Wolves prowl in the dark corners of the world. Its amber eyes hunt in them for answers to a burning question, one for which he has no answers. Yesterday, many of those he has come to like and respect as dear comrades have vanished. Chaos threatens to set in. The high, dark lord offers vague directions.[break]
So, here the dog prowls, hunting for truth. He prowls around time-lost monsters. They hunt in these caverns. Beautiful worlds shine in crystal light. Sometimes, the dog swears he sees those he cares about, chained in some faraway prism. Dismissing them, as all animals dismiss that which he does not understand, he presses on...[break]
...until, as he hides, he spots a human approaching. This one is familiar. Sheathing his Honedge, the dog crawls out from behind the tera crystal. Only a single Kartana floats at his side.[break]
"Oi!" The dog shouts, all attempts at decorum forgotten. "You! You're some merc with the League, yeah?" He does not watch livestreams, nor does he research the pasts of men who he could not kill.[break]
"They got you lookin' for Cadence Cadenza and Raphael Nadelsen down here?"

Kusanagi chitters in an alien language, begging the dog who commands it to allow it the honor of charging. The floating sword, for now, is ignored. There are human concerns, which must be dealt with in the queer tongue of mankind.[break]
"I don't know squat!" A frustrating matter, as made evident by his tone. A good lackey learns the many flavors of ignorance. This one does not agree with him.[break]
"I'm...I'm lookin' for people, too." There may be pointed questions in the coming days, when jayden cross and Cillian Quinn return to him. In this uncertain present, all he wants is to see them again, to be given another hit from one or the other, to hone his blade in the training room like nothing ever changed.[break]
"Most of my bosses are missing."

There are many great trainers in the world, and the dog is not among them. When the League's agent sends out two apex predators to do battle with their lesser kin, it takes a moment for him to regain his composure. These monsters seem devolutions and futuristic reproductions of Pokemon SPECTRA has been warning him against - no mere fantasies, but very real terrors. It speaks to this trainer's capacity that he would be able to wield them.[break][break]
A sharp whistle summons a second Kartana out from the sleeve of his robe, out to join the first. They fly around him in a synchronized pattern, their sacred swords sending raw fighting spirit flying across the field like errant cherry blossoms. Between his ultra beast's and the stranger-foe's beasts, they have time to talk.[break][break]
"Then I'll tell ya what. Those DRK Triad guys are no joke. If you wanna look into it together, ya got my word I've got yer back 'til we find everyone." Afterwards, the dog's maw spreads into a grin. "All I ask's ya give me a five minute headstart after we figure everything out."

“Nah.” He speaks the word plainly, only a small click of annoyance signaling his displeasure at the notion. “Lost most of my Pokémon at the battle where we fought last time.” His lips stop just short of voicing a sorry to the man. Somehow, he doubts a simple sorry will make up for the lives he took without even realizing what it meant to kill. The thought goes unsaid in favor of more practical concerns. [break]
”I’ll walk if ya don’t got one I can borrow.”

Dogs are not in the business of looking a gift Pokemon in the mouth. Instead, with a small nod, he moves to the Iron Crown and mounts the mechanical sword. It feels strange under his body. A memory rises of a battle with the genuine article, a sword that meant to bring him to justice. There is no justice in this world, no real justice, or many good folk would be alive and he would be dead. Keeping that thought to himself, he allows the Pokemon to guide itself as it follows its true master.[break]
They have asserted themselves, mostly through the man-mercenary's strength. Paradoxes back off, returning to their faux-ecosystem. The dog lacks the imagination to imagine what robots do when there is no flesh about to tear about. Instead, he turns to his company. They have time, and the Kartanas keep an eye out for trouble on the way.[break]
"We woke up yesterday and everybody was gone. Same story for the people on your side? Vanished right out of their bed." When the initial panic at jayden cross's disappearance died, he made a mad dash for Yumi Hasegawa's apartment, desperate to make sure she was okay. It was the greatest blessing of his life when she greeted him with a puzzled look, just like when his Galarian dream ended.[break]
"Shit's weird. This region's weird. Don't get why people wanna be here."

The word interpol rouses a look of understanding. It's a word he knew well in his past life as a dog of the Hasegawa. Interpol took down many of his fellows. Some of them even tried to make charges stick on the old man himself, but none of them ever could. They were an enemy then, but when the dog hears about the man's case...[break][break]
"Wish you guys had taken him out sooner." He speaks with a certain candor. "Wish they weren't here." Dogs and samurai both know duty. Duty binds him here, on top of this powder keg. It will explode, and he will burn when it does. Sometimes, he wishes Yumi Hasegawa had not decided to throw her lot in with humans who fancy themselves gods. If SPECTRA has taught him anything, it is that they tell themselves a lie that can end on the edge of a well-honed blade.[break][break]
"I'm from Johto." He finally says. "Here 'cause Hoenn's the center of pretty much everything." There's still no sign of a camp ahead.[break][break]
"Solve any cool cases?"