November 16th, First Year

A cold howling wind blasted across the snow-tipped hilltops, the descending snow and hail making it difficult to see as Jaku braced against the jagged cliffside with her claws curled into the rock, her lip curling at the acrid taste of smoke on her tongue.

"Oh. So you can smell that too?" Ghost was the next to rise to the top beside her, making a similar face of disgust as he hauled himself over the edge, raising a paw to clean at his sparking whiskers. "Something's on fire," he muttered. "Must be judging by how strong it is."

True. Harsh and heavy, it clung to the howling breeze and threatened to choke her. "You're not wrong…" Jaku's thoughts flitted to where the breeze was even coming from- the coastlands- and remembered with a jolt that her fellow fallers were still in the area. They're probably fine. The ocean is nearby and if there was a place a fire would break out at, it'd be Firespit Island which is just an archipelago; too far from the mainland. "I just hope it doesn't spread to the mirelands." Jaku climbed higher and perched, taking out her map to plan her next steps forward as she waited for the rest of her party to catch up. Her next target was due to be the minor gear located in the mirelands; a coincidence, surely. She grimaced. "What are the odds of a bushfire in the middle winter?" she commented sarcastically.

Ghost snorted and turned onto his side. "Not very."

Rocks shifted underfoot as the rest of Jaku's pokémon finally arrived, taking in deep hacking breaths as they flopped down into the loose stones and gravel. Following them were two pokémon Jaku wasn't all too happy to see.

"...Dusknoir." Jaku set down her paper, feeling the spines along her neck begin to rise. She briefly nodded her head toward the spritely fairy who followed after. "Celebi… When did you two sneak in?"

"Halfway up the mountain," Dusknoir answered promptly. His words, curt and 'polite' as they were, made Jaku none too kinder to the overzealous ghost-type. He seemed to recognize this and clasped his hands behind his back. "We came to rejoin the group, of course. We unfortunately found nothing of importance in the icelands to the north."

When Jaku had gotten Akari's frantic summons via her Kirlia, Jaku had left both of the future-pokémon with a brief message of where she'd be afterwards. But then, Jaku didn't remember ever extending the invitation for either of them to become members of her traveling party. Memory must be foggy from that attempted memory wipe. Jaku only rolled her eyes and returned her gaze back to her map. "Hmm."

Celebi made an indignant noise. "What are you humming for? Dusknoir and I didn't find any leads to any time gears in the icelands. You should be more concerned if anything!"

"I'm more concerned with backtracking and getting the ones I've missed. For all intents and purposes, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

"Not a smart way to track the gears." Celebi didn't so much as flinch at the sharp look Jaku sent her way. "What? I'm just being honest." The fairy then took a begrudging seat beside Jaku who made no attempt to accommodate. "You said it yourself; you want to go home, right? The sooner we locate the gears, the sooner you can go- "

"Home?" Jaku's tone was scathing. It felt as though some kind of bug pokémon was crawling along her neck and Jaku resisted the urge to claw at her scales and rip them out. Discomfort. It was all she could think about. The two strange pokémon being insistent on tailing her. Assuming things. Jaku shook her head. "Yeah, I get it... But I have my own ways of getting stuff done." She pointedly showed Celebi the gears whose locations she had already tracked. "I've already mapped out the other ones and I don't appreciate the input nor the insinuation that you think I'm dragging my feet on purpose, Celebi."

Celebi opened her mouth to argue before stopping, crossing her arms. She pouted and scooted away. "Hmpf. See if I give you any advice ever again!"

Dusknoir's intrusion was a bit quieter. "I'm to assume that your sudden escapade led you to take the gears in the coastlands, then? We caught glimpses of the two rifts that have formed there as of recent."

"So you're asking me a rhetorical question then?" Jaku all but hissed, her patience drawing thin. It didn't help that the wet anger burning within her only sharpened the longer Dusknoir was nearby. "Yeah, I have them."

"But you have them? You retrieved them all on your own?" Dusknoir questioned.

"Some of us went in with her," Ghost answered in her turn, licking a long stripe down his flank. "Not me. I stayed outside." And then, Ghost turned his piercing gaze on Jaku. "Though, whatever happened with Mangrove? I didn't see him come out before or after you."

A bitter taste flooded Jaku's mouth. The last thing she wanted to think about was that rotten, lowlife waste of space and time. Apparently, her thoughts on the subject had shown clear to the rest of the party. "...He's not involved in the party anymore." No use telling them what he told me. No doubt, he's probably been dealt with already by Rayquaza. "I could care less where he is right now."

Dusknoir made a humming noise and without prompt, reached into his treasure bag… and pulled out what looked to be the exact same crystal necklace Mangrove had been wearing. "Celebi and I ran into that fellow some time ago. He dropped this. Didn't give us much of an opportunity to return it. I don't believe he even knew we were there."

