Chapter 1

A Grovyle and a Golduck walked through a lush forest on the continent of Andara as they carried out their security patrol. It was tedious, low-paying work, but it was often all they could get. Having just formed a rescue team, they travelled to the eastern frontier of the Andaran Federation, thinking that there would be a great need for rescue teams on the edge of civilization. The competition, however, turned out to be far greater than they realized and they had fallen on hard times.

"We're almost out of money," Cyril the Grovyle said. "These patrols and what few E- and D-rank jobs there are just aren't bringing in enough to keep us afloat."

"It'll be alright," Lance the Golduck replied. "We can't be too far off from bronze rank. After we're promoted, we'll have access to better jobs."

"I don't think we can hold out that long," Cyril stated. "Besides, the competition is just as fierce for the C- and B-rank jobs." He stopped walking and sighed. Looking down at the ground, he kicked a pebble at his feet, sending it skipping along the path before them. "I can't believe I actually thought it was a good idea to start a rescue team all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. I should've known it would end badly. What a disaster."

"You had good intentions," Lance said. "And for what it's worth, I thought it was a good idea at the time too. We just need to keep doing what we can and hope our luck changes."

"Yeah, maybe you're right," Cyril said. He took a moment to observe his surroundings. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but there were ominous storm clouds on the horizon moving their way.

"Looks like we've got a storm rolling in," Lance noted.

"Yeah... looks like it's going to be a bad one." A bright orange light in the distance suddenly caught Cyril's attention. "Did you see that?" he asked as he reached into his bag and pulled out a monocular. After peering through the scope for a moment, he handed the monocular to Lance. "Looks like some kind of rift. What do you think?"

Lance observed the anomaly through the scope, but before he could say anything, a massive white and blue Pokémon flew low overhead toward the anomaly, startling both himself and Cyril.

"A Lugia!" Lance exclaimed. "There's a Pokémon you don't see every day."

"It's headed for the rift!" Cyril said as he started to jog toward the anomaly. "Come on! Let's check it out!"

"That's way outside of our patrol perimeter," Lance noted as he jogged alongside the Grovyle. "Cale's going to want answers when we get back."

"I think he would approve of this diversion," Cyril said, attempting to reassure his teammate as well as himself.

Gods, I hope I'm right about that.

---

At the site of the spatial rift, hurricane winds generated by the rift wreaked havoc on the surrounding area, stripping trees of their leaves and snapping branches or uprooting them entirely. Nearly a minute after the rift formed, a female Human-turned-Charmeleon was violently expelled from the rift wide-eyed and screaming as she quickly approached the ground. Landing harshly on the forest floor, she rolled over several times before coming to a stop on her side with the wind knocked out of her. The wind continued to buffet her body for several more seconds before the rift finally collapsed.

After a few minutes, the exhausted Charmeleon turned herself onto her belly and pushed herself up so that she was standing on her knees. She regretted this action almost immediately as a wave of nausea fell upon her, causing her to vomit. After she finished unleashing the contents of her stomach upon the ground, the Charmeleon realized that there was something not quite right about her body.

What happened to me?

The Charmeleon looked down at her clawed hands. Her eyes slowly scanned up her red left arm toward her shoulder, then from her chest down to her white belly. She gently stood up, not wanting to aggravate her nausea. Looking down, her legs had changed significantly as well, taking on the same red color as most of her body and changing to a digitigrade configuration. Her eyes finally came to rest on her clawed feet.

What have I become?

The Charmeleon slowly walked forward to test her new legs. She immediately stopped when she felt a part of herself dragging along the ground. The Charmeleon glanced behind her, noticing that she now had a tail... with an intense flame burning at the end of it!

"Shit! Shit!" the Charmeleon screamed. Now in a state of total panic, she grabbed her tail and started slamming the tip of it into the ground. Realizing that the flame wasn't going out, the Charmeleon quickly looked around for a water source to put out the flame. Her eyes came to rest on a depression in the ground filled with water, which she quickly ran over to with her tail still in hand. Just as the Charmeleon was about to submerge the flame, a powerful force suddenly yanked her backwards, causing her to fall onto her back.

