{"sf1_id":944253,"sf2_id":null,"title":"PMD: Wildfire - Chapter 1","author":"ZiraDakota","words":6533,"posted_at":"2015-12-13T19:30:00.000Z","tags":["PMD","Pokemon","Team dakota","mystery dungeon"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/944253-pmd-wildfire-chapter-1","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/944253","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=944253\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"At long last, the first chapter of PMD: Wildfire.\nPokémon © 2015 Nintendo\nPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Wildfire © 2015 Zira Dakota\nThis work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.","content":"Chapter 1A Grovyle and a Golduck walked through a lush forest on the\ncontinent of Andara as they carried out their security patrol. It was tedious,\nlow-paying work, but it was often all they could get. Having just formed a\nrescue team, they travelled to the eastern frontier of the Pokémon Federation,\nthinking that there would be a great need for rescue teams on the edge of\ncivilization. The competition, however, turned out to be far greater than they\nrealized and they had fallen on hard times.\"We're almost out of money,\" Cyril the Grovyle said. \"These\npatrols and what few E and D rank jobs there are just aren't bringing in enough\nto keep us afloat.\"\"It'll be all right,\" Lance the Golduck replied. \"We can't\nbe too far off from bronze rank. After we're promoted, we'll have access to\nbetter jobs.\"\"I don't think we can hold out that long,\" Cyril stated. \"Besides,\nthe competition is just as fierce for the C and B rank jobs.\" He stopped\nwalking and sighed. Looking down at the ground, he kicked a pebble at his feet,\nsending it skipping along the path before them. \"I can't believe I actually\nthought it was a good idea to start a rescue team all the way out here in the\nmiddle of nowhere. I should've known it would end badly. What a disaster.\"\"You had good intentions,\" Lance said. \"And for what it's\nworth, I thought it was a good idea at the time too. We just need to keep doing\nwhat we can and hope our luck changes.\"\"Yeah, maybe you're right,\" Cyril said. He took a moment to\nobserve his surroundings. It was a beautiful, sunny day, but there were ominous\nstorm 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\norange light in the distance suddenly caught Cyril's attention. \"Did you see\nthat?\" he asked as he reached into his bag and pulled out a monocular. After\npeering through the scope for a moment, he handed the monocular to Lance. \"Looks\nlike some kind of rift. What do you think?\"Lance observed the anomaly through the scope, but before he\ncould say anything, a massive white and blue Pokémon flew low overhead towards\nthe anomaly, startling both himself and Cyril.\"A Lugia!\" Lance exclaimed. \"There's a mon you don't see\neveryday.\"\"It's headed for the rift!\" Cyril said as he started to jog\ntowards the anomaly. \"Come on! Let's check it out!\"\"That's way outside of our patrol perimeter,\" Lance noted as\nhe jogged alongside the Grovyle. \"Cale's going to want answers when we get\nback.\"\"I think he would approve of this diversion,\" Cyril said,\nattempting to reassure his teammate as well as himself. Gods, I hope I'm right about that.\nAt the site of the spatial rift, hurricane winds generated\nby the rift wreaked havoc on the surrounding area, stripping trees of their leaves\nand snapping branches or uprooting them entirely. Nearly a minute after the\nrift formed, a female Human-turned-Charmeleon was violently expelled from the\nrift, wide-eyed and screaming as she quickly approached the ground. Landing\nharshly on the forest floor, she rolled over several times before coming to a\nstop on her side with the wind knocked out of her. The wind continued to buffet\nher body for several more seconds before the rift finally collapsed.After a few minutes, the exhausted Charmeleon turned herself\nonto her belly and pushed herself up so that she was standing on her knees. She\nregretted this action almost immediately as a wave of nausea fell upon her,\ncausing her to vomit. After she finished unleashing the contents of her stomach\nupon the ground, the Charmeleon realized that there was something not quite\nright about her body.What happened to me?The Charmeleon looked down at her clawed hands. Her eyes\nslowly scanned up her red left arm towards her shoulder, then from her chest\ndown to her white belly. She gently stood up, not wanting to aggravate her\nnausea. Looking down, her legs had changed significantly as well, taking on the\nsame red color as most of her body and changing to a digitigrade configuration.