Pokémon Mars

Chapter 15: The Real Mars

On the fourth day, or sol, in the canyons, the Rhyhorn were released and left behind on a desolate plain flattened by a mighty flood. The Robo Pokémon climbed until they overlooked the canyon floor from a plateau. Its walls and screes below were deep black.

They were hundreds of miles from the elevator now. Caves without crosses became common. None were particularly interesting or even that deep. They found lava tubes that looped back to mouths they already marked with yellow crosses. They left more Geodude, Roggenrola and some Clefairy, then replaced the yellow crosses with green ones. They also added blue to indicate that Pokémon were inside.

Joshua examined samples of the dust he collected from the ground there. Streaks through the stone implied a waterfall once flowed. The samples confirmed it.

'Daaaaamn! This is super exciting! Waterfalls don't come from nowhere. There must've been a river underground somewhere!'

Callerya sighed. 'But we ought to be thinking about turning back now...'

They were exhausted. The rough journey itself, in heavy spacesuits at a low pressure, was tiring. Hiking and climbing wore them out even more. None of them slept that well. Thalassa's legs ached even more than anyone else's. The journey back would probably take two sols without long stops to explore, but that would be exhausting, too. Callerya was right. Though they still had more oxygen, food and water than they needed – and Jin's Electivire could recharge the Robo Pokémon – they had to turn back.

Their Carbink were disappointed. They hoped to find a deep, mineral-rich cave they would be safe and comfortable in.

Jin examined Azrael's aerial photos of the Golett. He compared them to photos from Earth. The boulder patterns were definitely different to those he had photos of, but he didn't have photos of every Golett habitat in the world.

'Hard to say if they really are different... but maybe the Golett will tell you lot something.'

The geologists passed. They were yet to discover anything new. They looked dejected. Their spacesuits were filthy from crawling through dusty tunnels.

As they packed up the tent after lunch, Eden heard beeping. It was an emergency signal. His blood ran cold, because although Team Magma immediately set out from the rescue station, one glance at the map told Eden that he was the only person who could reach those geologists in time. He couldn't go alone. Nyx commanded her friends into the safety of a cave. The Robo Pokémon moved too slowly. Eden's Metagross tucked in its legs to fly them there.

'They'll be fine,' Mercury assured himself as much as anyone else, 'Nyx is there. And Eden's a really experienced astronaut.'

It didn't matter how experienced he was. If their spacesuits were punctured or helmets dislodged, they had less than a minute to live. Callerya nervously tapped her foot.

'What if it's aliens...?'

'It's not aliens,' Joshua replied, 'If anything ever lived here, it's dead.'

Jin was worried about the geologists, but he was even more worried about his friends. He couldn't sit still. Then he saw something glinting at the end of a tunnel.

'Hey... something's shining in there.'

Eden sounded like he was about to burst into tears when his voice rushed through their headphones.

'We were way too late... they already look like zombies...'

'What?' Thalassa shakily whispered, 'What happened...?'

'Their tent was punctured...'

'Wait.'

Nyx looked around. The tent was definitely punctured, but where were their spacesuits? Where were their supplies? Their corpses were left with only the clothes they wore and their scientific equipment.