December 5th, First Year

Burr held on tight to Lord Wyrdeer's mane as the noble pokémon ascended the steep rocky cliffs, the two of them pausing to stare out over the rows upon rows of tall, snow-capped mountains, dense clouds swirling amongst their peaks. Burr let out a breath through her nostrils only to watch the billowing steam instantly catch in the wind. "...Remind me again: where are you even taking me?"

"To The Next Stop On Your Task."

Burr rolled her eyes. "That's really helpful... Super informative... Thank you so very much."

"Your Scorn And Sarcasm Are Not Needed At This Time," Wyrdeer rumbled, telepathy making his scathing tone seem muddled.

"Like I care," Burr scoffed. "Pray tell, who insisted upon coming with me?" she asked theatrically, leaning onto Wyrdeer's neck. "Who, I say, wanted to give me a ride all the way up here after the shenanigans back in the icelands?"

Wyrdeer snorted and shook his head, almost tossing Burr clear off of his back from the effort. "I Only Follow The Orders Of A More Powerful Being. Whether I Wish To Be Escorting You Along Your Journey Is Not For Me To Decide Nor Justify. Do Not Insinuate Otherwise."

"Okay, but like… where are you taking me?" Burr enunciated. She pulled out her wonder map. "I mean, I've already marked out where the two highland gears are so my guess is that you're taking me to one of them."

"It Would Seem As If You Are Correct, Outlander."

Burr ignored the sudden tickle of apprehension that made her hands shake. "Is it the major gear? Please tell me it's the major gear." Anything but the minor one!

From within his pokéball inside of Burr's bag, Glacier hummed, his telepathy sparking to life. "Why would you want that? Wouldn't it be smarter to go for the minor one instead?"

Burr plucked out Glacier's ball and then proceeded to waggle her finger at her contained compatriot. "No- see- you've gotta think bigger than that. Temporal Tower is last. Why go through a slog the rest of my time here when I can just get the major gear out of the way, conserve my strength with the minor gear, and then go for broke inside Temporal Tower?" Even as she spoke, Burr found her gaze moving instinctively to stare at where the legendary tower sat underneath the hellish light of The Rift, cast in a bloody-red shadow. Burr shivered. I get the feeling I'm going to suffer a lot in that place."

Like a malevolent beacon, Temporal Tower rose many, many lengths into the sky, its crumbling pinnacle seeming to touch the blindingly bright center of the spinning storm where bolts of light streaked across the heavens, leaving stunning iridescent trails. Her wonder map- an artifact within her bag that had merged seamlessly with the one given to her when she'd first arrived in Hisui- had shown the narrow mountain path that would lead her to the base of Temporal Tower; coincidentally, Burr would have to pass through a set of ruins high up in the mountains where clouds currently covered the summit.

I just hope I can breathe up there. Burr swallowed, distracting herself by pinpointing where she and Wyrdeer were. "...We're by the coast?" she eventually muttered, her head cocked to the side. She stared at the far west only to see more mountains. "How?"

"The Coronet Highlands Are Deceitful," Wyrdeer rasped. He elegantly leapt up a crevasse and onto a narrow mountain trail where he was scant thin enough to fit. "These Mountains- Old May They Be- Are Both Tall And Narrow Like Compacted Ripples In A Stream; They Only Serve To Restrict What You Can See, Outlander. And Beneath Us Is A Valley. Through That Valley, We Must Journey To The Mountains' Edge Where We Will Come To Find The Bottomless Sea."

Nice exaggeration. Burr used the tip of one claw to burn a point marker in her map where she had already marked out a potential mystery dungeon. "So that's where you're taking me? To the great ocean blue?" What are the odds? A watery hellhole of all places. Just the place for a water-fearing creature such as myself.

Glacier's telepathy buzzed again, though it wasn't his voice she heard. Instead, Ghost's lumbering drawl sounded forth. "If it's water we're up against, would you like me to accompany you? I don't mind."

Burr clicked her tongue. "I know you don't like mystery dungeons, Ghost. And I don't plan on taking you inside one, even if you're offering."

