I can’t stop staring at the thing right in the middle of the tree. I know I should be following Onaga, doing what Weaver asked, but I… I think I’m having another moment where I truly realize something. Because, sure, I’d tossed physics out the window forever ago, and I’ve been relatively certain magic was a thing for a while now. I just wasn’t prepared to see it like this. Right in front of me.

  The rumble I’ve been feeling this whole time hasn’t been coming from the fire, but from here. From the thing, right there. Just sitting there, in its little nook. The feeling shifts again, changing in some nameless way before returning to… whatever it is now. I still don’t know what the sense I’m feeling it with truly is, or what the sensations mean, but the thing certainly feels like a lot.

  Although I do taste frustration? Hmm…

  Onaga doesn’t seem to notice anything, even as she slows, then moves off faster. I’m pretty sure the only reason I can see it is that my visible spectrum includes things that literally don’t exist.

  I only find it in myself to look away once rain starts coming down again, only this time it’s nearly a monsoon. Quagsire had made a pounding rain in a decent area when we were making our way here, but this rain is coming down in freezing sheets. And, if what I’m feeling from the sky is right—based on exactly two previous occurrences—this is happening over a decent portion of the forest. Maybe not everywhere that’s burning, yet, but I’d bet it’s going to move over all of it soon.

  Is this Marshal? Or is this what the fire-team and other rangers have been working on? This feels exactly like the storm a few weeks ago, so I assume it’s not Marshal. Then again, I’m basing that off the fact that Quagsire’s rain felt different from then as well.

  Mmm, the rumble has changed again… Or, maybe ‘moved’ is a better way to put it? It’s still right there, but it feels like it isn’t anymore. Really wish I knew what that meant. The taste in the air just changed as well. It’s not mostly frustration anymore, just exhaustion.

  “Feels nice,” The salamander’s sleepy voice interrupts my thoughts, and I swivel my eyes to track him. He and Bibarel are following the same path Onaga took, I assume to meet back up with her.

  “It does,” The beaver grudgingly agrees. “I just hope it stops before the rivers swell too much.”

  “All the mud will be nice, though?” Quagsire curiously retorts, his head tipping to one side. I still can’t tell if he’s genuinely oblivious or if he’s trying to rile Bibarel up. He’s very… placid, but also giddy.

  I watch as the two meander through the trees, very obviously also not noticing the thing as they step past it. Yeah, okay, it is rather obviously something you need some kind of additional senses for.

  Giving a last glance at the bright ____ thing that I suspect is a pokemon doing something, I fly after them. Onaga isn’t that much farther, and we find her knelt over a man who’s been propped up by a stump with her head tucked to speak into her radio. “–An update on the situation. I’m fairly sure I’ve found the source of the fire,” She says, standing, “And there are more of the things from Nabiki.”

  The operator—currently Barry—replies, and tension practically floods off the ranger. She must have been bottling it up this whole time. “Good news. Or at least, that’s not as bad as I’d thought. Still, even with the rain putting everything out, that’s going to be a lot of cleanup and recon,” She says, relieved. “Let Karlos know I have someone in custody, when he’s available, and get things moving up the chain.”

  Putting her radio away, Onaga sighs, turning slightly to regard the three of us for a moment. She reaches up to massage her forehead before speaking, “Thank you for your help, you two. The storm’s going to last a while, so it should extinguish the fire well enough. Feel free to take off.”

  “Thank you, ranger-lady,” Quagsire says, waving and leaving the same way we came without further fanfare. I’m not entirely sure why he’s thanking her, but he’s at least being polite.

  Bibarel simply snorts before falling to all fours and walking off after Quagsire.

  Onaga watches them go for a few seconds, the rain beginning to let up, before turning her eyes back on me. She’s feeling a couple of different things right now, and it’s making her conflicted thoughts come through rather plainly. And I think I actually have a decent guess what they’re about, for once.