\nHer eyes finally came to rest on her clawed feet.What have I become?The Charmeleon slowly walked forward to test her new legs.\nShe immediately stopped when she felt a part of herself dragging along the\nground. The Charmeleon glanced behind her, noticing that she now had a tail...\nwith an intense flame burning at the end of it!\"Shit! Shit!\" the Charmeleon screamed. Now in a state of\ntotal panic, she grabbed her tail and started slamming the tip of it into the\nground. Realizing that the flame wasn't going out, the Charmeleon quickly looked\naround for a water source to put out the flame. Her eyes came to rest on a\ndepression in the ground filled with water, which she quickly ran over to with\nher tail still in hand. Just as the Charmeleon was about to submerge the flame,\na powerful force suddenly yanked her backwards, causing her to fall onto her\ntail before sliding to a stop.What just happened?\nthe Charmeleon wondered as she lay dazed on her back. The sudden movement and\nthe resulting impact threatened to aggravate her nausea, but she was able to\nresist vomiting this time. As she stared up at the sky, the head of a large,\nwhite and blue creature moved into her field of view. The Charmeleon froze in\nfear as she stared into the emerald-green eyes of the enormous creature.\"I suggest you refrain from putting out your tail's flame,\"\nthe Lugia said in a soft female voice. \"It's a normal function of your body and\nnecessary to sustain your life.\" As she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly\nbegan to glow blue.The Charmeleon could feel the same force from before gently\nlift her off the ground. It was a most unusual experience, feeling the strange\nforce caress her body as it reoriented her to a standing position and set her\ndown softly on her feet.Telekinesis? What else\nis this creature capable of? the Charmeleon wondered. At this point, the\nCharmeleon became aware of the fact that she was standing nude in front of\nanother person. She used her hands to cover herself up the best that she could.\"There's no need to be shy,\" the Lugia said. \"As you'll soon\ndiscover, few Pokémon bother with clothing. You are Human, yes?\"\"H-how did you know?\" the Charmeleon asked, moving her hands\nto her sides as she relaxed.\"All the signs are there,\" the Lugia replied. \"The unusual\nshyness that you displayed a moment ago. Your attempt to put out your tail's\nflame as though your life was in danger. And then, of course, there's your\ngrand entrance.\" The Lugia looked around at the damage caused by the rift. \"When\nI saw that rift, I couldn't resist the urge to get a closer look. It was truly\na spectacular sight!\"\"At least you didn't have to fly through it,\" the Charmeleon\nsaid as she rubbed the back of her neck. She was lucky that the landing left\nher 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\nsmile 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\nblank. How could she have forgotten her own name?\"You've lost your memories,\" Athena stated with a note of\nsympathy in her voice. \"That seems to be a common problem for Humans who come\nto our world. However, the memory loss usually isn't permanent. I might be able\nto dig up your name at least.\"Athena's eyes glowed once more. At the same time, the\nCharmeleon could feel a powerful, yet gentile, presence enter her mind. The\nCharmeleon remained motionless, looking straight into Athena's eyes. After a\nlong moment, Athena's eyes returned to normal as she terminated the psychic\nlink.\"Your memories of the Human world are largely intact, though\nthere are a few gaps,\" Athena said. \"Your memories of personal identity,\nhowever, are severely damaged. Even with a stronger mind probe, I doubt I would\nbe able to retrieve much, and I'm a powerful psychic.\"The Charmeleon was deflated by this news. \"So it's hopeless?\nCan't you try a stronger mind probe?\"Athena shook her head. \"The stronger the mind probe, the\nmore painful and dangerous it becomes to the recipient. I'd rather not do that\nunless absolutely necessary. However, while I was in your mind, I was able to\ncome up with a word that seemed to be ever present: Zira. I believe that's your\nname.\"\"Zira...\" the Charmeleon said quietly. The name seemed\nstrangely familiar despite her damaged memory. The more she thought about it,\nthe 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,\ndrawing their gazes towards the menacing storm clouds that were rolling in. The\nwind was beginning to pick up speed as well. It wouldn't be long before it\nstarted to rain.\"It's time for us to part ways,\" Athena said. She pointed\neast with one of her massive fingers. \"About three hours walk that way, you'll\nfind a settlement where you should be able to get some help, but I suggest you\nseek out shelter first. The coming storm looks like it'll be a bad one and a\nfire-type such as yourself doesn't want to be stuck in it.