Day turned to night and though Burr felt no need to sleep or eat, she quickly called for a rest inside a sheltered cave as the weather soured, only interrupted from her quiet dithering away from the rest of her team when somebody cleared their throat nearby. She turned, sighting Dusknoir and Celebi hovering a few paces away, Dusknoir a tad closer with his singular eye pinpointed on her. "...Yes? Can I help you?"

Though the both of them had been unusually quiet on the way up from the icelands, it was Dusknoir who spoke first despite Celebi usually being the one to start conversations. The large ghost-type clasped his hands in front of him. "I was of the opinion that now would be a good time to bring up our previous offer- " he gently nudged Celebi- "of quelling Darkrai in your place. Seeing as how our time together is surely but steadily drawing to an end. Are you still quite certain that you don't wish to… participate?"

Burr tiredly rubbed at her eyes as she laid down on the rocky cave floor. Her anger at Darkrai still lingered but she held more contempt for Cresselia, remembering all too well the night where the legendary had crept into her dreams to mock her and her partner's death. "...I don't care about him. I thought I already told you that you two were good to go off and do that without me."

It was Celebi who replied instead. "That's… well… confusing but there's another question we had for you." The fairy-type sheepishly landed nearby, scuffing their feet across the floor. She didn't meet Burr's gaze. "We were going to uh ask if you wanted one of us to maybe accompany you up to the tower instead. One of us goes after Darkrai and the other goes up to the tower with you." Celebi then hastily began to backtrack. "A-after all, both Dusknoir and I- we've been- have been- in the past- we've gone through Temporal Tower before so we just- we figured we would… um…go with you?" Celebi's words slowly died out to nothing but a whispering whine.

"...What? You two?" Burr repeated, dumbfounded. She waved them away. "Yeah, no. I can't verify that information and even if I could, I perform better solo." Burr pointedly turned her back on the duo, watching the blizzard rage outside. She laid her head down on her paws. "Just… go find Darkrai. Maybe mangle him a little just for me. That's enough, I think."

"And you're quite sure?" Dusknoir rasped. "Not too long ago, you would've given anything to get your revenge. And were you not anxious about scaling the tower alone? You would not care for a partner to watch your back? To ensure that you safely make it up to the pinnacle? I assure you that both myself and Celebi would be able to hold our own, despite what you might think."

A sudden wave of anger welled in Burr's gut and the next words she spoke flowed from a place and spirit she did not know nor remember but whose residual wrath she did. "I've got a three-on-three track streak for my 'trusted partners' switching things up on me at the very last minute," she growled, her patience wearing thin, "and I'm certainly not eager to bump it up to four. So let me make myself perfectly clear; I'm going solo and that's final. Neither of you are coming with me." She pointed at Dusknoir. "You wanted to go deal with Darkrai; you asked me twice when we were in the mirelands, and I said that I didn't care. No idea why we're suddenly asking about who's going to go with me to the tower when I've said numerous times that I'm going in alone. You deal with Darkrai; I'll deal with Dialga. Understand?"

"...Right. I do remember our conversation. I was just… I wanted to be sure that your decision was not… influenced by the constraints of your task. I shall cease asking then and… get on with it, as it were." Dusknoir then nodded with a sense of finality and floated away leaving only Celebi to look upon Burr with both scorn and pity.

Though Burr couldn't see Celebi's face, the disappointment and scorn in the fairy-type's next words were palpable. "You know… I thought- back when we first ran into each other again- that… you were still there. You as in, still my friend. The one I got to know again after your amnesia last time and us briefly travelling together in the paralyzed future." Celebi's voice then tensed. "But now… I don't know who you are... But you aren't my friend."

Burr's only response was to turn back around and sneer at the hurt expression on Celebi's face, feeling nothing but exasperation. "Oh yeah? You think I care about what you think of me? About who you think I was? Sweetheart," Burr drawled, low enough so that only the two of them were privy to the exchange. "Whoever you thought I was has been gone for a long, long, long time. So why don't you wisen up and move on already? Didn't you and Dusknoir say that you were here to help me with my mission?" Burr remarked. "You've been more help to Ingo and Akari than you have to me, seeing as how I've done all the marking, all the finding and all the gathering myself." Burr counted them off on her fingers. "So maybe instead of telling me something I already know- trying to get under my skin or pester me about who you think I am and what I should be like- maybe do something more productive and maybe- oh, I don't know- do away with Darkrai like you keep saying you will." Burr then paused and a spike of realization settled upon her like frost. "Did you two even deliver that letter like I asked you to? The one about Volo?"