Jaku's mood immediately soured as Dusknoir dropped the dull crystal into her awaiting palm. "Great. So he's still around somewhere." She rolled her eyes. "So long as I never have to talk to him again. I'll make use of this, though." She attached the chipped green crystal to her treasure bag before discarding the worn twine in the snow.

The hillside was quiet aside from the lulling conversations of something or another, each member of her team nibbling on preserved food or berries as the snow and wind eased. Jaku continued to plan her escapade and before long, she could clearly see the sea of mountains before her, rain clouds swimming in the skies and with it too, the distant reflection of the sun in Lake Valor's waters. The smell of smoke only grew worse.

Snow crunched and Celebi was forced to move aside as Castor hopped up onto the rock and lazed against Jaku's back, a cluster of berries in his lazy grasp.

"Can't eat with the rest of us?" Castor drawled, his tone teasing. "You'd better see to eating before Hydra eats up all the leftovers. I'm no meat-eater but I could've sworn you asked us specifically not to touch the rib bones from that Stantler you caught earlier."

"...I'm not hungry, Cas. But thanks for thinking of me."

Castor's weight rested heavy on her back before she could see his face peering over her shoulder. Staring at the marked map with plenty of scribbled out messages in the margins. He leaped down to join the group and when he came back, he was carrying a leather pouch filled with leftovers. He dropped them directly into Jaku's lap. "Wasn't a question. C'mon. Eat. Haven't seen you stomach anything for a while now." Castor's eyes twinkled. "Just because you don't feel hungry doesn't mean you don't need to eat. And don't think I'm going anywhere."

"You all are so dramatic."

"This is all we'll have until we reach the lower valleys or until we get to the mirelands. I dunno about you chief, but I'm not risking my hide hunting Stantlers on the slopes."

"You're a forager, Castor. You eat berries and bug-type pokémon. I'd love to see you chase down a Stantler, though."

"I'll surprise you yet." Castor flopped down and shut his eyes as small bits of hail smacked into his belly. "...It'll be nice to see the mirelands again. Plenty of berries if you know where to look. Edible gunk at the bottom of the shallows." An easy grin spread across his face. "Who knows? Maybe we can stop by and say hello to the humans; the clans- I forget, you know this."

"Still a pokémon, Castor," Jaku replied sarcastically, edging the tip of a leftover rib bone between her teeth. "We won't be there for very long, though."

A new face popped over the stone. Dusk. "Where are we going then?"

"The icelands." It was a quick decision that Jaku had decided on days before. "Temporal Tower is the last stop and that's at the peak of the highlands. Makes more sense to me to circle around and get the remaining iceland gear first. That way, I won't have to backtrack." She crunched through the bone, hardly tasting the clinging flesh and succulent marrow. "Efficiency is key."

Dusknoir made a noise between a groan and a gasp. He shook his head. "I'm uncomfortably reminded how similar you and Grovyle are. No wonder you two were partners." He caught Jaku's confused gaze and smugly put his hand to his chin. "You both have that nasty habit."

"Habit of what, exactly?" Jaku bit back.

Dusknoir didn't respond. Celebi stared wistfully back at him when he spared a glance her way. "... Nevermind." He shot Jaku a look. It was warm… and appraising.

November 17th, First Year

Jaku kept careful watch along the shadowed portion of the cliffside ridge, scanning the snow for anything that moved. Her and her party were just on the edge of the mirelands. Some prey- she knew- would give them all the necessary energy to end their trip and find a brief respite in the mirelands. Jaku's gaze trailed first to a cluster of Golducks who chipped through the thin ice to nibble at the remaining river grass left. Too thin. And I'd have to catch a dozen of them to feed everybody. Branches snapped and Jaku's mouth began to water as a large Ursaring lumbered from underneath the tree cover, its dark pelt speckled with snow. Bingo. You'll do nicely.

She slipped away and quietly let herself fall down the cliff, using the towering walls of snow to hide her approach as the Ursaring used a nearby tree as a scratching post. She crept closer still. And waited. Keep scratching. That's it, don't turn around. No need to pay me any attention. Jaku paused. And then she lunged.

A small spherical object whistled as it rocketed a hair away from her face at the same time she had lunged, stealing away her attention as she crashed into the Ursaring's flank who was just as startled as she was. Claws hooked into fur and flesh. Jaku held on for dear life as her once-seamless hunt had turned into a fiasco in less than a second. The Ursaring reared and howled as it reached around to swipe at her. It turned onto its back only for Jaku to scramble clear at the last moment, just barely missing the opportunity to clasp its fangs on Jaku's tail.

