Oscar was looking up at the sky, the memory of his time in the Toxic Prison still fresh within his mind. He could still feel the aches within his strained muscles, having not yet fully recovered from his time there. Oscar had in fact been here before that day, but the entire experience had soured his view of this majestic ruin.

He scowled, adjusting the collar of his Ultra Space exploration suit. "fern delaney and I spent some time here not too long ago, though I wouldn't say it was exactly thorough." They had not gotten too far before running into some trouble, but the trip did convince Oscar that the once glorious Megalopolan city was worth revisiting--though this time by choice.

Oscar placed his hands upon his hips, looking to the now General Zev for instruction. "Where to first, general?"

Zev Harcourt

As they entered the Megalopolan tower, Oscar realized that he had never seen the inside of one of these before. He had always been captivated by their outer structural design, but he had never encountered the opportunity to actually explore the innards. Well not quite true, he did go inside of the tower placed within the collective dream of the prisoners of Pecharunt's penitentiary, but it had been infested with toxic chains. Having the chance to actually poke around in a real tower doubled Oscar's already considerable excitement.

Exploring with Zev was such a nice change of pace, not having to worry about any threats made each new discovery far more satisfying. He was almost feeling relaxed by the time they made it to their destination. Zev introduced the bizarre yet familiar tech within, and Oscar stepped forward to get a closer look. The working devices bore a passing resemblance to Necrozma's prisms in design, perhaps the Megalopolans wanted to make it excessively clear what it was for.

Oscar pulled out a beast ball and balanced it between his palms as he thought out loud. "It absorbs light, but what does it use it for? To power the tower?" There was only one way to find out. Oscar opened the ball, releasing his Xurkitree named Navitas. Navitas looked to its master for instruction, and Oscar would provided it shortly.

"Tail Glow."

Navitas's bulbous head began to brightly glow, and Oscar watched intently to see what would happen.

Zev Harcourt

As the machine absorbed Navitas's light, the ultra beast began clutching at its head with confused panic. Oscar put a hand on one of its wiry shoulders. "Hey it's just taking the light. Don't freak out, does it hurt?" Navitas paused as if trying to asses an answer before slowly shaking its head. There was no way to communicate this, but the sudden loss of its light had ignited a traumatic memory. A sudden darkness followed by being ripped out of Ultra Space and stranded in an unfamiliar world--which it now called home.

This very event was invoked by Zev, who had asked Oscar if he was there during the Slateport blackout. Oscar was quiet, the horrible memories that he had spent years repressing slowly crawling back into his head. Even after all this time, he could see everything so clearly. How many of his pokemon died that day? Twenty? Thirty? Far more than any trainer should allow. He could still hear the screams of his most dear companions as Necrozma incinerated their bodies--the horror was nearly too much to bear.

Oscar realized he was sweating, and he quickly cleared his throat as he fought back tears. It would be really lame to have a breakdown in front of Zev, especially over the mere mention of the occurrence. Oscar turned his head slightly to hide his straining eyes, "Uh yeah. What about it?"

Zev Harcourt

Oscar stroked the chin of his Ultra Space suit helmet as Zev proposed his idea. He found it intriguing, and would speak his thoughts out loud as he immersed himself within heavy contemplation. "Yes--yes I predict that I can. It would take time though, and I may need to take breaks depending on how heavily the Ultra Space radiation affects me."

Oscar began rubbing his hand faster, a clear indication that he was delving deeper into his well of ideas. "I created my own Infinity Energy extractor based on the impression of a similar Megalopian device. It is possible that they used this very machine as a model when they developed their own extractors. An intriguing thought."

Oscar finally looked to Zev, his eyes twinkling with the unmistakable glee of discovery. "Hypothesis, this might be how these towers manage to power entire cities. An incredible light source if created, with infinite reach, and the energy of that light is extracted through this machine to power--anything they could imagine. The only question then would be--what sort of light could rival the sun in intensity?"

Oscar paused as he privately sorted through his ideas before abruptly pushing them aside and shrugging. "I think I'm stalling. Let's get down to it. Navitas, help me rip open some panels." The Xurkitree performed a wobbly salute before hopping toward the machine. Its tendrils began carefully attempting to open the machine's outer paneling so that Oscar could get into its innards.

