Unknown Place, Unknown Time

Akari slowly followed after Volo, her eyes trailing along the pristine sun-speckled stone walls of the grand cathedral, hearing her own light steps echo off of the smooth floors.

Bird pokémon soared overhead with jubilant cries, their outstretched wings visible through the colorful banners fluttering high up the ceiling. Their cries echoed plaintively and when Akari blinked again, she found herself staring at a peculiar but all-too-beautiful stained glass mosaic high up on the wall. She came to a stop and so too did Volo.

"Where are we? What is this place?"

Volo smiled and carefully guided her forward onto a platform higher up where a warm breeze rolled across the room. "Surely you recognize where we are." He led her over to where brilliant sunlight shone down upon a dazzling slab of white rock with inscriptions carved into every surface. He trailed his hands over it before guiding Akari's own toward where the glyphs started. "Come now. You know what these say, don't you?"

Akari made a show of acting dumb, twiddling a strand of hair around between her fingers. "Hmm. Can't say that I do." She then grinned. "Okay, okay. I do know what they say." She let her gaze rest on the first few letters. "Though, I don't remember ever telling you that little fact, Volo."

"A little birdie told me."

"Peh. Liar. Your Togetic can't talk."

It was Volo's turn to scoff. "Maybe you told me. Did you ever stop to think about that? You do tend to have a rather peculiar memory," he teased back. "Oddly selective- "

"Maybe I just won't read this at all," Akari snipped back, crossing her arms smugly. "How about that?"

Volo scowled. "Now you're just being uncooperative." He playfully shoved at Akari who chuckled, slapping away his hands. "Read please. I shouldn't have to beg."

"Okay, fine. I give." Akari paused, watching as Volo pulled out a roll of paper and a charcoal nub, his curious and excited gaze watching the runes on the wall. "You're writing this down?"

"It's important," Volo enunciated. "I can't read whatever this script is supposed to say. You can. That's why I trusted you enough to bring you here to this ancient space."

Akari rolled her eyes and slowly began to decode the walls of strange glyphs in front of her. With the sun at her back and the smell of growing things on the breeze, she felt nothing but peace. She was safe. She was somewhere warm with her closest friend doing something as menial and carefree as reading for him. No strife. No anxiety. Just peace.

She then frowned and paused in her voicings, her finger catching on a glyph she didn't recognize. As she slowed to read it, she suddenly felt Volo's hand catch on the back of her tunic, dragging her away from the wall. "Volo- "

Without reason, Akari was unceremoniously thrust behind Volo as he ushered her around the wall and into the shadows, silencing her muffled questionings with his hand as he breathlessly shushed her. He wasn't even breathing himself.

Akari slowly eased Volo's hand off of her mouth and listened, unprepared for the uncharacteristic look of unadulterated fear in Volo's eye. She listened as a gentle tap-tap-tap sounded along the cathedral floors, the stone making it sound as though the footsteps were all around her. Incessant. Purposeful. Moving directly toward the two of them as if whatever approached knew where they were hiding.

But Akari didn't feel scared. She felt… soothed. She slowly slipped out of Volo's hold and poked her head around the wall to stare at the figure that approached. It turned her way, its massive figure seemingly taking up all of the space in the room as it strode toward her, lowering its head to stare questioningly into her eyes with its own unfathomable gaze.

Akari reached out with her hands to touch the creature's cheek and felt it press into her palm, shutting its brilliant eyes as it crept closer and closer still.

November 29th, First Year

Crickets chirped. Akari jolted awake and was on her hands and knees in an instant, the phantom sensation of her dream's subject fading from her fingers as she slipped out of her cot and up into a seated position, mopping her hair out of her face. Sweat clung to her skin, instantly freezing as a cold winter chill crept up into her clothes.

She let out a breath and stumbled to her feet, clumsily grabbing at her pack strewn around the holding pole of her cot. She shrugged on her clothes and her footwear but not before reaching for her rope belt containing her pokéballs. She tied the knot and made her way out of the sleeping tent with word of using the bathroom, instead stealing out of the encampment to get some much-needed fresh air. Pluto emerged from her pokéball and kept pace with her until they both stood a few paces away from the coast, watching pieces of driftwood be carried onto the shore.

It was there that Akari waded into the gentle waves and earnestly rinsed her face, tying back her hair as it repeatedly spilled out into the waves. She could still feel her heart beat frantically within her chest. What was that dream even about? She remembered being somewhere large. Somewhere familiar. A headache blossomed behind one of her eyes as her thoughts wandered to her memories of the sunken cathedral in the Crimson Mirelands and then to Volo who she remembered had accompanied throughout her dream. She remembered being there with him, talking about something and about Volo asking her to do something for him. But the stale bonds of the dream she'd woken up with gradually faded to the point where Akari no longer dwelled on the subject, more content to huddle beside her Kirlia for warmth and comfort. Akari glanced at Pluto before rolling her eyes, her breaths still shaky. Just a dream; nothing else. Pluto would've done or said something otherwise. Her mind eased a little when the rest of her pokémon emerged from their capsules, finding places to snooze around her log as Akari continued to watch the gentle waves.

