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Watching as Holly took in the number of different types of fish in vicinity of the lighthouse, Beta couldn't help but crook a small grin at her amazement at the number. The naiveté the piplup exhibited was a refreshing encounter indeed, and she found herself liking the role of teacher when it came to the basics; it made her feel slightly less useless as something other than a watchdog. Thirty-nine was not a whole lot in relation to the sheer number of types of fish out in the world, let alone this particular part of the world, but she supposed that Holly hadn't actually swam a mile out to sea, either. Tapping the edge of the doorway, Beta walked a distance away from it and then pointed back to where she had tapped, drawing a line through the air to stop at her feet, -One meter is approximately the distance from the door to where Beta stands now. A cubic meter accounts for this length on three dimensions. Um... height, width, and depth, so like a box that is this long at left to right and from top to bottom, but on all sides.- As she described it, she tried to trace a box in midair, though with smaller dimensions than those she indicated. She was happy to note that not only did Holly know what a school of fish was, but she demonstrated her understanding of what a forty-five degree angle was so deftly. Beta even got caught up in the moment and leaned forward, as though expecting the stone to activate something once it was turned. Or maybe she was just making sure Holly wasn't too upset that it wouldn't work... -It is possible that that may be the case. People can be very tricky at times,- Beta agreed, striding over to the stone that was pointed out. She snickered at Holly's random number, attempting to estimate how much eighty-six degrees would be turned when the stone was blocky enough to throw off the calculations. It was a bit heavy, though, so Beta had to assist herself with the use of her telekinetic capabilities. Ninety was easy enough to estimate, so the mewtwo turned the stone ninety and adjusted it back the other way a little to subtract the extra four degrees. -Ready for it?- she asked before glancing down and dropping the stone into place, jumping back in case her feet were in danger of getting squished.

Beta considered Holly's eager response for a moment before asking, -What if you have nothing left to give? Then what do you do?- She wasn't necessarily talking about herself, but after asking about it, it was probably an answer she should be paying close attention to; she did, after all, just admit that she had nothing she could give in return. The mewtwo smirked at Holly's excited reply... to her own reply, -It does seem like a lovely holiday.- Beta peered at the inquiring piplup about the mewtwo's name, noting the curious lilt to Holly's question; it seemed that she had some sort of plot up her sleeves, and Beta was all for hearing options. -Better? But... it is the name Beta was given when she was created. She does not understand,- she asked, tilting her head. Holly was definitely an interesting character, and even though Beta may not have fully grasped the concept, she wasn't going to write it off. The words the small pokémon rattled off intrigued Beta, wondering where she was going with the trail of thoughts that spilled from her beak. Perhaps she could have given herself a sneak peek, but it was much more fun to be surprised, considering it wasn't as though consequences would be dangerous. -Coraline? It is... a very pretty name,- Beta mused, glancing down at the shell Holly had offered as a gift. Such a small contraption could offer a lot, it seemed, including such a bizarre mental maze toward a label for someone. Regardless, the notion was really sweet; it was almost as though Holly were trying to offer Beta more than just the single, tangible gift for this strange non-holiday. Swishing her tail a bit, Beta nodded, -Beta is glad you were not harmed, then, and that you are away from such similar threats now. Unless the one that was in the cave before is like an avalanche...- She supposed... that was possible, but Holly seemed fairly certain that there was no threat to come from her new... 'cavemate,' which was pretty reassuring.

Beta glanced back at the length of a perceived meter that she had displayed, -It is a lot. Fish are very plentiful in the water, but some of them are quite adept at hiding, so it is not always so apparent. Beta is sure you must know that already, though. Piplups enjoy fish, yes?- If anything, Holly could probably teach Beta more about the characteristics of fish and fish habitat than the mewtwo could. The taller pokémon watched as Holly pretended to be inside a box, walls to the outer reaches of her flippers, and once again found the piplup's antics to be quite amusing. She was certainly very imaginative! She blinked as Holly rattled off another random number, and watched in amazement as the smaller pokémon motioned with her limbs the correct amount of rotations such a number would equal. It took her a moment to locate her voice on the matter, as figuring out how to praise that sort of learning potential turned out to be pretty difficult, -That is amazing! You have grasped the mathematical concepts very well! Do you do other such things similarly, with numbers?- Maybe it came naturally because of something else that the piplup did on a routine basis, but Beta hadn't been expecting such a lightning-fast understanding. Turning to the stone that was pointed out, Beta walked over to it and grabbed hold of the outer edges. Turning to Holly, she asked, -Should anything else be done at the same time, or should Beta just try it?- This one was a lot smaller than the last, requiring little effort to pick up under her own strength.

