that huge stream to get to the foot of the cliff where the gear is located?
Something huffed. Heavy steps crunched in the grit underfoot. Water dripped. Jaku barely had time to move before the unknown creature was right in front of her, its hot rank breath billowing into her face. Whatever it was reeked of carrion. A low, throaty growl ebbed from the creature, making Jaku's teeth chatter in her skull. Then, something wet gingerly touched her face.
Jaku couldn't breathe. Where are my pokémon? Shouldn't they be with me? I know I have my saber with me… right? I should have my saber. Maybe I should-
The creature set something wet on her shoulder this time, much heavier and wider than the last. Wide enough to cover the entirety of her upper back. The creature then began to shake her.
Is this one of my pokémon? Maybe it's Castor. He does like swimming. Jaku slowly opened the eye closest to the ground, her blood turning to ice in her veins. The massive creature in front of her had been using one huge webbed foot to move her shoulders, one beady red eye immediately catching her glancing at it. I know this creature! Jaku recoiled back, a sudden surge of adrenaline forcing her onto her feet only to trip and fall backwards. It was the exact same crocodilian pokémon she had run into on her excursion with Ingo to Mt. Freeze; the one that had vehemently attacked her and had been the cause of her old chest wound.
In the blink of an eye, Jaku was staring at the creature's gaping throat, her head enclosed by a mouth full of big serrated teeth. The next, she was looking at the treacherous fall many many feet down an ashen, rock-covered slope. With a gentleness Jaku certainly hadn't expected, the massive pokémon used its jaws to catch her torso pre-fall, hooking her back before she could tumble to a certain death far far below. The creature then released its grip on her and fell back onto its belly with a rueful grunt, its red eyes still focused on her.
Jaku blinked. She took a careful step back. The pokémon didn't attempt to follow. "You… Did you… follow me? From the mountains?" she tried. The crocodilian pokémon didn't raise its head as it gave a dismissive sniff. "No? You didn't?" Another sniff. Jaku let out the breath she'd been holding, the adrenaline instantly fading leaving her winded on the ground. Exhaustion wore back into her and Jaku let it. "Okay. So it's just a coincidence that I ran into you in a mystery dungeon of all places and suddenly, we meet again here? Mind you- " Jaku rasped, searching through her trouser pockets for anything useful- "that shouldn't even be possible."
The creature had raised its head to stare her down at the mention of "mystery dungeons" and had crept closer, its head cocked and its arm reaching for something behind its back.
"What? What's the matter with you?" Jaku joked anxiously, keeping one eye on the pokémon and another on her surroundings.
The roiling sea with its black waves and frothing sea spray was by far the dullest, most safest thing Jaku could see for miles. All around her were looming, jagged mountains that seemed to reach into the heavens. Tar black clouds rolled overhead in a fiery red sky, curtains upon curtains of ash drifting down from the skies to blanket the barren, rocky ground. Lava bubbled down the sides of the mountains and across the sparse clearings in viscous rivulets. At a distance, numerous fires burned and scorched the earth, coming to a violent hissing stop at the water's edge.
Holy shit. Where am I and how the fuck did I even end up here? Jaku turned back to the crocodilian pokémon who had turned fully onto its side, still eyeing her warily as it rasped its tongue over a bloody gash on its stomach. "Why haven't you eaten me yet, big guy?"
The pokémon shrugged. It once again made a non-committal attempt to turn over, trying but failing to reach at something just behind its it reached further, the creature visibly flinched and recoiled back in upon itself, settling its massive hands over its belly. It shuffled closer, curling its tail tightly around its body as a wave of lava erupted from a gully and dribbled over a hill not too far away.
Jaku took a deep breath. "Need some help?" She took a step closer; the pokémon didn't back away. Good. That's good. She studied the crocodilian pokémon a bit more closely, a fresh headache throbbing at the base of her neck as she took in the creature's teal scales and swirling black markings. "You're injured. I want to help you," Jaku enunciated when the strange feeling buzzing in her chest began to make itself known: familiarity. "Will you let me help you?"