Spheals rolled about on the dunes. Driftblims hovered close but they didn't reach out for her, simply content to stare and bob about. Even a Tangela or two appeared as the sky lightened, hobbling through the clearing but never paying more than a second or two to glance at Akari before skittering away. Strange. Something should have attacked me by now. Probably shouldn't jinx it, though.

Akari was startled out of her relaxed trance when footsteps sounded through the snow and ice. She had only a moment to stumble to her feet before a familiar figure crept silently through the tall grass, a torch in one hand and a full bag in the other, a dew-laden Growlithe tagging along at their heels. Akari let out a relieved sigh. "Warden Palina?"

The tall warden flinched and swung around to face Akari, her eyes immediately softening. She held out the torch, squinting "Ah. Akari! For a moment there, I thought you were a Ghastly!"

"A… A Ghastly?" Akari repeatedly slowly. She snorted. "What are you trying to say about me, huh?"

"Your dark clothes make you nearly impossible to see in such faint lightning," Palina chuckled. She gestured Growlithe forward and beckoned for Akari to follow, slinging her bag onto her back to allow Akari a free arm to hold onto. "Aren't you coming? We're all due to discuss a more solid plan in a few hours to… defeat Lord Arcanine." She swallowed. "Still not quite used to that idea."

"Sorry, Warden Palina. I know you don't like it but- "

"It's fine, Akari," Palina murmured. "I don't blame you. What happened to Lord Grow- to Lord Arcanine- was not your fault. You're just trying to help." Palina walked in silence as Akari took hold of her outstretched arm, looking down upon Akari with barely-disguised sympathy and concern. "But what were you doing out here in the wilderness so late at night?"

"...You first."

Palina chuckled. "I was on my way to the encampment to prepare early. I tend to wake up earlier than most."

"Really? A twinge of unease ran up Akari's back. Now it would be her turn to tell her truth. She yawned. "I couldn't be an early riser. Dunno how you do it." Akari scuffed her shoes through the snow. "I mean, I was just easing off a weird dream I had."

Palina guarded the rear as they walked back toward the encampment where the faraway torchlight was becoming brighter and brighter. "A nightmare?" She gave a thoughtful hum. "With all you've been through, I would be surprised if a few things didn't keep you up at night. You're too young, you know? To be involved in this catastrophe."

That got a chuckle out of Akari. She fidgeted, fixing her headscarf instead of meeting Palina's eyes. "It's what Almighty Sinnoh wants. They're not so bad… The nightmares."

"Oh? Then maybe you wouldn't mind telling me what's so strange that it led you out into the darkness and all the way to the sea. I won't judge."

Akari shook her head, too intimidated and frankly embarrassed to reveal that much to the woman who she still considered to be an acquaintance. "Dunno. It was something weird, haha."

After arriving back to camp and downing a meal of fresh rice grains and steaming vegetable soup, Akari was alert enough to help create a semblance of a coherent plan on how to best Lord Arcanine. Lord Basculegion would gather all of his Lesser Lords around the Firespit Archipelago in advance. Akari, Ingo and Emmet would track down Lord Arcanine and corner him onto the island and from there, the lord would get hosed down with water until he relented. Akari had no idea where the other nobles- Ursaring, Sneasler, and Wyrdeer- would fit into.

"What about balms?" Akari suggested. "They've worked pretty well with every other noble we've faced this far. Warden Palina? What kind of ingredients should we collect for Lord Arcanine's calming balms?"

Palina shook her head. "That won't be possible. With the fires raging and with Lord Arcanine setting those fires, I sincerely doubt any balm would hold up to the temperatures surrounding him." She grimaced. "I don't condone violence- especially not against my innocent charge- but this may be the only time I might ever acknowledge that battling Lord Arcanine until failure might be the best solution to this problem. The safest."

Ingo nodded. "I feel your pain, Warden Palina and I assure you, we will only use as much force necessary to quell Lord Arcanine; nothing more."

"Thank you, Warden Ingo. I know I can trust your words." She glanced respectively at both Emmet and Akari. "Your companions as well. If you say that you won't use excessive force against Lord Arcanine, then you have my full blessing. Which leads to where he is currently."

"You know where he is." Emmet sat forward on his stool, his Eelektross wrapped around him like a blanket. "Where is Lord Arcanine currently stationed?"

"Veilstone Cape," Paline responded glumly. "He's still circling the area where we found him. He's near the area where… where I buried his late father. The trees there have been reduced to cinders; that's where all the smoke is coming from… It won't be easy to lure him to Firespit."

