Amaranth Laboratories
Detection and Scanning
This was a problem.
"Everything hurts," groaned Thanos as Goliath 'mon-handled him into the ultrascanner's chair.
This was definitely a problem.
Jack and Ravid both peeked out from behind an overturned table, using it as a barrier between them and the containment platform holding the remains of Legion's keystone.
This was definitely a terrible, horrible problem.
Lucius, clad in a lab coat and safety goggles, put a hand on my shoulder.
"What's the problem?"
I grunted in frustration as I wrung the white piece of cloth in my hands. "This stupid lab coat won't fit anymore, it's too big!"
It was high time to get some SCIENCE done around here, and one does not simply perform science without a labcoat! One is not allowed in the laboratory without proper dress!
Frothing Stein, who wore a labcoat and goggles at all times like a reasonable being, spoke up while I fished a smaller labcoat out of the closet.
"Apart from the labcoat," he said, sounding a bit worried, "is there something terribly wrong? Thanos seems a bit out of it."
"How am I seeing double?!" I heard from the lab, "I'm a cyclops!"
Finding a suitable labcoat and putting it on, I waved a hand at Stein dismissively. "Oh it's nothing, he'll be fine once we hook him up to the mainframe." I turned to the large display screen hooked to the ultrascanner, which lit up to display a virtual rendering of a rotom in a room full of circuitry. "Tesla, have you reconfigured the system to use that map of Equestria?"
"Affirmatif, kapitän!"
"Good." I pointed dramatically at the overturned table as I floated into the lab. "Ravid!"
The little gremlin jumped upright and rushed over to a large control panel.
I clenched a hand in the air as I glared towards Thanos, now fully secured in the metal chair with electrodes attatched to his antenna.
"THROW THE SWITCH!"
"Yess, Masster."
And all at once, the laboratory went dark.
"Let the science begin..."
Lightning arced between electric coils atop the machinery, and, layer by layer, the tiles beneath Thanos rose, lighting up as they lifted the chair. The display came to life once more, the word 'LOADING' fading in white from a deep purple background, which soon gave way to a map of Equus. Thanos' single eye started to glow and, slowly but surely, a shadowy substance began flowing from Thanos' antenna down the wires attaching the chair to the machine, then from the machine to the display. The ping of a radar sounded as a wave rippled across the map and dozens upon dozens of dots appeared in different locations, scattered all over the planet.
"Bingo," I said, hi-fiveing Lucius as we floated to the control console, "we've found them."
"What bingo," asked Stein, trotting over as well, "what've we found?"
A deep rumble eminated from Goliath, who had retreated to the corner of the room. "...Legion..."
"Another one of our teammates, sort of," explained Lucius as I typed away at the controls. "Legion is a spiritomb and, as such, is a congregation of over a hundred souls merged into one being." He gestured to the broken keystone. "These souls are supposed to be bound to a keystone like that one, usually for misdeeds they performed in life, but Legion's seal was always a little... leaky."
"What sort of misdeeds are we talking about," Stein responded, "because I tend to shy away from overwhelming evil."
"Oh, Legion as a whole was perfectly civil, but the other souls tended to get sort of twitchy if they weren't all together," I explained, taking over so Lucius could check the power couplings, "and it was Thanos' job to find them and put them back together when that happened; we built the ultrascanner primarily to boost the transmitting and receiving power of Thanos' antenna, as well as to relieve the pressure all that spiritual energy put on him." I turned to Thanos. "How're you doing over there?"
"I just need some hot tea and I should be okay," the reaper replied, and on cue, a thermos appeared from the armrest on the chair. Thanos sipped at the tea. "Darjeeling," he sighed, his eye becoming relaxed, "simply wonderful."
I nodded, typing away at the controls again. "Thanos," I said, "when you're ready, prepare to broadcast our location; we should be able to reach the closest 30 souls or so. Lucius will prepare the containment field to hold them all until we can find a new keystone."
A ghostly thumbs up and I hit the enter key, sending a spiritual signal out over a 10-mile radius.
The response was immediate; over 2 dozen of the dots on the map began to converge on our location, and ectoplasmic wisps started filtering in through the walls of the laboratory into the containment field. Upon arrival, however, many of the wisps appeared confused, floating around the energy-encased area with questioning whispers I couldn't make out. Wanting to ease their confusion and explain the situation,I tapped on the barrier to get their attention.
"Hello," I began, and the wisps gathered at the edge of the barrier to look at me. "My name is Professor Dante Amaranth; do any of you recognize me?"
The wisps whispered louder, but I could not understand the language they spoke.
"روح الملكي؟" [a royal spirit?]
"ما هو عليه تقول؟" [what is it saying?]
"يتحدث بألسنة." [it speaks in tongues.]
"I'm sorry," I hesitated, "what was that?"
More whispers I could not decipher
"وجهه ليست ملك لقد خدم، ولكن يبدو مألوفا." [His face is not that of a king I have served, but it appears familiar.]
"شاربه تبدو جيدة." [his moustache looks good.]
"Why thank you," I said, because compliments to a man's moustache have no language barrier.
While the whispering wisps wiled away in the warrier-- erm, barrier, Goliath had moved from his position in the corner to stare closely at the wayward spirits. A little too closely.
"Goliath," I said, floating up and tapping the golurk on the shoulder as he kneeled to get a better look, "everything okay, man?"
"... I... Understand..."