The pokémon hesitated for a long moment before eventually, it nodded, pointing with one dulled claw at a nasty-looking bite wound on its belly. Tearing tooth marks encircled the mass of the pokémon's belly as whatever it had got into a fight with had apparently attempted to take a chunk of flesh out of it. There were other deep lacerations on the creature's limbs and most notably, a horrible scar that stretched across the creature's face and throat.
"Oh. Oh. Goodness gracious me. You're quite dinged up, aren't you?" Jaku spotted what looked to be her bag lying on a heap by a rock. She carefully stepped over the pokémon and began to rummage around in the bag to look for a healing item. She then paused. "...This… this isn't my bag." Jaku's bag- the one that Azelf had gifted her with- had come with numerous nicks and scratches in the authentic, ancient woven cloth. Pouches had been sealed with sloppy patchwork sewing. The bell near the flap was missing and so too was the familiar patch of shriveled cloth where the strap met with a connecting harness. The bag Azelf had given her- no, the bag that I came with- it was well-loved. Well-used by someone. And this bag… it feels the same somehow. Almost like I recognize it. "This… this is a treasure bag." Jaku turned to glare at the large pokémon, the sting of suspicion overpowering the ringing of dread in Jaku's gut. "You're definitely the same pokémon I met at Mt. Freeze to be carrying a treasure bag of all things. pokémon don't carry things here. Certainly not equipment for probing dungeons."
The crocodilian pokémon shook its head and rolled its eyes as if denying her claim. It flopped onto the ground and huffed, scratching into the dirt with a shredded claw. But before Jaku could peer closer, the pokémon suddenly snarled and scattered the image before covering it with one massive hand. It didn't let her any closer, its thick tail stirring up clouds of ash.
"Fine. Maybe I'm wrong." The bags held some kind of prestigious connotation, of that, Jaku was certain. The strange pokémon's bag was also littered with bad wear-and-tear like Jaku's own, but then, a familiar chunk of orange cloth had been carefully melded to the leather backing. And to Jaku's further surprise, she spotted a jewel-studded badge on the side of the bag; a jewel that had been broken down the middle. "Huh. This thing looks just like mine." Jaku turned it around in the light of the flames, drawing one finger on the cracked wing-like engravings. "Right down to the crack in the middle." Jaku shook her head. "If you've got a Treasure Bag- " she continued, lifting up the bag to empty the contents onto the ground- "then you have to be working for a guild of some kind. At least, I think that's right." She searched through the numerous pockets, tracing the sloppy mess of patches that had been sewn on to hide the natural wear-and-tear of exploration. When she found nothing, Jaku continued to reach into her own pockets until her hands hit something glassy. There it is. At least I remembered to keep one handy on me. She pulled it out from her pockets. "Would you… like a poultice for those wounds?"
The crocodilian pokémon sniffed curiously at the glass bottle and eyed the muddy contents, their lips curling back to reveal savage-looking teeth.
"It's not dangerous. It's specifically made for healing pokémon," Jaku offered instead. "It's totally safe to use on injuries." She twisted open the cap and gave the contents an experimental swirl. "I think I made this not too long ago. You can't reach into the glass with those gams of yours, but I can scoop it out for you and you can apply it yourself. What d'you think?"
The pokémon nodded, its face wincing as it turned over to face her instead. Jaku carefully extracted the poultice and let the viscous mixture plop into the pokémon's outstretched hands, making sure that all of the contents within the bottle had been used up. The effects were instant. The bite wound began to bubble and froth before slowly, the broken flesh began to stitch itself back together. But not entirely. It was enough to stop the bleeding but not enough to entirely get rid of the wound.
"There… How do you feel now?"
The pokémon got to its feet, gave itself a little shake, and then without warning, hoisted Jaku into the air with its hands and nibbled gently on her arm, a hum reverberating through the creature's massive body.
Jaku immediately scrambled away, fear settling on her skin as though she had plunged into ice cold water. The image of staring down the strange pokémon's throat flashed before her eyes. "I take it that you feel better. You're not gonna eat me… are you?" A shake of the pokémon's head. Jaku let out a trembling breath, sneering inwardly at her own sudden lack of composure. "Great. Now that I know you won't turn me into pulp, I feel a lot more at ease." Jaku focused her attention on her surroundings, feeling none too keen about having the strange pokémon as a tagalong when the creature towered over her, leaving her dwarfed in its bulky shadow. "Let me get my bearings. I need to get down to the coast away from all this lava."