"Not unless we have a good bait." Akari felt a bit evil even thinking about her proposal but she steeled herself and continued. "Lord Arcanine didn't attack anybody else but those two bandits- "

Ingo immediately cut her off with a sharp gaze. "Young Akari- "

"No, no," Akari waved her hand for Ingo to be silent. "Not that kind of bait. I'm thinking we lure Lord Arcanine using fake bait." She pinched at a section of her clothing as an example. "Hostile pokémon can follow their targets by all kinds of things and something tells me Lord Arcanine would be quite keen on scent."

Palina shot a glance at Growlithe who was entangled in the loose scraps of Ingo's coat, clearly not paying attention. She sighed. "You'd definitely be correct in that aspect. Lord Arcanine- when he was still a Growlithe- the two of them really- they had no issue dragging me places following the scent of an injured Starly or a beached Spheal."

"Then we take a scrap of clothing," Akari suggested. "From Clover or Coin; something to bait Lord Arcanine into following us using just their scent. We lure him onto Firespit Island and into a trap."

Emmet cradled his head in his hands. "You will control the bait, will you not? That is what you are planning."

Akari sheepishly glanced at Ingo. "Yes and no. I'll have the bait on me but with Ingo having his weird but handy power over the water, he'll come with me and keep me shielded using water in case Lord Arcanine tries to attack me before we can get him onto the island. And we can get him out there once it hits low-tide." She glanced at Palina, thankful for the handy tip they'd given her. "Once we get him on the island, we can keep him there until high-tide hits again. Then he's stranded and we can hose him down with water until he returns back to normal."

"This is… incredibly unsafe," Emmet grumbled. He peered out from between his fingers at Ingo who wordlessly shot him a similarly exhausted grimace. Emmet then sat back up only to pause when his back audibly cracked. He glared at Ingo who smiled at him. "Not a word." Emmet then cleared his throat. "It cannot be helped. I will tag along to your two-car train. Three is better than one."

Akari beamed. "I thought you might say that."

As the morning came and went and settled into noon and with their plan more firmly set, Akari took the afternoon to train with Mercury, heading back down to the coast to both enjoy the breeze and the relative peace before the chaos that was sure to unfold the next day when the weather was due to be heavy with storms.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Akari held up her arm and allowed Mercury to alight atop her elbow, offering a handful of berries with her other hand as she took a seat on the log from earlier. In the light of the sun, Akari could make out the faraway silhouette of the Firespit Archipela and the looming volcano that made out its distinctive pointed shape. "We'll be over there soon enough. You excited, Mercury?" The Murkrow gave a disinterested shake of its feathers before dipping his head to swallow an entire berry whole but not before nipping at a loose strand of Akari's hair. "I'll take that as a 'no'."

The wind tossed her hair around in the breeze. Even with the snow slowly melting into her shoes and even with the cold winds prickling at her face, Akari felt at ease. I'll be fine, she assured herself. She looked out over the ocean, clasping her hands together in her lap. She shut her eyes tight and let out a breath. Everything will be okay.

At her feet, Pluto suddenly stood up and let out a squealing cry, one that Akari had learned to associate with incoming danger. The curling feathers along Pluto's flank stood on edge as she made a beeline toward her pokéball but not before a shadowy arm seized Pluto's frills and pulled her into the frost and into an abyss of shadows.

Akari was on her feet in an instant with Mars to back her up but before she could make sense of the situation, all of the breath was knocked out of her. An insurmountable force knocked her to the ground and pushed her into the dirt, numbingly cold water drenching her down to the bone. She flailed but held her breath as a strong hand gripped her by the hair along her scalp and shoved her face into the muck, drowning her.

The force suddenly let up just as soon as it had come. Salt burned in Akari's eyes. She recognized Neptune's sleek feathered body as her pokémon pulled her up, Jupiter shielding her on her other side. Dead grass and stray pine needles whistled as they cut through the air and toward a crowd of people and to Akari's horror, pokémon.

Bandits. Lots and lots of bandits. More than Akari had ever seen. They stood behind trees and boulders, all of their gazes focused on her and with them, more pokémon than Akari had ever seen in one place. A ring of harnessed Walrein easily tanked Jupiter's Leaf Storm, four of them knocking the avian out with a conjoined Ice Beam. Neptune charged forward only to seize and buckle, pings of electricity stopping it mid-flight. A scraggly-looking Jolteon edged away from the Walrein and growled, prowling toward Akari, spittle drizzling from its lips.

Without any command, Saturn appeared from her pokéball and heaved the Jolteon off of its feet, sinking her fangs into the creature's ears and legs, weathering the worst of the electrical blows with relative ease.

Akari took a step back defensively to gauge just what was going on and found herself looking directly at Charm across the way. She scowled. "What do you think you're doing here? So close to the encampment! It's almost like you're trying to get caught!"

Charm didn't respond. She simply pointed a finger at Saturn. A group of scarred Scyther ducked through the crowd of seething pokémon. One in particular, their dark green exoskeleton dull and patchy with wounds, landed a devastating hit on Saturn, tossing the Purugly flying until she landed hard against the trunk of a tree, the impact pulling the roots out of the ground. Faster than the blink of an eye, the horde of Scythers closed the distance and began mercilessly whaling on Saturn until the Purugly fainted, Akari already closing the distance.