Up until then, Celebi had been backing away, her wings drooping, her eyes teary and her mouth set into a scowl… only for her eyes to widen. Her wings fluttered briefly and the layers of leaves along her back began to bristle. "We did… We must have."

Burr pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. Leave it to these two to fuck up something as simple as sending a letter. And I don't have a psychic-type nor any scratch paper to draft up another one. Isn't this just great to find out so late in the game. "Well? Did you send it or not? That letter was extremely important."

"I know that!" Celebi retorted. But the furrow of her brows suggested otherwise. "We… we sent the letter," she nodded shakily. "Like you asked us to. I'm sure of it."

"You don't sound very confident. What do you mean 'you're sure of it'? It's either yes or no."

Celebi was off the floor in an instant, her bright green eyes flashing in the flickering light of Burr's tail flame. "Well, you're just full of negativity and complaints, aren't you? I said that we delivered it and that's that! Why can't you just believe me and not question me for the tiniest little thing! You don't trust us! You don't listen to us! We're just trying to help you but all you do is nag us, insult us, and make us feel miserable being around you!" Celebi's tiny hands were balled into fists, her voice growing more and more hoarse as she continued to shout. "All I and Dusknoir ever tried to do was help you! To be of use! To try to remind you of how things were! And you lash out at us every chance you get!"

"How things were," Burr interjected passively, folding her arms underneath her belly. "In the past. These are different times, Celebi. Things have changed."

"I am a legendary pokémon who ignores the flow of time!" Celebi seethed. "Don't talk down to me like you know more about the process than I do! I taught you what you know! Me! I did that! I showed you how to find time gear dungeons! Everything you know about working for Dialga came from me!" Celebi exploded. "And all I ever wanted to give you was a bit of comfort! Some jokes! Some gratitude! Some kind of compassion knowing that Watts is gone and you're all alone now! Anything!... But, you won't let us help you! You're just set on taking everybody down with you and making everybody feel worthless and miserable just because you are! Just because you feel that way! Arceus, sometimes you're just the world's biggest jerk!"

Burr's ear twitched. Me? Worthless? "Yeah, and?" She met Celebi's furious gaze impassively, emotionally disconnected from the boiling torrent of wrath directed toward her. "Don't project onto me, first of all. I never said anything about feeling worthless; that's just you for whatever reason- I don't care enough to ask. And second of all, you knew since the moment you ran into me here that I wasn't the same Burr," she argued. "At all. And maybe I did learn all that stuff from you- I sure as hell don't remember it- but I don't owe you anything. Not a damn cent. Not a single second of my time. I didn't ask for your pity and I didn't ask for you to tag along and talk behind my back and question my decisions. 'Influenced by the constraints of my task'," she mocked. "Yeah, right. You don't think I'm conscientious enough to make coherent decisions so you're trying to twist my situation into something you can benefit from. I said what I said and I'm not changing my mind no matter how 'depressed' and 'miserable' you seem to think I am. And you know, what right do you have to expect anything from me?"

"Emmet is here because of me!" Celebi hissed, floating so close that they were both face-to-face. "As a matter of fact, you wouldn't even have defeated Dialga the first time if it wasn't for myself creating a portal to get you and Watts back home- "

"Which happened in the past," Burr pointed out nonchalantly, not at all caring about interrupting Celebi, "and which- by the way- would've been a debt repaid in defeating Dialga to save the world which- clearly- you weren't able to do, miss 'I'm-older-than-you', 'don't-talk-down-to-me', 'taught-you-everything-I-know', 'thinks-children-owe-her-debts-for-basic-decency' Celebi." Burr got to her feet, now towering over Celebi who was cast in shadows. "All your decades and centuries of knowledge added up to jack squat. And you know, I am a jerk," Burr admitted unflinchingly, "but at least I'm not some big-headed, big-mouthed, airheaded legendary pokémon who thinks they know everything and should be adored and green-lit for every little whim and desire when they can't even deliver a stupid fucking letter a few miles away without bumbling like an idiot having to remember whether they did or not when it was literally a few days ago. And then you get mad when I question whether you did or not when you can't say for certain whether you did. I told you that getting that letter sent was important. Said it numerous times before I gave it to you. You can literally teleport. Dusknoir is a ghost who can quite literally change his form to walk through earth and water. What'd you two 'big, powerful, important pokémon' do, huh? Get lost walking around the corner? Put it in a tree? Drop it in a puddle? I'm so eager to know. You say that I should trust you but I ask you to deliver a letter and you can't even do that. Tell me, what can you do if not even that?"