  I shouldn’t be involved in this situation. Onaga doesn’t want me involved, but she needed someone who could point the way through all the smoke, fire, and rain, and I kind of proved her right that I shouldn’t be here by stopping to stare at the thing for so long. As much as I can probably handle ‘routine’ ranger stuff… I feel pretty unprepared for this whole thing, honestly.

  Actually, it feels a bit wrong that she’d let two random pokemon follow her into the fire like that while also wanting me to stay out of it, but I suppose it is different. For one, I’m fairly certain neither of them was in much danger, regardless of what might have happened. And for two, I am, as strange as it feels to admit it, her responsibility.

  Also, she still thinks I’m significantly younger than I really am, and that I have no real idea what I’m doing. Not that she’s wrong, necessarily, but I’m not entirely clueless either. Although I suppose those other two have probably been through a couple of forest fires, if what Weaver said about their frequency is true.

  I wonder what kind of training Weaver had to go through for a fire? Probably quick ways to escape, or the things to prioritize if she’s trapped? She isn’t great around hot things, but how bad are they for her, overall? I doubt it’s just unpleasant for her, but most people are vulnerable to–

  “What has– or had you so on edge?” Onaga asks. Right, still in the middle of this. I glance over at her as she looks around, her gaze conspicuously landing on the red, pillar-like machines nearby, “Was it those things? They don’t seem to be doing anything…” She trails off, stepping up to the nearest device and tapping her knuckles against it. Then she places her hand fully onto the red contraption. “Cold,” She murmurs, taking a step back, “Suspiciously cold.”

  She looks around again, and I follow her gaze to look at the obvious signs of fire nearby. There’s something wrong about it, though. I glance down at the unconscious man, noting just how strong the smell of gasoline, oil, and grease is.

  So, Onaga thinks he started the fire. And he’s presumably fine despite clearly being covered in flammables and having been on fire at some point. I glance back at the thing, then farther to where we entered the area. Where the smoke and flames were simply cut off. This all definitely has something to do with it.

  But what is it?! Wait, not it, them. There are two of them now, one on the other side of the unburnt area.

  Might as well at least try to show Onaga. I doubt she’ll notice anything, or even know what they are if she did, but what else am I supposed to do?

  While I’m opening my mouth to say something, however, one of the things shifts, moving toward us. “Mngh, please have survived this ti– Ah!” Oh. Uh, that’s a… celebi? Aren’t they legendaries?

  All three of us freeze. The mixed tastes of surprise, tired panic, awe, realization, and professional fascination all collide around me. The surprise is mutual, but strangely, the panic and fascination both seem to be coming from Celebi.

  The fairy-like pokemon blinks, slowly moving their petite hands over their mouth, eyes roving between Onaga and me before settling firmly on me. The fascination in the air grows heavier somehow. “You’re new,” They whisper. “When did you– And what’s with the…” They trail off as the other thing—or other celebi, I suppose—gives a last crash on my whatever sense before disappearing. “I forgot to grandfather everything!” Celebi gasps, vanishing with a small pop, the feeling of whatever they’d been doing disappearing with them.

  …I’m beginning to have a suspicion about something. Several things now, actually, glancing back at the machines nearby.

  Deciding there’s no use whining about not playing more of the pokemon games again, I swivel to see how Onaga’s reacting, given I can still taste awe. “Forest guardian,” The woman breathes. After a second, she glances around, uncertainly, “Is– How… do I report about this?” She murmurs.

  I think this is the most frazzled I’ve seen Onaga to date. Which honestly makes sense, I can’t say I don’t feel a bit off kilter either.

  It’s interesting that she seems to know about celebi, but… I actually don’t remember much about them beyond being legendary, really. Except that there was a movie about one, wasn’t there? Mmm, it’s been too long since I’ve seen it, and the only things there are fragments. Maybe people see them all the time, then, I don’t know.

  Why does time travel come to mind when I try to remember that movie?

  “You knew the guardian was here, didn’t you?” Onaga asks, realizing something, “That’s why you were anxious.” She frowns, seeming to have an internal debate, then just shakes her head, “You handled the fire well enough, even with that.”

