[18+ Yandere Meowscarada x Reader] I'll Make Them All Disappear!

80 | After All This Time

You and the others are deep inside the Zero Lab, and you're constantly choking on dust as you look around. It's not the most impressive building you've seen, but if you imagine really hard, you might be able to envision what it looked like ten years ago. The corridors are lined with panels that no longer work. Heaps of stone and metal are strewn about. This place is dead, rotted even.

Behind you, Penny is continuing her investigation into talking Pokémon, that which started two minutes ago after everyone learned Cinnamon and Zoroark can speak.

"So you can talk," she says, leaning over Cinnamon's shoulder. The rabbit leans away, looking annoyed. "That's pretty cool, you know. You know you can talk to me, right? Or better yet." Penny's Rotom-phone rises out of her pocket and hovers in front of Cinnamon, automatically queuing up a recording. "This should totally be documented."

"This is such a drag," Zoroark grumbles, throwing her hands behind her head. "Nothing's happening, the pussycat walked off on her own, this two-toned chick won't stop talking." She looks over at Penny and bars her teeth. "Put the damned phone away."

"Sorry," Penny says and grabs it out of the air.

"No, keep it out," you tell her. "It's not everyday that people get to come down here. Record everything; it'll be good content for when we're back on the surface."

"Yes, he's got a point," Briar says. "Remember, the most detailed documentations of Area Zero lie in history books. As far as I know, no one has captured real video evidence of Area Zero or the mysteries within it. Recording would be a wise move."

"When you put it like that, sure," says Penny, releasing her phone back into the air to let it continue taking shots. "My battery's full, so I should be able to get everything."

"Where did hoodie-guy go?" you ask as you step, finally, into a wider chamber of the lab. The narrow corridor opens up into a room filled with empty glass capsules big enough to hold a person, and tables black with grime covered in yellowed papers. You break off from the group and start going through these pages, skimming over lines of ink depicting research charts. Calculations and journal entries. The few that catch your eye are ones that talk about dwindling sanity and mental health slowly deteriorating.

They must have been written by the old professor.

"They were really going through it," you mutter. Cinnamon and Zoroark peer over your shoulders at the papers, all three of you continuing to read in silence.

"This is sad," Cinnamon whispers.

"Sucks to be him," says Zoroark. Both of you shoot her a nasty look, but no one says anything before the sound of metal clashing on metal hits your ears. You startle, perking up and looking in the direction of the noise. Briar stands in the corner of the room where a path of boxes lie scattered across the floor, and beyond them, what seems to be the elevator door. She dusts her pants off and lets out a small nervous laugh.

"Sorry, excuse my clumsiness, but I think I've found the way down." Briar reaches out, tracing a finger along the outline of the elevator door. Her hand moves until she comes across the shape of a button on the wall. Penny joins by her side, making sure her phone captures everything, every angle, every word anyone says. You think, in the event someone doesn't make it out of here, it's best that you'll have these moments recorded.

But you shouldn't be thinking so pessimistically. You shake your head like you're trying to pull yourself awake and carefully cross the room. Penny steps aside to make room for you, and Kieran joins alongside Zoroark and Cinnamon.

"So, the cat ditched us," Penny says, looking at you. "I can't say I'm surprised, but what if that creep does something to her? Like, what if he's got a whole other team waiting to jump us at the bottom of this elevator?"