Mercury descended upon the Scyther and stabbed its beak into the creatures' eyes. Their faces. Anything his beak could get a hold of. That got a reaction. The Scyther in the lead jerked back and angrily waved its bladed arms about in an attempt to hack the Murkrow into pieces, failing miserably. Mercury swooped upward but was immediately caught in the blast of several ice beams, thumping back into the grass completely encased in ice.

Akari gathered both of her beaten pokémon in her arms and recalled them to their capsules, quickly gauging how far the encampment was and the likeliness of her being able to outrun the bandits who had been slowly but steadily closing in upon her panicking. Think, Akari, think! How can I get out of this? She backed away from an advancing Charm only to bump into three bandits who quickly seized her, put her arms behind her back, and thrust her back down into the mud.

A heavy pressure slowly eased onto the back of her skull, pressing her face deeper into the gravel, fresh rainwater coalescing around her face. And then a hand pulled at her hair and painfully wretched her head back up to where she could stare directly into Charm's face.

"And here I thought ambushing you would prove to be a challenge." Charm's tone was devoid of amusement or sarcasm, instead eerily familiar in a way that made Akari shiver. "That's the best you can do? Defeated in only a minute? You really are weak when you have no setup."

Akari spat out the mud in her mouth to reply before a blinding pain immediately sprang to life across her temple, her face thrust back into the mud as Charm kicked her face into the dirt, hard. Her ears rang. Her head pounded. She felt something tear at the back of her neck. She heard garbled voices surrounding her. More pulling. More kicking. More pain. The blankness eventually faded and Akari found herself staring dazedly into Charm's face, something warm and wet oozing down her face and over her lips. Her entire face throbbed. Her throat felt tight.

"... pathetic, aren't you?" Charm intensified her grip on Akari's hair and yanked hard, pulling out a sizable chunk of Akari's hair, holding it for the teen to see. Matted blood dripped from the torn off chunk. "You and your bleeding heart crew. How dare you touch my sisters," Charm hissed, the first instance of emotion that woman had ever shown as she bared her teeth at Akari. "How dare you infiltrate our home. And for what? Your pathetic little rat of a pokémon?"

Akari gasped and struggled to get the air back into her, staring out at her pokémon who were caged in on all sides, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of bandits and enemy pokémon that they were quickly lost in the sea of writhing bodies. Pain exploded across Akari's face and the world became nothing again for just a split second before Akari was wrenched back into reality, barely able to breathe, her limbs slack and her eyes swollen shut. All she could do was struggle and fight to breathe as blood dripped down her throat, choking her. As it blinded her. As she fell limp and the pain fell away.

November 30th, First Year

Akari awoke to the feeling of being warm. Muffled voices sounded at a distance but the warm sensation intensified, even more so when Akari shifted, too weak to make a sound from the debilitating pain that racked her entire body. She couldn't open her eyes. Couldn't move. Couldn't think. It hurt to breathe. Hurt to think, even. The warm sensation- a hand- reached for hers and gently closed around them, and Akari felt a smidgen comforted. And then came a voice. But it wasn't directed at her.

"...She's awake!"

The muffled voices immediately quieted before a cacophony of noise exploded into the room, Akari weakly turning herself away in an attempt to escape the painful noise only to shuffle directly onto a sore bruise that stole the air from her lungs.

A gasp sounded and then loud footsteps. A coarse hand settled on Akari's throat- two calloused fingers- before they shakily retreated. "...A heartbeat. Steady. That's… that's good."

"She'll live?"

"Her cab will need an intense amount of maintenance… but she survives." The owner of the voice didn't leave Akari's side, instead lingering. "...Volo."

"Warden Ingo, I swear, I had nothing to do with this- "

"I'm finding it quite hard to believe that you happened to be on the right platform at such an appropriate timing as to stumble upon Akari unconscious with all of her co-conductors fainted and in such a- " Ingo's speech stumbled and he muttered something angrily under his breath- "such a foul state of being!"

Akari recoiled away and into Volo's touch who readily covered her ears. "Not so loud!" he hissed. "I know that you're concerned- so am I! But I truly don't know what happened!" Volo's hold was gentle. He removed his hands from Akari's ears but one of his hands remained parked on the side of her chest as if checking to make sure she was still breathing. "I already explained what I saw. I found her unconscious and beaten." Volo's voice softened to a low hiss. "I found her nearly hung up in the trees by her torn clothes. As if they were trying to… hang her."

"...You put her there." The voice that spoke wasn't Ingo's. It was flat but the way it brazenly cut across the room was incredibly telling of its owner. It was followed by a low seething growl. "You cannot be trusted."

"And I second Emmet's opinion," Ingo commented icily. "We've heard enough about your coercions regarding Young Akari to know what kind of activities you've been recklessly coaching her through."