\" Athena spread out\nher wings and leaped into the air. She looked down at Zira one last time as she\nhovered in place. \"I hope we'll meet again someday!\"\"Wait!\" Zira screamed as Athena adjusted her direction. \"Please\ndon't leave me!\" But her plea was of no use. She watched helplessly as the\nLugia sped away from her with a few quick flaps of her wings.All alone now, Zira dejectedly walked back to the pool of\nwater where she had attempted to extinguish her tail's flame. Crouching at the\nwater's edge, she could see her reflection on the calm surface. Staring back at\nher was a pair of sharp, sapphire-blue eyes. Zira brought her hands up to her\nface, rubbing them over the surface of her new snout. She then brought a hand\naround to the back of her head where she could feel a single horn sticking out\nthe back of it.Why did this happen to\nme? Why can't I remember who I am?Zira prodded her broken mind for answers, for anything that\nmight explain her current predicament, but no matter how hard she tried to\nremember, nothing useful would come to her. Tears began to stream down her\nface. She had no memory of her past and no knowledge about the world that she\nwas now in. It was all too much. She squeezed her eyes shut as she tried not to\ncry.Wiping away the tears, Zira noticed that the tip of her tail\nwas resting to her right. Her despair giving way to curiosity, Zira grasped the\ntip of her tail and held it in front of her. As she stared into the flame\ndancing on the tip of her tail, she couldn't help but admire its beauty.\"I guess it's just you and me now,\" Zira said. For better or\nfor worse, this flame was now a part of her. It was curious, however, that the\nflame didn't seem to cause her any discomfort. Athena had mentioned that she\nwas a fire-type. Perhaps that made her resistant to the effects of fire. To\ntest the theory, she brought her other hand up to the tip of her tail and\nslowly moved it into the flame. Not only did it not burn her hand, it actually\nfelt quite pleasant.A loud crack of thunder pulled her attention away from the\nflame to the sky above. The storm clouds were now directly above her and the\nwind was continuing to pick up speed. With a sense of urgency, Zira stood up\nand started jogging in the direction that Athena had pointed in earlier. With\nluck, she would find shelter before the storm fell upon her. Luck, however, was\nnot on her side.Zira didn't get far before rain began to fall heavily. The\nrain droplets felt like icicles impacting against her skin. She was more\nworried, however, at what the rain might do to her tail's flame. Just how\nresistant was her flame to rainfall? Glancing behind her, she noticed that her\nflame was flickering wildly from the onslaught of rain.After about thirty minutes, it became obvious that she was\nin trouble. Zira panted as she continued to jog. Her throat burned and her legs\nached from the exertion. At this point, she was desperate to find shelter. As\nZira scanned her surroundings, her eyes spotted what appeared to be an entrance\ninto an unusually dense patch of vegetation. Hoping that it might provide cover\nfrom the rain, she ran over to investigate.As Zira approached the entrance, she noticed that the\nscenery beyond the opening appeared to be shimmering slightly, as though there\nwas a layer of water between her and what lay beyond. Zira reached out with her\nright hand, passing it through the entrance, which reacted to the intrusion by\nshimmering wildly around her wrist. Zira expected the shimmering entrance to\nfeel like water, given its appearance, but it instead felt like a frigid wind. Zira\npulled her hand back out and stared at it, seeing that it was unharmed.That's absolutely\nbizarre.Walking into the anomaly was certainly risky, but Zira's\ncuriosity was overpowering. Besides, she desperately wanted to get out of the\nrain. Her skin felt like it was covered in ice. Taking a deep breath, Zira\nstepped into the shimmering entrance.Zira's entire body was hit with a blast of icy wind as she\nstepped into the anomaly. After a brief moment, she found herself in a\nclearing, surrounded by trees and vegetation so thick that it seemed to form a\nroom. Sunlight shone through the thick canopy as though the storm raging above\ndidn't exist.What in the world is\ngoing on here? How is this even possible?As grateful as she was to be out of the storm, Zira found\nthe eerily calm scene around her disturbing, enough so that she would rather\ntake her chances with the storm outside. She turned around to leave, but the\nentrance had vanished.