  “Thanks…?” I respond, not entirely sure what she’s trying to say. I think she’s struggling to regain her composure.

  My question seems to register perfectly, the ranger bringing a hand up to the bridge of her nose, then farther to wipe the rain out of her eyes, “Sorry, don’t worry about it. I’m just reassessing some things. And trying to think of when I can make time to really go over some stuff we should have by now.” She thinks a moment longer before shaking her head, “Now isn’t the time, though. Is the guardian… gone?”

  Uh. I look over to where the second celebi was, as far as I know, and see a green form flit out of sight. Still, I got a look at them, and they looked tired– Hang on, that’s the same celebi… Oh, right, they can time travel. That’s why it came to mind.

  Hmm, now that I’ve realized that, Celebi’s words when they appeared make sense. ‘He should have survived this time.’ And ‘grandfather everything.’ That’s… is it a Back to the Future kind of time travel or a Terminator kind? Or, more likely, it’s something a bit more complex.

  A little existentially dread-inducing, in any case. Of course, I’m already dead, so maybe that balances out.

  And I’ve gotten off track since Onaga had asked me a question before I decided to think about other things. “I think so,” I say, finally answering the woman with a slight nod.

  The ranger returns my nod slowly, leaning against a nearby tree as she looks around again. Eventually, her gaze settles on the still unconscious man. She doesn’t say anything, but she’s obviously thinking everything over.

  Which, yeah. The obvious sequence of events is… lacking. Man brings machines out here, man presumably fuels machines, man ignites fuel, the forest goes up in flames. And that’s ignoring the fact that I’m certain Celebi did something involving time travel, given what they’d said.

  So, in a world where I know pokemon will kill people for less, Celebi clearly wanted to save someone who nearly burnt this forest down. Then again, I don’t actually know what kind of people either Celebi or the man are.

  That’s not even mentioning what Celebi was doing, because I still don’t really know. Or why I could feel whatever they were doing moving so much. I know the sense has something to do with power use, but that’s about it. Was it time travel? Or was it more to do with why there wasn’t any fire here?

  What type were celebi again? I want to say grass, but I think there was another?

  Gods, I wish Weaver were here so I could ask her about some of this. Not that I think she’d know what was going on, exactly, but she could still give me perspective. As well as someone to talk to, since I get the feeling Onaga and I will be waiting out here for a bit, and I don’t want to dwell on how weird this whole situation feels.

  …Genius idea, Charlie, try talking to Onaga. She obviously knows at least a bit about celebi, too.

  Hmm, how to ask, though? Let’s try simplicity first. “What– Um, what?” I somewhat awkwardly ask, pointing a few arms toward the last place she would have seen Celebi, flicking my eyes between her and there.

  “Hmm?” Onaga glances at me. “What are you… Ah. I suppose you wouldn’t know what a guardian is. You want me to tell you?”

  …For as good as my memory is, I really, really need to remember that she has to be good at figuring out what we’re saying. Which is weird, now that I think of it, because, looking back, she’s always a little uncertain whenever she does it. Maybe that makes sense, though. Regardless, I nod.

  “Where to start?” The woman hums, rubbing the rain out of her eyes again. “I don’t know what to say,” she says, rubbing her chin. “There are shrines to them all over Kanto and Johto, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one here.” She shakes her head, dismissing the thought, “That’s beside the point. They’re guardian spirits, they…” She trails off, looking around again. “Well, protect forests.”

  We both consider the burned-out line of growth leading away from here. “I never thought I’d actually see one,” The ranger continues after a moment. “I don’t think they’re that well known here, come to think of it. And I hadn’t really thought about there being a guardian in Vien Forest at all, but I suppose it’s only sensible.” She looks back down, seemingly at nothing, “Supposedly, so long as they’re around, we can be sure times are peaceful, but I have my doubts.”

  I give her a raised eyebrow, and she’s about to continue before being distracted by her radio. Sounds like Karlos this time. Leaving her to that, I consider. So, it seems celebi aren’t unknown, then. Although interestingly, she called them spirits, not pokemon. I guess people just don’t know enough about them.