"And I've already admitted my guilt," Volo retorted. "I shouldn't have done what I did- "

"And your reasoning?" Ingo cut in. "You still have yet to explain why you were railroading Young Akari through such dangerous tasks."

"I will explain that in the future- "

"Why not now?" Emmet argued.

Volo didn't answer Emmet's question. He took a deep breath instead. "I am not a pokémon wielder. I don't have nearly the necessary strength to knock out all of Akari's pokémon, drag her into the woods, and haphazardly toss her a few feet into the air onto a branch. I can't even begin to think of what could have happened to her. I am sorry for what I've dragged her into in the past but I wouldn't do something so terrible as to nearly pummel her to death. I want to figure out who did it and whether you assist me or not is not up for debate. I'll figure it out alone if I must."

Emmet clicked his tongue. "Ingo, was anything found nearby? Anything indicative of foul play?"

"Nothing but footprints leading into the woods. Too far for any scout to follow with an eased conscience." Ingo spoke again though his tone quieted dangerously. "And remind me again how you stumbled upon Akari, Volo? Right on cue as it were?"

"Her Kirlia- I thought I heard Akari's voice- heard her scream- and so I followed the source back to where I heard it come from and… and I found her unconscious." Volo's hand shook against Akari's bandaged ribs. "... I'm just… I'm relieved that she wasn't…" Volo's voice faded out and nearly disappeared entirely. "That she wasn't dead." His hand disappeared. Clothing ruffled. "I'm heading back to that spot to check again."

Ingo muttered something under his breath. "That is not advisable, Volo. You've already stated quite clearly that you are not of battling prowess. You could run your wheels directly into harm's way."

"That's a chance I'll take if it means finding out who attacked Akari and beat her like this!" Volo's outburst nearly rivaled Ingo's when it came to intensity. The wrath in his voice was palpable.

A cold breeze stirred in the room. Ingo's hand disappeared from Akari's side as well and he cleared his throat. "...What is Akari to you, Volo? From my understanding- "

"I know your understanding," Volo cut him off. "What you think of me." He was silent for a long moment. "Akari is… one of my dearest customers," he spoke quietly. Earnestly. Akari strained to listen harder. "She's like an annoying step-sibling that I never asked for but she's been a wonderful friend to me. There's nothing predatory about our relationship. I am deeply sorry for the messes I've gotten her into and believe me, I aim to make better on my faults. I have no ill-intentions toward her. You may not believe everything else I've said but I ask you to believe me when I say that."

"That is the truth?" Emmet gritted out. "You are far too old to be her 'friend'."

Volo scoffed. "Are you two not even older than I am? What does that say, then?"

"We did not coerce Akari into committing felonies," Emmet retorted. "You are not just saying what you think we want to hear?"

"It's the truth," Volo assured them, "and I won't back down. I'm going back out to figure out what happened. Whether I'm protected or not is the least of my concerns right now."

Boots thudded across the floor and a new chilling breeze swept into the tent leaving Ingo and Emmet to contemplate.

Ingo's exhausted voice sounded first. "Emmet... I do not trust him… And neither do you." He hummed. "What is your ideal? Should we follow him or should we remain parked here and assist in Akari's maintenance?"

Emmet made a noise halfway between annoyance and discomfort. "I think. That we. Should split up. You escort Volo. You have more pokémon than I do. I am Emmet and so I will remain parked here with the medics. Galvantula has plenty of thread to spare."

"... Now is not the time to be making jokes at Akari's expense."

"Who else will? But I digress. Go. Keep an eye on Volo."

"Very well. Keep an eye on Akari while I am gone."

"And if anything happens, send Parlor to me immediately. I will understand your message and alert the guards."

"Excellent. Off I go then."

Ingo's heavy footsteps faded, leaving Akari alone in a daunting silence that she was still struggling to process. Volo's words. The argument. The pain that made her entire body ache.

Wood scooted across wood. Curtains swished.

"Mister- oh... Hello, Mister Emmet."

"I am Emmet." The irritation in his voice was audible. "What do you want?"

The new voice faltered. "We… we checked Akari's bags just like you and your brother asked."

The annoyance in Emmet's voice immediately cleared out. "And? Did you find anything?"

"W-well, a lot of items- a few things of hers that's- that were standard-issued by the Galaxy Team are… missing."

"...Such as?"

"U-uh… Food rations, pokéball capsules, potions and a few other things. Laventon's weird journal is still there along with a few other weird things. Some colorful uh… plates of some kind."

Emmet hummed and hawed for a moment or two. His tone became decisive and cold. "Akari's pokémon have been healed. Send her Kirlia to fetch my brother and Volo immediately."

The second voice squeaked. "Do you have an idea of what happened?"

Emmet audibly scoffed. "Bandits."

December 1st, First Year

Akari limped forward with Ingo on one side and Emmet on the other, keeping her gaze set firmly toward the cape where Warden Palina was due to be waiting for them. Every step burned and every second spent on the blistering winds where the toiling heat made the fabric of her tunic roll against her bruises made her think about turning back.