What just happened? the Charmeleon wondered as she lay dazed on her back. The sudden movement and the resulting impact threatened to aggravate her nausea, but she was able to resist vomiting this time. As she stared up at the sky, the head of a large, white and blue creature moved into her field of view. The Charmeleon froze in fear as she stared into the emerald-green eyes of the enormous creature.

"I suggest you refrain from putting out your tail's flame," the Lugia said in a soft female voice. "It's a normal function of your body and necessary to sustain your life." As she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly began to glow blue.

The Charmeleon could feel the same force from before gently lift her off the ground. It was a most unusual experience, feeling the strange force caress her body as it reoriented her to a standing position and set her down softly on her feet.

Telekinesis? What else is this creature capable of? the Charmeleon wondered. At this point, the Charmeleon became aware of the fact that she was standing nude in front of another person. She used her hands to cover the area between her legs the best that she could.

"There's no need to be shy," the Lugia said. "As you'll soon discover, few Pokémon bother with clothing. You are Human, yes?"

"H-how did you know?" the Charmeleon asked, moving her hands to her sides as she relaxed.

"All the signs are there," the Lugia replied. "The unusual shyness that you displayed a moment ago. Your attempt to put out your tail's flame as though your life was in danger. And then, of course, there's your grand entrance." The Lugia looked around at the damage caused by the rift. "When I saw that rift, I couldn't resist the urge to get a closer look. It was truly a spectacular sight!"

"At least you didn't have to fly through it," the Charmeleon said as she rubbed the back of her neck. She was lucky that the landing left her without any serious injuries. "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"

"Gods, where are my manners?" the Lugia said with a bright smile on her face. "My name is Athena. And who might you be?"

"The name's... uh, my name is..." The Charmeleon's mind drew a blank. How could she have forgotten her own name?

"You've lost your memories," Athena stated with a note of sympathy in her voice. "That seems to be a common problem for Humans who come to our world. However, the memory loss usually isn't permanent. I might be able to dig up your name at least."

Athena's eyes glowed once more. At the same time, the Charmeleon could feel a powerful, yet gentle, presence enter her mind. The Charmeleon remained motionless, looking straight into Athena's eyes. After a long moment, Athena's eyes returned to normal as she terminated the psychic link.

"Your memories of the Human world are largely intact, though there are a few gaps," Athena said. "Your memories of personal identity, however, are severely damaged. Even with a stronger mind probe, I doubt I would be able to retrieve much, and I'm a powerful psychic."

The Charmeleon was deflated by this news. "So it's hopeless? Can't you try a stronger mind probe?"

Athena shook her head. "The stronger the mind probe, the more painful and dangerous it becomes to the recipient. I'd rather not do that unless absolutely necessary. However, while I was in your mind, I was able to come up with a word that seemed to be ever present: Zira. I believe that's your name."

"Zira..." the Charmeleon said quietly. The name seemed strangely familiar despite her damaged memory. The more she thought about it, the more it sounded right. "My name is Zira."

Athena smiled warmly. "Pleased to meet you, Zira."

The sound of thunder caught the attention of both Pokémon, drawing their gazes toward the menacing storm clouds that were rolling in. The wind was beginning to pick up speed as well. It wouldn't be long before it started to rain.

"It's time for us to part ways," Athena said. She pointed east with one of her massive fingers. "About three hours walk that way, you'll find a settlement where you should be able to get some help, but I suggest you seek out shelter first. The coming storm looks like it'll be a bad one and a fire-type such as yourself doesn't want to be stuck in it." Athena spread out her wings and leaped into the air. She looked down at Zira one last time as she hovered in place. "I hope we'll meet again someday!"

