It seemed that no matter the language barrier among Ettie , Josh, and the rest of the group, loss transcended mere words. Yagyu's sheaths, still at the young man's sides, crumbled to dust shortly after the Doublade departed to the afterlife. He had nothing to remember his trusty sidearm by. Nothing except his heart. That Doublade had sliced and diced through many bloodthirsty foes in her life cut all too short. Nothing could truly replace her. Perhaps, in due time, he would catch another. But it truly would never replace the relationship wielder and twin swords had with one another. The howl from Ettie and her pack was truly a sign that they understood how difficult loss was. The emotionally torn speedster withdrew all Pokémon his party had dismounted and tilted his head downward.

The finality of the loss was difficult for Josh to fully absorb as his Doublade and the souls of those Haunted Fiat had slain, Pokémon and humans of all ages, were at last able to live their afterlives in peace. Still crying, the Mauville Leader not fully aware of what Callan Young 's Hisuian Typhlosion was up to. When the Gimmighoul called Josh out for the weak, naive fool he was perceived to be, he let out an intense scream of frustration, anguish... even fear. The ghost-type's words cleaved through him cleaner than a BEHEMOTH BLADE's cut. Even complete and utter rejection from the Johto Beast he desperately wanted at his side would not have hurt as much as being called out by the crafty apparition did. He didn't even notice the Pokémon spirit's follow-up question. All he did was attempt to find someone to embrace and try to lift him from his sorrows, preferably Callan Young if he allowed it.

The boy was utterly lost.

Gradually, the howls would trail off, as their lungs were unable to hold the notes any longer. In the wake of the spirits - Yagyu in particular - a coin had been left behind, one that had caught Callan's attention; and with the help of his Typhlosion, Ardbert, the coin would be lit... Revealing a little Gimmighoul, who was seemingly summoned by said coin - rowing along in a little boat!

Ettie blinked in surprise, wondering just what all had happened - and one of her packmates, Haru, seemed to show distinct interest in the process as a whole.

But as the Gimmighoul addressed each individual, Ettie couldn't help but cock her head a bit at the description that the little ghost-type gave her - and glancing down, she shared a quiet yet quizzical glance with Ruffian. Was she like a lillipup? One would think that she'd be more of a Rockruff, given her upbringing (Or at least, she personally thought so!) And what was a mid-life crisis? Was Johanna really a liar?

But Josh's yell would jolt Ettie out of her thoughts, the young wildchild startling as she glanced to him at alarm. Was he okay? Was being 'naive' all that bad? Ettie and most of the pack approached the ranger - attempting to provide at least some form of comfort. "Friend...?"

However, that was 'most' of the pack - not all. A surprisingly hearty 'whuuuuff!' from Princess - as well as yipping from Duchess - could be heard, from somewhere just beyond where the seal was placed. It seemed that they had wandered off, sometime between the end of the howl and now! At the call of the two canines, Ettie's attention would snap in their direction - wondering if they had found something important, given the noise that even the normally-lazy Princess was making!

The young wildchild would approach where the duo had run off to - slowly and carefully, occasionally glancing back at Josh, reluctant to leave his side. But once she got around behind the seal, she'd see Princess and Duchess...

... And just beyond them, a fissure - as if something had cleaved into the earth, splitting it in twain. Ettie couldn't see the bottom of it, nor where it led - a sense of unease settling in as she stared into it. But pulling her attentions away, she'd call the group over - "Friends! Ettie found... Hole! Big hole! Really big!" It was times like these, where she wished she could better articulate the things she saw.

But, Charon was here, and accepting questions... "Charon-... Charon!" Ettie called, to get the gimmighoul's attention, before pointing at the fissure. "What-is? Why-is?"

(Though she has initially been about to call the little gimmighoul Charon-Friend, she was... Unsure, of how friend-like Charon was, given how Josh had reacted.)

Fulfilled: Found the fissure!

Johanna Joy Callan Young Josh Devlin

Ettie 's and Callan Young 's support, after quite some time, snapped Josh out of his spiral of sorrow, both over the finality of Yagyu's spirit passing on and the Gimmighoul's damning words. "Thank you... both of you." He carefully listened to the conversation between Callan and the Gimmighoul known as Charon. The rifts to Ultra Space were obviously a huge threat to Hoenn, something the Master of Faster was well aware of largely due to his conversations with the Birdfather, Alexei Ivanov . He knew how important it was to close these rifts. As a Gym Leader, he was contractually obligated, on top of morally obligated, to do so.

It also seemed the longer they stayed in this land of the dead, the more likely they would assume the forms of the dead. That was not an acceptable outcome for him, either. It seemed that for the price of one mere soul coin, that of Yagyu, they could secure safe passage to and from the rift whence they entered. Sniffing one more time, the Leader courageously faced Charon. "I have no objections. If everyone else agrees, then... you have yourself a deal." After his agreement, Josh folded his hands in prayer and mumbled, "Yagyu... thank you. I'll never forget you."

Her region enjoyed... Tampering with the fabrics of reality? Ettie cocked her head as she tried to understand Charon's little tirade. Something big had happened that... Broke things. And it was because people were too curious and 'flawed', whatever that may mean. Okay. She got that much - but given that this was due to events that she more likely than not had had zero part in, she technically had no part in the equation, besides coming in to help investigate the aftermath. Also, all of these talks of multi-whatevers and fabrics is gonna start giving her a headache, she was pretty sure. These were not things that a puppy was meant to comprehend.

Nonetheless, it sounded as though they were agreeing to some form of exchange with Charon - to come in and help the ferryman with things around the Border, in exchange for them acting as a guide and giving treasures of some kind. That didn't sound too bad, especially with Josh's agreement helping to seal the deal! "Okay! We help! Pack help!" Ettie spoke with a warm smile - hopping over to take Josh's and Johanna's hands with either hand. "We explore lots! Together!"

She was looking forward to future excursions in here, with the four of them together...!