\"Shit,\" Zira whispered. There was nothing to do now but\npress onward and hope that there was another way out. Turning towards the\ncorridor to her right, she noticed a stick at her feet that looked like a crude\nspear. Thinking it would be handy to have something to defend herself with, she\npicked up the stick and proceeded down the corridor.As Zira made her way through the corridor, she noticed that\nshe couldn't hear the sounds of wildlife or feel the wind blowing. Combined\nwith the odd entrance, the strange layout of the forest, and the vanishing\nstorm above, Zira became convinced that she was stuck in an anomaly of some\nsort. Exactly what that anomaly was, she could only guess.After several minutes, Zira walked into another room. It was\nmuch like the previous room, except this one had a flight of stairs in the\ncenter of it leading up to a shimmering spot in the air.Now I've seen\neverything, Zira thought as she approached the stairs. This place was\ngetting weirder by the moment. Standing at the base of the stairs, Zira looked\nup at the shimmering spot, seeing what appeared to be another wooded area on\nthe other side. Hoping that she'd found a way out of the anomaly, Zira quickly\nwalked up the stairs.After passing through the shimmering layer, Zira found\nherself in another room. A quick look around revealed another set of stairs\njust twenty meters away. Zira couldn't hold back her disappointment that the\nstairs didn't lead her out of the anomaly.I should've figured it\nwouldn't be that easy. I wonder how many floors this place has.A growl from behind sent a shiver down Zira's spine. Turning\naround, she saw a purple quadruped with large ears and spikes on its head and\nback staring at her. It bared its teeth and growled once more as she made eye\ncontact with it. Zira brought the tip of her spear to bear on the aggressive\nNidorino.As Zira slowly walked backwards towards the stairs, the\nNidorino charged at her. Zira prepared to dodge as she tightened her grip on\nthe spear, the tip still aimed at the Nidorino. At the last moment, she\nsidestepped to the left, driving the tip of the spear into the attacking\nPokémon's shoulder. The force of the impact snapped the spear in half and\nknocked Zira off of her feet.The Nidorino unleashed a bloodcurdling scream as it fell to\nthe ground with half of the spear embedded in its shoulder. Zira quickly got\nback onto her feet, discarding what remained of the spear. Out of the corner of\nher eye, she saw two more Nidorinos enter the room. Upon seeing her, both of\nthe newcomers charged towards her. Realizing that this was a battle she couldn't\nwin, Zira bolted for the stairs.Scrambling up the stairs to the next floor, Zira once again\nfound herself in another room. Fearing that the Nidorinos might chase her up\nthe stairs, she immediately ran for one of the corridors leading out of the\nroom. Zira berated herself internally for not noticing the first Nidorino\nsooner and for losing her spear in the resulting fight. That was a costly\nmistake, one that she couldn't afford to make again. Without the spear, all she\nhad left were her claws and she wasn't sure how effective they would be. As she\napproached the next room, the sound of people talking reached her ears.Talking? I'm saved!Zira joyously ran into the room towards a group of three\nPokémon. They appeared to be discussing something when one of them, a large,\ngreen reptilian with a fern-like tail took notice of her.\"Hey, Galen,\" the Sceptile said, addressing a green-eyed\nCharizard. \"We've got company.\"The other two members of the group glanced in her direction.\nGalen walked towards her, followed shortly by the others.\"Well, what do we have here,\nboys?\" Galen asked.\"It looks like we have ourselves a lost Charmeleon,\" the\nLucario said. \"A pretty one too.\"Galen and the Lucario stood in front of Zira while the\nSceptile moved around behind her. Zira was surrounded.\"Uh... any chance you guys could help me get out of this\nplace?\" Zira asked, now feeling very uneasy.\"Maybe,\" Galen said. \"Tell me, what are you doing walking\nthrough a dungeon in the frontier without so much as a travel bag?\"\"Dungeon?\" Zira asked, now totally confused. \"Is that why\nthis place is so strange?\"\"You... don't know what a mystery dungeon is?\" Galen asked. He\nseemed to ponder something for a moment before arriving at a conclusion. \"You're\na Human,\" he said, taking a step towards her. \"That disturbance in the forest...\nthat was you!\"Zira's eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. Alarm\nbells were ringing loudly in her head. What was Galen getting at?\"The look on your face is all the confirmation I need,\"\nGalen said. \"I just have one more question. Do you know any moves?