Zero Point : The Number Before One Is...?

[Isaac Hawking]

"The only difference between insanity and genius," Isaac muttered as he exited the cramped submersible, "Is whether or not the idea works." Stretching his cramped limbs out, he looked at the gas covered wrench he used to regulate the flow of fuel to the engine and then down to his now heavily stained lab coat. Grimacing, he wiped off the wrench on a previously unstained portion; one more stain wouldn't hurt it any worse than it was already. "Besides," he continued as he slid the tool into an interior pocket, "It's not like the rest of you got splattered with oil and gas in the process of getting us all here."

Walking up next to Sub as the leader was giving the group his warning about the island's dangers, he spoke up after the dark haired man finished, "I don't suppose this place has any remaining reserves of gas? Or any sort of fuel?" Pointing back to the sub, he continued, "That was the bad news part of things, by the way. I'd be surprised if there was enough fuel for that thing to make it fifty meters away from here with what's left in the tank."  

[Atlantis_Darts]

SubonicXP

"I have an idea of where to go. Honestly I wish Sol was here with us to help me remember my way but I should be able to guide us to the right direction. I will warn you guys though, while Citadark, like Orre at large, lacks wild Pokemon it makes up for it with some very wild volcanic activity resulting in lots of earthquakes and rock slides so keep your wits about you." He informed them before shoving off, proceeding away from the beach and up a steep rocky incline.

As Sub makes his way up the incline and towards the beach the path would lay before his feet, not noticeable to those who haven't come this way but his feet would find the way easily enough. Coming up in front of the group, down around and bored down into the island out of the way of the volcano and its magma, there was a ruined steel door set into the side of the island, the yellow paint on the front of it flecked away so as to obscure whatever had been written on it years ago. An archaic-looking keypad presented itself to the side of the door with a green/red indicator light flashing its lime color happily, indicating the door had been and was remaining open.

"I've never seen this place before on any map... what is it?" Wes manages to get out before a rumbling from above the group indicated some of that lovely seismic activity was about to kick up, and the valley they were headed into had large sharp boulders scattered around the top of it that all start vibrating as the earthquake builds. There wasn't a rock slide yet, but lounging around on the outside didn't really seem to be the best option.  

[Reno Vantas]

Beau would shoot a glance towards Wes before deciding to shout a response. "Well, not in the middle of an earthquake is my guess! Lets go!" The hybrid didnt bother to wait for a response before kicking the Snatcher towards the main door with little concern for safety. Opening a Pokeball, Beau would let a small puff of Powder out before expanding his wings. "Zippo, boost me!" Beau said to the Charmander, watching as the green Fire type spat an Ember at the cloud of Powder. A surprisingly sift boom would sound off as it flung Beau and his Pokemon towards the door. "Hah! I'm gonna be first in!" The hybrid shouted at the other Sbagens, turning to face the door. "Open says m-"

SPLAT!

Apparently an old rusted door did not open quite as rapidly as Beau had hoped, the Vivillon now slammed against the piece of metal that was slowly creaking open.

With this interruption, first in would instead be Aria, now in complete panic as the earthquake added to her small phobic episode over the rusty metal of the sub. " Let me through! I'm too pretty to die!" She shouted, diving into whatever lay beyond.  

[Darksol88]

"Original... laboratory?" Amaranth asked amid the rumbling. The earthquake's intensity wasn't enough to force her off balance or make her brace herself, but hearing Sub's words shook her to her core. There was another lab than the one she had so many bad memories about? From the same person? That place alone was bad enough, and the nightmares from it were even harder to shake sometimes. It scared her to think about what could possibly be in this place by comparison, and if not for how treacherous it was outside, she'd have opted to takle her chances with the seismic activity and potential rock slides. Remembering that being on the wrong side of a rock slide twice and dying for it each time, however, she silently hoped it wouldn't be as bad in there and made cautious step after cautious step inside. The screams in her mind would have to wait for another time.

SubonicXP

As Sub entered the laboratory and the others began to trickle in after him, he would find that things looked more similar than his first glance might've suggested. Though there was a much larger group this time around and Sol was nowhere to be found, it wouldn't be much different now than when there was only a group of four infiltrating Citadark Isle for something despite the dangers inside and out. Just as it was then, they'd also had hurried inside for fear that staying outside would prove deadly, though research into the location suggested it might be the other way around. Of course, Sub would long since have all the confirmation he'd ever need about that.

Being back in here now, he might also feel a dose of just how much history could repeat itself. How all of this started and led to coming inside this lab, both back then and now, and he would remember that none of this was the work of anyone from the Ranger Union...  

[Isaac Hawking]

After Sub's initial words, Isaac's mood took a turn for the worse. He had been with the team long enough by this point to know when their leader was trying to dodge an issue he had no solution for. He couldn't fault Sub's probable reason for doing so, but it was likely that the team was not trapped here, on an inhospitable island in front of a open door to an abandoned facility. The whole setup screamed of a trap.

