lots of epic sinnoh home description in this one, courtesy of rio, and we get a little more of a glimpse into buizel's world.

enjoy~

"'Goodbye'?" Cyndaquil repeated slowly. "W-what… what's that supposed to mean?"

And that- was a very good question. The foreword had started off seeming like a monotonous techie-speak filled introduction. Then, there was this stuff that sounded almost like a suicide note.

Very eerie, all in all.

"Pfft! It's just a dramatic introduction!" Zorua replied with a snort, to Cyndaquil's surprise. "They do things like this in movies all the time! It gets people's attention, makes 'em wanna keep watching! Duh!"

"Are you sure?" said Cyndaquil doubtfully. "I mean, it kind of seems like more of a… I dunno," he finished awkwardly, staring at the page again. "It's just that this seems a lot more like a non-fiction sort of text than a story or something. I mean, it's about Sirai!"

Zorua scoffed. "Non-fiction? That's boring. Everyone knows it's the fiction that's got the best stories, and the best stories are always real!" She paused. "I think that's a quote from somewhere. I like quotes." She smiled, not quite a typical Zorua-smile, more like a Buizel-talking-'bout-acronyms smile. Cyndaquil couldn't help but feel just the tiniest bit worried at that, but luckily Zorua didn't launch into a long and monotonous speech about COMPLEX or BORING or whatever the Water-type was into these days.

"Uhh…" The Fire-type scratched his head. "Okay, then." he said, nonplussed. "Does that mean that there's a second book, or something?"

Her previously light-hearted and slightly daft mannerisms disappeared as Zorua considered. "No," she said, a more serious expression upon her face. "No, I… I think this is real. And these pages weren't in the book originally. Here-look."

She double-clicked the image of the book, zooming in on the center binding. "There's tape there." Zorua paused as a sudden, and a not entirely comforting thought entered her mind. "Do you think someone else knows about this thing?"

Buizel sneezed once as he rushed down the crowded hallway, trying to weave his way in between other Pokémon zooming through. The place was like a highway during lunch hour- not that that was too surprising, seeing how it was basically Sinnoh Home's version of an cross-country road. Anyone trying to get anywhere without getting lost in the back alleys of the flying fortress had to pass through the main hallway.

"Excuse me - excuse me -" he spluttered. "Pardon me- excuse me - o-oh, sorry!" The fussy and flustered Water-type sweat-dropped as he backed away from a mean-looking Granbull. Not that there really was any other kind of Granbull, but...

He ducked underneath a Magnemite rocketing by overhead with several microchips in tow. Buizel, after receiving an elbow to the side of his head, flattened himself against the wall. He scooched along the side another few feet, avoiding the throngs of workers, and turned the next left corner into a much emptier hall. It was narrower, and there was barely any traffic at all.

Finally. he thought, allowing himself a sigh of relief. Division manager offices.

Then, he was jumped from behind and a hand(?)-like appendage thumped into his back.

"Hey-a, Buizel!" a deep male voice called out cheerfully.

Buizel turned around to see an old, and faintly annoying, acquaintance; Sammy, a Sudowoodo. "Sammy, this really isn't the best time-" the Water-type started impatiently.

He was cut off. "It's great to see you again! Lemme guess, you're here with the other tech-heads getting called in."

"Yes!" Buizel spluttered. "This is really important though, I need to find the Tech Division manager, Director Pi! Sirai-"

Sammy blinked in surprise. "Pi? The Raichu?"

"Raichu?" The Water-typed replied, slightly confused. A look of realization dawned on his face. "Oh! So he evolved! Yes, where is he?" Buizel puffed himself up slightly, despite the urgency of the situation. "You know, this is very impor-"

The reply he received was straight, to the point, and stated in a false Western accent.

"Er, Buizel, Pi's not the head of Tech anymore. He pulled a Buizel yesterday."

Buizel stared at Sammy, who shrugged.

"Hijacked an evac mini-flyer and just up and left." the Sudowoodo explained.

That was unexpected. Pi had run the entire division for years. He'd been on the research team that created Sirai. The stubborn Electric Mouse Pokémon had stubbornly outright shouted, "I ain't dead yet!" when someone had suggested retirement just a little over a year ago.