  Or maybe I don’t. It’s hard to tell. Actually, I have several people I could ask about that, don’t I?

  Onaga signs off her radio without saying anything beyond the standard phrases before rolling her shoulders. “At least I know what we’re doing now,” She sighs, giving a long look at the red machines. “I just realized, how well can you shield us from the rain?” She asks.

  That’s something I can do. Rain isn’t particularly forceful, and an umbrella is just a concave disk. I answer the woman by creating a relatively large one over us.

  “I should have asked you to do that earlier,” She ruefully chuckles, bending to lift the man in a fireman’s carry. “We’re headed back, and then you’ll probably need to lead someone else out here. Is that okay?”

  I nod since finding my way back won’t be a problem. I just hope today gets better soon-ish.

  ***

  “Didn’t get too lost?” Weaver asks.

  I don’t bother holding my eye roll in, but I can’t help the smile either. “A few times, but I pulled through.” I shake my head, “I don’t think they’d have been able to find it again, honestly. So, where is everyone?” I ask, glancing around the oddly empty-feeling lobby. There’s… no emotion around at all.

  “There’s some kind of meeting happening,” Weaver says, “And the only reason I’m still here is because Onaga had to be there.”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Which implies that there’s something I need to do,” I point out.

  “Both of us, together,” Weaver replies, waggling her eyebrows. “And everyone else who took part in the fire response. Health evaluation.”

  I give Weaver a long look, considering whether I should voice the obvious. “I feel like I should say–”

  “That no doctor knows what healthy looks like for you, yeah,” Weaver finishes for me. “I know, and Ryu knows as well. She had Karlos set something up with your two fans,” She reveals, grinning.

  “And it’s not optional,” I sigh. Well, it’s not like I haven’t known Oak and Rowan want to get their hands on me, and I suppose a semi-mandatory physical is as good an excuse as any.

  “It is, though?” The cat corrects. “I don’t think it would be appreciated, especially since the researchers are apparently waiting on you, but no one’s going to force you into it.”

  “If you say so, but since I’d prefer things go well… Where are we going for this?” I ask. I’d already resigned myself to being inspected again once the two first started following me around, might as well get it over with. If nothing else, I might get some entertainment out of it.

  Weaver gives me a side-eye, but after a moment of us staring at each other, she shrugs and gestures out the lobby doors, “I’ll show you. Just let me go grab the papers. Won’t take the two of us long to get there.”

  Weaver, of course, also doesn’t take long to leave and come back, now with three sets of red stamped documents. “So,” She says, waving the sheets of paper at me as we exit the building, “You were going to tell me something before you had to leave earlier?”

  “Yes and no,” I admit. “Did Onaga say anything about what we found in the forest?”

  Weaver huffs, losing a bit of her act, “You’ve seen how busy the humans have been?” She asks, folding the papers into a pocket on her bandolier. I nod. “Pretty much as soon as you left to show those Union and SFID people out to wherever, Ryuko had to head to the meeting the rangers are having.” She gives me a searching look, “There was something important that happened while you two were out there.”

  “Maybe,” I say. “Probably, even. I assume you know what I mean when I say ‘forest guardian’?”

  Weaver doesn’t stop moving, although she does give me a sharp look. “You’re going to tell me you two saw one?”

  “Apparently,” I shrug. “I asked Onaga about them, but apparently she only knows them as some kind of spirits.”

  “I guess?”

  “You don’t know?” I ask, swooping around for a better conversational angle.

  “Well, no. I mean, I’ve heard about them, but I think they’re more of an Indigo tale,” She says, tapping her chin. “Although with everything I’ve learned from you, I’m wondering if there even are fairy tales. What do you know about guardians, then?”

  This isn’t what I was hoping for, to be honest. Still, “That they’re called celebi, I suppose. Also, that they’re grass-type, and I’m mostly certain they can time travel.”