Without a word, the crocodilian pokémon gently tumbled Jaku onto its back. Jaku only had a moment to wrap her arms around the creature's back spines before it began to crawl toward the sea on all-fours. Slow and clumsy, it dragged its hefty weight toward the waves and when the blistering heat from the volcano had become the damp ferocity of an incoming typhoon, Jaku slid down from the creature's back and walked close to the water's edge, feeling their warm breath tickle the hairs along the back of her neck. Jaku knelt into the sand and immersed both of her arms into the surf, washing the grit of the ash from her face and hands with an audible sigh of relief. The heat she could tolerate; not the humidity. As the ocean water frothed and surged onto the beach, Jaku caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the muddled waves. Still me. Still a human. So there's no mystery dungeon nonsense at play here. Good. Jaku then pinched her nose and plunged her face into the surf. When she picked her head out of the water and rubbed at her sore face, she paused, staring at her reflection. "...What is this?"
Along her throat was a massive slashing scar that split her throat all the way across. Rows upon rows of tooth marks had been torn deep into the flesh beneath her ears, almost encircling her entire head. The rest of the marks were hidden by her matted hair. The scar was so obvious, Jaku wondered how she hadn't noticed it before. How nobody had pointed it out to her. She touched her fingers against the scar. Debilitating chills lanced through her fingers, making her recoil and stumble into the strange pokémon who had until that point been looming over her the entire time.
Jaku caught the creature's beady stare and the sense of unease and dread returned with a vengeance. And then, a foreboding heat filled the air. A mythical pokémon is nearby. Because why not? Jaku instinctively shut her eyes tight and faced the water again.
"And so here you are." Light pawsteps sounded even over the roar of the volcano, a heady purr reverberating in Jaku's chest as the voice's speaker grew closer. "Across time and space, it would seem that we are ever bound to cross paths, Faenttir."
Jaku blinked. "I know that voice. Ninetales?"
A smooth muzzle brushed against the shell of her ear, soft fur caressing the exposed skin of her arms and neck. "Correct. It is ever such a pleasure to speak to you, dearest human."
"I don't understand. The last time we ran into each other, you said the same thing," Jaku mumbled. She kept her eyes closed, feeling the crocodilian pokémon back away from her. "And you called me 'Faenttir' then as well. Do we… know each other?"
"We do."
Jaku's eyes were unceremoniously forced open. The Ninetales before her glittered under the oppression of the volcano's heat, their brindled pelt glowing like flames. Deep red eyes, wide and staring and all-seeing, peered directly into Jaku's own. The fox pokémon smiled, revealing their sharp fangs.
"And now, your eyes are finally open," Ninetales cooed. A voice neither feminine nor masculine. Sharp like ice and fierce like fire. "Ironic that we should meet again under the light of fire than under the shadows of ice, my dearest Faenttir. History often repeats itself in the most curious ways- "
"You didn't answer my question," Jaku cut through, the anxiety in her gut sharpening until she could bear it no longer. "You talk as if you know me. So who are you?"
Ninetales shuddered, its nine tails fanning out behind it. "I am Ninetales. Or perhaps, you know me as Sylphe, the Seer. But you may simply call me Ninetales. That is how I am known to all."
"Okay, Ninetales." Jaku thought her headache sharpened the moment the creature referred to itself as 'Sylphe' but she relented. "Fine. So we know each other. Correction- we knew each other. My memories are hazy in case you didn't notice."
"I am well aware of your condition," Ninetales rasped, encircling her with its lithe body. "Do you not remember our conversation in the mountains? With the one touched by space?"
"That, I remember clearly." Jaku remembered the flighty conversation with the fox pokémon in the mountains. The way Ninetales had invited her to speak as a friend after Ingo had been led away by the strange Zoroark. There had been no weight to the conversation; nothing but idle chat that hadn't served as a reason for Jaku to consider the fox's words after she had taken a tumble off of the mountain. Jaku then turned and regarded the crocodilian pokémon with a glare. "And I remember our conversation being interrupted as well."