Forget this! Jaku cursed under her breath and then bailed diving headfirst into the frozen muddy turf, easily sliding into the much warmer bottom soil. It'll have to dig deep if it wants to catch me! In complete darkness, Jaku let out a breath, hollowing out the shifting soil to where she could rest comfortably, one ear pressed against the topsoil to listen to the sounds outside her temporary earthen home.

The Ursaring's lumbering footsteps tottled around and headed quickly in one direction before a loud screech redirected the creature in the complete opposite. Then, feather-light footsteps padded her way in a smooth trot until the mystery creature was almost directly on top of her. A tawny muzzle suddenly thrust itself down Jaku's tunnel, thin shafts of light spilling onto her face.

Jaku recoiled back and with an offended voice, asked, "Can I help you?"

The strange pokémon gave an affirming sniff but didn't retreat. "I don't want a fight," it spoke. "My master was curious to see whether you were still underground."

"Your… master?" Jaku froze. "You have a trainer. That thing- that was a pokéball, wasn't it?"

The creature pulled back slightly. "You have a human too? Oh, that's a relief! I thought you were going to attack us for sure."

Jaku slowly inched out of the tunnel and froze. And then she let out the breath she'd been holding. "Oh… You're not them."

Sitting in the tall grass was a lithe, long-furred Ninetales with what looked to be a silky bandana around their neck, its golden fur radiant in the snow. The Ninetales shuffled and allowed Jaku room to emerge back onto the frozen marshlands, twitching one ear in the direction of the tree line. "My master, he's over there. Watching you, he is." The Ninetales wore a thin smile. "Always interested in learning about pokémon. Quite strange for a human."

Jaku only then realized that she had stripped herself of all of her gear the night before after taking a dip in a mud pit to renew her scales and ease her frostbitten skin. Her bandana was gone and so too were her bags. She could nearly slap herself. "Well, gee. No wonder your human tried to catch me then: I look like some mangy wild pokémon." She shook her head. "You're not gonna help him catch me, are you?"

The Ninetlales snickered. "Not unless you want to be."

"I'm already a caught pokémon."

"Where's your human then?"

"To the south," Jaku lied.

Grass rustled. The human let out a soft whistle and made a strange garbled noise before leaving the cover of the grass. Their dark eyes, outlined by the red flush that covered the human's face- were trained upon Jaku, glittering with some unknown emotion. They then slowed and began to make cooing noises upon approach.

"... Oh goddammit. Not you again." Jaku's lip curled as an all-too-familiar face approached and held out a palm full of berries toward her. Still making cooing noises which Jaku knew to mean that this human was attempting to gain her trust. Jaku sighed. "Rei. I literally forgot you even existed, you protege nerd. Stop that."

The sound of wings fluttering overhead drew her attention. Jaku was almost overjoyed to see Hydra circling before her partner landed on a nearby tree root, snickering. "I don't see any prey! Having a party without me?"

Jaku pointed an accusatory claw at Rei. "Thank him! I was this close to catching an Ursaring!" She shook her head. "Hey! Can you- ack!" Jaku had been cut short as something cold but soft made contact with the side of her head. It hadn't been painful- more like having a soft berry thrown at her. She turned and scowled, staring first at the pokéball at her feet and then at Rei who stared, his mouth agape. "Oi, do you mind? We're kind of having a conversation here."

"Where's your crystal?" Hydra asked, swooping low and clicking her mandibles the second Jaku shrugged. "You don't know? Doesn't that thing allow two-way conversation?"

"It's back at camp."

"Oh. I'll get it!" Hydra was up and away Jaku could even respond.

After waiting for what felt like an hour, allowing Rei to make detailed (and frankly generous) sketches of her and also attempt to feed her berries and coerce her into a pokéball, Jaku began to get impatient. Where's Hydra? She should've been back by now. Talking with Rei's pokémon had led to nothing as without the telepathy crystal, there'd be no way to communicate with him. At the very least, Rei had figured out that Jaku would only eat meat and had relented in giving her scraps of what looked like jerky.

After watching the clouds pass for some time, Rei stood up and called for his pokémon and to that extent, for Jaku as well.

"You should come with us." The Ninetales- who had introduced herself as 'Lady'- nudged Jaku to her feet. "There's a whole group of kind humans to the north where our master is going. We could get more food for you if you come along."

"I'm waiting for Hydra to- "

A loud voice sounded over the slopes and Rei flinched before turning in its direction, a smile gracing his face. He repeated the loud call and waved enthusiastically, even jumping up-and-down to make more noise. Jaku turned.

Three figures crossed over the slopes to make their way down the frosted hill, the one in front waving back at Rei. A group of Diamond Clan rangers… and most noticeably at the helm of the group, a very familiar face: Akanti.