"Wait!" Zira screamed as Athena adjusted her direction. "Please don't leave me!" But her plea was of no use. She watched helplessly as the Lugia sped away from her with a few quick flaps of her wings.

All alone now, Zira dejectedly walked back to the pool of water where she had attempted to extinguish her tail's flame. Crouching at the water's edge, she could see her reflection on the calm surface from which a pair of sharp, sapphire-blue eyes stared back at her. Zira brought her hands up to her face, rubbing them over the surface of her new snout. She then brought a hand around to the back of her head where she could feel a single horn sticking out the back of it.

Why did this happen to me? Why can't I remember who I am?

Zira prodded her broken mind for answers, for anything that might explain her current predicament, but no matter how hard she tried to remember, nothing useful would come to her. Tears began to stream down her face. She had no memory of her past and no knowledge about the world that she was now in. It was all too much. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried not to cry.

Wiping away the tears, Zira noticed that the tip of her tail was resting to her right. Her despair giving way to curiosity, Zira grasped her tail and held the tip in front of her. As she stared into her tail's flame, Zira couldn't help but admire its beauty.

"I guess it's just you and me now," Zira said. For better or for worse, this flame was now a part of her. It was curious, however, that the flame didn't seem to cause her any discomfort. Athena had mentioned that she was a fire-type. Perhaps that made her resistant to the effects of fire. To test the theory, she brought her other hand up to the tip of her tail and slowly moved it into the flame. Not only did it not burn her hand, it actually felt quite pleasant.

A loud crack of thunder pulled her attention away from the flame to the sky above. The storm clouds were now directly above her and the wind was continuing to pick up speed. With a sense of urgency, Zira stood up and started jogging in the direction that Athena had pointed in earlier. With luck, she would find shelter before the storm fell upon her. Luck, however, was not on her side.

Zira didn't get far before rain began to fall heavily. The rain droplets felt like icicles impacting against her skin. She was more worried, however, at what the rain might do to her tail's flame. Just how resistant was her flame to rainfall? Glancing behind her, she noticed that her flame was flickering wildly from the onslaught of rain.

After about thirty minutes, it became obvious that she was in trouble. Zira panted as she continued to jog. Her throat burned and her legs ached from the exertion. At this point, she was desperate to find shelter. As Zira scanned her surroundings, her eyes spotted what appeared to be an entrance into an unusually dense patch of vegetation. Hoping that it might provide cover from the rain, she ran over to investigate.

As Zira approached the entrance, she noticed that the scenery beyond the opening appeared to be shimmering slightly, as though there was a layer of water between her and what lay beyond. Zira reached out with her right hand, passing it through the entrance, which reacted to the intrusion by shimmering wildly around her wrist. Zira expected the shimmering entrance to feel like water, given its appearance, but it instead felt like a frigid wind. Zira pulled her hand back out and stared at it, seeing that it was unharmed.

That's absolutely bizarre.

Walking into the anomaly was certainly risky, but Zira's curiosity was overpowering. Besides, she desperately wanted to get out of the rain. Her skin felt like it was covered in ice. Taking a deep breath, Zira stepped into the shimmering entrance.

Zira's entire body was hit with a blast of icy wind as she stepped into the anomaly. After a brief moment, she found herself in a clearing, surrounded by trees and vegetation so thick that it seemed to form a room. Sunlight shone through the thick canopy as though the storm raging above didn't exist.

What in the world is going on here? How is this even possible?

As grateful as she was to be out of the storm, Zira found the eerily calm scene around her disturbing, enough so that she would rather take her chances with the storm outside. She turned around to leave, but the entrance had vanished.

"Shit," Zira whispered. There was nothing to do now but press onward and hope that there was another way out. Turning toward the corridor to her right, she noticed a stick at her feet that looked like a crude spear. Thinking it would be handy to have something to defend herself with, she picked up the stick and proceeded down the corridor.

