Suddenly a strong stench entered her noise which travelled from far away and many others had raised their voices in complaint.
"Ugh.. what is.."
"Disgusting!"
"It is coming from over there.. this stench."
"Quick get out of here if you-gara~ do not want to smell this anymore. I will call someone to investigate."
"Yeah, it smells like.. death."
"Good choice."
Pixel covered her nose and revealed a look of displeasure. "Urk.."
With her stronger sense of smell from her improved animal senses and instincts, she was able to detect the smell from far away and it was still strong and unpleasant enough to make her reveal real displeasure for the first time in this life.
The old raccoon could pick up the smell too and said in a sad tone. "Someone has died, I can recognise that smell.. the smell of a rotting body. We should leave the area and leave this to those in charge."
Ash was about to agree when she saw Pixel's ears pointed upward as if she was more alert and searching for something. "Are you-teia coming?"
Just as Ash was about to grab onto her, Pixel ran forward and quickly entered a small back alley with many small and rundown buildings that belonged to the much poorer and harsher parts of Zou.
Zou may be a good place for the minks to live and most of them were quite united unless there was some kind of personal dispute or rivalry between them and while there was often many good things shown of the lands of Zou, there would always be some hidden places that escaped the notice of everyone.
The place she had entered was one of those places which could easily be passed by everyday but she continued to move forward until she found a small crowd of poorly dressed and dirty minks who were banging on the door of the small run down home that almost knocked the door from its hinges.
The smell of death was much stronger and she could hear the sounds much clearer as she heard a small sob. "Mom.. hic."
The old raccoon mink caught up faster than others and said. "You-gara~ should warn us first if you-gara~ plan on running off."
Ash caught up afterwards followed by the servants of the house. "You scared me!"
Pixel closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself then opened them again as she turned to old Swifty. "Can you-chu~ cut the door down and get them out of the way?"
Without even replying, old Swifty stepped forward as he took out his single edged sword as he walked towards the crowd. "Get back!"
The crowd quickly dispersed which allowed him to raise his sword and cut downwards as a clean cut had appeared on the door near the hinges which had caused the door to fall off.
The stench of death became stronger as the door stopping it from spreading out had been removed which caused many Minks to back off.
The servants were quick to grab some fabrics and cloths as they handed them to Ash, Pixel and Old Swifty as they entered the room.
Ash went to cover Pixel's eyes quickly before she could see the insides but her attempts were in vain as Pixel had already laid eyes upon the mess inside and the cause of the mixed smells she could smell in the air and the noises she heard.
As Pixel saw the tiny and thin figure that was weakly sitting by a slightly covered up body with blankets, she recalled a moment of her past life.
A small Pikachu spoke to a large Zapdos in their native languages but they understood each other. "Why did you save me and take me under you back then?"
The Zapdos recalled the past moment and then spoke without hesitation. "The weak will always be the quick to be captured or die when they are left on their own unless they have a large amount if luck. All I did was see a small and defenceless Pichu and extended my claw, you are the one that took it and stuck around. If I want anything in return, then just do the same for someone else that needs the same help and help them survive."
Pikachu nodded seriously. "I promise."
Zapdos then turned away as he left her to allow her to go start her own adventure without him and she never saw him for a long time until one day, he turned up injured after being attacked by the Team Rocket forces as they collected his blood for some sinister purpose.
Luckily Zapdos was able to recover as she rallied their old friends to heal him.
Back to the present, she saw a child that had been suffering and was weak while caught in despair while their sole parent had long been dead.
She was forced to recall her promise to Zapdos which she still took seriously even in the new world she was in.
The small figure had very short light brown hair and eyes, a bushy tail like a brush, pointed ears and a very thin and dirty appearance which seemed to have been starving and without care for some time as the home seemed to be very poor looking and the sole parent had passed away.
The child was around her own age and was sat down weeping as if they did not notice the intruders but Pixel turned to her mother. "Can you-chu~ send someone to find out everything on this family and have it reported back to me. I am thinking of using one of the positions granted to the main bloodline here and wish to help this child."
Ash looked at her daughter and revealed a look of understanding. "You wish to help them? Are you-teia~ sure? It will not be so easy and they may not even be grateful for the help?"
Ash was more realistic and understood that the child was trapped in their grief and may not even wish to continue, the idea of serving by someone else's side and receiving help may not be something they would want but Pixel shook her head. "I am sure, I will take responsibility."
It was then discovered that the child had not seen their father and many did not know their origins besides the mother which had already passed away from sickness and malnutrition.
The child must have been unable to leave their mothers side and had stayed within the home as they become even weaker and as the body had started to rot and the smell had spread outwards.
The mother usually kept to herself so not many knew much about them but they did reveal that the child had occasionally came outside to do chores for others and returned home with some herbs so Pixel and the others understood that the four year old Fennec Mink had been struggling on their own to raise themselves and keep their mother alive.
When Pixel listened to everything, she then turned to her mother and the other servants. "Someone carry them back to the Meridian family grounds by my home and prepare a place to wash and some food and drink. Make some preparations for them to have their final farewell to their mother."
A sendoff or funeral was something that needed to be handled to avoid spread of disease and to say final farewells for loved ones so she wished to provide that for the child that was around her own age.
The child was unwilling at first as they were touched and pulled away from their mother but Ash stepped forward and brought the child into a warm hug which let the child settle down and fall asleep due to exhaustion.
The servants started to request help from the surrounding residents to remove the personal belongings and move them along with the body before tidying up the remains which made them enthusiastic since they were being paid handsomely by rich folk.
The small Fennec Mink was escorted back to the family home of Ash and Pixel as a room was prepared for them.
The decision of Pixel had saved a life and helped her gain a loyal and close companion in the new and unfamiliar world she was living in.