  Weaver actually does stop at that, perched to dart across the street. “Really?” She glances at me, “And… that’s it?”

  “I could have sworn they had another type, but I can’t remember accurately, and I’m not sure how well it would translate anyway,” I apologetically answer. “My human memories are a bit too fragmented that far back, and I’m not going to trust the ones that I have to rebuild that much of.” And I am once again grateful that they’re at least not fading any more than they already have. “I did get an idea about things that have been happening recently.”

  “Oh?” Weaver queries as we start moving again.

  “I told you about the pokemon games and their stories. This whole ‘machine’ thing is starting to feel a bit like one of those.”

  The cat hums, bobbing her head a bit as she takes that in. “Well, that’s certainly an interesting idea,” She says. “Do you think all that other stuff is going to happen, then?”

  “From the games?”

  “Yeah, what else?” Weavers asks. “There was a lot of stuff you told me about them, and not all of it was great.”

  I think for a bit, steadily flying alongside Weaver. Do I think the game’s stories are real?

  …

  No, not really. There’s enough that doesn’t line up just on a surface level that I don’t think anything like some of the more out-there things could work. On the other hand, I only have that surface level view of things.

  “I don’t know,” I finally tell Weaver. “It feels unlikely, but I’m kind of out of my depth here.”

  The black cat gives me a long look, not pausing her bounding stride. “I hope you’re right,” She quietly agrees before looking ahead of us again. “But, in the meantime, here’s the ranger’s preferred clinic for us,” She forcibly changes the subject, grandly gesturing at a white-walled, glass-fronted building we’re rapidly approaching. “Every clinic has an agreement with the rangers, so you shouldn’t worry about that too much. But this one is our primary care,” She clarifies.

  “Which is why I specifically need to come here tonight,” I nod, now drifting toward the building. I’ve got a bad feeling about what the inside of a hospital will taste like, but I’m already this close, and nothing extreme has turned up yet.

  I suppose it isn’t a hospital, though, is it?

  “Yep,” Weaver chirps, walking up behind me and waiting for the door to open automatically. Huh, those have been spotty on me, haven’t they? I’ve seen… four work, and nine not. I wonder what the difference is? Not that I need them to work, of course. And there’s a button to open them as well.

  The single receptionist in the small lobby doesn’t look surprised when she sees it’s two pokemon that just came in, although she does give me the slightly longer look I’m used to at this point. “More ranger partners?” She asks, swiveling slightly in her chair to fully face us.

  “We are,” Weaver brightly responds, pulling the folded documents out of her bandolier.

  “Let me see…” The woman says, taking the proffered papers and scanning over them quickly. She silently mouths an ‘Oh’ when looking at the second one, glancing up at me.

  While she’s looking those over, I focus on the thing I’d been the most worried about, and I’d been right about the emotions around. Kind of. It’s not all negative stuff, but there is a slight malaise of discomfort, pain, and boredom. Although there’s not a lot, and still nothing extreme.

  “If you could just wait over there, a nurse will be out to see you shortly,” The woman says, standing and gesturing before heading out of sight through one of two doors behind the desk.

  “The same everywhere, huh?” I comment, earning a snort from Weaver.

  “Why does that always seem to surprise you?” She asks as we find seats, her to actually sit on, me to hover above.

  “I couldn’t tell you,” I honestly say. “It’s just an observation, though.”

  “Uh huh”

  I’m not really sure how long the wait is supposed to be, so I settle into tracking everything I can until something changes. Which is why I notice the nurse coming before he rounds the corner.

  Considering how many pokemon I’ve seen that seem to work in medicine, I’m not surprised to see one here. Regardless of that, however, his species isn’t one I recognize at all.

  He’s… a fox of some kind. Mostly yellow and red with white running down the bottom of his face and under his nurse's uniform. And topping that off, he has a little blue cap on his head.

  “Misdreavus?” The fox asks, turning tired eyes on the waiting room. I try to suss out what his species name is, but it’s hard to do that from sound alone if you don’t already know the name. Yeah, our words can sound a bit like our names, if you squint, but not that much. And they’re all scrambled.