"Pathetic." Charm's insult rang in Akari's ear like salt in the wound. "Defeated in only a minute? You really are weak when you have no setup." She narrowed her eyes against the winds and stared down the slope at where Warden Palina stood amongst a group of Spheals, carefully setting her feet into whatever cleff she could find, Ingo and Emmet supporting her on either side.

"You are quite sure you would not be opposed to resting fully?" Ingo muttered, one hand carefully held out in front of her for her to grab onto in case of an emergency. "You should not be pressing forward on such worn rails- "

"I'm fine," Akari spat back, her voice brittle and weathered, far more acidic than she'd intended it to be. She slowly ducked under Ingo's arm, immediately feeling herself begin to pitch forward from the sudden push of the winds. She teetered back and struck out with her foot, a blinding hot pain surging up her leg. Akari gritted her teeth and struggled the rest of the way down the slope, panting by the time she was done. "Warden… Warden Palina."

Palina scowled and pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers "Akari. I'm sure Warden Ingo has already told you that you can rest- "

"Not an option. I want to help," Akari hacked out. Nausea made her gut feel heavy. It slowed down her wobbly strides and fogged up her thoughts. "I'm going. We're going. Let's just keep moving."

Not even hours after waking from an entire day's nap, bruised, beaten and most definitely concussed, Akari had insisted on following their plan through even if her condition was less than optimal. Lord Arcanine wouldn't wait for her to get better. And Akari- after having her ego pinched and her optimism battered- still yearned to prove that she wasn't pathetic.

She had willfully accepted the bloody scrap of fabric- the remainder of Clover's torn-off pant leg- and had attached it firmly to her rope belt but loose enough to be thrown off in case of an emergency.

Akari said nothing and kept casting glances at the sea where Lord Basculegion and many water-type pokémon tailed behind them alongside a handful of Galaxy Team scouts. Backup was backup and Akari would take anything if it meant winning an easy fight against a particularly dangerous noble pokémon.

The familiar pinprick chill of winter faded, replaced by a rolling warm breeze that turned swelteringly hot. Embers tumbled out of the sky, a thick smoky haze curling around pools of ash and soot. Fire burned and cracked all around them, trees falling in heaps along the hillside. Hellish scarlet light shone from high up on Veilstone Cape like a second sun in the sky.

Ingo summoned the power of the Splash Plate, carefully keeping the entire party protected under a thin dome of water that grew murkier with each step that they took near the cliffs of Veilstone Cape until they arrived at the same stretch of sand they had come to some time ago. One-by-one, each person mounted a water-type pokémon and with Akari in the lead- both brothers maintaining a close distance to her in particular- they swam in a tight-knit shoal toward the Firespit Archipelago.

Akari took Clover's blooded scrap of cloth in her shaking hand and held it high in the air as the party passed by the thin isthmus separating the two landmasses. She could somewhat pick out where the densest flames burned in the depths of a patch of fir trees but her swollen eye betrayed her, making it even harder to see as tainted rain fell upon them. Come on. This breeze will blow the stench of this thing right to you. So get down here and find us already. She waited patiently, watching as the rest of her backup sailed toward the island with Lord Basculegion, leaving Akari to wait with Ingo and Emmet under their protective veil of water.

"You're abandoning that cloth the moment we gain Lord Arcanine's attention," Ingo demanded. "Emmet is right. This is incredibly unsafe and ill-advised. This is the worst breach of safety I've ever seen."

"Well, it's the best plan we've got," Akari retorted, the words seeming to blur together as they tumbled from her lips. She stiffened, watching as Lord Arcanine's bulky silhouette trailed along the edges of the cliffs until he emerged from the treeline. "And don't forget; it's working."

Lord Arcanine shoved the trees aside and didn't so much as bat an eye when the dry trunks burst into flames and exploded into chunks of bark and hardened sap. The noble pokémon had his muzzle upturned to the sky, coming closer and closer to the edge until he stared directly at Akari and the two brothers. His body awash in the telltale golden light, Lord Arcanine's hackles raised. He let out a bone-chilling snarl that was audible even from a distance before clumsily leaping down the cliffs and onto the sand beds only ever exposed during low tide.

"That's our cue!" Akari lagged behind at the tail of the group as she and the brothers quickly sailed back to the mouth of the Firespit Archipelago. She wasted no time leaping ashore where she recalled her pokémon and started down a dusty path away from the coastline and onto a ledge, hearing both Ingo and Emmet take off to opposite sides. Higher still! I gotta give the others a moment to set up!

Lord Arcanine's snarls became barks of anger and rage. His claws snagged into the rocks and Akari felt the noble's hot breath roll against her feet as his teeth snapped a hair away from her ankles.