"Oh… Well then-hang on!" Buizel suddenly adopted an irritated expression. "What do you mean, 'pulled a Buizel'?" the Water-type asked suspiciously.

Sammy immediately clammed up and slapped his hand/branch appendages over his mouth. "Mmm…. Oops?" he mumbled through the blockage.

"Sammy!" the ex-head of Supply Division exclaimed, exasperated.

Buizel finally received a reluctant reply from the Rock-type. "Er, well, after you left… the phrase 'pulling a Buizel' was... coined by one of those techie clowns... It's kinda a Sinnoh Home joke." He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head before muttering. "...Basically means…" He coughed. "...demoting yourself."

"Demoting-?!" the water-type spluttered. "I - I… You know what, never mind that for now." he decided. "Who's the new head?"

"Well, it's someone you know…" Sammy replied mysteriously, his chatty and melodramatic persona returning abruptly.

"Can you be clearer? Please?" Buizel asked, restraining his impatience. It really was an emergency- Sirai's memory banks all wiped cleaner than a Minccino's favorite coin, and here Sammy was talking about- pfft- pulling a Buizel. It didn't even sound cool. Well, maybe a little bit. But still- Buizel shook his head and attempted to pull himself back into practical thinking. "Sammy?"

However, Sammy didn't get the opportunity to reply as the overhead lights suddenly dimmed. All of a sudden, it was only by the grace of the windows that sight was possible. All was silent and frozen in time. Then, faster than anyone could even blink, the world turned a hundred and eighty degrees. Or, more accurately, 42. Degrees.

To the left.

Right into the hallway Buizel was in.

"Aaahhhhh!"

All those who couldn't float or fly tumbled down the office hallway, and those who could were spinning and losing their sense of balance, adding jumble to the airspace. The Sinnoh Home universe had tilted, and a good majority of the base plunged into complete darkness. With the rolling and roiling confusion, it was like trying to dodge bowling balls while in the middle of an oiled lane. With an Electivire pitching metal baseballs at you.

"Oof!" A dizzy Magnemite plowed into Buizel, knocking him down. The Water-type was trying to make his way back to the main hallway. He coughed and shouted. "C-*cough*-calm down!" It sounded weak, especially considering his position being nearly trampled on the floor.

It didn't work of course, not even a little bit. Everyone was too terrified. The tumbling multitudes of panicked Pokémon and the dim lighting brought memories of that all-too-recent adventure in a Team Plasma research base back to the forefront of his mind. He pushed them away.

Another Confused (capital 'C', as in the status condition) Magnemite rolled into him from behind and knocked him into the wall again. He decided to try a different tactic and kept himself pressed against the wall. It worked, for the most part, and he made his way back to the VISION lab with only three minor collisions. The quick swipe of a key card opened the door and let him tumble inside.

The door slid shut behind him.

The lab was dead silent, but filled to the brim with techies and Sirai specialists. That was the thing about Sinnoh region tech workers. Absentminded, quirky, socially awkward, daft, and somewhat insane, the lot of them- -but they could keep calm in an emergency. Well, textbook scenario emergencies, at any rate. Given the situation, they were holding up pretty well as a polar opposite to the chaos outside.

One techie, a Flaffy with Shiny coloring, suddenly took charge. After all, someone had to- seeing how whoever the new Tech Division manager wasn't present in the room.

"Everyone, save as much o' the work we had done- as you can." She especially stressed the last three words. It was a good technique, giving command while reassuring everyone that their efforts would be enough. "Organize the papers on those tables. Put those hard drives in working and damaged piles. You." She pointed at Buizel. "Get yo' butt up to the pilot's cabin and see what's happened! The nearest teleporter's in the main hub. Move it!"

"Oh-um-yes, sir! Er, ma'am!" the Water-type stuttered out.

"Get on with it, soldier! We're falling out o' the sky!"

Buizel turned and scrambled back out the way he'd come in. As he crawled towards the main hub through the throngs of other Pokémon, he thought. That Flaffy is scary.