\"Zira blinked. \"M-moves?\"Galen smiled faintly. \"I see.\" He looked up at the Sceptile\nstanding behind Zira. \"Grab her!\"Before Zira could react, the Sceptile grabbed her tail and\nthen wrapped both arms around her. Zira began to struggle. \"Hey! Let go! What\nthe fuck are you doing?\"\"I know of someone who's paying a lot of money for Human\ntest subjects,\" Galen said. \"What we can get for you will pay our expenses for\nthe next few months.\"Zira continued her effort to free herself from the Sceptile's\ngrip. As she struggled, a strange pressure began to form in her chest. Smoke\nbegan to stream out of her nostrils as the pressure rapidly increased. Within\nmoments, her chest felt like it was about to burst.\"She's a feisty one, isn't she?\" Galen said. He looked over\nat the Lucario standing next to him. \"Hit her with a stun seed.\"The Lucario reached into his bag and pulled out a seed.\nCracking the shell, he reached his arm back as he prepared to throw the seed.\nBefore he could, however, Zira opened her mouth and unleashed a jet of fire\ntowards him. The Lucario screamed as he fell to the ground, his body completely\naflame.The sudden flame attack caused the other two outlaws to jump\nbackwards in surprise. Free of the Sceptile's grip, Zira bolted for one of the\ncorridors leading out of the room, barely dodging Galen's slash attack as she\nran past him. Zira ran as fast as her legs could carry her, knowing that the\ntwo remaining outlaws were in pursuit.The next room that Zira entered contained several feral\nPokémon, all of which immediately charged towards her. Just as she stopped to\nassess her situation, the outlaw Sceptile tackled her to the ground.\"Got you, you little--AAHHH!\" the Sceptile yelled. All of the\nwild Pokémon pounced onto the Sceptile, knocking him off of Zira. He attempted\nto fight back with his leaf blade attack, but with the feral Pokémon all over\nhim, the movement of his arms was restricted, leaving him virtually\ndefenseless. The Sceptile let out an agonizing scream as the wild Pokémon\ncontinuously bit, slashed, and stabbed him. Zira got back onto her feet and\nturned around just in time to see a Nidorino ram its horn into the Sceptile's\nchest, ending his suffering. Her stomach turned at the gruesome sight before\nher.With the Sceptile dead, the wild Pokémon turned their\nattention towards Galen, who had just entered the room. As a battle erupted\nbetween Galen and the feral Pokémon, Zira took a moment to scan her\nsurroundings for a set of stairs. What she found instead was a shimmering view\nof the outside world on one of the walls.That must be the way\nout!Zira ran towards the opening as fast as she could. Emerging\non the other side, she was immediately drenched by torrential rain. The storm\nhad gained strength during the time that she was stuck in the dungeon and it\ndidn't look like it would be ending soon. Realizing that she was still in grave\ndanger from both the weather and from Galen, Zira ran for the nearby forest.The trees of the forest offered little protection from the\ntempest above. The rain and the wind continued to assault Zira's body as she\nran haphazardly through the forest. Between the brutal weather and her\nexperience in the dungeon, Zira felt like she was trapped in a nightmare that\nshe couldn't wake up from.Bursting out of the forest, Zira arrived at the edge of a\ncliff. A river vigorously flowed about fifteen meters below. Zira took a moment\nto catch her breath, but it didn't take long before she began to shiver as the\nrain continued to pummel her. Just as she turned around to head back into the\nforest, a fire blast attack struck the ground in front of her, sending her\nflying backwards onto the ground.\"End of the line for you,\" Galen yelled as he hovered in\nplace, an expression of pure rage on his face.Zira quickly picked herself up off of the ground and\nattempted to respond with the same flame attack she'd used in the dungeon. Zira\ntook in a deep breath as she tilted her head back, and then, lunging her head\nforward, she blew all of the air out of her lungs. Unfortunately, air was the\nonly thing that came out of her mouth. Zira's blood turned to ice at her sudden\ninability to produce the powerful flame attack.Galen laughed. \"I guess that flamethrower in the dungeon was\na fluke!\" Galen set himself down on the ground and folded his wings behind his\nback. The claws on both of his hands began to glow a bright white and extended\nin length. \"You're coming with me!