As Zira made her way through the corridor, she noticed that she couldn't hear the sounds of wildlife or feel the wind blowing. Combined with the odd entrance, the strange layout of the forest, and the vanishing storm above, Zira became convinced that she was stuck in an anomaly of some sort. Exactly what that anomaly was, she could only guess.

After several minutes, Zira walked into another room. It was much like the previous room, except this one had a flight of stairs in the center of it leading up to a shimmering spot in the air.

Now I've seen everything, Zira thought as she approached the stairs. This place was getting weirder by the moment. Standing at the base of the stairs, Zira looked up at the shimmering spot, seeing what appeared to be another wooded area on the other side. Hoping that she'd found a way out of the anomaly, Zira quickly walked up the stairs.

After passing through the shimmering layer, Zira found herself in another room. A quick look around revealed another set of stairs just 20 meters away. Zira couldn't hold back her disappointment that the stairs didn't lead her out of the anomaly.

I should've figured it wouldn't be that easy. I wonder how many floors this place has.

A growl from behind sent a shiver down Zira's spine. Turning around, she saw a purple quadruped with large ears and spikes on its head and back staring at her. It bared its teeth and growled once more as she made eye contact with it. Zira brought the tip of her spear to bear on the aggressive Nidorino.

As Zira slowly walked backwards toward the stairs, the Nidorino charged at her. Zira prepared to dodge as she tightened her grip on the spear, the tip still aimed at the Nidorino. At the last moment, she sidestepped to the left, driving the tip of the spear into the attacking Pokémon's shoulder. The force of the impact snapped the spear in half and knocked Zira off of her feet.

The Nidorino unleashed a bloodcurdling scream as it fell to the ground with half of the spear embedded in its shoulder. Zira quickly got back onto her feet, discarding what remained of the spear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw two more Nidorinos enter the room. Upon seeing her, both of the newcomers charged toward her. Realizing that this was a battle she couldn't win, Zira bolted for the stairs.

Scrambling up the stairs to the next floor, Zira once again found herself in another room. Fearing that the Nidorinos might chase her up the stairs, she immediately ran for one of the corridors leading out of the room. Zira berated herself internally for not noticing the first Nidorino sooner and for losing her spear in the resulting fight. That was a costly mistake, one that she couldn't afford to make again. Without the spear, all she had left were her claws and she wasn't sure how effective they would be. As she approached the next room, the sound of people talking reached her ears.

Talking? I'm saved!

Zira joyously ran into the room toward a group of three Pokémon. They appeared to be discussing something when one of them, a large, green reptilian with a fern-like tail took notice of her.

"Hey, Galen," the Sceptile said, addressing a green-eyed Charizard. "We've got company."

The other two members of the group glanced in her direction. Galen walked toward her, followed shortly by the others.

"Well, what do we have here, boys?" Galen asked.

"It looks like we have ourselves a lost Charmeleon," the Lucario said. "A pretty one too."

Galen and the Lucario stood in front of Zira while the Sceptile moved around behind her. Zira was surrounded.

"Uh... any chance you guys could help me get out of this place?" Zira asked, now feeling very uneasy.

"Maybe," Galen said. "Tell me, what are you doing walking through a dungeon in the frontier without so much as a travel bag?"

"Dungeon?" Zira asked, now totally confused. "Is that why this place is so strange?"

"You... don't know what a mystery dungeon is?" Galen asked. He seemed to ponder something for a moment before arriving at a conclusion. "You're a Human," he said, taking a step toward her. "That disturbance in the forest... that was you!"

Zira's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. Alarm bells were ringing loudly in her head. What was Galen getting at?

"The look on your face is all the confirmation I need," Galen said. "I just have one more question. Do you know any moves?"

Zira blinked. "Moves?"

Galen smiled faintly. "I see." He looked up at the Sceptile standing behind Zira. "Grab her!"

Before Zira could react, the Sceptile grabbed her tail and then wrapped both arms around her. Zira began to struggle. "Hey! Let go! What the fuck are you doing?"