SubonicXP

"It's Ein's original laboratory."

Those words made Isaac's blood run cold and memories of the nightmares come back. Those horrible rows of razor teeth. And they were now going into the heart of where such monstrosities had possibly been created? Suddenly he understood why Sub seemed so grim when he made that statement; he knew what he was likely stepping into. In truth, a part of him was excited to see what scientific secrets the lab might still hold, although it was drowned out by the gut feeling to make for the submersible as fast as he could. A deep inhale brought with it the scent of the ocean and the sulfur of the island. Not the most pleasant scents to help calm one's nerves, but it would have to do. Stepping through the threshold, Isaac followed after the Sub, his features rigid with a steely determination to see this through.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Espeon_Commander

Aile’s eyes narrowed as the rumbling happened, noting a few pebbles dislodging themselves from the roof as it happened. ‘Right, lovely. Where the hell am I, and is it just a tendency for psychopaths to make a lair in a dangerous place? I mean, seriously. Cliched as hell,’ Aile rolled her eyes as she thought to herself, considering that’s all she could really do at the moment. She sighed, continuing her fumbling for that elusive knot. ‘There’s… something… maybe… ah! Found it.’ Aile turned her eyes to the monitors in the circular room, flicking her eyes from them to the ceiling back and forth as some more dust and pebbles fell from the ceiling, all while she was now struggling to undo the knot in the back. ‘So many monitors… This was either a security room or… I dunno. Damned idiot, making the security room be so low under.’

The person behind her chuckles, as he watched alongside Aile the people entering the laboratory, their faces reflected en masse across the bank of screens. "I'd quit strugglin' at that knot any time you like." He growls, stamping over to watch the screens more closely. "They'll be here soon enough..." He wasn't here to monologue or prattle on about his business to his captive, judging by what Aile could see of his face, this man was all business.

--

Isaac Hawking

After Sub's initial words, Isaac's mood took a turn for the worse. He had been with the team long enough by this point to know when their leader was trying to dodge an issue he had no solution for. He couldn't fault Sub's probable reason for doing so, but it was likely that the team was not trapped here, on an inhospitable island in front of a open door to an abandoned facility. The whole setup screamed of a trap.

TerashiLeonGoken

I had no idea who Ein himself was, but I had an idea. "Oh, I hope you're talking about a Team Cipher member," I told Sub, grinning like Giratina himself. "I could fight a Cipher right now."

"Didn't you just say your team's weaker than mine of all people's?" Keiko mumbled under her breath, not talking to me directly. "Why are you acting macho now?"

Reno Vantas

With this interruption, first in would instead be Aria, now in complete panic as the earthquake added to her small phobic episode over the rusty metal of the sub. " Let me through! I'm too pretty to die!" She shouted, diving into whatever lay beyond.

SubonicXP

He wanted to say more to them, that entering was no more safer than standing outside and praying you didn't get crushed by a rock or some other natural hazard. The fact of the matter was he felt safer out here with all the seismic activity going on than he did stepping through that door. Alas he had to put a brave face, maybe it wouldn't be so bad this time...Sub knew better than to think that.

Blizzard120

"Ein's original lab?" Freth asked, following Sub into the lair. "I thought his lab was out in the middle of nowhere in the desert. Unless this place came before...that one..." Freth said, looking around. "You know, I give up trying to figure out mad scientists."

"I guess that's why they're not called sane scientists Freth..." Darts sasses her, his red eyes scanning the entryway nervously right along with the rest of them as they made their way into what the Giratina hybrid was sure was unfriendly territory.

This place was old and abandoned, and clearly had been for the longest time. The door wasn't the only thing with a patina of rust as it clung to various surfaces here and there of the formerly aluminum or chrome exterior that had been used for everything from the floor to the ceiling and walls. Darts puts a hand to one of the paneling pieces and it drops to the floor with a loud and obnoxious 'clang!', sending up a puff of rust flakes and what appeared to be ash of some kind. Turning back to look at the doorway, he notices that entirety of the thing is charred full circle like someone or something had tried to burn straight through it. "Well if they don't know we're here already..." The gambler admits with a shake of his head to clear the ringing in his ears. There was no cobwebs due to the absence of wild Pokemon to sneak into the lab but everything from the security cameras perched above the eaves in the ceiling to the various desks strewn about were covered in a nice patina of dust.

Above them, in the rock ceiling, the same tubes as in the video with Aile wind off, branching into two distinct different directions. One goes straight forwards, through another metallic door blinking a friendly green color on the keypad to its right-hand side. The other tubes wind off to the left, heading into what seems to be a larger open room sans door. There's a vaguely pneumatic sound coming from somewhere further on in the lab, but it wasn't clear at all which path it was down.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

"You're charging me how much for storage?!" Lykas all but screamed at Makan, having been quietly discussing the issues regarding his Vespa. Amphitrite had been with the junk vendor for well over a year and a half now and, from what he'd just been told, had been ready for pick up quite soon after it had been dropped back off. "You were supposed to call me when the repairs were done, you dolt!" After a few more rounds of Lykas essentially doing little more than complaining about something that he had just as much control over as anyone else might have, he finally relented and handed over the money to retrieve the bike. "Did you at least fix the hover function? I almost lost it in the ocean after I picked it up last time because it wasn't working right."