Good god man, what happened to you? Akanti practically looked dead on his feet. His eyes were sunken and dull. His clothes were matted with mud and frost. His clothes were practically wearing him instead, shadowing his face where he used to where them short on purpose. Jaku's thoughts darted back to when Parlor- Ingo's Alakazam- had made a sudden appearance asking for Gracidea Seeds of all things. And didn't she say the seeds were for two people… Akanti was one of those people, wasn't he?

"Pssst!"

Jaku winced as a sharp hiss sounded from just behind her under the cover of the canopies. "Who- "

Castor's face peered out from underneath a set of mangrove roots. "Over here, chief. Didn't want to intrude on your conversation. Gang's all here."

"Took you long enough." Jaku glanced back at Rei and to her relief, all of the humans were deep in conversation with one another- sharing news, most likely. She gave a parting nod to Lady and Otto who gave her a similar wave before obscuring her with their bodies, allowing her cover to scamper away into the undergrowth toward her awaiting party unseen. Once she was certain she was far enough, she straightened up, hastily taking her bag and bandana from Dusknoir who- alongside Dusk and Castor- had come to retrieve her. "I was starting to think Hydra forgot where I was," she chuckled good-naturedly.

"An incident with a water-type pokémon rendered their wings useless for the time being," Dusknoir replied cautiously. "Hydra is fine. They gave us an apt description for where to find you."

"Good. Then let's find somewhere to rest up."

Dusknoir chuckled and stopped her as Jaku picked a direction and attempted to follow it. "It would seem Dusk already found a retreat for all of us."

Through the woods and over a frosted series of hills lay a dip in the terrain where mangrove trees and their twisting roots made an odd, dark set of hidden caves and tunnels, dappled by the weak winter sunlight. Melted frost dripped into small puddles no bigger than Jaku's feet as she followed after Dusk before arriving at a much deeper forest hollow where thinner roots dangled from the ceiling, overcasting a grassy cavern.

The first thing Jaku noticed was the smell of many, many pokémon in such a small space. Many mireland pokémon huddled down in the caves either trekking paths around one another or grouping around those of their same kinds, deep in conversation. Though their eyes glanced over at Jaku, some with mild fear and others with curiosity, their gazes never lingered for too long. This place feels like… home. Like I've been somewhere like here before.

Jaku's strides were purposeful now. She let herself become familiarized with the weathered stone paths in the floor dotted with the impression of footsteps from years past. A cluster of Grotles hung near the pit of water in the center snacking on berries while two Hippopotas splashed mud over one another. A cluster of Teddiursas scampered past squealing with laughter as they tumbled onto a hidden section and into a scrubby bush, startling a nesting Ursaring. Three Gravelers stomped past lower in the cave, shoving aside more and more earth as a handful of Geodudes trailed after them.

Dusknoir's voice was thoughtful as he came up beside Jaku. "Quite reminiscent of Treasure Town, is it not?"

A pang of nostalgia hit Jaku squarely in the chest, though she couldn't explain why the name had made her feel so tired and worn. "... Sounds familiar. Feels homey."

"This ain't your home, though, little one." The Ursaring who had been lazing under the bush- a matriarch- lifted her head, annoyance clear in her gaze. "You're not from here. I've never seen no mireland pokémon like you before." She swiped her tongue over her jaws. "That fire burning on your tail- s'too bright. I'm surprised you haven't set fire to anything yet."

"It doesn't work like that," Jaku grumbled.

"Our apologies, madam," Dusknoir bowed and shut his eye, nudging Jaku roughly for her to do the same. "We were simply looking for a place to rest. We have quite a journey ahead of us and mean no harm."

The Ursaring didn't look too appeased by Dusknoir's words, but her eyes trailed to the remainder of Jaku's party who had grouped together where the mangrove roots had formed a shell-like dome over a wall cavern. "What's this? You brought prey."

Dusknoir faltered. "Prey?"

Jaku beat him to the punch. "They're not prey. They're with me." And I've half the mind to make you 'prey' if you keep up that attitude. "Like Dusknoir said, we're just passing through." It was a nice place but only then had Jaku noticed that the Ursaring hadn't been lying. Only predator pokémon lurked under the mangrove roots; common mireland pokémon like Croagunks, Yanmas, and Burmies were nowhere to be found. She stalked past the Ursaring to where her team was, sidling in to cover Castor and Dusk from the hungered stares of the surrounding pokémon. "We should leave. You two aren't safe here. You're not getting eaten on my watch."

"Oh, we'll be fine," Dusk chuckled. "Those Teddiursa cubs tried to nibble on us earlier- before you got here- no one's in a rush to take a chunk out of us; especially not with Ghost here."