Celebi didn't respond. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes. She was instantly hidden by Dusknoir who shielded the legendary from Burr's cool gaze, the sigils on his body glowing gold with barely-concealed fury.

"That's quite enough. This argument has gone completely out of hand." He glared down at Burr. "You need to apologize- "

"For what? Everything I said was the truth," Burr drawled, rolling her eyes. "But what should I apologize for? Why would I? Celebi over there is out here tearing up because she doesn't have a rebuttal and here you come like a knight in shining armor ready to defend her for blowing up over me questioning her," Burr snarked. "What are you going to say that she hasn't, hmm? What's your argument, big guy? Are you gonna try and rebuke what I've said? Are you gonna cite your sources, too?" And when Dusknoir failed to speak up, Burr continued on her tirade. "And isn't this surprising since for once, you're now moping around shying away from me like I'm going to rip your head off and make a cup out of it. Are you going to point out flaws I'm already cognizant of too? Or are you perhaps going to listen, prove that you're trustworthy, and find Darkrai? Who knows? Too bad I won't be around long enough to find out."

"Were you not eager to fight him yourself?" Dusknoir queried, his voice shaking. "Were you not ready and willing to settle things between them and Cresselia? Truly, if your ambitions were real, we would not be having this argument which is why I must ask who you seem to think you are." He stared down at her, his singular eye dim. "You wear the flesh and blood of one who I and Celebi once knew- and perhaps we were once adversaries and so your anger against me is more than justified- but the spirit you wield is something akin of a lawless beast. No, of a heartless creature who is so blinded by their ignorance and fury that they lack the proper awareness to reconcile their reality with the one so clearly laid out around them. Where is your wrath or has it finally overcome you?"

"Do you really need to ask that question when you've got that big ass dent in your head from yours truly?" Burr shot back. "'Lacking proper awareness'," she mocked. "Let's see if you can answer this question properly since you apparently do have some awareness. I asked you two to deliver that letter to who?"

Dusknoir's tone was cold as he replied instantly, "To that human you associate with; the one clad in the tattered coat."

"But you don't know his name despite having met him numerous times?" Burr drawled. "And what did I specifically ask you to do upon getting it into his hands? What was the very, very simple task afterwards? The safety check?" Burr knew the answer- her phrasing had hinted it if anything- and if Dusknoir didn't know, she'd know for sure as to whether both of them were lying. "Tick tock." Her mocking sneer only widened when Dusknoir said nothing, not meeting her gaze. "Celebi? Do you know what the condition was? You were quite confident that you delivered it correctly so you must know the very specific thing I asked you to do upon delivering it. Right?"

Celebi sneered. "To make sure Akari knows."

The residual anger within Burr was washed over by a dull exhaustion. Burr let out a long, exasperated sigh, clasping her hands in front of her with her eyes shut, scowling. "...You didn't deliver the letter. You've both made that more than obvious. Both of you gave the wrong answers to both questions," she growled. "I said to deliver the letter to Emmet first… Not Ingo; Emmet. Because. He remembers everything," she spoke slowly. "And then, I told you two to make sure it gets to Ingo… I never said a word about taking it to Akari. That would defeat the purpose of the letter…" She picked up her head to glare at the two pokémon in front of her, her patience and understanding gone. "Neither of you know what the fuck you're doing, do you? Thank you for wasting my time and proving me right; that you can't be trusted."