The lime-marked mewtwo pondered over the various ways that she could repay Holly for the kindness she had showed, and a few things came to mind. None of them were physical items, however, and when compared to such a pretty shell, seemed almost shallow. However, it was the least she could do, and perhaps could even lead to being able to repay the gift at a later date, more fully. -Hmm, how about... Beta extends friendship to the little Holly?- she asked, hoping that it didn't offend the piplup, -If you want to, since you do not seem to cause any sort of destructive mischief, Beta could offer access to the lighthouse? Oh, but you had mentioned a cave... is it far?- Beta didn't know of any caves nearby, unless perhaps they were on a cliff face or underwater, but she highly doubted Holly would have made her home in a place like that after having an avalanche attack her on the mountains; it was so great a distance! Then how did she make it to a place like this? Blinking at the counter to Beta's mentioning that the name was pretty, she found herself unsure of how to feel, -It is... fitting?- She was not pretty, though... she always took herself to be more of an abomination, so she didn't know what Holly meant. She thought about what sort of face Holly's roommate could have been making, but Beta was unaware to what extent the piplup had gone to surprise Rei when she had first arrived, -She did not think that a piplup would be there, yes? Perhaps she had never seen one before. Beta is glad to know that she is friendly, though.-

Sniffing fish out underwater... now that was an interesting proposition that Holly had posed. Beta didn't know that was possible to do without being a fish, but then again, she didn't know if the piplup was just using a phrase to her advantage in the situation. Regardless, the point of the matter was clear: Holly was not a sub par fisher. Interesting. Beta perked at Holly's confusion at not understanding what was so important about the piplup being able to grasp mathematics so hastily. -Most others would not be able to connect the numbers themselves with the correct rotational spin in such a short period of time,- she tried to explain, finding it difficult to come up with simpler terminology on the spot. Apparently Holly had known the smaller numbers, perhaps she had combined them to understand the larger ones as well. Pondering this a moment, Beta considered that Holly was probably most adept at learning by doing things herself, perhaps with the addition of visuals. It made sense, at least. Holding the stone still, Beta waited for Holly to hop her little body onto the bottom stair before dropping the slab of rock, glancing around to see -- or listen -- if the combined action accomplished anything at all. -Did anything move?- she asked, wondering how long the piplup's mind would keep churning out such creative ideas. She had to admit, this tom-foolery was actually kind of fun.

While Beta looked rather nonchalant -- even confident -- a few of her muscles were tensed, not wanting to offend the small water pokémon with her suggestion of a gift to give to Holly. Immediately relieved with the reaction received on the matter, Beta's cord-like tail waved slightly in relief. It paused in its motions a bit when Holly had indicated the upper floors, realizing that it had... probably sounded like that's what she had meant, to invite the piplup to the upper portion of the tower. That was a bit more reckless of a suggestion, and against orders that she was given. Or... were they against the regulations? Beta had assumed they were for everyone, but Holly obviously wasn't a threat to the data stored in the place. -Well...- she began, thinking on it aloud, -You are a careful piplup, are you not? You would not break anything if you knew it was delicate, yes?- Already, Beta trusted this cheery little pokémon, but even she could realize that she was perhaps jumping to conclusions as to how Holly normally acted when not surrounded by rubble. The mewtwo turned in the direction that Holly indicated her new home was located, as though she could see through the walls of her own home and see it. With a recounting of the files she had sifted through in boredom, she was at least trying to exercise her imagination, but it was hardly adequate when she had not seen very sharp pictures of the area the piplup was referring to. -Hmm, Beta does not know the area in that direction,- she admitted after some time, tilting her head from side-to-side as though still trying to grasp onto the knowledge, -However, that does sound like a very long trek through unknown parts. You were not, um... scared?- It felt strange to use that term. At the mention of such an abstract use of the term 'pretty,' Beta felt compelled to look down on herself in examination, -On the... inside? Um, well... thank you, Holly.- While Beta felt blindsided, not knowing what to say or do in a situation like compliment-giving, Beta crouched down again and moved her tail closer to Holly in case she wanted a better look at the pretty color, a small smile playing on her features, -You are a very pretty one yourself. The color of the ocean!- The taller pokémon's head inched to the side, confused, -So you... decorated the cave without her knowledge?- Well that was certainly the strangest way Beta had ever heard of someone saying 'hello' for the first time.

