Elevator Shaft - PEFE-That-Was

(In response to this.)

<All: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-">

Potato!PEFeDOS: "OH, HI."

<Lardna: "Oh great, what do you want?">

Potato!PEFeDOS: "SO. HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP, ARCHEN? BECAUSE I'M A POTATO." *clap clap clap*

<Pepper: "An aggravating one...">

Potato!PEFeDOS: "OH GOOD. MY SLOW CLAP PROCESSOR MADE IT INTO THIS THING. SO WE HAVE THAT."

-Covering eyes with vines and a Marowak club-

<Captured!Ivysaur "D-Did we land ye-">

-And uncovers its eyes-

<Captured!Ivysaur "EEEEEEEEK! U-Urgh...">

-And passes out from fright, letting a certain Marowak club elude its grip once more-

Potato!PEFeDOS: "SINCE IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE WE'RE GOING ANYWHERE... WELL, WE ARE GOING SOMEWHERE. ALARMINGLY FAST, ACTUALLY. BUT SINCE WE'RE NOT BUSY OTHER THAN THAT, HERE'S A COUPLE OF FACTS.

HE'S NOT JUST A REGULAR MORON. HE'S THE PRODUCT OF THE GREATEST MINDS OF A GENERATION WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF BUILDING THE DUMBEST MORON WHO EVER LIVED. AND YOU JUST PUT HIM IN CHARGE OF THE ENTIRE FACILITY. *clap clap* GOOD, THAT'S STILL WORKING."

<"Rrgh! Shut up!">

Potato!PEFeDOS: "HEY, JUST IN CASE THIS PIT ISN'T ACTUALLY BOTTOMLESS, DO YOU THINK THAT YOU COULD CURL UP AROUND ME WITH THOSE FLESHY BODIES OF YOURS? JUST REMEMBER NOT TO LAND HEAD-FIRST."

<Toothless: "Hang in there!">

<"Huh?">

<Riana: "We're here, Tracer!">

<Cleo: "I told you that there was going to be a plot twist!">

-And we see a wobbly-looking Salamence and Druddigon gliding down to attempt to reach us, along with a Pidove clumsily clutching a young Relicanth-

<Teala: "Nngh! We've got you! We've got you!">

-Latching onto Toothless and Lardna via vines, as Teala scoops me up along with the Ivysaur-

<"OW! HIDE!">

<Pepper: "Great! Now pull up!">

<Toothless: "We're working on i-">

-And notices some rapidly approaching wooden planks-

<Toothless: "Oh, cra-">

CRASH!

Mainframe Room

Igneous: <You know, it's really a shame. Some of the idiots who were in here were too cowardly to even stay. You know, like that Noctowl and his group of lackeys. Funny how it's the ones who try to pull you down who end up helping you rise. Or something. I'm not quite sure I'm wording that right. But you get what I mean. You do get what I mean, right?>

PEFE Grounds - PMD-B

The first indication that Lake and Stratus had received that something wasn't quite right was when Tracer, Pepper, Lardna, and pretty much everymon else had failed to turn up after Gene had ninja'd them out of the PEFE.

At first, they had thought they were simply taking their time getting back out again...but after they had spent the rest of the day, and the following night, waiting for any signs of contact, they really started to worry.

Fearing that something bad may have happened to Tracer and the others, the two Pokémon had decided to go back and check to see if there was any sign of them.  After all, the island the PEFE was built on was rather large. Perhaps they had simply gotten lost in the wilderness surrounding it on the way out...

Walking on all fours, Lake stalked through the undergrowth, sniffing the air for any trace of...well, Tracer and his Pokémons' scents, as if he were hunting for prey (but obviously without the "Killing and eating" part).

Lake: <...Nope. They haven't been here.>

The Feraligatr crawled onward, followed by his Dragonite companion, who was munching on his breakfast of a Watmel Berry.

Stratus: <Mmm... Are you sure?>

Lake: <Positive. If they had, they would have left a pretty strong scent trail, what with Pepper and all.>

Pausing to pop the last piece of Watmel in his jaws, Stratus nods in understanding as he swallows it in one bite.

Stratus: <Oh, of course! Meganium sure are smelly Pokémon. Which is nice, most of the time.>

Whenever Pepper got particularly upset or annoyed, she tended to give off a rather foul smelling aroma. Of course, she had spent the past few days feeling upset and annoyed, which meant that she had been giving off a putrid aroma almost constantly.

<Not so much when they smell like rotten eggs mixed with dung...>

Lake: <I know, but she can't really help it. Especially after what we just went through.>

He sniffs the air once more, than sighs.

