"I think something similar happened in my world," she said, in hushed tones. "Cinnabar's one of the League locations in Kanto, I'm pretty sure, and I read something online about an eruption there, or something. Conspiracy folks already came up with a bunch of stuff about how it was totally a Mewtwo thing. But if you went there in your world and found a lab..."
“Well, if we’re talking about the same thing, ‘lab’ might be too generous a term. There used to be ruins before the volcanic explosion, and the lab we found while exploring the island was
new,” remarked Lyra, tapping her chin. “At least, this is what Silver told me, because he—”
She abruptly cut herself off, her paws pressing on her mouth. Uh oh, did she say too much?! Was Silver comfortable with people knowing
that detail? Although it’s not like anyone would remember that information after their Forlas-saving quest was over, and it’s not like she needed to say the
entire story…
“Well, um, because he had visited the original lab when he was younger. Something about family business and stuff.”
Lyra shrugged casually, hoping that the information would suffice. Unless Silver gave her permission, she wouldn’t say anything more — his trust was one of the most precious treasures he had ever given her, and she knew well how difficult it was for such a cautious and distrusting guy to offer it to someone.
"Did you witness the creatures in the flesh?" she asked, shaking her head clear.
“…We did. Yeah.”
A new wave of seriousness had entered the Buneary’s voice and eyes, which were aimed upwards as she dug through her memories: extremely chaotic and not exactly pleasant, but still somewhat fascinating. “Although not all of them at the same time, and it was more than simply
witnessing…”
Scorching, everything had been turned into a scorching inferno. A set of piercing eyes focused entirely on the startled group of teenagers and their Pokémon, who retreated to keep away from the blazing aura of the reptilian lion that had emerged from the pool of lava.
It stalked sideways toward them as it sized up its fresh prey, undeterred by the defiant cries of the Feraligatr, Marill and Gabite standing protectively between their trainers and the artificial legendary. The metal of the floor sizzled and turned red under the experiment’s feet, and as it let out a series of guttural growls, the lava began bubbling and stirring, ready to explode…
“…So we didn’t see the other two back then, but gosh! The furious eyes of that modified Entei, and the burning walls, and the way it focused entirely on
us and not on our Pokémon…”
Lyra shivered a bit, her ears pressed behind her back and her nose twitching erratically.
“Yeah, huh, whoever was responsible for those experiments didn’t want to leave witnesses behind, y’know, so they kept the literal ‘mon crafted from lava as the guardian of the lab, and… huh…” Lyra trailed off, leaving room for Laura to fill the blanks by herself, then sighed deeply to dispel the memory. “…Truly scary stuff.”