\" he said, walking towards Zira.Zira's heart beat rapidly in her chest as she backpedaled\ntowards the cliff's edge. Attempting to run would be futile and there was no\nway that she'd win a fight against the angry Charizard. Surrender was also off\nthe table as she didn't want to become someone's unwilling test subject. There\nwas only one option left. Choosing to place her life in the hands of fate, she\nspun around and leaped into the water below.As Zira plummeted into the raging river, she felt a wave of\ndeep cold run throughout her entire body. After swimming to the surface, she\nlooked up at the cliff, noticing her would-be captor staring at her blankly as\nshe quickly floated away from him. At this point, she became aware of the speed\nat which she was moving. Turning herself around, she discovered, to her horror,\nthat she was fast approaching a waterfall. With no way out of the river and\nnothing to grab on to, she had no choice but to ride the waterfall down.Careening over the waterfall, Zira fell another twenty\nmeters. This time, the landing wasn't so forgiving. Splashing into the water at\nthe base of the waterfall, her right leg struck a jagged rock, tearing into her\nskin just above the knee. Zira cried out in pain underwater. She made her way\nback to the surface and dragged herself onto the shore, shivering badly. Seeing\na nearby tree that would provide some cover from the rain, she limped over to\nit so that she could examine the full extent of her injury.The encounter with the rock had left a large gash in the\nside of her leg that was bleeding heavily. Zira put pressure on the wound to\nslow the bleeding. At this point, she noticed something rather worrying. The\ndeep cold that she felt when she first jumped into the river hadn't disappeared\ndespite being out of most of the rain. In fact, it seemed to be growing worse.\nIt suddenly occurred to her what might have happened. Bringing the tip of her\ntail into view, she saw that the flame had gone out, revealing the existence of\nhundreds of tiny pores covering the tip of her tail where the flame had once\nbeen.\"No...\" Zira said quietly as she grasped her tail near the tip\nwith her shivering, blood-covered hand. Athena's warning about putting out her\nflame was booming through her mind. She hadn't considered her tail's flame when\nshe chose to jump into the river. With the flame gone, hypothermia was rapidly\nsetting in. She had to find help. Fast.Zira got back onto her feet, an action that seemed to\nrequire an extraordinary amount of effort. With a hand covering the wound on\nher right leg, she limped forward into the rain. As the weather continued its\nbrutal assault on her failing body, she pressed onward as quickly as she could,\na difficult task considering that her legs felt like they were getting heavier\nby the moment.Zira didn't get much farther before she collapsed to her\nhands and knees. Expending what little energy she had left, she brought her\ngood leg forward and attempted to lift herself back off the ground. It was of\nno use, however, as her leg gave out, causing her to fall forward onto the wet\nground. As she lay there, the rain continuing to pound her, Zira came to the\nrealization that death was upon her.No... I don't want to\ndie, Zira thought, struggling to remain conscious. The shivering ceased as\nher body and mind began to shut down. Zira tried to move her limbs, but she had\nno energy left. This truly was the end for her. I don't want to die...With that final thought, Zira\nslipped into unconsciousness.Several hours passed before Zira opened her eyes. She was\nnow in a cave, laying by a fire with her head resting on a travel bag. Rainfall\ncould be heard outside, but there was no thunder. The worst of the storm seemed\nto be past. Zira lifted her head and glanced at her tail. The flame had been\nrekindled and was now burning brightly. Her eyes then shifted to the injury on\nher leg, which had been bandaged. Zira slowly moved herself into a sitting\nposition, groaning as she did so.\"Cyril,\" a male voice near the cave's entrance said. \"She's\nawake.\"Zira glanced towards the entrance. Two Pokémon, a Grovyle\nand a Golduck, walked towards her. They each wore blue bandanas around their\nnecks with a light blue logo, a claw surrounded by a hexagon, embroidered on\nthem.\"How are you feeling?\" the\nGrovyle asked, crouching beside her.\"Better,\" Zira replied. \"Are you\nthe ones who saved me?\"The Grovyle nodded. \"Yeah... barely. By the time we got you to\nthis cave, your life was hanging on by a thread. You're lucky we had a\nfire-starting kit with us, or we never would've been able to relight your tail's\nflame.\"\"Thank you, both of you, for rescuing me,\" Zira said,\nsmiling. \"My name's Zira.\"The Grovyle smiled in return. \"My\nname's Cyril.\"\"And I'm Lance,\" the Golduck\nsaid.\"We're a rescue team called Team Dakota,\" Cyril continued.