<Not here. Let's move on.>

With that, the two continue on their way, continuing to search for any signs of their missing friends.

PEFE Entrance - Some time Later...

After a completing a full lap around the PEFE and finding no presence of any of the others or their Pokémon, Lake and Stratus had really started to panic.

With no other options, the two had decided to re-enter the facility and see if they could find them anywhere inside. Which would hopefully be much easier now that PEFEDoS was no longer in control of the facility.

They soon found the front entrance, which was a huge armored door like one would find on a bank vault, except large enough to drive that you could easily drive a trailer-truck through it.

Glancing up at the massive door, Lake was failing to figure out exactly how they were going to open it.

Lake: <So, are we supposed to knock? Or is there a doorbell?>

Stratus: <Hmm...>

Scanning the wall next to the door, Stratus is able to pick out what looks like a small control panel with a speaker above it.

<Ah-ha!>

Flapping over to it, the Dragonite points the device out to Lake.

<It's an intercom! We can use it to ask somemon to let us in!>

Lake: <Cool! Why don't you do the honors?>

The Dragonite nods, pauses for a moment to try and figure out what button to press, coming to the conclusion to just try the biggest one first. For a few seconds, nothing happens, before the intercom's speaker crackles to life.

P.A: "Sorry, but the Pokefutures facility you are trying to access is currently experiencing a major reactor meltdown. Please keep calm and proceed to your local fallout shelter, and remember to file form 64-C to reschedule any appointments. Have a nice day!"

The speaker goes silent, leaving Lake and Stratus both confused, and even more worried than they had been before.

Stratus: <...Reactor meltdown? That's bad, isn't it?>

Lake: <Bad? Of course it's bad! If one of those reactors blows up, not only will the entire PEFE and everything surrounding it be destroyed, but nothing will be able to live here again for hundreds, if not thousands of years!>

Lake was well versed on the dangers of radiation, if only from reading those science books of Luke's back from when he was a Totodile.

Stratus: <Oookay, that's really bad. But why is this happening? Shouldn't Cornn have control of the facility?>

???: Oh, hello mates!

Hearing a familiar voice, the two turn and look around, soon noticing that a security camera next to the door, presumably being used by Cornn to watch the two, is now fixated on them.

Stratus: <That answers that...>

Lake: <Hey! What's going on? Why is the PA telling us that there's a reactor meltdown going on in there?>

Cornn: That? It's nothing, nothing at all.

P.A: "Reactor Meltdown imminent! Evacuate the facility immediat..l...yyyyy..."

The P.A system sputters and dies, most likely from a certain A.I turning it off.

Cornn: "Look, see? That's fixed, that's fixed. Not to worry."

Lake and Stratus exchanged worried looks, doubtful that Cornn had just fixed the problem just like that.

"Tell you what, I'm so glad to see you two. Because I've got a whole bunch of tests to do, and hardly enough test subjects!

...Well, I've actually got more than I'll ever need in here with me, but what's two more?"

Stratus: <...Tests?>

Cornn was beginning to sound too much like a certain other A.I for Stratus' liking, making the Dragonite terribly nervous.

Lake: <The tests can wait! If you don't do something now, everybody here is going to die!>

Corrn: "...Hmm."

The now increasingly malevolent A.I stops briefly to mull this over.

"...Nah, I'm just going to go with the testing instead."

From a metal panel on the wall, a pair of rather nasty looking probes emerge, sparking with electricity, catching Lake and Stratus by surprrise.

Stratus: <What are those?!>

Corrn: "Don't worry, they're just going to shock you just a little tiny bit!"

Before the two can react, the probes lunge at the Feraligatr and Dragonite, sending several thousand volts of electricity through their bodies.

Lake: <AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!>

Being a Water Type, which are obviously weak to electricity, Lake goes down first, falling to the floor having passed out from the pain.

Stratus: <LAKE! AAAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!>

Feeling the pain relent, Stratus collapses to all fours, panting heavily as his head swims, the electricity having literally fried his brain.

Corrn: "Ooh, that's interesting! It takes twice the voltage to bring a Dragonite down than it does a Feraligatr!"

Before the Dragonite can interject, he once again is jolted with a several thousand volt electrical current. His stamina finally giving out, he falls to the ground as the world goes black...

PEFE Mainframe

Pleased that he now had two more subjects to test, Corrn rotated his computer housing to glance down at his self-appointed "assistant". Annoyingly, he also seemed to be worried about that rather minor reactor problem.

