Destiny Village ~ Chip's Lab

[Namohysip]

Chip's eyes flickered like a grin at first, but by the time Luz had brought a hand on one of his limbs, he hesitated and that cheerful glimmer seemed to be there by force instead off genuinely. "E-eh, what do you mean, exactly? Truth-seeking? I already get questions from Puff, I'm not really interested in answering more than I need to... What's this about?"

He glanced helplessly at Lexx. "Inventions? Well, I'm still working on Poke Balls, for one, probably not getting very far very quickly on that one..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Well, partner, have you made any headway findin' any leads on that fake badge message, the one that screwed up things fer the team a while back? Somethin' 'bout a spoofed ID? I ain't altogether comfortable with this world's technology or anythin'. Must be the time of yer life, gettin' to work on tech y'ain't even conceived of in yer own world."

Luz glanced about the lab, casually examining Chip's workspace.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Lexx tapped a fist to his palm as if he were only just remembering. "Right, that! Reshiram was looking into that, wasn't he? Checking the transmission logs, trying to get a better idea of where the fake message came from?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Oh, it's been wonderful!" Chip nodded, which was more like his head magnetically bobbing up and down a few times like a hollow fruit in water.

Chip's lab was still barren, more like a front desk and lobby than anything on the front chamber. A welcoming area. Sterile, empty. The good stuff was in the hall to the right of the entrance, which Lexx had explored thoroughly during his many visits. Most of it was failed inventions or scattered thoughts given form. Of those rooms, none of it was really worth exploring again from Lexx's knowledge alone.

"Those texts were a dead end, unfortunately..." Chip's limbs dipped. "We traced it, but we didn't find anything else. We already know about where Giovanni is now, so... that's all we can get from it."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz nodded. "Sure. In tracin' the message, did ya find a way to prevent that kinda trick bein' pulled on us again?"

She scratched her chin. Chip wasn't one for creature comforts, apparently.

"Say, partner," she drawled, "you must've gotten yer paws—appendages?—on plenty of Giovanni's gear by now, what with Team Spectrum dismantlin' it on the regular. Don't suppose you've seen enough of it by now to get much idea what he's buildin' towards? Assumin' that he is, clever scoundrel like him."

 

[Chibi Pika]

A dead end, huh... Well, that was inconvenient. And it didn't seem like a lie--he wasn't nearly flustered enough for that.

"Oh, oh, how about that Mewtwo tracker I heard about? How's that coming along?" Come to think of it, how many people on the team knew about that? One would think that'd be something a spy would try to report back to Giovanni on...

 

[Namohysip]

"Well, that part seems pretty easy," Chip said. "Er--code patching wise, it might be solved by now. We have more security measures in place already, so I don't think we'll be able to replicate signals or fake them anymore. Not in the same way, at least. Security is always something that evolves with time, you know? And... well... Giovanni's obviously trying to find a way to control anybody he wants with the power of the Blacklight. That's what all of this technology seems to be working toward, with the strange mechanic and how it all seems to operate on invisible energy that only certain Pokemon can perceive. Oh, speaking of Perceive, that Owen fellow was the one who helped with some of that, since he's one who can. You as well, Lexx, as you know...

"Ohh but the Mewtwo tracker! That's been going wonderfully! It works on Karat, at least. And Giovanni and that other one must have similar readings! So far we're getting weak ones from the Mist Continent, but nothing extraordinary. We will need a big blast to get it really working..."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"A big blast, huh? What're y'sayin', that if Giovanni exerts himself with a lotta psychic power, we'll get a fix on his position?"

"I don't think we'll be able to replicate signals or fake them anymore."

"Hang fire, did ya say we were replicatin' an' fakin' signals? Thought it was just our mysterious Maple impostor."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Lexx crossed his arms behind his head, putting on an irreverent smile. "Well, knowing how to replicate what the enemy's up to is half the battle, isn't it?" Still, he couldn't help hoping there'd be more to it than that.

Glancing about the lab casually, he went on, "Seems like most of the team isn't too into the research here. It's a shame. Wish there were more people hype to figure this stuff out, y'know?"