"I'd like to think they respect me rather than fear me," Ghost mumbled, covering the other side of the party.

Dusk pawed at Ghost's flank. "Well, that's probably because you're also new to the mirelands. Ah, but we do have permission to stay here overnight," she told Jaku. "Glacier and Jester are widening the cave so that we can all sleep comfortably. And get this! There's gossip to be had."

"You mean 'to be found'?"

Dusk shook her head, grimacing. "All the pokémon here are talking about sighting some kind of strange shadowy pokémon. Again. They saw it not too long ago. Some kind of shadowy pokémon that steals into your dreams at night and makes you have crazy nightmares. Sound like somebody we know?" She cleared her throat and turned to Dusknoir. "And don't you have something to say now that she's here?"

"That, I do." Dusknoir sank to the ground though he had to bow his head to avoid phasing through the cave. "You seem quite set in your ways to complete your task restoring the flow of time to this region. That much, I can respect. And so, I ask that you allow myself and Celebi to deal with Darkrai."

Jaku's head began to ache and the relative ease that had settled upon her from being in a familiar environment had vanished. The nightmare of confronting that legendary pokémon and of the dark crater where it happened. Jaku shuddered. "Why? I'm sorry. I don't remember if you ever said you had a vendetta against that guy or not."

"Celebi and I- and Grovyle too- we have also been on the receiving end of Darkrai's scheming. Putting a stop to him should have fallen to us but I suppose…" Dusknoir winced and turned away. "I suppose it all fell upon you and Watts. And now that Darkrai has gotten Watts killed-" his voice softened- "I find it all the more important to take up the mantle and assist."

Jaku was on her feet in an instant, the wet anger burning her chest threatening to spill. "Don't you dare use his name like that- "

"You misunderstand me!" Dusknoir immediately backed away and put up his hands. His eye dimmed. He clasped his hands in front of him. He was shaking. "You see… I had a great respect for both of you when you were my foes; you and Watts. You both showed great courage and tenacity in carrying out your duties to restore Temporal Tower back to normal." Dusknoir's voice softened to a whisper. "A willingness to sacrifice yourself for a future you'd never see… And I admired both of you for those qualities in which I found myself lacking." Dusknoir sighed. "To hear of his passing brought me great regret and sadness. I wish I could have apologized for my previous actions to him. Not just him but also you; but of course, you refuse to hear me- rightfully so- and so I give you my apologies on Watt's behalf. I wish to help stop Darkrai. For him."

Jaku leveled with Dusknoir for a long moment until smoke billowed from her nostrils. "He's got a grave somewhere… You should find it and apologize there. You'll find no sympathy or understanding from me." Not when I just got through figuring out how Mangrove was planning on tricking me. You won't get anything over me, Dusknoir! "Do whatever you want with Darkrai. I don't ever want to see that thing ever again."

Dusknoir quietly nodded and accepted, leaving Celebi to stare beseechingly at her. "He's trying to make amends. I know you don't have to forgive him but- "

"But nothing." Jaku turned away as well. "I don't have to forgive him, point blank. And I don't."

"You don't even remember what he did to you!" Celebi argued.

"I've had enough of false friends using me for their own gain!" Jaku hissed, involuntarily lashing out at Celebi with her claws. The fairy had ducked away at the last moment, her eyes wide. "Do what you want with Darkrai but don't pretend for a second that we're friends. The second you or him slip up, you're both out of the party. Understand?" And without waiting for an answer, Jaku slipped out of the cavern and into the greater forest, eager for time to let her anger burn itself out.

And later on, in her dreams that night, after struggling to piece out the inky darkness that clung to her like sap, she struggled out of her nest and into a bricked room where a cool breeze blew over her, bright moonlight spilling onto the floor at the edge of her bed. No weariness or exhaustion stalked her here. She lifted her head and under the noise of the breeze was a sound so familiar that it made her heart ache: breathing. Jaku turned.

Just beside her, so small that it was nearly hidden in the piled-up moss and lichen, was a dark brown body whose flanks rose and fell periodically, tiny feet twitching ever so often. And when Jaku shifted closer, struggling to make out the creature's face, she grasped the scent of metal. Metal and old coins and… smoke.

Smoke?

Jaku awoke to the heavy, cloying scent of smoke that threatened to choke her. The sound of roaring fire came at a distance. She stumbled to her feet, being the first to rise amongst her team who drew in shallow shaking breaths as they too slept.

Dusknoir was up the moment Jaku stirred. "Is something the matter- "

"Fire!" Jaku yelled the word until it came out as a roar, the fire along her tail growing into it burst through the scales along her spine. "Fire! Everybody up!" She leaped out of her party's resting cavern and landed heavily on the cave floor staring in horror as outside, the sky glowed a fierce, bloody red.