Corrn: "Nah, there's nothing to worry about mate. Just sit tight and let me take care of everything. I already fixed it, anyway! T'was easy as scratching an itch, and not the kind you get on your back that you can't reach no matter how hard you try! Must be especially hard for you with those stubby arms and all that."

Somewhere within the facility

-Manages to hear the PA announcement-

WHAT?

Muddy: Not good, not good at all!

Cobalt: We have to stop that AI, but how?

Everything's working again, so a trip to the bowels of the facility might be in order...

Ana: Great, there's more science to be done!

That old stuff's been sealed since before we acquired the place, I wonder if anything's still in working over.

-My team and I then head off in an attempt to find an elevator-

Somewhere else in the facility

- The trio hears the PA stuff-

Styx: ...Oh crap. ._.

Human!Ammy: We have to get to Skipper before it's too late!

Gravemind: It doesn't help we're lost too...

??? - PEFE-That-Was - Sometime Yesterday, But We'll Pretend It's Now

-We come to amidst a waterlogged tangled mess of concrete walls and tangled catwalks, wooden panels, and pipes with scattered objects illuminated by a handful of lights and fires-

<Lardna: "Blurgh...">

<Captured!Ivysaur "Nngh... H-Hu-? AAAAAAAAH! The club! Where's the club!">

-And looks around frantically for it-

<Captured!Ivysaur "I had it! Where could it be?!">

-And begins to head off to search for it-

<Pepper: "Eurgh... Could you stop making such a racket? My head's still spinning...">

<Riana: "... Tracer? Are you okay?">

<"... Ugh... Yeah... I think I am... A bit wet though...">

<Toothless: "Ow... Where are we?">

<"Judging from the scenery and our fall. I think that personality core punched us into the condemned sublevels.">

<Cleo: "Oh! Oh! And it's crawling with extradimensional monsters thanks to a resonance cascade!">

<Teala: "Urgh... (I thought that was in a game...)">

<Lardna: "(I could have sworn something like that happened in Orre... Maybe I'm still dizzy from that fall.)">

<"I'm pretty sure that's not why they were condemned... (Or at least I hope it's not...) No one really knows what's down here. Pokefutures apparently trashed the files years before we were given control of their assets.">

<Pepper: "... So now what?">

<"Find a vantage point, I guess... And work from there.">

The Wee Hours Of Today - The Bowels of the Earth, Mercifully Sans Being Pecked By Birds - PEFE-That-Was

-We are heading down a large, rather uninviting-looking cave tunnel-

<Teala: "... 'Do not enter'... 'Keep out'...">

<Pepper: "... What are we walking into?">

<Lardna: "Wait, have any of you seen that Ivysaur anywhere?">

<Riana: "Uh uh.">

<Lardna: "... Let's hope that those markers that we left are as easy to find as we thought they were...">

<"Ugh... This would be so much easier if that stupid computer didn't take my stuff again! I think I actually had my computer and a map of this place on there!">

<Toothless: "We'll manage, right?">

<"Speaking of which... Did Riana ever tell you that you have the same name as the doll of one of my friends?">

<Riana: "Huh? But this is Toothless, Tracer...">

<"... Wait a minute... You can't honestly be saying-">

<Toothless: "It's a long story. I'll explain it if we ever get back onto the sur-">

-And we reach a switch with the faint outlines of what appear to be structures in the background-

<Toothless: "... Think it still works?">

Near the Mainframe

Igneous jolts awake, thinking he heard a crash. He looks around, but doesn't see anything broken. What he does see is a trash can labeled the "Muk It Bucket" full of a whole bunch of balled up pieces of paper. In front of him, where he was sleeping, was a slightly-torn sheet of paper with his own writing on it.

Igneous: <Huh... Must've fallen asleep making this... Well, whatever, it looks pretty complete.>

He picks up the paper, and goes back into the mainframe room.

PEFE Mainframe

Igneous: <Tacks on a what? ...Nevermind. Here, since you seemed busy with other stuff, I decided to relieve you of some of your workload. So I designed a test chamber.>

He holds out the blueprint he'd made.

Cornn lowers himself to focus on the drawing for a few seconds.

Cornn: "Ooh, OOH! That's brilliant! Fantastic! One of the best tests I've ever seen! It's so obvious that it'll take them ages to figure the answer out!

Tell you what, I'll have this chamber built up and added to the testing track right away. What do you think?"

Cornn: "Every module in this place has a camera! How else would we watch the testers as they, um...test?"