He ducked and covered his head as a Geodude bounced off the floor in front of his face and over him. I kinda like her.

Eevee was worried. That, in itself, was not unusual; the unusual part of it was that she had a good reason to be worried.

"It's raining and I should never have let them go out in the first place," she fretted. "Oh dear Arceus, they should be back by now!" As if to augment her fears, Sirai's oddly orange light flickered, as if threatening to go out. Eevee looked around the base, but the secret comfort she usually took from seeing the solid wooden walls illuminated by crystals glowing a calming blue was absent.

"Sirai?" she asked into the air. "Do you know where Cyn and Zorua went?" She doubted the AI would tell her, not if Cyndaquil and Zorua had asked her to keep it a secret, but it was worth a try.

"No." replied a cool voice. Eevee waited for more; it didn't come.

"No?" she repeated, at a loss for words.

"No." A flat response. Cold and cruel and lacking all the warmth and mischief Sirai's would've had normally.

"...Okay." Eevee said. Zorua's words suddenly echoed through her head. There's something seriously wrong with Sirai… maybe she wasn't just joking?

"Sirai?" she asked.

"What do you require?" asked Sirai coldly.

"...Nothing." Eevee stammered, fidgeting with the fur on her neck. Ok… this isn't Sirai's pranking style… wow, it's really creepy.

"Fine, then." There was a high-pitched beep and Sirai ceased talking.

Oh no… Zorua… I completely blew her off! What if they think they can fix this by themselves? Eevee wondered if this had anything to do with the AI's blackouts, which hadn't been happening lately, as she'd noticed. I have to go find them!

Even with Sinnoh Home soon to be crashing, the main hub where Buizel had gotten his assignment from Rio was continuing with business as usual. Which meant it was more or less just as chaotic as it would be even if the construct wasn't going to, well, pancake.

Rio seemed to be the only one concerned about anything, which was rather disconcerting. "Buizel! Buizel!" He bounced up and down, trying to wave over the heads of the crowd.

The Water-type ran to the miniature Fighting-type. "Rio! What's going on?"

The reply he received was very worrying. Rio pulled Buizel down to eye level and whispered in his ear shiftily. "We've lost autopilot! An announcement was made over the hall speakers, and we've gotten everyone calm again-but it's a lie." The Riolu glanced around, as if terrified that someone would overhear. "Not a problem with the gyroscopes-we don't even have gyroscopes- we've lost control. I have to stay here, make sure no one riots. You need to get up to the pilot's cabin!"

"So I've been told." Buizel muttered. A picture of the rather Eevee-like Flaafy flashed into his mind.

"Hmm? What was that?" the Riolu asked, confused.

"Oh, uh, never mind! Back to your station, pal!" Buizel was shoved in the direction of the teleporters next to the giant windows. "Move!" The Fighting-type winked before turning back to his desk.

Buizel glanced back for a moment, but reminded himself that he had more pressing matters to attend to. The calm that had come upon Sinnoh Home was off-balanced and artificial, like everyone knew in the back of their minds that there was something terribly wrong. It wasn't a riot though, and for that the Water-type was thankful.

Soon, he arrived at the teleporters. They were basically glowing blue or green circles set into the floor, giving off rings of light that floated upwards before dissipating. There was a small control stand next to the circles, appearance similar to parking meters, though instead of inserting coins you twiddled a knob until the right option appeared. The entire setup wasn't unlike something from a video game, though that'd just be cliche'd.

Buizel stepped onto the teleporter and grasped the dial, spinning it counterclockwise as different options spiraled past on the screen. Gotta hurry, but don't panic. Oh holy Mew, this situation is surreal.

Cafeteria-

Mail Room-

Lab 1-

Lab 2-

Lab 3-

Lab 5-

Lab 6-

Lab 7-

Lab 8-

Lab 9-

Pilot's Cabin-

Finally! Buizel thought, relieved. He pushed the dial in, and it made a clicking sound.

Nothing happened.

Oh, right! He began digging inside his scarf.

- In the Rescue Corp. organization, Pokémon were given different levels of security pass. The naming system was the teensiest bit odd, but it had been created by the founder of the entire organization, and it worked pretty dang well.