The ground trembled and the Ursaring from earlier came lumbering out of her den, the group of Teddiursas clinging to her tawny pelt. She rounded first upon Jaku. "You-"

"The fire's out there!" Jaku hissed. "I didn't do anything!" She turned and began viciously pulling the hanging vegetation down from the cavern wall, slicing through the roots and burying them into the dirt. "Everybody stay here! Nobody leave the cave!" Nobody challenged her.

She scrambled up the cavern wall with Dusk and Lilith hot on her tail. They ran through the swamplands until they arose onto the moor where they could see the entire southern half of the mirelands aglow with fire and billowing smoke.

"Too big to put out alone," Dusk cursed. "What should we do?"

Jaku started eastward. "The river! Get as many water-types as you can and direct them to the fire so they can help put it out!"

"What if they don't listen?"

"Then make them listen!" Jaku snarled. "Use force if you have to! It's the middle of winter! Everything's dry! Help any trapped pokémon out of the blaze! I have to wake the Diamond Clan!" She raced away from her team and tunneled through a hilly section of the moorland until she came to the wide river that split the mirelands between the two hisuian clans, calling out for help until her voice ran hoarse. Some immediately started downstream; others swam to the riverbed and stayed put. Jaku began the long race back to the upper mirelands where thick black smoke obscured anything and everything.

She raced along the gravel path leading toward the Diamond Hearth and stopped short, sighting a canoe bobbing on the far shores of the lake. As loud as she could muster, Jaku perched and let out a hair-raising screech that echoed into the distant mountains, watching as a few torches moved in the depths of the encampment. She continued to make as much noise as possible. Until the gate guards had left their posts to investigate. Until one of them had finally found her- the source of the noise- and then had noticed that the blaze to the south was only due to spread north. That guard raced away back to the camp and then the Diamond Settlement was alive with panic and confusion.

Good! They're awake! Jaku jerked aside as heavy footsteps sounded up the path before long.

Rei came bounding over the slope with Akanti hot on his trail, both pokémon wielders coming to stare in horror at the spreading fire. Rei's eyes widened as he locked eyes with Jaku. Otto and Lady were beside him in an instant.

"What happened?" Otto demanded, his dark fur bristling. "Where did the fire come from?"

"No idea!" Jaku gasped. "Came here… to warn you… send help!" She bent over from the effort, struggling to catch her breath. She was all too surprised when she was suddenly hoisted into the air by Akanti who continued to follow after Rei as the two men charged toward the lake. They struggled through the throngs of clansmen who pulled their possessions out of camp and eventually came to the water's edge, Rei using two of his fingers to make a sharp whistling noise. "What's going on?"

Lady winked. "You'll be meeting a new member of our team and he's just the right guy for the job."

Jaku watched as a behemoth of a pokémon surged out of the water and came sailing right up to Rei's outstretched hand, a growl rumbling from its throat. A Gyarados. An alpha Gyarados. Without much fuss, Rei recalled both Otto and Lady to their respective pokéballs before clambering onto the serpent's twisting body, motioning for Akanti to join him.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait! I'm too heavy to swim!" Jaku's protests were vain as Akanti's tight grip on her left her unable to move as the man scrambled aboard. The alpha Gyarados spun away from the shoreline and toward the waterfall where it landed with a tremendous splash in the river many leagues below. Cold water splashed against Jaku's face and arms. Fear washed over her. Let me off of this thing! Jaku tried to scramble free again but yet again, couldn't break free of Akanti's grip. "Can you let go of me?" she snarled, turning to hiss at the man. "I can and will bite you!" She was cut short as another wave of cold water surged over the two of them, Jaku letting out an involuntary squeal as the river water splashed against her cheek. I can't swim like this!

Akanti didn't pay her any heed and as the Gyarados carried them further downstream and Akanti pointed at the woodlands, Jaku realized that though she had succeeded in bringing awareness to the fire, that her efforts had ultimately been in vain. The fire had already spread to the Scarlet Bog. Tongues of flames were already licking at the grassy boundary between it and the Diamond Settlement.

Rei's Gyarados greatly assisted in putting out the southern fires. It slithered ashore pushing trembling pokémon out of its way as it vomited waves upon waves of ice-cold water on the burning woods. Emboldened, the remaining water-type pokémon threw more and more river water at the fire until the worst of the blazes had been put out.

Jaku had finally managed to wrestle her way out of Akanti's grip to save sheltering pokémon, eventually finding the pocket of predator pokémon and directing them to the rivershore where already, tens of hundreds of displaced pokémon were shivering, staring at the fire with wide eyes. "Go north!" Jaku shouted. "Fire's up there!" She allowed Lilith to scoop her up as her and her party charged northward, Rei following on his Gyarados.