Celebi was back in the air in an instant. "It was just a letter-"

"- no, it wasn't," Burr hastily corrected her, her tone dull and monotonous. "It was a warning letter meant to tip them off about somebody who's been hunting us and hurting us and I told you how urgently I wanted that damn thing sent." Burr then took a deep breath. "...Let's just wrap it up here. I'm done entertaining the both of you. I'm not going back to wherever the fuck we came from-" she said, gesturing at herself, Dusknoir and Celebi- "and that much is blatantly obvious no matter how much you wanna think that there's a possibility of things being all sunshine and rainbows and happiness once you have your way. It's never gonna happen... And let's be real; you should've cut your losses and left the moment I told you verbatim that I'm not the same person you knew." Burr then laughed but there was no heart behind it. "Articuno told you. Azelf told you. Hell, probably Mesprit told you too. Both of you were making all these surprised gestures when I was clearing those dungeons. And neither of you listened or paid attention." She looked directly at Dusknoir. "Neither of you have 'reconciled your reality with the one so clearly laid out around you'," she repeated mockingly. "And now you're surprised when the person who you've called a monster turns out to be… a monster? And I'm supposed to be the ignorant one? Shocker." Burr didn't wait for a dignified response. "You know what? Forget it? Nothing you have to say to me is worth listening to anymore because the only things you're going to tell me are things that are only relevant to the me you knew in the past. And she's dead and gone. So get over it and leave already." And with a tired sigh, Burr trudged past the two shaking pokémon and into the blizzard where the white noise could overshadow the strange silence within her mind.

Winter in the highlands was something that drew up feelings of paranoia and dread in Burr as she stalked the shadowed grounds, frost hissing on her scales. Even on the lower highlands, snow still blanketed the ground, increasing now as a blizzard moved in. The shrill winds whistled. Howled, even. She stared out at the thick fog and snow clouds, the fire along her tail doing little to nothing to reveal the hidden space only a few paces in front of her face. And she had wandered through the darkness for only an hour or two before growing tired of feeling nothing, not wanting to get lost. When she made it back to the cave, Celebi and Dusknoir were nowhere to be seen, the rest of Burr's team huddled up in a pile around a smouldering fire. Burr wondered whether they had been listening in on the argument. She didn't dwell on the question for too long. She threw in some tinder, dug out a hole for herself away from her pokémon, and nested.

Though she hadn't meant to, Burr had fallen asleep and she had slept badly, tossing and turning, having fallen asleep listening to the same shrill winds settle and quiet. No dreams came and when she stumbled back into wakefulness before the sun had risen, the only thing she was cognizant of was the acrid taste of salt in her mouth. She unwound her tired body and licked her lips, wincing. Saltwater?

Burr quietly crept to the opening of the cave and peered out into the darkness again. No moon and no stars to look at. Sheer darkness spun away from her and the dim light of her tail as though her and her group were the last beacons of light amongst the highlands. Burr gave an intrepid glance back at her resting party before quietly scoffing. I'm not taking them with me. I can't. They'll be better off without me, anyways. They'll only get wrapped up in this nonsense if I do decide to bring them along. She laid her head back down on her paws, shutting her eyes. I just hope Dialga keeps his word and erases their memories. At least then, they'll be together and I'll be nothing but a fading memory.

December 6th, First Year

"Easy now." Burr held out her hand and carefully guided Peanut down the steep cliff, Raptor hovering behind her ready to catch the struggling Sylveon with his talons. "Just find your footing and keep your balance," Burr murmured gently. "I won't let you fall."

"I know that!" Peanut snapped though his tone held no real malice. He carefully eased his weight onto a narrow hold on the cliff, whiskers twitching, his long ears pinned against his neck. "I just- I hate this!" he admitted, his voice cracking. The fur along his spine was bristling. "I hate climbing! I hate heights!"

Burr rolled her eyes. "You insisted on taking yourself down. I said I'd give you a lift."

"And I said I could do it myself!" Peanut attempted to find another hold further down but as he went to ease one paw into the cleft, his stable paw slipped and he lurched into the open air.

Burr immediately lunged forward and grabbed Peanut by the scruff of his neck before dragging him off the cliff and settling him underneath her belly. "Umf ur umbr ahn hoh onna me."

"...What?"

Burr grunted. She dug her claws deep into the cliff, wrenched Peanut off of her, and settled the pokémon onto her back. "I said, use your ribbons to hold onto me. I'm carrying you the rest of the way down."

"...Oh. Fine."

Burr slid down the rest of the cliff, having to make numerous trips to ferry down her other teammates who were less than confident about their climbing skills. She then pulled out her wonder map again only for Castor to nudge her shoulder. "Hmm? What's up?"