She turned and ducked for cover, watching as a hellishly bright beam of fire and molten rock rocketed past her hiding space and into the side of the volcano, the hole burning a melting hole straight through the packed rock. Almost immediately, the side of the mountain was blasted off with a bone-rattling explosion that temporarily deafened Akari. Fresh magma raced out of the opening and into the steep mountain valleys that would eventually bring it all back to her and her party. Oh no. No, no, no! Akari swallowed her fear and kept climbing higher until she could see the greater island much clearer than she could before, watching as Lord Arcanine approached closer, one eye on the advancing lava.

This is it! Akari stood and waited for Lord Arcanine to grow close. Her skin burned and her eyes watered. The heat on the cliff was unlike anything Akari had ever experienced in her life. She put two fingers to her lips- the way Emmet had shown her- and whistled as loud as she could to give the signal though she still couldn't hear anything. Akari was sure the entire party had heard it. She hoped that the rest of her party could hear her. That their hearing hadn't been as damaged as hers.

She waited for the influx of water. For the valleys to become drenched with sea and rain water… But nothing happened. Akari was forced to dodge away when Lord Arcanine came barreling toward her, just barely missing her face with his extended claws and snapping teeth. What's going on? She called Neptune from out of his pokéball and glanced toward the southern flats of the island only for her heart to sink directly into her feet.

Her backup lay scattered at the foot of the mountains, a massive group of unknown figures- bandits- advancing on them from every which way. Wild pokémon were caught in between the two parties fighting ceaselessly with each other. The water-types that Akari had helped to gather were too busy guarding the supporting party to pay her any attention which left her completely and utterly alone against Lord Arcanine.

Akari steadied her nerves. Her shaking legs. Her twitching hands. The ringing in her ears subsided, allowing for Akari to finally hear the sounds of wild fighting from below which were so loud that no amount of whistling she could do would drown them out. She reached out to Neptune reassuringly. "We've got this Neptune. Just stay calm." Her words fell deaf mostly on herself. With sweat covering every inch of her skin, Akari matched Lord Arcanine's circling movements. Just as eager. Just as clumsy. When he charged, she dodged to the side. When he sent waves of fire toward her, Neptune threw up water to counter him. I need to get back down to the coast! I can't do this all on my own! Without thinking, Akari untied Clover's scrap of fabric from her belt and held it up for Lord Arcanine to see. "Here, doggy! This is what you're looking for!"

Lord Arcanine's eyes narrowed. He snarled and approached only for Akari to wad up the cloth and toss it down into a neighboring ravine. The glowing Arcanine bounded after it, leaving Akari to flee the way she'd come, watching as the quick-moving wall of fresh lava advanced steadily toward the beach. Akari blinked. The group of fighting wielders had disappeared. She dodged to the side as Lord Arcanine barreled toward her again, absently scraping her hands against the hot stones, feeling the residual heat begin to burn into her shoes.

Voices sounded on the cliffs. Lord Arcanine angled its head to stare questioning past Akari's head before a beam of water caught it head-on, sending the noble tumbling away to the cliff and over the edge.

"...Well, well, well. Isn't this a surprise?"

Akari stilled and turned to the speaker of the voice, a white hot pain of anger throbbing through her wounds when she sighted none other than Charm summit the cliff, a gaggle of bandits tailing her. Akari balled her hands into fists but didn't draw out Pluto's pokéball, anticipating some kind of trick. She scowled. "You again, huh?"

"Me." Charm crossed her arms, her dull gaze catching on the many bruises littering Akari's face and body. "Interesting. And here I thought you would've died on the beach- "

"What the hell is your problem?" Akari yelled. "Why are you being such a pain in the ass? Heck, why'd you even attack me in the first place?"

Charm raised her eyebrows and almost instantly, a massive Gengar materialized next to her, its beady red eyes shiny with barely-restrained malevolent glee. "It's everything personal, little girl." Around her, Charm's gaggle of bandits reached for beaten-up pokéballs in their pockets and summoned out their own pokémon.

Akari spat. "Oh? You called me pathetic but you need backup to take me down, is that it? You can't fight me on your own? Hypocrite."

Charm chuckled, looking none too embarrassed. "It's just common sense, frankly. Why wouldn't I play a little dirty?" Charm then swiftly turned her head and muttered a command into an adjoining bandit's ear. About five men broke away and headed in the direction Lord Arcanine had fallen.

"You're trying to kill me," Akari assessed. The revelation didn't surprise her. "You tried to kill me on the beach. Why?"

Charm didn't respond to the clear bait, instead sending Gengar forward. Akari watched the moving shadows and called out Mercury who easily pinpointed where the ghost-type pokémon moved. When the Gengar zipped around Mercury in an attempt to get into his blindspot, Mercury turned gracefully midair and sank his talons into the Gengar's face, ripping it out of the ground with an indignant squawk. Before the Gengar could move again, Mercury fluttered back before diving back in, raking his talons across the Gengar's face in a frenzy. The ghost-type stumbled and then fell defeated.

Akari met Charm's confused glance across the battlefield with a confident sneer. "Not so good on your own, are you?"

Charm's lips curled in a nasty sneer. Her entire demeanor changed. She stomped across the battlefield, recalling her Gengar into an ugly-looking pokéball.