Hours passed. Though the fires had all been put out, all that remained was ash and charred vegetation in its wake. Heavy in the air, it stung at Jaku's eyes as she motioned for Lilith and Dusk to join her, watching carefully as Rei and Akanti and the rest of the clan stared at the destruction around them. She had nothing to say. The fire had burned through the mirelands so swiftly that it was almost as if some divine entity had wrought it down upon them.

Rei and Akanti and the clansmen milled about on the moorland hills and surveyed the sheer amount of destruction. But they only watched instead as a cluster of strange-looking pokémon came scrambling out of the smoke and ash.

Rodents by the looks of them with dense patches of ivy and kudzu covering their backs, their tiny legs barely managing the climb up the hill. The rodents scrambled through the sea of ash and to Jaku's utter surprise, for every step they took, the ash disappeared, having turned into wet, fertile soil. The largest of them, their squeaking breaths labored, tailed at the back, great clouds of soot and smoke following after them to settle upon the spiny leaves along the creature's back. That smoke disappeared and so too did the thick cloud billowing toward the group.

"Greetings!" The smallest rodent in the front stopped before the cluster of humans. "We are Shaymin!"

A horrible, nasty feeling rose up in Jaku's gut as she stared at the cluster of grass-type pokémon. There's a whole swarm of them. She involuntarily sneered, grateful that the rats had approached Rei and the others rather than her. I'd rather eat them than listen to them and… Wait. What'd they say their names were. Shaymin? Shaymin... Her eyes widened. Legendary pokémon.

Rei lowered himself to the ground alongside Akanti marveling at the new soil. So too did the rest of the clansmen. They pointed at the clumps of scorched vegetation and as they did so, only one Shaymin toddled over, turning the scorched vegetation into mulch and wet soil with a dramatic flourish.

"Fire. I see." The Shaymin in the lead turned its great body around in a circle. "How sad! No food? That's what we came here for!"

Lady burst out from her pokéball alongside Otto. "Can you heal the mirelands from the fire?" she asked pleadingly.

"Yes! Shaymin can help you! We can!" Shaymin then winced and nosed at its belly, tending to the muddy fur there. "Oh, but we're sooo hungry! It takes much energy to make the forest healthy again! Give Shaymin food and we can heal the forest!"

Lady was beside herself in joy, her eyes glowing scarlet. "Of course, of course! I shall tell my master! We'll give you as much food as possible! Please help us!"

Wait just a damn moment. What? Jaku blinked and turned to her own pokémon who looked just as confused as she was. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to just… do it for free? Jaku watched as Lady used some kind of move to communicate with Rei who told Akanti who told the clansmen with great enthusiasm. It was quiet. Still as if the clansmen were holding their breaths. Jaku scoffed. "The fire was bad," she muttered under her breath to Dusk, "but even though it's bad, it'll grow back. Nobody would sacrifice their food in the middle of winter for soil. Growing season is still a ways… off…?"

The clansmen slowly but surely began to offer up their food. Berries. Grains. Strips of salted meat. Anything and everything. The more they offered, the more the Shaymin decomposed. And decomposed was exactly the right word that Jaku thought of as she watched, waiting for something else to happen. But nothing grew and nothing came beside more fresh soil and slightly cleaner skies, the heavy gusts continuously bringing more smoke up into the settlement. The Shaymin touched their noses to crumpled leaves and hummed as they went, some slowing down to carefully select what they wanted to eat next. After only a few minutes, the Shaymin stopped.

"We need more food to work!" The Shaymin turned to the humans who- with increasing looks of discomfort- began to turn their pockets and bags inside-out, scrimping up more and more grain. There were no more berries to be had. Jaku certainly wasn't planning on pitching in the spares she kept in her own treasure bag. The Shaymin turned up their noses at the heaps of grains in the dirt. "We cannot eat this! Only sweet berries! And honey! Won't you feed us more so that we can help you?"

Jaku immediately stepped in and snarled at the group of Shaymin, scattering the grains at their feet as the fire along her tail burst to life, errant flames pouring from her back. "They have nothing of the sort, you greedy little vermin! They gave you plenty of food! The grains are all they have left! So keep working if you treasure the forest that much!"

Her threats fell on deaf ears. The Shaymin instead rounded upon her, chittering with fury as they surrounded her. "You are so ungrateful! We helped- "

"Decompose the burned undergrowth?" Jaku interrupted, her tail lashing. "You took all their food with an empty promise just to restore the soil to being fertile! Natural decomposition already does that!" she enunciated. "You said you would heal back the woods! This-" she grabbed a pawful of wet soil and flung it over the grains- "isn't healing!"

