Abandoned Laboratory

[Namohysip]

Deep in the Air Continent, where several Pokemon whose lives were somewhere between modern and nomadic, there were several areas that teemed with life of all shapes and sizes in a relatively localized perimeter. One such area was a fallen-apart, deep blue building made of stone and other foreign-looking objects, contradictorily modern in appearance but ancient in age. Several strange Pokemon lived here, though the skittish ones usually hid in dark corners when unknown visitors entered.

None of the technology seemed to work, or if it did, it did not have any power. Any books or texts or anything legible left behind by the humans had either already been recovered or were lost. The only story these ruins had to tell were from inference and symbolism; a direct answer had long since become impossible.

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"Here we are," Bone said casually, gesturing around her. "That wasn't a very long walk, now was it?"

It was. Along the way, Nugget and Tender had decided to accompany them for the trip, since they weren't doing rescue missions that day.

"This was the base of operations for a human settlement long ago, apparently," Bone explained.

"Seems... lonely, in a way," Nugget said, setting alight his wrists to light the room. "But I guess it used to be livelier in the past."

"Well... as a lab, I think it was probably very quiet, aside from the machinery," Bone said.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste was awestruck. “This place is... beautiful, in its own decrepit sort of way.”

Some of the machinery here was larger than he was. What did it all do, he wondered. Was it used to synthesize things? What could humans possibly need in such volumes that a setup of this size was required? Perhaps it was used for something else entirely.

One way or another, it made to workshop back home look like a place for child’s play. Salac would be jealous. Or amazed. In all likelihood, she would be both.

 

[TheGOAT]

Moldy walls. Rusted metal. Spotty lighting. Dank air. Dead vibe. The only things that remained were the skeletons of various machines, representing the ghosts of a livelier time. There were wires here and there… or—as Astrid inspected further—not even those remained, except for the occasional rubber casing concealing the fact that there was nothing left beneath the surface. Nothing left to investigate.

The inquisitive Vulpix began her investigation anyway, alternating from feeling pieces of rubble to staring at the walls, seemingly in a trance. Maybe she could find a pattern if she scrutinized hard enough. Maybe there was a secret doorway somewhere. Maybe, if she found a keepsake, she could bring it back and show her friends. Maybe even return Cynthian’s favor. Maybe she’d have something cool to tell Mawile when she got home. Maybe…

Astrid swallowed. Moving on. “So,” she began, flinching at how sharply her voice echoed through the stringent corridors. “How long ago is ‘long ago?’ If you know, I mean. It’s hard to tell with how little is left, but this technology isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before. Not in my world, or in other parts of Cibus…”

 

[Namohysip]

"I don't know the exact date," Bone said, "but you would measure it in hundreds or thousands of years, at least. Perhaps more? But it was long enough ago that it was lost across generations any tales of humans beyond mere fables. I think the only person who would really know more about them would be Karat, who had come with them, apparently." She tapped a bone club against part of the structure, which let out a hollow ringing noise. "These humans came to this world by accident. An experiment gone wrong, or some other incident. Their building came with the rest of them... But what happened to the humans after, I'm not sure. There weren't any human remains... but they could have also become nothing but dust."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“Wait, how many human ruins does this world have? Just the two? How many buildings did they move across with one failed experiment? Or... did they do it multiple times?”

Celeste sighed. Just when he was starting to think of humans as something understandable enough, here they were to not make sense again. You can always count on human ruins to not make sense.

 

[Namohysip]

"Not many," Bone said. "None that lasted, at least. In terms of humans native to this world...? None as far as I'm aware. All of these ruins suggest older Pokemon societies with no humans, either. As far as the world's history is recorded or uncovered... Mysterious, isn't it? Perhaps stories about humans actually started with these traveling lab rats..."

 

[TheGOAT]

“I wonder how they, y’know—” Astrid searched for her words and for clues among the rubble at the same time. “—died off.”

Not just in this world, but in others, she thought. What made the difference between a world like hers and a world like, say, Cuicatl’s?

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“Maybe something killed them. That’s what happened in mine.

“Or maybe we can be optimistic and hope the experiment just sterilized them all and they lived nice, happy lives.” He let out an awkward laugh at his own so-called joke.

 

[Namohysip]

"That's more likely," Bone replied simply, looking to Celeste. "There is another ruined settlement of humans nearby that showed some interesting telltale signs, and it's the only thing we have to go by for what humans were like before. I think I'll take you there next. Are we done here?"

 

[TheGOAT]

Astrid lingered, but eventually nodded.

“Let’s see it.”

 

[Namohysip]

"Right. It's not far from here... More like an outskirts to this area. Follow me."

