"This pce almost feels nostalgic," I murmured, looking around the towering forest.

  Even though we stood in a timeline that had not existed for a hundred million years, the vibrant greenery felt strangely familiar. I had never physically visited this era, save for the brief mental vision I shared with Tyranna, but this specific location did not match the beach from my mindscape. The air carried a thick, clinging humidity. Sunlight pierced through the canopy of massive ferns and ancient trees, casting fractured shadows across the forest floor. Yet, an unsettling silence bnketed the area. According to Cryo, there were no Pokémon or humans within three hundred feet of our drop point.

  [Close your eyes briefly while I calibrate an overy for your vision,] Cryo’s mechanical voice echoed in my mind. [This will allow you to see the outlines of living entities within our scanning range. You will need to identify the humans to bel them manually. Since we are in an unrecorded era, you will have to do the same for the wildlife. While the System retains data on fossilized Pokémon, we cannot know everything from this far back. There is a high probability you will encounter species never seen or recorded in the modern era.]

  I gave a subtle nod. I followed the System’s instruction and let my eyes slide shut.

  When I opened them a second ter, a burst of glowing geometric lines spread out from my feet. The energy pulsed outward like a digital net, briefly coating every tree, rock, and shrub in the vicinity. At first, the sheer amount of visual data was overwhelming. I was about to compin that the clutter made it impossible to see, but the glowing white grid quickly faded into the background.

  I frowned, testing the limits of the new interface. I focused my attention on a vibrant, strange-looking flower blooming near the base of a massive tree root. I stepped back in surprise as a translucent digital bubble expanded in my field of vision.

  Type: Botanical Name: Isnd Fregora Description: Refining and ingesting the petals of this flower increases the base stats of any Fire-type Pokémon. This flower also provides a massive temporary boost to physical Stamina. Crafting: Requires 30 blossoms to refine 1 Fire Racer Pill. A maximum of 5 pills can be consumed to reach the maximum threshold effect.

  "I want it!" Nemona shouted directly into my ear.

  I nearly jumped out of my skin, my heart hammering against my ribs. I spun around to find her staring intensely at the flower.

  "Hey! Pipe down!" I hissed, grabbing her by the shoulder. "We are in a hostile environment, remember?"

  Nemona ignored my warning. She grabbed me by the colr of my shirt, shaking me eagerly before yanking my head down toward the glowing system text hovering next to the pnt.

  "Do you see this?" she whispered harshly, pointing a finger at the petals. "Fire enhancement? Physical stamina? This is basically everything that I need to push my limits!"

  I rolled my eyes, prying her hands off my colr. "Yes, Nemona, I see it. I promise we will make sure to collect enough materials before we leave the timeline. But I don't know if you just forgot, or if you are intentionally ignoring the primary objective. We have seven dangerous criminals to catch. Once the area is secure, we can strip this isnd completely bare if you want. Deal?"

  Nemona beamed. She pulled me into a swift, passionate kiss, then immediately dropped me to skip over toward Anabel.

  "What should we do, boss?" Nemona asked, practically vibrating with excess energy.

  Anabel surveyed the dense foliage for a moment. She pointed down a narrow, overgrown path winding between the massive tree trunks.

  "I have to assume they headed that way," Anabel deduced. "It offers the path of least resistance through the undergrowth. Since we have a solid understanding of what kind of psychic abilities they possess, we need to split up into smaller units. We can cover more ground without presenting a single massive target. Landon, you take point on securing the human convicts. The rest of us will run interference and handle any aggressive wild Pokémon."

  "That is a solid tactical pn," I agreed, stepping to the center of the group. "But I want everyone to keep one crucial detail in mind. We are deep in the prehistoric past. This isn't the same modern world we know. Humans likely don't even exist in this era. There are no Pokémon Centers, no backup to call if we get pinned down, and absolutely no safety nets. The wildlife here is going to be unlike anything we have ever fought."

  I paced in front of them, making sure I had everyone's attention. "We got incredibly lucky with the Tyrantrum incident. We had enough modern data on the species that it wasn't a complete unknown. I guarantee I cannot say the same for every apex predator lurking in these trees."

  I looked down the overgrown path, closing my eyes to pulse the AR scanner again. The grid fred out, but there were still no thermal signatures nearby. I opened my eyes and turned to the Interpol agent.

  "Here is the yout," I instructed, pointing to each woman in turn. "Anabel, you and Lusamine work together. Nemona, you pair up with Grusha. Iono, you are with me. I want everyone to stay within a strict three-hundred-foot radius of my position at all times."

  I pointed directly at Anabel's chest. "Your safety is the absolute highest priority here. Unlike the girls in my party, you are mortal. You can't just digitally retreat into the Prisma sanctuary if you take a lethal hit. It is vital that you stay close behind me, but keep enough distance so you don't get caught in the crossfire when I engage."

  Anabel gave a slow, respectful nod. "I appreciate that you are taking the environmental hazards seriously. You aren't underestimating the enemy. You got lucky with the containment breach, but this timeline is a completely different reality."

  "I know," I said ftly. "Which is exactly why you are staying in the rear. I will intercept the immediate threats."

  "Understood. Then we need to get moving before the trail goes completely cold," Anabel said. She turned to Lusamine, adjusting her jacket. "Are there any Pokémon signatures around us right now?"

  Lusamine raised an elegant eyebrow. "Since when did I become the designated Pokémon radar?"

  "Can't you sense them?" Anabel countered smoothly, making the blonde woman roll her eyes in exasperation.

  "Literally everyone here can sense them," Lusamine replied with a dramatic sigh. "Including Landon."

  "Yes, but they aren't my partner for this mission. You are," Anabel said with a rare, genuine smile. She stepped forward and seamlessly linked her arm through Lusamine's.

  Lusamine's cheeks flushed a sudden, brilliant shade of pink. She cleared her throat, looking away toward the tree line. "Well, then. There are quite a few small Pokémon nearby. But they seem to be actively hiding from us."

  I nodded, taking that as our cue. I motioned for the group to move out. Iono instantly stepped up to my side, linking her arm through mine. She looked up at me with a bright, enthusiastic smile as we took our first steps down the prehistoric trail.

  "Are you streaming this live right now?" I asked, gncing at the empty air around her.

  Iono shook her head, her oversized hair clips bouncing. "Nope! No live feed today. But I am recording everything locally with a few micro-drones hovering above the canopy. An unmapped timeline like this could have some incredibly graphic encounters, and I will likely have to do some heavy censorship editing ter to keep my channel monetized. Still, the environmental shots are going to make fantastic vlog footage!"

  She squeezed my arm affectionately. "Oh! Speaking of private footage, I finally finished editing our movie!"

  I stopped dead in my tracks, my boots digging into the dirt. I looked down at her, my brain completely skipping a vital cog. "Our... movie?"

  Iono giggled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Yep! And Jolene already saw the preview. She said she absolutely demands a starring role in the next episode!"