Once again Oscar turned to Zev, "Give me some time. I'll try to work fast so that we can get this done in one go." They had already spent a good deal of time within Ultra Space, which meant Oscar's body was starting the fatigue that came with the exploration of this alien realm. He was not bothered though; the prospect of obtaining new knowledge was a great motivator.

Zev Harcourt

As the machine's panel was pried away, Oscar would hurriedly stick his head in to get a close look at the inner workings of this alien machine. It was, as expected, gobbledygook. A mess of unimaginable wire formations flowing through prismatic machines that did not make sense. Oscar sighed as he began fiddling with the machines, seeing if he could figure out how they worked by taking them apart.

The space around Oscar became a graveyard of machine parts, yet the greater device itself did not seem to lose power. It made Oscar a little frustrated, did this mean that everything he was taking out was nonessential? Oscar calmed his wavering nerves as he continued his work, there was a lot more machine to get through after all. Zev thought out loud about Oscar's hypothesis, which he more or less guessed correctly. Oscar provided his own insight as he attempted to reattach several wires.

"Nailed it on the head, without a sun they needed something else to help sustain life on this planet. Life needs heat and light in order to thrive, so they used their ingenuity and resources to create their own sun. At least, that's what I think."

Zev's next question caused Oscar to pause. He pulled himself out of the machine and looked back at the general. "Um--probably none. If they are like humans they should not have any Infinity Energy at all. Although--they aren't like humans." Oscar tapped the side of his helmet, looked at the machinery in his hand, and tossed it aside. "I'm thinking what we should be looking for is this 'makeshift sun', or whatever is left of it."

Zev Harcourt

Oscar looked to Zev inquisitively as the general claimed that he was wrong. He would almost be offended, if not for Zev's bone chilling claim. Oscar furrowed his brows, his mouth silently stuttering as he tried to find a way to refute the devourer but alas he could not find the words. Oscar closed his mouth, tightening his jaw as Zev's revelation sank in. The general had said it with such assurance--so 'matter-of-fact' that you would think it would be common knowledge.

It made sense he supposed; it has been long claimed that humans are a very distant evolutionary relative to pokemon--but Oscar had always treated that idea with disdain. It seemed so impossible, though with all that he knows perhaps it is not as far fetched to claim that humans had more in common with pokemon than previously thought. So--if a human was put into his Infinity Energy extractor--would they...

Oscar shook his head, returning to his work while Zev spoke. He caught most of what was said, but to be honest his shock had deafened him for several seconds. He agreed that the megalopolans would need a constant stream of energy, which led Oscar back to the box-like machines. He pried one out again, and with great effort he would try to pull it open. It proved to be too durable for his human muscles, so he handed it off to Navitas. The xurkitree managed to easily rip off the top, handing it back to Oscar with dainty care. Oscar looked inside, and let out an audible gasp.

Oscar sprang up and ran over to Zev, "Look!" It was hard to tell if he was excited or panicked. Oscar pushed the box toward the general so that he could look within. There he would find a small prism, the very same that could be found across Necrozma's body. It was perfectly cut into the shape of a pyramid, with countless circuits feeding into it.

Zev Harcourt

Oscar looked up as Zev responded, his confusion clearly visible through the glass of his ultra space helmet. "What you don't recognize it? You're covered in it buddy." Oscar looked back to the black prism, now unsure what exactly he was looking at. Perhaps it was in his head, there was no way the megalopolans could get their hands on pieces of Necrozma--was there?

The mood shifted as Zev announced that it was time to depart. Oscar heeded his order, running back to the machine and pushing as many of the boxes he could into Navitas's tendrils. Navitas wrapped its wires around the cubes, holding at least three in every limb before waddling off toward Zev. Oscar left the rest behind, looking back only once as he stepped away from the machine.

It was strange; he never noticed it before but through the wide open panels he could not help but recognize the layout of the machine's inner workings. It was very similar to the inside of his Infinity Energy Extractor--but how would that be possible? Oscar was indeed using Megalopolan technology as a reference, but to unknowingly follow their designs so closely--what could that mean?

Oscar caught up with Zev, ready to head back home. "I think we should consult a certain someone that may know more about this technology. Could you get us an audience?"

Zev Harcourt