  “Doctors Bernard, Rowan, and Oak are ready to see you,” The… Fofoder? Says on spotting me. “If you would please follow me.

  Maybe the name is delfueko? I should probably just ask.

  And I guess this is happening now. With three doctors too, huh? Mmm, I’m betting this won’t at all be awkward for me.

  ▲▲▲

  ▼▼▼

  “What’s even the point of it being here if we aren’t going to use it to get the man to talk?” Mister Gale, the League… I’m not actually sure of his position, frankly. Regardless, he asks the room, looking exasperated. He doesn’t back down, even as every local pair of eyes in the room settles on him, although his expression puckers slightly.

  “Remind me again, who even invited you to this meeting?” Holt, once again in charge of events, coolly asks him.

  Haruku, the rather portly SFID man, coughs once, “That would have been me, Ma’am. Orders.”

  Confusion. Entreatment.

  I know, I don’t understand why either.

  Sadness. Understanding.

  I pet Espeon between the ears, reassuring him.

  Holt seems to hold in a sigh, pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose as she turns to address me, “Onaga, would you please voice why you brought Espeon so we can continue with more productive matters?”

  “He didn’t go into the field with me today, and is sensitive to emotions,” I say. “He’s also emotionally fragile at the moment–”

  Contrition.

  “–And may enter into an emotional feedback loop if left alone or around stressed individuals. Such as Operations staff after an emergency,” I finish, shifting a hand to scratch under the feline’s chin. Holt—and every other ranger in the room—doesn’t actually care that I brought him. She just wants something to point to if Gale decides to speak up about him again.

  Contentment.

  “Thank you, Onaga. Now,” Our current CO says, placing her hands flat on the table, “As I was saying before being interrupted–” She pointedly scowls at Gale, “–While we still don’t know the man’s identity, the arson seems to have been accidental.”

  “We, or rather, the team at the ER, didn’t find any identification on him,” The chief of the local police, a thin and scruffy man named Okin, says shrugging. “We’re pretty sure he’s a local, and damned lucky, but can’t say much more. As for the arson, I agree. After all, who’d soak themselves in gas like that if they were going to start a fire?”

  “Quite. And that lines up with what we suspect the fuel was actually for,” Holt continues. “Ranger Onaga, you told me that it didn’t appear the machines you found had been activated. How confident were you?”

  “That is another question I have,” Gale speaks up, although he seems much less interested after hearing Okin’s summary, “Why wasn’t I given a copy of her report?”

  Holt gives him a long, hard look. “Firstly, because you aren’t entitled to our reports,” She coldly tells him, “And Ranger Onaga hasn’t had the chance to write one yet, in any case. Nor will you be seeing it once she does. Speak to Chair Erma if you take issue with that.”

  Gale’s expression sours minutely, but he doesn’t rise to the obvious challenge.

  Perhaps being fully honest about what I saw was foolish. Of course, leaving the guardian out when speaking with Holt would have been just as bad. And I am apparently not the first ranger to see one in Vien Forest, even if I’ve now been quietly asked—notably not ordered—to keep quiet about it.

  Whether it’s to keep people from bothering the guardian or due to something else, I think she’s right. I’ll still be bringing the guardian an offering, of course, once I figure out where.

  “Now, Onaga, to my question?” Holt resumes.

  “I’m rather confident,” I respond. “I won’t say it’s a certainty, but it doesn’t seem likely they were powered at all.”

  “I feel as though I’m missing certain crucial information,” The League man says, interrupting again. “What are these machines?”

  I notice Holt grind her teeth for an instant, though she keeps her cool otherwise. “Information that if you don’t already have, will not be shared with you at the moment,” She tells him. “It isn’t confidential, but we won’t be sharing it without need. Am I understood?”

  Hmm, Gale clearly didn’t like hearing that, but although the League plainly wants to stick its head in, that doesn’t mean they have the right. And even if the SFID seems to have been directed to include them, we haven’t.