"I know of someone who's paying a lot of money for Human test subjects," Galen said. "What we can get for you will pay our expenses for the next few months."

Zira continued her effort to free herself from the Sceptile's grip. As she struggled, a strange pressure began to form in her chest. Smoke began to stream out of her nostrils as the pressure rapidly increased. Within moments, her chest felt like it was about to burst.

"She's a feisty one, isn't she?" Galen said. He looked over at the Lucario standing next to him. "Hit her with a stun seed."

The Lucario reached into his bag and pulled out a seed. Cracking the shell, he reached his arm back as he prepared to throw the seed. Before he could, however, Zira opened her mouth and unleashed a jet of fire toward him. The Lucario screamed as he fell to the ground, his body completely aflame.

The sudden flame attack caused the other two outlaws to jump backwards in surprise. Free of the Sceptile's grip, Zira bolted for one of the corridors leading out of the room, barely dodging Galen's slash attack as she ran past him. Zira ran as fast as her legs could carry her, knowing that the two remaining outlaws were in pursuit.

The next room that Zira entered contained several feral Pokémon, all of which immediately charged toward her. Just as she stopped to assess her situation, the outlaw Sceptile tackled her to the ground.

"Got you, you little--aahhh!" the Sceptile yelled. All of the feral Pokémon pounced onto the Sceptile, knocking him off of Zira. He attempted to fight back with his leaf blade attack, but with the feral Pokémon all over him, the movement of his arms was restricted, leaving him virtually defenseless. The Sceptile let out an agonizing scream as the wild Pokémon continuously bit, slashed, and stabbed him. Zira got back onto her feet and turned around just in time to see a Nidorino ram its horn into the Sceptile's chest, ending his suffering. Her stomach turned at the gruesome sight before her.

With the Sceptile dead, the feral Pokémon turned their attention toward Galen, who had just entered the room. As a battle erupted between Galen and the ferals, Zira took a moment to scan her surroundings for a set of stairs. What she found instead was a shimmering view of the outside world on one of the walls.

That must be the way out!

Zira ran toward the opening as fast as she could. Emerging on the other side, she was immediately drenched by torrential rain. The storm had gained strength during the time that she was stuck in the dungeon and it didn't look like it would be ending soon. Realizing that she was still in grave danger from both the weather and from Galen, Zira ran for the nearby forest.

The trees of the forest offered little protection from the tempest above. The rain and the wind continued to assault Zira's body as she ran haphazardly through the forest. Between the brutal weather and her experience in the dungeon, Zira felt like she was trapped in a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.

Bursting out of the forest, Zira arrived at the edge of a cliff. A river vigorously flowed about 15 meters below. Zira took a moment to catch her breath, but it didn't take long before she began to shiver as the rain continued to pummel her. Just as she turned around to head back into the forest, a fire blast attack struck the ground in front of her, sending her flying backwards onto the ground.

"End of the line for you," Galen yelled as he hovered in the air.

Zira quickly picked herself up off of the ground and attempted to respond with the same flame attack she'd used in the dungeon. Zira took in a deep breath as she tilted her head back, and then, lunging her head forward, she blew all of the air out of her lungs. Unfortunately, air was the only thing that came out of her mouth. Zira's blood turned to ice at her sudden inability to produce the powerful flame attack.

Galen laughed. "I guess that flamethrower in the dungeon was a fluke!" He set himself down on the ground and folded his wings behind his back. The claws on both of his hands began to glow a bright white and extended in length. "You're coming with me!" he said, walking toward Zira.

Zira's heart beat rapidly in her chest as she backpedaled toward the cliff's edge. Attempting to run would be futile and there was no way that she'd win a fight against the powerful Charizard. Surrender was also off the table as she didn't want to become someone's unwilling test subject. There was only one option left. Choosing to place her life in the hands of fate, she spun around and leaped into the water below.