\nHe reached into his bag and pulled out an apple, which he handed to Zira. \"You're\nprobably hungry.\"Zira's stomach growled as she accepted the apple, reminding\nher that she hadn't eaten anything since her arrival on this world. Zira sank her\nteeth into the delicious fruit, relishing its sweet flavor. She quickly\ndevoured the apple, licking the edges of her mouth afterwards. This elicited a\nchuckle from both of her rescuers.\"That's quite the appetite,\" Lance said. \"I wish we had an\noran berry to give you as well. That'd help your leg heal.\"\"So... were the two of you just passing through the area?\"\nZira asked, wanting to strike up some friendly conversation.\"Not exactly,\" Cyril replied. \"We came to investigate what\nlooked like a rift, but we missed it. We were just heading back to base empty\nhanded when we saw you and that Charizard run out of a dungeon. If you don't\nmind us asking, what happened?\"Zira looked down at the ground and sighed. \"All right. I'll\nstart from the beginning.\"Zira told her story while her rescuers listened intently.\nShe covered everything that had happened since her emergence from the rift,\nincluding her memory loss and her Humanity. Cyril's and Lance's faces were\nfilled with wonder as she told her tale. After she finished speaking, her\nrescuers remained silent for a long moment as they processed what she had told\nthem.\"That's quite the amazing story,\" Lance said. \"Also some\namazingly bad luck.\"Zira giggled at Lance's statement. \"That's putting it\nmildly,\" she said. \"So what happens now?\"\"First, we need to get you to Seneca outpost,\" Cyril said. \"The\nhealers there can fix your leg so that not even a scar remains.\" He glanced at\nthe cave's entrance. \"The rain stopped. We should get moving if we want to be\nthere by sundown.\"Cyril helped Zira off the ground, slinging one of her arms\naround his neck. Lance put out the fire with his water gun attack and picked up\nCyril's travel bag, hanging it on his shoulder with his own travel bag.\nFinally, the group stepped out of the cave into the damp forest.Zira limped along the best she could. She was grateful to\nhave Cyril by her side. The Grovyle supported most of her weight when she\nstepped on her wounded leg. Lance walked by her other side, occasionally\nscanning their surroundings. Zira figured he was just being cautious, not\nwanting the group to be jumped by outlaws such as those she encountered\nearlier.Nearly an hour after they started walking, a sudden ray of\nsunshine caught Zira's attention, drawing her eyes to the sky above. The clouds\nwere beginning to part, revealing the blue sky and the setting sun. The group\nstopped briefly at a spring so that they could each quench their thirst before\npressing on towards the outpost at Seneca.It was dark by the time the group finally reached the small\nfrontier village. As they entered the settlement, two Magnemite guards began to\nfloat towards them, but halted their advance when Lance held up a badge of some\nsort and pointed towards his bandana.Walking deeper into the village, Zira gazed at the various\nbuildings as much as the light from the luminous orb lamps would allow. The\nhouses and shops varied in appearance as much as their inhabitants. Some of the\nwooden structures took on the form of Pokémon, while others were more plainly designed.\nAt the center of Seneca lay the town square, which contained a fountain,\nvarious shops, and a large building constructed of stone.Cyril and Lance led Zira into the large stone building. The\nlobby was abuzz with activity as various Pokémon went about their business.\nSome sat at desks shuffling paperwork. Others were standing at a bulletin board\nlooking at the various postings. Zira wanted to see more, but Cyril immediately\nsteered her towards a door on the left labelled `Medical'. Inside sat a single\nAudino, who immediately jumped out of her seat upon seeing Zira hobbling in.\"Finally, a real injury to treat,\" the Audino doctor said. \"Please,\nhave a seat on the bed.\"Cyril glanced at the Audino's desk as he helped Zira over to\nthe bed. \"Been tracing your hand again?\"\"Nothing happens on the night shift,\" the Audino said with a\nnote of frustration. \"And in the rare case something does, it's someone saying\nthey can't sleep.\"\"I was only guilty of that once,\" Lance noted, earning\nhimself a glare from the doctor.As the Audino set to work on Zira's leg using her heal pulse\nmove, a male Flygon wearing a security bandana walked into the room.\"Where in the world have you two been?\" the Flygon asked. \"You\nnever completed your patrol.\"\"We broke off to investigate what looked like a rift,\" Cyril\nreplied. \"We were going to report our findings to the commander once we were\ndone here.