"I think we're trespassing." Castor pointed toward a shelf of rock a distance away sitting higher than the shore where a small wooden hut sat against the steep rock face. Though the sun still had yet to rise, smoke poured out the top of the cabin as if something or someone had already risen. Castor then moved to the side revealing multiple footprints- human footprints- cast deep into the mud around their party. They had walked right over them and had disappeared in the direction of the hut. "Should we get outta here?"

Burr shook her head and continued down the slope until they reached the water's edge. "Nah. It's too early for most humans to be up and about. And it's not like the inhabitants will start a fight. We're nowhere close to their home and they wouldn't stand a chance anyways."

"Confident of your strength?" Castor chuckled.

"Of our strength," Burr corrected him, cuffing Castor's shoulder playfully. "Don't get it twisted."

It was Lilith's turn to speak. "Boss. This scent is familiar." Lilith picked her head up, her ears pricked as she took another whiff of the blowing winds. "Yeah, I thought so. It belongs to one of your friends; those two men. This trail reeks of one of them."

Ingo or Emmet? What are the odds? "That's even better. We're in no danger, then. Let's just keep going."

"But shouldn't we go and say hi?" Raptor immediately asked. "We didn't part on such good terms the last we were all together." He then jumped from foot-to-foot. "You know, I think they'd be happy to see you. They were worried when that weird girl took you from them and left you in the woods to freeze."

"Ingo has his map," Burr stated blankly. "He probably knows that I'm still alive, and I doubt they care." If anything, they're probably glad I'm wrapping things up on my end. The sooner I finish, the sooner they'll be able to get started and leave as well. "Feel free to visit while I'm inside the mystery dungeon but I have no intentions on saying hello."

The sun slowly began to approach the horizon, the air becoming warmer and to that extent brighter. Right. Here we are. She approached the edge of the shoreline, testing the formed ice until it cracked under her weight. I should be getting on with my task. She adjusted her bag and was about to call out with her pokémon, noticing they had all started along the trail toward the faraway cabin, Peanut hanging back for some kind of reassurance.

"It's alright!" she called out, waving amiably. "I'll see you guys in no time at all! Just hang with the brothers until I get back!" She only stopped smiling and waving once she watched Peanut catch up with the others. Yeah. Right. The opportunity presents itself so clearly… so I'll take it.

The Time Gear was located in the depths of the eastern sea at such a distance that the strange hut on the outcrop would hardly be affected if a time distortion were to be created. And none of my pokémon know how to swim so they can't follow me out. Now would be the perfect time to ditch my team. They know how to survive and I'm sure Ingo and Emmet would take care of them and Lilith was right. Burr frowned. Celebi was right; I am a jerk… But they know where to go once I'm done here. They knew that we'd part ways sooner or later. It just sucks that this is the way it has to be. Burr slipped under the earth without a sound, digging further and deeper until the ice cold mud against her back told her that she had dug into the ocean floor.

Unknown Time, First Year

Burr kept her guard up as she stepped into a stony chamber, patches of sea kelp wavering in the ocean currents. She had been thankful that the mystery dungeon had plenty of air pockets as tunnels and dungeon rooms, and that the water-types there had been somewhat slow. Easy to outspeed and avoid if necessary. She stepped into a shallow dip in the ocean floor and stared at the floating Time Gear concealed by a cage of coral. There's no way this'll not be guarded. Burr carefully looked around for any sign of an enemy pokémon and when she had seen nothing, she stepped up, ripped away the bars of coral and was about to pry the Time Gear loose when something caught her eye: her shadow was facing the wrong way.

Burr paused and double-checked what she had seen. The light of the sun reached through the waters of the dungeon and until that point, her shadow had always been directly underneath her. It was as if a different light source had come into play directly behind her. Burr turned on her heel only to find the source of her paranoia floating a pace or two behind her. She scowled, her tail beginning to lash with anger. "...You."

Their feathers sparkling with dew, Cresselia blocked the exit of the chamber, the sheer light of their iridescent feathers being the source of their shifting shadows. "Me. Were You Expecting Somebody Else?"

Burr cracked her knuckles, letting her bag drop to the ground with a thud. "I was, but this is better. Ripping you apart is gonna be fun."