As Zira plummeted into the raging river, she felt a wave of deep cold run throughout her entire body. After swimming to the surface, she looked up at the cliff, noticing her would-be captor staring at her blankly as she quickly floated away from him. At this point, she became aware of the speed at which she was moving. Turning herself around, she discovered, to her horror, that she was fast approaching a waterfall. With no way out of the river and nothing to grab on to, she had no choice but to ride the waterfall down.

Careening over the waterfall, Zira fell another 20 meters. This time, the landing wasn't so forgiving. Splashing into the water at the base of the waterfall, her right leg struck a jagged rock, tearing into her skin just above the knee. Zira cried out in pain underwater. She made her way back to the surface and dragged herself onto the shore, shivering badly. Seeing a nearby tree that would provide some cover from the rain, she limped over to it so that she could examine the full extent of her injury.

The encounter with the rock had left a large gash in the side of her leg that was bleeding heavily. Zira put pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding. At this point, she noticed something rather worrying. The deep cold that she felt when she first jumped into the river hadn't disappeared despite being out of most of the rain. In fact, it seemed to be growing worse. It suddenly occurred to her what might have happened. Bringing the tip of her tail into view, she saw that the flame had gone out, revealing the existence of hundreds of tiny pores covering the tip of her tail where the flame had once been.

"No..." Zira said quietly as she grasped her tail near the tip with her shivering, blood-covered hand. Athena's warning about putting out her flame boomed through her mind. She hadn't considered her tail's flame when she chose to jump into the river. With the flame gone, hypothermia was rapidly setting in. She had to find help. Fast.

Zira got back onto her feet, an action that seemed to require an extraordinary amount of effort. With a hand covering the wound on her right leg, she limped forward into the rain. As the weather continued its brutal assault on her failing body, she pressed onward as quickly as she could, a difficult task considering that her legs felt like they were getting heavier by the moment.

Zira didn't get much farther before she collapsed to her hands and knees. Expending what little energy she had left, she brought her good leg forward and attempted to lift herself back off the ground. It was of no use, however, as her leg gave out, causing her to fall forward onto the wet ground. As she lay there, the rain continuing to pound her, Zira came to the realization that death was upon her.

No... I don't want to die, Zira thought, struggling to remain conscious. The shivering ceased as her body and mind began to shut down. Zira tried to move her limbs, but she had no energy left. This truly was the end for her.

I don't want to die...

With that final thought, Zira slipped into unconsciousness.

Several hours had passed before Zira opened her eyes. She was now in a cave, laying by a fire with her head resting on a travel bag. Rainfall could be heard outside, but there was no thunder. The worst of the storm seemed to have passed. Zira lifted her head and glanced at her tail. The flame had been rekindled and was now burning brightly. Her eyes then shifted to the injury on her leg, which had been bandaged. Zira slowly moved herself into a sitting position, groaning as she did so.

"Cyril," a male voice near the cave's entrance said. "She's awake."

Zira glanced toward the entrance. Two Pokémon, a Grovyle and a Golduck, walked toward her. They each wore blue bandanas around their necks featuring a light blue logo that took on the form of a three-fingered claw surrounded by a hexagon.

"How are you feeling?" the Grovyle asked, crouching beside her.

"Better," Zira replied. "Are you the ones who saved me?"

The Grovyle nodded. "Yeah... barely. By the time we got you to this cave, your life was hanging on by a thread. You're lucky we had a fire-starting kit with us, or we never would've been able to relight your tail's flame."

"Thank you, both of you, for rescuing me," Zira said, smiling. "My name's Zira."

The Grovyle smiled in return. "My name's Cyril."

"And I'm Lance," the Golduck said.

"We're a rescue team called Team Dakota," Cyril continued. He reached into his bag and pulled out an apple, which he handed to Zira. "You're probably hungry."

Zira's stomach growled as she accepted the apple, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything since her arrival on this world. Zira sank her teeth into the delicious fruit, relishing its sweet flavor. She quickly devoured the apple, licking the edges of her mouth afterwards. This elicited a chuckle from both of her rescuers.