The pokémon in question appeared spooked shifting their weight onto their feet as quietly, they faced Ninetales and began to grumble. Back-and-forth, the two pokémon spoke in hushed tones. Jaku paid them no mind.
She stared out across the sea sighting massive clumps of earth jutting out from the surf. Two in particular, she recognized immediately. "The Veilstone Isthmus." Jaku had no map to speak of but she had sighted the two massive landmarks from her time surveying the Cobalt Coastlands before her memory had fizzled out. "If I can see those- from this particular angle…!" Jaku got to her feet and stumbled further along the coast until she was facing the scattered remains of the isthmus. "From this angle… I'm on the other side of the sea?"
"Give up your search and relent. You have already trespassed upon a land you do not belong in."
"Don't tell me what to do."
Jaku whipped back around. Ninetales had spoken again alongside a new voice that Jaku didn't recognize. Both Ninetales and the crocodilian pokémon were still speaking with their heads bowed together. Only, the crocodilian pokémon's scales were standing on end and its horrible yellow teeth were bared.
Ninetales got to its paws, still composed and still serene, its many tails lashing. "Your journey to this cursed land will only end in tragedy and needless bloodshed. For the peace that you fight for, I ask that you leave- "
"Not without my partner," the crocodilian pokémon retorted angrily, its hands balling into fists. "I didn't- I didn't get here just to be denied by you! And wasn't it you who told me that she still existed elsewhere? She's here, isn't she? Or were you lying to me?"
Ninetales spared a harrowing glance at Jaku, silently beckoning her forward with a curl of its many tails. "I do not lie, Mangrove. This, you know, for it was my word that ended your time as a fugitive so long ago."
"And I am still a fugitive!" Mangrove spat back, his voice dripping with venom. "I came here looking for my partner and I'm not leaving without her! I'll fight every legendary pokémon! I won against Rayquaza and Kyogre! I- "
"Fighting will not be necessary," Ninetales soothed the great beast. Its great red eyes landed on Jaku one more time and the woman was both surprised and disturbed to see doubt and apprehension cloud its gaze when its eyes flickered back over to the crocodilian pokémon. "You cannot be any closer to your partner than you already are. After all," Ninetales rumbled, a strange lilt in their voice- "they were once human, were they not?"
Beside Jaku, the crocodilian pokémon finally stirred, its beady eyes slowly moving over to stare directly at her. It glowered down at her. Jaku took a step back. There was a tinge of something dreadful in the pokémon's eyes as it turned its whole body to stare at her. That tinge made Jaku's skin crawl and her heartbeat quicken.
"...Burr?"
Jaku felt nauseous. First, it had been Emmet using that strange name. Now, it was Mangrove. But she nodded. "I… Don't get your hopes up. I don't remember you," she spoke coldly. "Not a thing. And you didn't exactly make such a great first impression attacking me the way you did."
"You were the Charmander in the cave?" Mangrove spoke, his voice awfully quiet. "But you- you didn't look- "
"People change, Mangrove." Ninetales had stepped forward, protectively shielding Jaku with its lithe body. It hadn't taken its eyes off of Mangrove. "Both of you have come a long way from the first time we met. I am so very proud." It turned its gaze onto Jaku, setting its muzzle atop her head. "Proud… and angry." Ninetales turned back to stare at Mangrove, raising its chin defiantly. "Both of you fugitives once more."
"Me?" Jaku squawked. "Hey! What did I do?"
A horrible shudder passed through Ninetales body. For once, the calm aura surrounding the pokémon faded leaving the fox pokémon looking as though he had bitten into a piece of rotten food. "I have seen visions of your deeds, Faenttir. You will remember in time, of that I am sure." Ninetales then bowed its head, fixing Mangrove with once last glare. "Promise me that you will not squander your chance this time."
"Chance? Chance?" Mangrove repeated, his lips curling with rage as his voice strengthened. "This wasn't a chance. I fought for this opportunity, you mangy seer." Mangrove's voice had gone so low, Jaku had a difficult time making out his next words. One of his hands went to the nasty wound scarring half of his face. His claws trembled. "I won't waste what I've worked so hard to accomplish."
