Sand Continent ~ Isle of Light

[Namohysip]

"...Perhaps next time I should properly screen volunteers," Maple said. "Reminder, just be careful. The moment we enter, it's going to be the same situation as before..."

They entered carefully, and Maple readied a preemptive Blinding Crescent... but there was nobody inside. Wishkeeper and Owen took the lead next and scanned, but he looked back and said, "Nobody's here."

 

[Fusion]

"...Perhaps next time I should properly screen volunteers," Maple said.

"Hey, I haven't done anything wrong yet. I technically haven't done anything right either. Or anything at all," Puddle paused. "I don't remember my point, but I know I had one."

Wishkeeper and Owen took the lead next and scanned, but he looked back and said, "Nobody's here."

Puddle wobbled, relieved. "That's good news, right? We won't have to worry about anything coming after us, then?"

"Might still have to look out for traps, but we can cross that bridge when we get to it." It rolled a bit further in, right up to Owen and Wishkeeper. "You two wouldn't be able to sense traps, would you?"

 

[Namohysip]

"We can sense physical traps," Owen said. "But if something else is hidden by energy or something like that, I don't think we can sense it as easily..."

Maple advanced to the back of the room, making sure that it really was safe. After a bit more time, she took a slow breath, looked back at Millijoule, and nodded.

"I'll be here," he assured her, "for whatever you may find..."

Maple wasn't sure if that would make things better or worse. But as she advanced, Owen, too, seemed to get a little nervous, because she was heading directly toward... where Joule's armor had been found.

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot grimaced and looked hesitantly as Maple continued on. He knew what part of the base he wanted to investigate first, but he also knew that Maple needed others to support her when she'd inevitably find the other pieces of Joule's armor. And with how suddenly they were forced to retreat last time, there was no way for them to know for sure how much time they'd have to look for clues.

"Pleo, could you make sure that Maple will be alright?"

The young Lugia nodded and followed Maple, prompting Cabot to turn to the rest of the team.

"Hey, I'm gonna check out that room where Ho-Oh and the others were being kept. We had to leave in a hurry last time, so there might be something we missed," he said. "Anyone wanna join me?"

 

[Cresselia92]

“Ah! I’ll join!” chirped Petram, waving his forepaws excitedly. “Snooping around places was my counterpart’s specialty!”

He walked across the ceiling, then the wall, and then the floor, until he was by Cabot’s side.

“I can even offer extra light, if you need~!”

To prove his point, he set his spectral tails ablaze, becoming a beacon of purple light in the mostly dark corridor. He dimmed his glow afterwards — they were on a mission, after all!

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot gave an amused look as Pentram walked across the ceiling and the wall. Normally he'd feel weirded out to see a Vulpix do something like that, but he'd seen other people's Shades do enough unusual things that it didn't really bother him anymore. Not to mention there was something endearing about the way Pentram did things.

"Heh, Icetales must be pretty happy to have you around," he chuckled with a wag of his tail, before looking back up at the rest of the team with a smile. "Anyone else wanna join?"

 

[Fusion]

"Guess I'll go with Maple. You guys, uh, don't die," Puddle blipped, rolling to Maple's side. He wasn't a professional, but it sort of felt like Maple wasn't feeling all that great about this. Maybe. Who was he to say? "You feeling alright, Maple?"

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Soul silently slunk toward Petram and Cabot. They cast a glance nervously around the room.

 

[Namohysip]

"Cal, go with Maple," Owen said. "I need to analyze this room with the others, since that's where Ho-Oh used to be. But Maple... needs support."

"Okay." And for once, Cal didn't put up a fuss, and followed Maple to the main room.

The internals of Ho-Oh's former containment room was a mess. Countless, chaotic slashes decorated the walls, along with remnants of what looked like attacks of all sorts of elements. melted ice, electric scorches, even bits of spectral energy here and there... Though the biggest giveaway for who was responsible came from a message carved into the walls: "Darkwhite was here" along with an oversized pawprint and what appeared to be a low-effort doodle of Darkwhite's face.

Most, if not all, of the technology in the room was unsalvageable.

--

Maple slowly approached the room where Joule's remains had been, stopping only when at the door. She didn't look like she wanted to open it...

 

[Fusion]

Looks like the chance to be a "friend" came sooner than Puddle expected. It silently rolled up to the door and sort of... smooshed against it. "Damn armless body..." it groaned quietly. It went back to being a puddle, ooze as much around and under the door as possible, and drag it open. Turns out, scraping on the ground under the weight of a door hurt. Puddle sizzled painfully as it detached from the door a reformed into a ball, rolling back to Maple's side.

"You have any idea what we should be looking for, Maple?" Puddle asked. "If Cal and I know what to keep an eye out for, you won't have to come in with us."

 

[Virgil134]

Cabot scratched his cheek as he looked at the drawing and the message Darkwhite had left behind.

"Well... at least Sword was here at some point," he sighed, before shaking his head. "Let's look around and see if there's any clues regarding other bases that Giovanni might have here in Cibus."

--

Pleo came to a stop next to Maple and gave a nuzzle at her arm. "Hey, it's alright. We're here for you."

 

[Cresselia92]

“On it, pal!” exclaimed Petram, pumping a paw. He studied the unusable technology, poking at some buttons to see if something happened. However, aside from some bizarre sounds, it didn’t seem like much happened.

“Sheesh! This whole place is broken! If I were a clue, where would I be…?”