\"\"Cale's turned in for the night,\" the Flygon said. \"Come\nwith me. You can give me your report.\"\"Yes sir,\" Cyril said as he followed the Flygon out of the\nmedical office.\"Who was that?\" Zira asked.\"That was Lieutenant Shar,\" Lance answered. \"He's in charge\nof the night shift.\"After a few minutes, the Audino completed her work. \"All done!\nGood as new.\"Zira looked down at the site where her leg had been\npunctured. Cyril wasn't kidding when he said there wouldn't even be a scar.\nZira hopped off the bed and walked back and took a few steps. Noticing that her\nleg did, in fact, seem to be fully healed, Zira turned towards the Audino and\nnodded in respect. \"Thank you.\"\"You're very welcome,\" the Audino replied before returning\nto her desk.Zira smiled brightly for a moment, having survived the crazy\nevents of the day, and now she was fully healed as well. Her smile faded though\nas happiness gave way to uncertainty. What would happen now? Where should she\ngo? What should she do? Her mind was flooded with questions about both her past\nand her future and she didn't have the slightest clue where to start looking\nfor answers.\"Is something wrong, Zira?\" Cyril asked as he walked back\ninto the medical office.\"I just don't know why I came to this world or where I\nshould go from here,\" Zira said. She let out a yawn. Despite her\nunconsciousness earlier, she still felt tired. \"Do you guys know where I can\nstay for the night?\"\"You're welcome to spend the night at our place,\" Cyril\nsaid. \"We've got a spare hammock available.\"Zira's spirits immediately lifted upon hearing Cyril's\noffer. \"Really?\" Wondering what Lance thought about the idea, she glanced at\nthe Golduck, who smiled and nodded. \"Thank you. Thank you so much.\"Zira and her rescuers walked out of the medical office into\nthe lobby. Just as they reached the exit, Cyril turned to Lance with a serious\nexpression on his face.\"Shar said you and I need to talk to Cale first thing in the\nmorning,\" Cyril said.\"Oh? Bad news?\" Lance asked.\"He wouldn't say,\" Cyril answered as he turned around and\nwalked outside.Zira followed Cyril and Lance out of the security building.\nTheir path took them out of the square towards a group of wood cabins just off\nof the main road. As they walked up to one of the cabins, a horrifying thought\ncrossed Zira's mind. What if her tail's flame torched the cabin while they\nslept? Zira grabbed the tip of her tail and held it in front of her as Cyril\nopened the cabin's door.\"Here it is,\" Cyril said as he walked into the small cabin. \"It's\nnot much, but it's home.\"Zira looked around the interior as she walked inside. The cabin\nwas just as plain inside as it was outside. There was a basic kitchen area just\ninside the entrance to the left. Along the other side of the cabin sat a worn\ndesk and a bookshelf. Three hammocks were suspended in the back of the cabin. A\nsingle 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,\nplacing the travel bags he was carrying on the desk. \"After we've moved up to\ngold rank, I'd like to return to Dakota City.\"\"Yeah, me too,\" Cyril said. He placed a hand on a hammock\nnearest to the door. \"This'll be yours, Zira.\" He turned towards Zira, seeing\nher holding her tail. \"Ah... yeah, you'll need to be careful with that.\nFortunately, the hammock is fireproof.\"Knowing the hammock was fireproof put Zira's mind at ease.\nShe would certainly need to be mindful of her tail's flame in wooden structures\nand around easily combustible vegetation, but at least she didn't need to worry\nabout burning the cabin down while she slept. Zira hopped into the hammock and\nsat, facing Cyril.\"Lance and I need to report to Commander Cale first thing in\nthe morning,\" Cyril said. \"So we might not be here when you wake up. We shouldn't\nbe 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\nto repay both of you.\"\"Don't worry about it,\" Lance said, smiling. \"We're just\nglad you're all right.\" He placed a hand on Cyril's shoulder. \"Let's try to get\nsome 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\nhad mentioned earlier that Cyril and Lance never completed their patrol. Were\nthey going to be punished? The thought made Zira's stomach turn.As Zira made herself comfortable in the hammock, the events\nof the day passed through her mind. To say that it had been a crazy day would\nbe an understatement of galactic proportions. She was lucky to be alive. As\nZira closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, she resolved to find out why she\ncame to this world. Additionally, she also had another goal in mind.\nSomehow, she would find a way to repay Cyril and Lance for\nsaving her life."}