The Shaymin only grew angrier but a few of them were starting to look nervous, anxiously eyeing the flames rising from her body and the steam from ash disintegrating against her scales. "We got rid of the smoke- "

"Which would have cleared in a day or two from the winds!" Jaku spat back. "And more is simply blowing in right now! All you've done is steal their food for minimal work! Food that took months to grow and harvest! Tell me, are you going to grow their food back too? Or do you just expect them to grow more food out of their ass? Sap? Honey? They certainly don't have either of those!" She flinched as Otto came up beside her, nearly clawing him for even daring to touch her.

"They did the best they could," the Sneasel murmured, his face twisted with disgust. But not toward the Shaymin; toward her. "They're helping. It just takes energy to grow life anew."

"Not that much energy apparently." She sneered at the Shaymin who looked all too smug at Otto's words. "Just look at them. They're plump and overfed. No ribs to see. They don't need the food; they just showed up at the right time to 'ask' for it." A familiar anger made Jaku's hands shake as she snapped at the leader of the Shaymin. "Demanding food from people who need it more- in the cold season no less." She struck a deep claw mark through the earth between herself and the Shaymin. "Go forage for more food somewhere else and leave these poor people in peace. You've already swindled what they had."

Jaku didn't turn around at the angry clamor that the clansmen made as the Shaymin made a show of scampering away with pathetic whines into the burned forests. And before the humans could retaliate against her, Jaku took off in the opposite direction toward the river with her team following. If the Shaymin aren't going to truly help, then I know a few pokémon who might with the right words and the right song and dance.

Jaku rendezvoused with her own team and separated them into two teams, leading them to the golden lowlands where the large river there had prevented the fire from spreading, all the way up to the entrance of a mystery dungeon. Drenched Bluff. Plenty of space to grow food. From there, Jaku entered the dungeon with the instructions to gather as many foodstuffs as possible. Seeds, berries, apples, and the like. Anything that might be edible. After all, dungeons spontaneously generated items each time they were entered.

"We're replacing their food stores?" Ghost asked, his eyes round like two moons as he surveyed the huge bags that each member of her team carried on their backs. "This should be enough to last maybe a week or two."

"No, no, no. That's not where this food is going towards." Jaku led her over-encumbered team up the vale toward a place she had once known in her early days as a Diamond Clan ranger. A once-grassy glen where prey pokémon lurked. "If the Shaymin won't heal the forest, we will." Her ears perked up at the sound of something skittering through the trees. Though it was just barely dawn, clusters of Zubats stared down at her and more noticeably at the bags of food she and her team were carrying. "We just need a lot of help to do it."

Jaku set her plan into motion. By gathering as much food as possible, she was able to persuade a few handfuls of pokémon to help her and led them into the fire-scorched woods to begin. Parasects and Gravelers broke down the burned undergrowth and churned up the soil, allowing for Bibarels, Golducks and Barboaches to soak the fresh earth with river water. Once that section of the woods was dampened, Jaku then fed the grass-types who set about germinating, seeding, and synthesizing new plants with vigor. They clambered through the woods and what they touched began to both decay and sprout new life. Shed pine seeds began to sprout until their trunks bolstered the old, fresh pine needles and snapped branches growing anew. The grass cover grew back and so too did the tree canopies, Cherubis and Petalils clambering up high to make sure nothing went untouched knowing well that the woods were their homes too. The undergrowth was brought back in full swing and within a few hours' time, only the faint smell of ash gave away the fact that the same forest had been burned down not too long ago.

Jaku led her party back into a different mystery dungeon to gather even more supplies and when her current party of wild pokémon helpers had exhausted themselves, more sprung up to take their place until Jaku didn't even have to give out orders for the wild pokémon to overhaul the fire damage. On it went until the black mark upon the mirelands was no more. Jaku went back into a mystery dungeon one final time as a means to an end. This haul of food, she left by the clan's entrance. Berries and apples. Plenty of seeds and wild grains that she painstakingly collected. And she had been just about to leave when she sighted Lady and Otto waiting for her, Rei behind them. And Akanti too.

"Here you go," Jaku gasped, tiredly letting the basket fall to the ground. A peace offering. "Plenty of food to make up for what those greedy little Shaymin stole from you." She took a deep, deep breath. The exhaustion of dungeon trekking for hours upon hours was finally catching up to her. And now, I just want to sleep for a year or so. "Next time, don't feed the legendaries; they don't actually get hungry." She turned and staggered back into the woods only for Ghost to scoop her up and plod down the forest trail, just as tired as she was.

"And now-" Ghost yawned- "for a long… long nap."

"Hah! You said it."

Neither were aware of the quiet but purposeful footsteps of something following them. Someone following them.