And so, she walked for a while longer, Nugget and Tender following behind silently. Through a small forest and into a little, dug-out crater, Bone motioned to what appeared to be a simple but large pit with nothing much else but a few buildings.

"Here we are," she said. "...It doesn't look like much, but this is a human settlement. Or, what's left of it, after the excavators had a thorough look."

There really wasn't much. A few buildings that were not like the Pokemon ones at all, as the doors were too small and the dimensions inside seemed too specific. There were only a few remaining, too, from this crater in the clearing.

Bone tapped her club gently on the ground, pensive. "The running theory is that the scientists who were stranded here set up a home next to the lab. They must not have been able to get home immediately... or at all."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“Ah. I suppose, they didn’t die on the way over after all. Huh. Something probably did wipe them out, then... Well, unless they were actually all sterile.”

He stopped to think for a moment. “How much of this crater was dug out by the excavators? Did the humans dig some of this? Or was there just a natural crater here?”

 

[TheGOAT]

What in the…

Wow.

There was so little to inspect on the outside, and yet its basic infrastructure—something the sands of time hadn’t stolen yet—was still plenty to ponder at. Why was this crater here? Why were the buildings and doorways shaped that way? What purpose did it all serve? Every ounce of her anthropogenic studies shot to the forefront of her mind, but she knew it was a lost cause. There were no humans here to gather further information from. Bone couldn’t help. Pine, maybe? Pine wasn’t here though. It infuriated her. It burned at the skin underneath her fur.

“It looks dug-out to me,” she remarked, clearing her throat. “But…”

She stepped carefully into one of the buildings, inspecting its insides. Was there anything hidden behind the façade waiting to be found, she wondered…?

 

[Namohysip]

The insides were empty. If they had any furniture or other human decorations or technology, they had been lost or recovered by researchers long ago. Perhaps it would only be a keen eye that would be able t o confirm that these were human ruins at all, and not just some strange, ancient society.

"If you ever get the chance," Bone said, "you should ask some of the more long-lived Pokemon about these humans. Karat would probably give you information about it, if you get on his good side."

"Good luck with that," Nugget muttered. "We fought him a long time ago and got on his good side when we won, but he's still pretty private, emotionally. Always brooding..."

Tender didn't comment, but he could relate.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“Wow, they sure gutted this place. It’s like... the skeleton of a building.

 

[TheGOAT]

Karat. Got it.

Astrid nodded once. “Thanks so much for your help.”

 

[Namohysip]

Bone nodded, then looked to Tender and Nugget. "I guess that's all I have to share with you. Nothing more I can do, so I'll be seeing you." She looked to her two teammates. "How about we get some lunch?"

"Sounds good to me," the Blaziken said, waving farewell to Astrid and Celeste. "Be seeing you!"

"Take care." Tender nodded at them, and then followed Bone back, leaving Astrid and Celeste to explore as they wished.

 

[TheGOAT]

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[Namohysip]

They appeared just outside of the laboratory, and immediately felt a strange power rush through them. Owen winced and stepped away. "Ngh, what is that? It burns..."

"Radiance," Maple said, her fur glowing in resonance. "And a lot of it. Be careful. Be wary of using Radiant techniques in its presence..."

"So it really is some kind of Radiant Machine, just like the Shadow Machine." Truffle hummed. "Karat, you should be careful. You're vulnerable to that kind of power as well, not being Radiant yourself."

"I'll live," Karat muttered. "Is Maple okay?"

"I am fine. I am simply... reacting strongly to the Radiance. But I know how to keep it under control." Despite her words, though, it looked like parts of her body, just under the skin, was ripping away, revealing... something stirring underneath. Something golden..

"Your suit's tearing," Soda pointed out with a smirk.

Maple huffed and covered one of the 'wounds.' "It will pass. Give me a moment."

"Ah! There you are!" Buffet called, rushing toward them from the right. "We don't have a moment! Giovanni is--"

In a blink, Buffet went careening off to the side with a massive chunk of his wings missing as well as one of his heads. Spewing from the wound was something that appeared to be stardust.

"Buffet!" Truffle shouted.

"Oh, did I do that?" called a voice.

Just around the wall, stepping into view, was that same Mewtwo with the cold grin and sharp eyes. "My hand must have slipped. I do hope he is okay."

"It will... take more than that... to take me out!" Buffet shouted even as more stardust poured from him. "Don't worry about me!" he called to the others, though it was clear he was in no condition to fight. "I've been obliterated once and I can handle it again!"

But it felt like there was someone else around the wall, too. Giovanni wasn't alone...

 

[Fusion]

"Hey, Giovanni. What's that behind you?" Vix asked, looking entirely serious. It was easy to have a poker face with only eyes on your face. "Looks like updog to me?"