Chance? Chance at what, Jaku wondered.
"... Let us hope that you don't. I do not wish to see you at such lows. Do not disappoint me."
"I won't."
Ninetales shook out their coat. "Consider this a blessing, Faenttir. It is rare for a human to have the ability to understand the words and hearts of pokémon. And yet, I shall leave this parting gift with you. The both of you have much to discuss." With a long stretch, Ninetales then vanished over the rise in the ashen hills, leaving Jaku alone with Mangrove.
"I'm sorry about Ninetales," Mangrove spoke after a few quiet seconds. His voice, unnaturally smooth and soft, was a drastic change from the acidic hiss that he lambasted Ninetales with. "They never cut straight to the point."
"And you do?"
Mangrove winced. "I'll definitely have to get used to this sooner or later. Fine… Fine." He glared down at Jaku, tasting the air. "So you're finally a human again. Or are you really Burr in the first place?"
"I don't know. That's just what people from the past call me. Or is it the future? Are you going to kill me if I'm not the person you're looking for?"
Mangrove immediately shook his head. "I'm not a murderer." He shut his eyes tight, speaking more as if reassuring himself. "I saved you from the waves a day or two ago. I watched you walk directly into the waves and get pulled under. Like you were under some kind of spell."
"So that's what happened!" Jaku exclaimed. "You said you watched me?" Jaku repeated. "Why are you here? I asked you if you followed me from the mountains- "
"And I didn't. I've been looking for a certain dungeon. Maybe you know of it? A place by the name of Wish Cave?"
"No. It sounds familiar to something else… So it's actually just a coincidence that we ran into each other again? You're not just lying to me?"
"I'm not lying!" Mangrove spat before quickly fighting to control his temper. "... I'm sorry. I'm trying to get better at this." Mangrove shook out his scales and reached into his bag, pulling out what Jaku recognized as a very old Wonder Map. "There's a pokémon there that I wanted to find, but now that you're here, I don't need to."
"How can you be so sure that I'm the person you're looking for?" Jaku retorted. "I don't even know who you are."
Mangrove eyed her sadly for a moment. "Maybe it's best if you don't remember me. I'm trying to be better than how I used to be and… Don't take this the wrong way but maybe it's good to have a fresh start between the two of us. Just… Huh. Now that I'm looking at you properly, I'm certain that it's you, Burr."
"Oookay then. Weirdo." Jaku peered at the coast once again. "So what's your plan, now that you found me?"
"...I don't know."
"...What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean, I don't know! I thought- I was sure you'd know who I am! But you don't! That makes things more complicated and I don't know how to feel about it! I was going to ask if you'd come back home. With me. Back to Pokémon Square."
The mention of the place made Jaku's headache worsen until her peripheral vision grew shaky. "Why? Ninetales called you a fugitive. They said that you're still a fugitive."
"I'll be honest with you. I am a fugitive. I wanted to bring you back home to make amends. To prove to everyone that you're still alive and okay."
"I don't know about the second part all that much but yes, very much still alive. Why? Did I die where we came from?"
At her words, Mangrove's deep blue scales turned a smidgen green and he immediately averted his eyes, seeming to shrink under Jaku's inquisitive stare. "Yes. You did. I'm here to bring you back home. And before you ask, no, it's not just to end my time as a fugitive. It's because I…" Mangrove suddenly went ramrod straight, his tail stirring the gravel. "Let's not talk about that right now. You'll come back home, right? With me? Back to Pokémon Square? Where you belong?"
Jaku put her hands up defensively, taking a careful step back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not get carried away here. I never said anything like that."
"But you have to!" Mangrove protested. "Things aren't the same with you being gone. The base isn't the same with you being gone. The team completely fell apart after you… well, after you… died. I made a resolve to bring you back and here I am."
Jaku considered Mangrove's words. There's a place where I'm… wanted? Where people miss me? Where Ninetales, Mangrove and I all existed at the same place? She took a deep shuddering breath, emotions threatening to spill to the surface. "Let's slow things down a pace or two. I can't go with you right now."
