into the ABYSS: tablet one

[Administrator]

"Oi, Carter, how's it looking down there, bud?"

The sound of the crackling voice over the intercom immediately pulled the middle-aged man's attention away from the protective glass shield that separated the interior of the small sub from the marvelous underwater world outside. He couldn't help but smile faintly at the affectionate, friendly tone the man's voice had taken on as he ran a hand through his dark hair before reaching out and pressing down on the small, circular button that would allow him to project his own voice to the surface world.

"Nothing yet, Rob. Seems the Pokémon I saw last time cleared out. Not so much as a Magikarp."

What seemed to be a snort of laughter escaped the other side of the radio connection before Rob's voice called out over the intercom again. "Just as well. What a waste that would be that the first living example of whatever mutation you found down there would be something as pathetic as a Magikarp."

"Suppose you're right at that. Alright, I'm going to change locations. Standby, Rob, I think the sonar may be picking up something to the north."

A dull bleep had started to go off as he spoke, the man's dark brown eyes immediately flickering to the small sonar screen as he fixed his gaze on a large, blinking orange dot that indicated a large mass had appeared above the ocean floor. The sonar technology Lanorae had to offer was primitive at best, but it worked. Keeping his eyes fixed on the dot's position, Doctor Carter Brighveil eased the controls of the sub in the general direction that the sonar was indicating. Once he finalized the position, he quickly turned his sights upward to stare with a narrowed gaze at the dark waters up ahead.

"See anything, doc?" Rob's voice once more crackled to life, a slight hint of curiosity evident in his tone, though it soon turned to a trace of faint amusement. "Ha, the entire team's gathered 'round. Well don't leave us in suspense, Carter."

Once more, the man's finger tip found the button that allowed him to transmit his voice to the surface; another advancement they had managed to adapt to Lanorae's technology rather effectively. "No, nothing. It looks like there may be a trench up ahead, but I don't see any sort of life," he glanced at the sonar screen, taking note of the fact that the small blinking light that had been present just a moment ago had disappeared. "Sonar went blank... About where am I, Rob? I think I'm going to surface and come back with the larger sub.

There was a moment's pause, before a feminine voice suddenly appeared over the intercom. "Approximately seventy-five nautical miles off the coast of Abyss Island. Don't bother asking Rob, you know he can't read these sort of things. Makes me wonder why we even keep him around..."

"I resent that!"

Carter couldn't help but burst out into a grin at the small banter, but he gave an affirming nod to himself. "Alright, thanks Lola. Give my approximate position to the Skyway, I'm going to begin rising now."

"Aye aye, Carter. Be careful on the way up. The currents are acting up again, you may drift a bit," and with that, the intercom went silent again.

Carter sighed as he leaned back in his chair, rubbing the back of neck as he absently began to make a few minor alterations to the course of the small submarine. It would probably take at the very least a good half hour to return to the surface, though that only gave him time to dwell in his disappointment. Not a single sighting of the alleged "Rune" Pokémon he had managed to photograph on his previous trip. It was a shame. He had been hoping that perhaps he may have succeeded in catching a live specimen this time, but it didn't seem the odds had been in his favour.

He had allowed his eyelids to droop as he leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs as he settled himself down to relax for the return trip, but the faint sound of bleep...bleep...bleep caught his attention. His dark eyes immediately flickered open as he turned his gaze to the sonar. Once more it showed a large form, though this time it seemed to be a lot closer than it had been initially. "There it is again..."

He stared at the blinking dot for a moment, slowly leaning forward, and suddenly moved to readjust the submarine's course away from the surface. He'd try one more time. He'd regret it otherwise.

As he zeroed in on the general location the sonar indicated, he squinted out the main glass shield, peering into the darkness to whatever extent he could see with the faint lights on top of the sub flickering. This time however, he saw something, a shadow that seemed to be coasting just out of his clear view. His heart began to beat with excitement as he sped up, trying to catch whatever was in the distance with the beam of his lights, but it always stayed just out of reach.

There was a sudden flash of brilliant blue light, which caused the doctor to recoil and shield his eyes, though he continued to try and see what the source was through squinted lids. What by Arceus was that...

He groped blindly for the controls, opening his eyes just enough to locate the lever that sent a quick trigger along the line of gears that caused the exterior camera to engage, before a loud rushing noise reached his ears. He didn't even have enough time to think before he was suddenly thrown against the side of the sub, a sudden current impacting the vehicle with it's full force as it began to carry it away.

Carter moaned, getting shakily to his feet as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked at his hand, taking note that he wasn't bleeding, before he staggered back to his seat again. His vision was swimming, and he peered through the glass shield in desperation of seeing whatever had caused the bright light, but it had vanished.

A loud POP caught his attention, and he grew frantic as he noticed that the bolts on the interior of the small submarine were beginning to burst off. The current was carrying him deeper, to a place of increased pressure that this particular machine simply couldn't take. He scrambled for the control panel, trying to activate the emergency engines and get out of the current, but it failed to respond as another loud crash rocked through the submarine, sending him reeling into the glass shield where he crashed his forehead against the thick substance.

He staggered and fell on the control panel, only dimly aware that water was beginning to drip into the interior of the sub. It was like he was trying to look through a fog as he gazed ahead, trying to make out some sense of how deep he was as the lights on the sub flickered weekly. He could make out what seemed to be faint blue lights and... ruins.

"A lost city..." he whispered as he staggered again, almost his full weight on the control panel before he finally lost consciousness and fell into the small pool of water that was rapidly beginning to form on the submarine floor.

End tablet one.