 

[Namohysip]

"E-eh, well." Chip hesitated, a sudden buzz running through his head. "You have to replicate a bug to fix it, you know? Reshiram and I were doing that. And, you know. Slip of the beak." Chip fidgeted more. "L-look, it's like what Lexx is saying. I'm just really enthusiastic about replicating what the enemy can do because then we can use it against them! Right? E-ehh... What's all this questioning for, again?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"We're tryin' to learn all we can about what Giovanni's up to, fella! And ain't you somethin' like the world's foremost technologist besides yer busy, busy boss? Who else are we gonna ask about all this stuff, seein' as we don't have technicians in the team as such? No offence, Lexx. Anyway, we're dependin' on you, partner! So, you were sayin' we need Giovanni to use a burst of power, do I have that right?"

Luz held an even gaze. This still wasn't her idea of fun, but it didn't induce any existential crises, so it almost came as a relief. Chip was starting to fidget. Nervous fella. Was he lying, or just anxious under scrutiny?

 

[Chibi Pika]

Lexx shrugged. "None taken. I know the other me woulda had no trouble cracking this case, but I've got a ways to go on that front." He was supposed to be good at this stuff. What choice did he have but to learn it all as fast as possible?

"So there really hasn't been anyone else interested in hearing any of the progress and such? Pretty disappointing tbh. Was hoping I could find someone else to spitball ideas with."

 

[Namohysip]

"I-I-I-I yes, well, we definitely need to have Giovanni, or that Mewtwo, do a huge burst of energy. And Karat can't do the same thing at the same time, either. Otherwise, well, you know, we'd get the wrong reading, a false positive from Karat... And, well. The Charmeleon--eh, Charizard now--seemed interested. But maybe only to be polite. Nate, too."

He drifted back. "Look, it's just a little odd to just... come in here and ask these questions like this, I don't get it! Did someone send you to ask this? I don't really know what you want, I'm going as fast as I can!" His buzzing was getting a lot louder. "It's not easy trying to detect a world-ending threat that's intelligent about it! I-it's a lot of pressure. I've barely taken a day off in... I don't remember!"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz held her hands up appeasingly. "Relax, fella. Y'ain't the only 'mon I'm talkin' to today about how things're gettin' on. Say, if yer so run ragged, is there any help y'could do with havin'? Any problems we can sort out fer ya?"

 

[Namohysip]

"I'm... I don't really know," said Chip. "I'm Reshiram's assistant in all this. This is very sensitive information, and while you're all allowed here since you're directly involved... I don't know how much expertise I can get. Maybe a little help, but..." Chip seemed to lower his guard a little.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz put a digit to her mouth for a moment.

"Well, if'n there's anyone whose help would be of real use, maybe we can persuade them an' Reshiram to work somethin' out. It's fer the sake of the world, after all. So, the lab's restricted to most folks, huh? Who else even has access besides yerself, yer boss, and Team Spectrum? An' how hard would it be fer someone to get in illicitly?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Well... not too many. God Squad can show up, as well. But aside from that, not even the Omen heroes are allowed here! Well, I mean. If they asked I might allow it, but there was never really a need! Oh, and Silver, when he was still awake, but he didn't seem that enthusiastic about seeing his team. Was always bothered that he couldn't connect with them."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Luz nodded along with Chip's elaboration, keeping an eye on Lexx, who seemed to have become distracted by Chip's laboratory items.

"I see. Well, we're pretty sure that one of Giovanni's moles is a God Squaddie. You said they can show up. Do they? An' could they sneak in if they wanted to?"

She eyed the door to Silver's team's room. She hadn't bumped into that fella, but he sure seemed peculiar. The Omen Hero humans could sure connect with their partners well enough. Hell, Jesse had connected with Sierra so well that he'd gone and f—

"Aha, um, we were also wonderin' about havin' heard that Silver's among those as can see the Blacklight crater on the moon. That suggests the kid's corrupted, himself. Is that somethin' you considered lookin' into?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Silver? Corrupted?" Chip asked, buzzing in thought. "I didn't really know that. But it makes sense, if he was inside that Shadow Machine. Maybe the corruption is still in him, just a little nugget. That's... not good, is it?" He dipped down. "This place is rigged with security cameras and energy sensors of all kinds. Not even Soda can sneak past everything. Now I may have a lot of my ideas rejected, but protecting my inventions that do make it through? You'd bet I get those approved! I have some of the best traps in the world! ...Was hoping to add Poke Ball capture to that, but noooo, apparently that's too much." Chip rattled disappointedly.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"Well, fella, it comes as a genuine relief that the lab is so secure! I just sure hope y'ain't underestimatin' God Squad. But hey, you don't seem none too concerned one of them might be spyin' fer that mewtwo, Chip. Ain'tcha even surprised I'd levy a suspicion like that?"