"That's quite the appetite," Lance said. "I wish we had an oran berry to give you as well. That'd help your leg heal."

"So... were the two of you just passing through the area?" Zira asked, wanting to strike up some friendly conversation.

"Not exactly," Cyril replied. "We came to investigate what looked like a rift, but we missed it. We were just heading back to base empty-handed when we saw you and a Charizard run out of a dungeon. If you don't mind us asking, what happened?"

Zira looked down at the ground and sighed. "Alright. I'll start from the beginning."

Zira told her story while her rescuers listened intently. She covered everything that had happened since her emergence from the rift, including her memory loss and her Humanity. Cyril's and Lance's faces were filled with wonder as she told her tale. After she finished speaking, her rescuers remained silent for a long moment as they processed what she had told them.

"That's quite the amazing story," Lance said. "Also some amazingly bad luck."

Zira giggled at Lance's statement. "That's putting it mildly," she said. "So what happens now?"

"First, we need to get you to the Federation outpost in Seneca Village," Cyril said. "The healers there can fix your leg so that not even a scar remains." He glanced at the cave's entrance. "The rain stopped. We should get moving if we want to be there by sundown."

Cyril helped Zira off the ground, slinging one of her arms around his neck. Lance put out the fire with his water gun attack and picked up Cyril's travel bag, hanging it on his shoulder with his own travel bag. Finally, the group stepped out of the cave into the damp forest.

Zira limped along the best she could. She was grateful to have Cyril by her side. The Grovyle supported most of her weight when she stepped on her wounded leg. Lance walked by her other side, occasionally scanning their surroundings. Zira figured he was just being cautious, not wanting the group to be jumped by outlaws such as those she encountered earlier.

Nearly an hour after they started walking, a sudden ray of sunshine caught Zira's attention, drawing her eyes to the sky above. The clouds were beginning to part, revealing the blue sky and the setting sun. The group stopped briefly at a spring so that they could each quench their thirst before pressing on toward Seneca Village.

It was dark by the time the group finally reached the small frontier village. As they entered the settlement, two Magnemite guards began to float toward them, but halted their advance when Lance held up a badge of some sort and pointed toward his bandana.

Walking deeper into the village, Zira gazed at the various buildings as much as the light from the luminous orb streetlamps would allow. The houses and shops varied in appearance as much as their inhabitants. Some of the wooden structures took on the form of Pokémon, while others were more plainly designed. At the center of the village lay the town square, which contained a fountain, various shops, and a large building constructed of stone.

Cyril and Lance led Zira into the large stone building. The lobby was abuzz with activity as various Pokémon went about their business. Some sat at desks shuffling paperwork. Others were standing at a bulletin board looking at the various postings. Zira wanted to see more, but Cyril immediately steered her toward a door to the left labelled Medical. Inside sat a single Audino, who immediately jumped out of her seat upon seeing Zira hobbling in.

"Finally, a real injury to treat," the Audino doctor said. "Please, have a seat on the bed."

Cyril glanced at the Audino's desk as he helped Zira over to the bed. "Been tracing your hand again?"

"Nothing happens on the night shift," the Audino said with a note of frustration. "And in the rare case something does, it's someone saying they can't sleep."

"I was only guilty of that once," Lance noted, earning himself a glare from the doctor.

As the Audino set to work on Zira's leg using her heal pulse move, a male Flygon wearing a black bandana featuring a white logo walked into the room.

"Where in the world have you two been?" the Flygon asked. "You never completed your patrol."

"We broke off to investigate what looked like a rift," Cyril replied. "We were going to report our findings to the commander once we were done here."

"Cale's turned in for the night," the Flygon said. "Come with me. You can give me your report."

"Yes sir," Cyril said as he followed the Flygon out of the medical office.

"Who was that?" Zira asked.

"That was Lieutenant Shar," Lance answered. "He's in charge of the night shift."