This took me a bit by surprise. "You understand their language?"
Slowly, Goliath nodded. "... Ancient... Unovan..."
I gasped, my eyes widening; of course, it was an ancient language! How fortunate that Goliath was ancient Unovan as well!
"Goliath," I asked excitedly, "what are they saying?"
"... They... Are..."
"Yes, go on."
"...Saying..."
"Yeeesss, yeeeessss?"
"... You... Have..."
"I have...?"
"... A... Nice... Moustache..."
My expression fell and I pinched my brow; it just had to be Goliath who understood them, didn't it? I turned to address the room at large.
"Right, this is taking forever-- DOES ANYONE ELSE HERE SPEAK ANCIENT UNOVAN?"
Jack and Ravid, both back behind the table, shrugged and shook their heads, and Thanos had drifted off to sleep with the Darjeeling tea still in his hand. Stein tapped his horn, giving a confused look.
"I guess this translation spell only works on pokémon?"
Lucius placed a hand on my shoulder, placing his safety goggles over his forehead. "I think we both know someone who lived in ancient Unova." He smiled.
Queen Banafrit, while initially displeased that no one had told her of her King's return, was intrigued by the news of scattered souls speaking the language of her former kingdom, and was more than willing to help them look into such matters.
"And these spirits were part of this 'Legion' you commanded?" the Queen asked as she put on the white coat that Dante insisted was 'for safety'. "Why do they not speak English as they did when whole?"
Dante shrugged and handed her a pair of safety goggles. "I never talked to the individual spirits when they leaked out, I just let Thanos put them back together. Oh, remind me to introduce you to everyone later; I forgot earlier."
Banafrit raised an eyebrow in question. "Why must it be later?" she asked. "You could simply call them here now."
Dante shrugged harder. "They're probably busy doing stuff or something. Plus the children are still in trouble, and that means no science for them until we hold a fair and impartial trial."
Unseen by anyone else, Banafrit frowned slightly; she hoped that Dante's version of 'fair and impartial' was different from her father's, for the children's sake.
"Not to be pushy," Frothing Stein interrupted, pointing a hoof at the wayward spirits, "but can we get on with this? The pacing of this story is all over the place."
"What?"
"What?"
Stein blinked. "Oh, did I say that out loud? Nevermind, just get going."
Dante rolled his eyes and escorted the Queen to the containment field. As they approached, the sprits inside became more active, crowding around the edge of the barrier as if to get a closer look as their whispering intensified.
"[Another royal spirit?]"
"[Look at her mask, it is the Queen!]"
"[The Queen?! We are not worthy!]"
"[She doesn't have a moustache.]"
Confused, Banafrit floated closer to the wisps. "[How do you know of me?]" she asked, switching effortlessly to her native tongue.
Several wisps shied away from the Queen as she approached, but one of them came forward.
"[My Queen,]" said the wisp, "[we all know of you quite well; in life, we were all people of your kingdom before it fell to the invaders that took your life, who bound us to a magic stone for our perceived 'crimes'. I am Ahi, a servant from the castle.]"
Banafrit's eyes widened. "[Ahi, the tinkerer? You were one of the most diligent in easing the terrors inflicted by my father; what crimes could those savages have dared convict you of?!]"
The wisp, Ahi, shook slightly as it was tinted red by anger. "[They presumed that those who worked under Ptolemy were just as wicked as he was, and that the whole of the kingdom needed to burn to prevent such evil from rising again.]" The spirit was practically fuming. "[And as if that had not been enough, they saw those who had taken pokémon as partners and declared it 'depraved' and 'sinful'!]"
"[Pretentious cads!]" the Queen growled, "[They were fortunate to have caught me off guard, lest I would have rent them limb from limb for their arrogance!]"
A gentle hand on her shoulder brought Banafrit back to the present; it was her King, looking at her with concern.
"Bunny, you're getting worked up again..."
Indeed, several more of the wisps had shied further away from the barrier at her outburst.
The Queen closed her eyes to calm down, reminding herself that such things were in the past, and those who wronged her people were since consumed by time. She faced her King, taking his hand in hers as she stared deeply into his caring eyes.
"Thank you, beloved. I was remembering the fall of my kingdom; it would happen that the souls in your 'Legion' were once my people, who were unjustly imprisoned centuries ago."
Ahi spoke up from behind the barrier, catching Banafrit's attention. "[Apologies, my queen, but who is this strange spirit?]"
The Queen turned, confused. "[Do you not recognize him?]"
"[His appearance is familiar, but I cannot recall where I have seen him. I can remeber all things clearly until just after the invasion; after that, the memories become... fragmented... and unclear... And when I think of the ritual that bound us to the stone...]" The wisp shivered, along with several others nearby who had been listening. "[I am filled with a sense of foreboding, as if I have forgotten some crucial detail of our imprisonment...]"
Unknown location
Planet Equus
Deep within a darkened cave, a great evil from times long past was stirring.
A wayward soul, its appearance no different from any other wisp, was attempting to manifest itself as something more.
He knew the incantations, the wisp thought, he had found the minerals to be sacrificed; it was only a matter of exerting his will over what lay before him, and he would begin regaining his greatness. Whatever insolent fools had sought to topple him through death would pay dearly for their ignorance.
He was Ptolemy, the Great War King, and in death, he had found his eternal life.
He would rebuild his empire.
Arceus be damned.