"What? Why not?"
"Because I'm currently busy here. I'm working."
Mangrove's eyes caught alight with humor. "You know, this sounds very familiar to how we first met."
"How so?"
"You appeared out of nowhere with no memories of your past as a human changed into a pokémon. And we found out a lot later that you were brought to my- our world- for a reason." Mangrove chuckled to himself. "History does repeat itself."
At that, Jaku snorted. "Seems there's a pattern, huh? Nevermind that. Tell you what. I don't know how long it'll take for me to finish up here. Maybe another month or a few. But once I'm done here, I'll go back with you to… Pokémon Square, was it?" She completely neglected to tell Mangrove about the part where she was supposed to die in a faraway tower.
Mangrove moved faster than Jaku could comprehend and picked her up in a massive, bone-crushing hug, the dampness of his scales soothing. "That's great! Sounds great! Wonderful, even! I have your word; you'll come back home after you're finished wrapping up whatever's going on here."
Jaku nodded, struggling to breathe. "You have my word."
Mangrove immediately set her back down on the rocks of the shore, fumbling with his hands. "Sorry. I tend not to know my own strength. Hey. Let me know if I get to be too much, okay? I know I look scary but I promise, I won't hurt you. Just let me tag along with you."
"Odd request, but sure. You can come assuming you won't hurt me or my pokémon."
"Your… pokémon?" Mangrove repeated, his eyes narrowing. "What do you mean by 'your pokémon'? Do they… belong to you?"
"My friends," Jaku hastily corrected herself. "They're also helping me with my task here. I don't own them but I do carry them around with me. It's just that they're not here."
Mangrove ran one hand over his snout and shut his eyes tight. "Done deal, shortstack. You just tell me what you want me to do and I'll get it done."
"Clingy, aren't you? And don't call me 'shortstack' if you don't want to get electrocuted the second we get back to shore."
"You really are different than when we last spoke!" Mangrove laughed heartily. "You've got a mouth on you now!"
"Oh, hush!" Jaku then pointed one finger across the sea. "You want to help me? Help me get back to the mainland."
"You always were such a wimp when it came to water," Mangrove teased. "No sweat. I'll get you back in no time." He approached the water, wincing as the salt water embraced the freshest part of his belly wound.
"Who's the wimp now?" Jaku challenged him. In a softer tone, she added, "You should rest before making yourself into a boat." She fixed her gaze on the volcano before sighting Ninetales from afar, the pokémon sitting on a cluster of hexagonal rocks far away. As if sensing her, the fox pokémon beckoned. "There's Ninetales. That side of the volcano looks unaffected by the fires. We should rest and then you can try to make the swim back to the mainland.
"Whatever you say." Mangrove hefted Jaku up onto his back as though she weighed nothing before toddling off through the sand, his gait jerky and slow. "We both need to rest. And eat," he added, hearing Jaku's stomach rumble. "Then I'll help you be on your way."
"Done deal."
October 20th, First Year
Waves crashed into the sands of the beach, sunshine warming Jaku's skin as she stepped out into the water. Beside her, Mangrove slid into the ocean, his patched scales glittering. Magikarps were tossed up onto the sand,by the surf.
"Hop on," Mangrove called over his shoulder. Once Jaku was firmly seated between a patch of his tail spines, Mangrove pushed out into the sea. "Next stop: the mainlands. Hold on tight, little thing"
"'LIttle thing?'" Jaku snorted. "You keep this up and I'll strangle you. You're sure you're up for this? It's a long swim to the mainland."
"Oh, this ain't nothing, sweetheart. You just watch and relax. You don't have to do a thing but soak up the sun."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jaku tried her best to relax, raw fear worming its way through her bones as the stony shore slowly disappeared. She couldn't see the ocean floor anymore, flinching at every spare wave that splashed against her leg and at every rumble of thunder from the dark clouds hovering over the coastlands from afar. "Don't look down," Jaku muttered under her breath. "Don't look at the horizon."
"I forget you're terrified of the ocean. My bad. I'll swim faster."
"...Thank you."