Akari tensed. The rest of her pokémon immediately appeared from their capsules and barred the way only for the mass of bandit pokémon to distract them, leaving Akari alone to face Charm. But she was ready.

Charm suddenly lunged for her, one arm outstretched to grab her by her hair. Akari feigned to the side and tripped her instead but she didn't have nearly enough power to put force behind the movement. When Charm recovered from the stumble and caught her by the scruff of her tunic, Akari reached into her trouser pocket, closing her hands around the hilt of a small pocket knife she'd been given by Ingo for such a case as this. Without thinking, Akari uncapped the blade, wrenched around in Charm's grip, and thrust the blade into Charm's grasping arm.

Charm hissed and cried out in pain, immediately releasing Akari. She stumbled backward but not before reaching for another pokéball at her waist. Out came a formidable-looking Rhydon. "You little brat! You stabbed me!"

You deserved it. Akari kept her eyes on Charm and her advancing Rhydon, noticing with heightened concern that the voices she'd heard from earlier were growing more and more chaotic. A fierce battle had surrounded the exact cliff she was perched on. Akari sighted Ingo fending off three bandits on his own, his voice easily the loudest as his team of menacing pokémon fending off each and every attack. At his back, Emmet fought just as hard, his Eelektross and Galvantula making quick work of paralyzing a new advancing party, barring the two of them in crackling walls of electricity.

Okay! We're not defeated yet! There's still hope! Akari put two fingers to her lips and whistled again. This time, she heard a responding whistle. Two loud and long whistles. Emmet's. He heard me. Akari continued to maintain a defensive position, focusing on cornering Charm despite the increased attacks from the handful of remaining bandits who remained up on the cliffs. Her own pokémon had found a comfortable rhythm and weaved the oncoming blows smoothly, maintaining a defence between her and the bandits.

"Come on, then!" Akari taunted, short-stepping a badly-timed Air Slash from a bandit's Zubat. She brandished her short knife at Charm who stood tersely across from her, both of them hunched forward, their eyes narrowed. "What's the point of this? Why are you even here?"

Charm tied off her slashed arm with a bit of bloodied cloth, glaring at Akari all the while. She ordered her Rhydon forward but the massive pokémon refused to move, tossing its weighty head. "Move, you useless heap!" she hissed. She turned to Akari but remained behind her Rhydon's back. "This is all your fault! The Rift! The hostile pokémon! The natural disasters! All of this was your doing- "

Confused rage swelled within Akari's body and she began to shake. "That's why you're attacking me? That's why you're being such a pain in the ass? I had nothing to do with any of this! I'm working to stop the rift!"

"Your appearance here in Hisui has caused unparalleled damage in all of Hisui!" Charm seethed. She pushed at her Rhydon who continued to do nothing. She called out a new pokémon- her Scyther- who took one good look at the surrounding fire and brimstone and immediately retreated back inside its pokéball. "The floods! The fires! The plagues of bugs! Your little games with the nobles wreak havoc on us outsiders who have nowhere to go! Our home is completely destroyed! Our island is in ruins! How many of us have died while you've been having your fun chasing after these horrendous little creatures all in the name of pleasing some god that doesn't exist!"

"The same amount of innocent people who died when Lord Basculegion flooded Gingko Landing!" Akari retorted. You think just like Commander Kamado does. Akari understood Charm's anger to a point. She'd been there to see the aftermath of the noble's frenzies. The harm that the rampages had caused and the death's that they brought. The landslides. The floods. The broken homes and dislocated people and turmoil that long strife had brought to Hisui. To people that she cared about. They too had been harmed. But I didn't cause any of that.

Charm's Rhydon finally moved. It lifted itself onto its feet and came down hard, shifting the stones beneath Akari's feet in order to make her stumble. Charm took advantage of the situation and immediately surged forward and caught Akari's hair in her vice-tight grip.

Akari put up her hands to protect her face, unprepared for the brutal kick that Charm launched directly into her stomach. All of the breath was knocked out of her. She fell against the burning hot pavement and immediately attempted to right herself, reaching for her knife. She cried out when Charm kicked her again but this time, she firmly stabbed Charm in the foot, feeling warm blood splatter against her hand.

Charm swore loudly and moved to grab the blade, her filthy hands encircling Akari's own. "This time, I'll kill you for sure!" Charm reared back with her good leg and kicked Akari squarely in the ribs, another good quick discharging the knife from out of her hands and over the cliff. "This all started with you," Charm gasped, "and now, it'll end with you too." She seized Akari's hair and dragged her weakly to the clearing's edge.

The voices around the cliffs changed position and Charm's grip in Akari's hands faltered for only a moment.

"Akari! We're here to… RELEASE HER!" Ingo's voice, clear as day.

Charm leaned down to hiss into Akari's ear, "Say hello to my brothers and sisters for me when you see them." She then used her good leg to shove Akari off of the cliff and into the lava below.