His tails started glowing with renewed fervor, and he slipped through some crack to check inside the machinery. He tapped the melted ice.

“…More cold water here. Hmm… I wonder if there is a way to know how long ago this ice had been made…”

 

[Namohysip]

"There doesn't seem to be any energy left in it," Owen said. "This water was conjured at least a few days ago, which means it must have been when Darkwhite raided this place to steal Ho-Oh... It must have been planned by Giovanni from the start to let it happen this way, right? Ugh, I can't believe everything we did was part of his plan..."

--

Finally, Maple helped to push the door open, revealing the same scene as before. Some scuffed up areas, those light-based markings that were straight and blackened... And the armor. Maple's eyes locked onto the pieces of armor left behind. "...That's... unmistakably his," she said quietly.

Millijoule stayed quiet, unsure of his presence would help or hurt.

 

[Fusion]

"This place is somehow feels like more of a wreck than before..." Puddle muttered. "Maple, if want to sit this out, we won't stop you. But..." uh oh, trying to be helpful emotionally. "Call me blunt, but whatever happened is already in the past. I can't tell if you're worried or hurt, and while all of us are here to help you and we care, we also have a job to do. If we really did need to fight something, you being lost in your own head or heart isn't going to help us." It ended up being helpful professionally, and "helpful" felt like too strong a word for that too. Whether that would come back to bite Puddle or not, it will see.

It was a good thing Puddle was just goop. Being bitten wouldn't hurt that much.

 

[Virgil134]

"There's no way we could have known it was part of his plan," Cabot reassured, as he looked between the broken tech and inside the cells for anything of note. "Surely there's gotta be something here that Giovanni overlooked... How is he doing all of this one his own anyway?"

--

Pleo gave Maple a look of sympathy, before hesitantly speaking up. "It's only part of his armor, right? And Joule is super strong, so surely he's still alive... We just need to look for a clue where he might be."

 

[Namohysip]

Owen helped with the analysis, looking over every piece of scrap and every bit of destroyed technology. Most of it wasn't anything new from Chip's findings... However, there was still a chance that they'd find new insight. Occasionally, the Charmeleon pointed out a strange piece of metal that had been twisted in an odd way, concluding that perhaps it was a Psychic attack from Giovanni.

It wasn't until they got near the back of the room that Owen stopped and pointed. "...I can't... see what's inside there. But it's sealed."

It was part of Ho-Oh's former chamber, near the bottom. Undamaged, sealed, and with some brute-force, perhaps they could open it. At the current strength that everyone had, a charged blast from Owen would be enough if he got up close. "Should we open it...? Or should we be more careful? I can't tell what's in it..."

--

"...Yes. This... it's just part of him. I don't see his core. It's as Owen said--so... he should still be okay. He must be." Maple kept her voice even, despite the way her eyes were locked onto every bit of broken crystal.

 

[Fusion]

"And he is," Puddle said firmly. "I might not know the guy, but if he's so close to you, I find it hard to believe that someone like Giovanni would be able to do him in. I'm fairly certain anything connected to you is either immortal or unreasonably powerful. He'll be fine." Puddle went to Maple's side, reaching up with an arm of ethereal goop and patting her on the shoulder. "He'll be fine."

 

[Chibi Pika]

The investigation party this time around left some things to be desired. Sure, the place was deserted, and it wasn't like Giovanni couldn't show up wherever the hell else he wanted anyway. Still, would it have killed them to be at least a little professional? It made the rebel team full of twelve-year-olds back home look like a good idea.

Well, at least they did have some firepower in case things went to shit again. When the party split up, Starr went with Owen and Cabot. She felt more comfortable alongside the two of them and besides--Maple was Maple.

"There doesn't seem to be any energy left in it," Owen said. "This water was conjured at least a few days ago, which means it must have been when Darkwhite raided this place to steal Ho-Oh... It must have been planned by Giovanni from the start to let it happen this way, right? Ugh, I can't believe everything we did was part of his plan..."

Starr furrowed her brow. "Even if it was his plan, we still freed Brulee and the Johto beasts. They're still better off." She forced herself to remain rigid, so that no one would see her arms shaking with anger.

"Should we open it...? Or should we be more careful? I can't tell what's in it..."

Starr eyed the chamber with disdain. "We should open it. Not like we'll learn anything if we don't."

 

[Virgil134]

"I agree with Starr," Cabot said with a nod. "It shouldn’t be too hard for me to break it open with an Iron Tail or two..."

—

"Maybe we should just look around the room for other things right now?" Pleo asked. "Cabot wants to look for clues of other bases that Giovanni might have."

 

[Namohysip]

Maple was transfixed on the crystals, but Pleo and Puddle were enough to get her back to her senses. "Right... right. Of course. These... don't mean anything right now. Let's focus on what else we can salvage."

She was shaking, but she kept her breath even. "And... thank you. I..." She looked like she had something to say, but hesitated until they were back with the others, where Cabot and Owen were drawing near one of the few things still intact.

"I suppose I've been distracted lately. I never realized how... competent you've all been lately. I've been falling behind..."

"Well, you've been busy," Millijoule said. "Certainly no time like the present to perk up!"

Maple's shoulders sagged a little. "I do wish it was so easy to stay cheerful like you, Joule—N-no, Millijoule..."

"All right," Owen said. "Do you want to open this, or should I?" He looked ready to blast it open if nobody else stepped in. Though, there was no telling what was inside...