Makan just nodded, counting out the money that Lykas had handed him. "I think I'll take my chances on letting Reno fix it next time it needs repairs..." Lykas told Odd as he went out to the garage where his bike was stored. Taking a seat, he pet the chrome plating that showed through the sapphire blue body. "Oh, how I've missed you, girl." He told it, waiting for Odd to climb on behind him.

"You never told me you had a girlfriend..." The Ghost Channeler commented playfully as he climbed onto the extended seat behind Lykas.

"Amphitrite's been my girl since I was old enough to ride a tricycle." Lykas replied, turning the key over and letting out a catcall whistle as the engine growled to life. "That's my beauty!" he cried as he raised his feet up, revving up the engine for a moment before tearing out of the garage, whose door was only just barely opened enough to squeeze through it. "Track the others. We're taking the fun route!"

"Oh Gods... You don't mean you're taking us over the water, do you?!" Odd asked as he pulled out his SNAG and flipped on the tracker.

"What else? The funnest things in life try to kill you, after all." Lykas replied, racing toward the docks.

"Are you insane?! Those ships out there are gonna blast us before we ever get close!" Odd replied, gripping onto Lykas' waist with both hands, keeping his SNAG held between them as firmly as possible at the same time.

"Ya, a little. But who isn't?" Lykas replied as he drove off the end of the dock, flipped a switch on the handlebar that caused a rhythmic hum to begin emanating from the underside of the bike, followed by the wheels to split apart into two each and spread out slightly, bright white rings glowing from the rims inside of them now.

"We're gonna die! You're gonna cause us to drown! Or get blasted into a million pieces!" Odd exclaimed, eyes slammed shut to avoid witnessing his demise.

Except that it never came. He didn't even get wet. "Huh? Where's the splash and the rushing cold of death?"

"You worry to much." Lykas laughed, revving the engine up once more before tearing across the expanse of ocean between them and Citadark Isle.

Despite Odd's concerns, they crossed the water surprisingly smoothly until they get close to the island, where the waters began to grow rougher and more turbulent. "Hey, Odd. Can you do that thing with the circle? Like you did in Alola when we saved the old granny from the fire?" Lykas asked. "Put it up around us, including the bike. I know how to get us past the ships."

"Um... I can try." Odd replied, his hands beginning to glow softly as he Channeled his Guardian Halo. Summoning the silvery circle around them, he started to ask what Lykas' idea was when the hybrid made it clear.

"Into the drink we go!" Kicking the bike up for a moment, he pointed the nose downward, kicking off the hover feature as he did. With that, the duo sank beneath the surface of the sea, Odd's Guardian Halo the only thing holding back the crushing weight and frigid temperatures of the water. They didn't sink deep but they were far enough under that when they passed beneath the naval ships skirting the edges of Citadark Isle's waters, they could see them clearly while being little more than a dark blot in the water from the decks of said ships.

Once on the other side, Lykas kicked on the hover feature again and tipped the bike's nose upward. The result was for the duo riding it to be launched skyward by the speed accumulated as they rose through the water. "Gah! Lykas?!" Odd yelped as he was thrown off the bike and straight toward a massive, jagged spike of stone sticking out of the ocean. For the second time in a matter of minutes, he felt as if he were about to perish. Until he didn't. The second he came into contact with the spike, his body flickered like the image on an old television screen and the stone passed right through him.

"You alright?!" Lykas asked, grabbing the Channeler out of the air with his ponytails and setting him back on the Vespa seat.

"Ya... Ya, I'm fine." Odd replied, clutching at his chest. "I guess I forgot I have Ghost powers for a second there..." He admitted with a small laugh. "I'd rather not take the chance on that saving me from nature again, though."

"You don't have to. I think we made it..." Lykas replied, noticing a rocky reef that appeared to connect all the way to the main part of the island. Maneuvering over to it, he followed the reef, finding that the waters appeared to be calmer there, the reef itself acting as a diffuser for whatever turbulence might've been there otherwise.

Once he reached the shore, he found a spot that was out of sight but easy to remember and parked, jumping off and following Odd as he began heading towards the location he was getting the signal from the other Snagems.

"We miss anything important yet?" Lykas asked of whoever was the closest when they found themselves approaching an ancient and crusty door, rust and dust clearly encroaching upon what had once been a very nice laboratory.  

[Reno Vantas]

Aria and Beau would both freeze at the mention of Ein, having been following along once they had both recovered from their personal injuries. They had only really seen news tape and other images for most of the stuff Ein had done, but that was enough to put the fear of Arceus into both of them about this man. This was his lab? Okay, this might be time to begin getting serious.