After a few minutes, the Audino completed her work. "All done! Good as new."

Zira looked down at the site where her leg had been punctured. Cyril wasn't kidding when he said there wouldn't even be a scar. Zira hopped off the bed and walked back and took a few steps. Noticing that her leg did, in fact, seem to be fully healed, Zira turned toward the Audino and nodded in respect. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," the Audino replied before returning to her desk.

Zira smiled brightly for a moment, having survived the crazy events of the day, and now she was fully healed as well. Her smile faded though as happiness gave way to uncertainty. What would happen now? Where should she go? What should she do? Her mind was flooded with questions about both her past and her future and she didn't have the slightest clue where to start looking for answers.

"Is something wrong, Zira?" Cyril asked as he walked back into the medical office.

"I just don't know why I came to this world or where I should go from here," Zira said. She let out a yawn. Despite her unconsciousness earlier, she still felt tired. "Do you guys know where I can stay for the night?"

"You're welcome to spend the night at our place," Cyril said. "We've got a spare hammock available."

Zira's spirits immediately lifted upon hearing Cyril's offer. "Really?" Wondering what Lance thought about the idea, she glanced at the Golduck, who smiled and nodded. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Zira and her rescuers walked out of the medical office into the lobby. Just as they reached the exit, Cyril turned to Lance with a serious expression on his face.

"Shar said you and I need to talk to Cale first thing in the morning," Cyril said.

"Oh? Bad news?" Lance asked.

"He wouldn't say," Cyril answered as he turned around and walked outside.

Zira followed Cyril and Lance out of the Federation building. Their path took them out of the square toward a group of wood cabins just off of the main road. As they walked up to one of the cabins, a horrifying thought crossed Zira's mind. What if her tail's flame torched the cabin while they slept? Zira grabbed the tip of her tail and held it in front of her as Cyril opened the cabin's door.

"Here it is," Cyril said as he walked into the small cabin. "It's not much, but it's home."

Zira looked around the interior as she walked inside. The cabin was just as plain inside as it was outside. There was a basic kitchen area just inside the entrance to the left, followed by a worn desk and chair. Two hammocks were suspended in the back of the cabin and a third along the side opposite of the kitchen and desk. A single sconce holding a luminous orb cast a bluish glow upon the room.

"I'd prefer to think of it as a temporary home," Lance said, placing the travel bags he was carrying on the desk. "After we've moved up to gold rank, I'd like to return to Dakota City."

"Yeah, me too," Cyril said. He placed a hand on a hammock nearest to the door. "This'll be yours, Zira." He turned toward Zira, seeing her holding her tail. "Ah... yeah, you'll need to be careful with that. Fortunately, the hammock is fireproof."

Knowing the hammock was fireproof put Zira's mind at ease. She would certainly need to be mindful of her tail's flame in wooden structures and around easily combustible vegetation, but at least she didn't need to worry about burning the cabin down while she slept. Zira hopped into the hammock and sat, facing Cyril.

"Lance and I need to report to Commander Cale first thing in the morning," Cyril said, "so we might not be here when you wake up. We shouldn't be gone long. When we get back, we'll help you decide what to do."

"Thank you... for everything," Zira said. "I wish I had a way to repay both of you."

"Don't worry about it," Lance said, smiling. "We're just glad you're alright." He placed a hand on Cyril's shoulder. "Let's try to get some sleep. We're either going to sink or swim tomorrow."

Cyril sighed. "Yeah..."

Zira's mind dwelled on Lance's comment for a moment. Shar had mentioned earlier that Cyril and Lance never completed their patrol. Were they going to be punished? The thought made Zira's stomach turn.

As Zira made herself comfortable in the hammock, the events of the day passed through her mind. To say that it had been a crazy day would be an understatement of galactic proportions. She was lucky to be alive. As Zira closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, she resolved to find out why she came to this world. Additionally, she also had another goal in mind.

Somehow, she would find a way to repay Cyril and Lance for saving her life.