The lowest levels were Red and Blue-they were of the same rank, but the difference was that Red was slated for a higher access within a year. Anyone given Rescue Corp. work was immediately given a Blue-level access. There were rumors of a mysterious Yellow rank among the everyday workers, but no one except the very top of the regional pyramid and Recruit Division managers were actually supposed to have full knowledge of its existence.

Above the primary colors were the access ranks Silver and Gold. Both had the same access, but those of Gold rank were slated for access promotion within five years. To actually get to either rank, you needed to have a near-spotless record of the past two months missions or desk reports and successfully complete three missions or information gatherings of at least Silver and Gold rank. Among the rescue teams who'd achieved these ranks, there were rumors of a Crystal rank. No confirmation from the Recruit managers or higher ups though.

Above the precious metals were Ruby and Sapphire. Only pokemon who'd devoted themselves to the Rescue Corp.'s work and trusted with important missions repeatedly were given these ranks. They also had to either take a course in leadership or have proven themselves in the field before. Sapphire was a rank given to those slated for promotion to the next level within five to ten years. There were rumors of an Emerald rank, but no one below Gold and Silver ever caught wind of them. And no confirmation of the rumors came either.

Past even those were the ranks of Diamond and Pearl. To anyone of any rank below, these stations seemed impossible to reach. Mostly because no one below Diamond and Pearl actually knew the requirements. Those who had the ranks of Diamond or Pearl were generally Division Managers or senior and very experienced rescue teams. No one below the ranks knew whether it was the Diamond rank or the Pearl rank that had Pokémon set for promotion or if there even was a promotion, mostly because those in the ranks had no idea either. Among Rescue Team Pokémon of this very uncommon rank, there existed rumors of... something. The Recruit Managers weren't talking though, and neither were the regional directors.

No one below the regional directors knew what rank said directors were, and it was uncertain whether they knew, either.

Due to… special circumstances… several regions had special ranks unique to them. Kanto and Johto, the two regions sometimes referred to by senior workers as "the original series", had HeartGold and SoulSilver ranks, which no one below said ranks or Diamond and Pearl actually knew fit where. They weren't told what they'd done to earn the ranks even after they had. Unova had emergency ranks known as Black, White, Black 2, and White 2. They were issued out only in emergency situations. Unova had a lot of emergency situations.

The pilot's cabin, located at the very top of the Sinnoh Home main body construct (wings and fins not included), was where the manual pilot's sat. From inside the cabin, you could access nearly everything in the base. The only way inside was through teleporter, unless you were prepared to scale Sinnoh Home from the outside and get in through the hatch at the top. You needed at least Ruby or Sapphire rank to get inside, unless you were on the pilot rotation. To get on the pilot rotation, you needed to be of Crystal rank, no more, no less.

You'd expect everyone of Diamond or Pearl rank to be… well… old. The length of time it would take for a Pokémon to move up to either rank was roughly eight to nine years minimum, and no one had ever achieved the minimum in history. Generally, it was either a lot more or a lot less. There were hidden ways that one could achieve either rank, and those who did were for the most part the Division Managers. Quill and Rio for one example, Buizel for another, though the Water-type did quit. Nearly all the managers were promoted in some special circumstance. One of the few who hadn't been was Director Pi. He'd gone the long way and was proud of it. Rightfully so, too.

Buizel fumbled with his Base Key for a moment before jamming it in a thin slot next to the selection dial. It glowed, and then a camera lens opened its eye from its location just above the selection screen. Identifying Buizel as the owner of the Key inserted, it spat the Key back out (hitting Buizel in the eye) and said.

"Access granted."

The teleporter system was run completely separate from Sirai, making sure that at least one of the two systems was online to keep pokemon circulating through the flying fortress. It was a surprisingly sane and logical move by Director-no, just Professor now, Pi.

A small flash of light, and Buizel was no longer standing on the same teleporter pad he'd been on a moment ago. The teleporter had taken him to the pilot's cabin, after all, he had high enough access for it. Plenty high, actually.

Platinum high, specifically.