"I don't wish to fight you- "

"Should've thought about that before you decided to dick around in my head."

Burr lunged across the verge, her claws outstretched to snag one of Cresselia's wings. The psychic type squealed and immediately let loose a wave of psychic energy, striking Burr head-on. Burr didn't let go, though. Her head pounding, blood dribbling from her nose, Burr hooked the rest of her claws into Cresselia's chest and hauled the legendary pokémon to the ground, unwilling to let go for even a moment.

"For a legendary pokémon who talks big game, you sure are weak," Burr growled. She was privy to the feel of Cresselia's wings bending the opposite way and pressed down harder, feeling something crack under her hands.

Cresselia writhed and beat her wings feebly against Burr's face but the power difference between the two of them was too great. "Cease At Once! I Have Come To Apologize!"

Liar. Burr's grip only intensified, one of her hands moving to grip Cresselia's thin neck through the blood that began to leak from her eyes. You may be a legendary, but you're not immortal. Instead, she seized Cresselia's throat with her teeth and bit down with as much force as she could muster. Crunch. Super-effective. And when she could feel Cresselia's pulse on her tongue and feel the bones between her teeth start to give, Burr tore Cresselia's throat out, clumps of feathers sticking to her mouth and throat as she pulled herself free.

Cresselia wheezed, gurgling as a pale aura surrounded her body. Heal Pulse. She struggled away, her wings bent backwards, her neck at an odd angle, still attempting to shrug off the attack even as blood oozed sluggishly down her neck. She continued to choke, even moreso when Burr stepped onto her back and using her claws, sliced through the back of Cresselia's neck, effectively killing the legendary pokémon. Dooming Cresselia to a slow and painful reincarnation if she was granted one.

Burr slowly clambered off. She used her torn headscarf to wipe the blood from her eyes and once she had finished ingraining the sight before her into her memories, she turned around, stole the Time Gear from its dias, and headed toward the exit of the dungeon, sparing no glance backward at Cresselia's corpse.

December 7th, First Year

Burr pushed her way through the frozen earth until she was sure she had arrived close to her target. She dug her way out, immediately bracing against the surge of freezing cold air that stung at her nose and throat, the flame along her tail nearly getting blown out from the force. She glanced at the fanged mountains rising up before her- at the solitary mountain that looked darker than the rest- and began to walk forward, one hand gripping the sash of her bag.

She hadn't gone back to collect her team. No time had passed as she'd originally thought. And to her surprise and relief, her team hadn't even noticed that she had disappeared. Or at least, Burr figured that they weren't worried about her sudden disappearance all that much. They won't be able to tell anyways since the rift won't change if I'm inside or outside of one. So Burr had shot straight past them without a word through the highlands to the west where the minor gear lay. And this'll be a cinch.

As she approached the massive cave that denoted the dungeon's entrance, Burr turned and stared outward at the highlands, unable to see the faraway coast over the sea of stones and tall trees. She slowly turned back to the dungeon and entered.

Unknown Time, First Year

Zapdos crashed to the ground, his large body held in place by earthen chains. Burr used another set of chains to bind Zapdos' beak, unwilling to hear anything the pompous legendary had to say. She strode past him, completely untouched due to her type resistance, over to the perilous edge of the peak where storm clouds swirled, snatching the Time Gear off of its dias. This makes ten. Finished. And she left Zapdos where he laid, writhing with fury, electricity bouncing around the arena. Harmlessly off of her scales.

December 7th, First Year

Burr exited the dungeon, feeling the weight of all ten Time Gears weigh heavily in her treasure bag. She stepped away from the mountain, watching as the tell-tale time distortion swirled around the cavern and without a hint of emotion, Burr turned and began to walk- not tunnel- up the mountainous slope toward the highest point in the Coronet Highlands: Mount Coronet.

And as she trudged toward the summit, she stared at the spinning rift way up high, appearing like a second sun so close to the heavens, its strange light almost seeming to burn her skin. Burr removed her Time Pendant and watched the teal lights within the engravings change. Teal changed to green and then to a deep orange color, the rest of the time gears in her bag beginning to glow reflecting the redness of the storm clouds that surrounded the peak.

…Let's just get this over with.