Mangrove's going over the ocean was steady, occasionally picking his head out of the murky water to glance back at Jaku. As he swam, he began to ask questions. Questions about the task that Jaku had been given. Jaku answered honestly.
The ocean grew calmer beneath them and as Jaku listened to the rain and thunder abide, she could hear a crunching noise.
"Mangrove… Do you hear that?"
Mangrove picked his head out of the water, blood and seawater dribbling from his jaws. "Mmph. Hear what?"
Jaku paused. "Are you eating something?"
"Yeah." Mangrove licked the remnants from his teeth. "Something keeps floating up from the bottom of the ocean. Meaty. Tasty too. I got a large piece in my hands to snack on while I swim. Why? Wanna bite?"
"I don't think so. You keep on eating, though." Jaku kept her eyes forward as Mangrove's crunching filled the air, a horrible sickly-sweet scent carrying on the waves. "You just make a habit of eating whatever, don't you?"
"It's tasty," Mangrove argued, taking another big bite out of whatever he was eating. "It's not often prey floats right into my hands. If there's one thing being a fugitive teaches you, it's that you can't be a choosing begar. I don't like this weird covering that's on some of the pieces but I can just gnaw those off."
"...Coverings?" Jaku echoed. "On second thought, what are you eating? Really. Show me."
"Sure." Mangrove unclenched his teeth and raised his food out of the water. "This thing. It floated right into my hands about an hour ago. I mean, there was a lot of it before I started snacking on it and- "
"Mangrove."
"Yeah?"
"That's a human leg." Bloated and clearly ripped from its owner, the leg with its mangled clothing had been reduced down to the meat of the thigh and a heavily-gnawed femur. Jaku eyed the dark waters around them, almost gagging when she spotted what looked to be items being tossed around in the waves. "Mangrove, you said that leg… it floated up to you?"
"Yeah?" Mangrove's gaze sharpened before he immediately stuck his head under the waves. The scales along his shoulders and back lifted and he picked his head back out of the water, cramming the remnants of the leg down his throat. "There's more pieces under the water but they're deep. 's blood seeping from somewhere far below."
"A lot of it?" Jaku persisted.
"A whole lot." Mangrove swiped his tongue over his jaw. "Sorry. I had no idea- "
"That's not the point. Where'd they come… from." Right. People had gone missing from Gingko Landing recently. She eyed the waters again and her eyes widened. Mangrove said I wandered into the sea. People were going missing without a trace. She scanned the horizon, following the ridge of the Veilstone Isthmus remnants toward a massive set of cliffs. "Mangrove, I need you to take me back to land as soon as possible."
"...You're wondering if whatever got you will get you again, aren't you?"
"Exactly. I need to tell the others about this."
"The others? You mean the pokémon you were telling me about?"
"No, not them. Humans. My human friends." Jaku winced, letting the word sit on her tongue. They certainly weren't her friends as long as Jaku had known them. "They're all connected to my task and two of them are working to make this horrible storm go away right now."
"What's causing it? That massive pokémon hiding at the bottom of the ocean?"
"That massive… What are you even talking about? Are you saying that you can detect Lord Basculegion?"
Mangrove raised an eyebrow. "That's their name? Basculegion? Yeah, they're not exactly subtle. Water-type pokémon don't usually sit still on the ocean floor and brood; especially not when every other water-type is wigging out like they got caught by a stray Teeter Dance." Mangrove splashed in the waves with his tail, changing his course for the cliffs. "I'll get you over to those set of cliffs over there and then we can meet up with your little pals."
"Sure, sure. You tag along with me and help me accomplish my task- "
"Just like how I did last time."
"- And then I'll go back to our old world with you."
Mangrove splashed his tail around in the water gleefully. "Sounds great! Hey. Do you mind if I… keep eating? I'm actually starving and this storm makes it hard to properly hunt pokémon. Haven't been eating all that well these past few days. Not after having to slog through that icebox in the north."
Jaku grimaced and shut her eyes, letting her head rest against the smooth surface of Mangrove's back spines. "You don't need my permission for that. Just make sure you don't eat humans when we get to the mainland. They won't take too kindly to that."