  “I wouldn’t need to ask if you would simply share your unusual incident reports from this area over the last two months,” The man testily replies.

  …Two months is an odd timeframe. The current series of events has only been happening for a little over two weeks, so why would he want to look back that far? Unless he knows something we don’t, that amount of time makes no sense.

  What have been the most unusual things in that time… Misdreavus, although the League already knows about them thanks to other agreements. The smugglers, the smugglers again, poachers, the academy attack, Nabiki, and then this.

  Is the League looking for something?

  Affirmation.

  Espeon.

  He flinches in my lap.

  While I might want to know what he’s up to, you shouldn’t look at other people’s thoughts like that, doubly so for an agent of a foreign power. And I know you can’t help yourself sometimes, but in cases like this you either need to control yourself or just don’t tell me about it. Enough seems to be going on as it is, we don’t need an international incident.

  Contrition. Confusion. Contrition.

  I shift to rubbing his cheeks. I know he doesn’t understand why I’m telling him that, not fully, but I also shouldn’t have been quite that harsh.

  I’m sorry, too. It’s just that privacy matters to most humans, and it could cause a lot of trouble for us if Gale or the people he works for think I used you to breach his.

  Confusion. Acceptance.

  That’s probably the best I’ll get right now. Turning my attention back to the meeting, Okin is halfway through a sentence.

  “–hat about where the things even came from?” “I get we’re barely involved here,” The police chief says to the looks both Holt and Haruku give him, “But it’s one of the most obvious questions.”

  Haruku sighs, giving Holt a questioning look and receiving a nod. “We don’t know,” He admits. “Both we and the Union have been looking over the previous device, and we’ve found nothing. As far as we can tell, every part is bespoke. No serial numbers, no manufacturing brands, nothing. For the moment, we believe our best course of action is to try and figure out how they’re getting into the country to begin with.”

  “Assuming they aren’t being made here,” Gale quickly points out.

  “It… is a possibility,” Holt grudgingly acknowledges. “Although a slim one. The largest manufactories in Sienna are the Yanabe plant over in Fiore, and the Altru Technology Works up in Pueltown.”

  “I doubt it’s Altru made,” Okin says, scratching at his short beard, “Last I heard, they mostly make high-end electronics these days. And those things are, what, eighty percent solid metal? Although the Yanabe company has been struggling recently,” He muses. “Maybe they’re taking shady money to make these things?”

  “We’re looking into material imports,” Haruku assures, “But it could take months for anything to come of it.”

  “We may have a different lead soon, at the very least,” Holt says, turning to face the SFID man. “And from what I understand, he’s woken up?”

  “He has,” Karlos confirms, prompting Holt to look the other way. “But from what our operators have told me, he’s not said anything yet. Although given that the staff at the hospital are calling his survival a miracle, it’s not too surprising.”

  “That was my understanding as well, although I hadn’t been informed of his silence,” Haruku confirms. “Is it respiratory damage or is he simply refusing to talk?”

  “Not sure,” Karlos says, shrugging. “We should know more soon.”

  Holt nods, taking a deep breath before finally sitting down at the conference table. “Right then, what is the Investigation Department’s plan moving forward? Beyond the import inquiries.”

  “I can’t say for certain,” Haruku prefaces, “However, I can say that we will be working with you to investigate the man your ranger found, and likely putting a task force on looking for more of these machines.” He raises his hands in a helpless gesture, “Ultimately, until we have more to go off of, that’s about all I can see us being able to do.”

  Holt nods, unsurprised, “Thank you. Now, Karlos,” She says, turning her eyes on the large man, “I have a few more things to go over, and then I’ll let you release your rangers.”

  “Of course,” He replies, as Maya, Emil, and I share looks.

  “Oh, and Chief Okin?” Holt asks, looking at the scruffy man, “Could you please have someone order us food and drinks? I get the feeling we’re going to have another long night.”

  Discord if anyone wants to join. Talk to me, other fans, meme, get into internet arguments over the worst of things, etc.