Beta smiled when Holly had mentioned angles, and nodded in response. Very strange indeed... was it all about luck, as far as the piplup was concerned, or was the little pokémon actually able to deduce such quick mathematics subconsciously? Regardless, there didn't seem a point to explain, for it didn't look as though using more fancy terminology was going to drive anything further home; Beta would just sit quietly in awe over the subject. She leaned a bit to the side to get a better view of what Holly was trying to indicate with her flippers in the air, a hand tapping at her closed mouth in thought, -On a three-dimensional scale, you mean? Um... such as a ball? That would be a sphere.- She thought about it, considering if that was what Holly was referring to, but flinched when the creak sounded and Holly exclaimed in reaction to it. Beta's piercing eyes scanned the upper portions of the room to locate what may have caused it, but to no avail. With the weak intensity of the sound, it was unlikely it had been anything sneaking around -- at least nothing bigger than a squirrel -- so her guard didn't shoot up defensively. Instead, she peered back to the piplup, -Possibly. Would Holly like to go take a look, see what she could find?- Beta wasn't above hovering around to give the small penguin-esque pokémon aid and an extra set of eyes, either.

Her grin grew broad at Holly's very sincere promise, -Beta will hold that to you! But she also believes you, so she supposes she could let you in the upper levels. Almost everything is delicate in there, though, so Holly should try not to touch anything unfamiliar without first asking. Fair?- The little adventure to the upper levels would probably wait until another time regardless, what with the search for a hidden stairwell that was currently taking up all the daylight hours, but Beta wouldn't soon forget such a promise. She mused on the idea of fear, -Well there is a lot of unknowns out in the world, and Holly is a very small pokémon. Beta does not think Holly should be afraid, she was just... hm, concerned.- Well, there was a first for everything. There was almost a mental snicker as the piplup reached for Beta's tail but refrained from taking a grab at it, so the patina mewtwo decided to meet her halfway; her tail slithered closer and tickled at the piplup's outstretched flipper. Holly was just so excitable and childish, Beta found it quite endearing. -Maybe your friend just needed a bit of time to warm up to the surprise, then. She seems to have taken to it quite nicely,- Beta evaluated; at least Rei hadn't thrown the little piplup out, though the mewtwo didn't really feel like saying such a thing aloud.

The tall pokémon gave a nod to Holly's agreement on the suggestion to check on the sound, despite not expecting the same outcome to occur. It would be an interesting turn of events, sure, but the scientists that once lived here were not ones for riddles or puzzles, only secrecy. Their imagination was limited to science, not architecture. Regardless, Beta did not voice this opinion, for there was no way for her to know for sure: she wasn't here at the laboratory's conception, merely after its original designated tasks were underway. -If Beta may, Holly, she thinks it would be faster and more thorough to travel by air,- the mewtwo deduced, crouching down and holding her hands out a bit to show what she meant, -The stairwell is broken and may not be passable by foot.-

Beta did not catch onto the slip in Holly's speaking mannerisms, mostly because she felt it more natural herself, to be detached from the name. Then again, she was supposed to be Coraline in this encounter, wasn't she? -Beta thanks you,- she accepted with a mild smile, feeling that she could trust the declaration. The waves emanating off, without Beta even probing into Holly's mind, were enough of a comfort. -Ghosts?- she asked, blinking, -Beta has not ever seen a ghost, but she has heard of them. They are not unlike other pokémon, yes?- Being afraid of certain types of pokémon wasn't uncommon, she figured, and had a logical cause for the fear to grow in many instances. Last she checked, water types weren't weak to ghost types, though... how strange. The mewtwo grew concerned when Holly began shaking in reaction to the thought, deciding it might be best to move on with the conversation just as swiftly as the piplup ended up doing, -Maybe Holly's housemate will learn to appreciate the decorations in time as well.-

Beta knew that the broken stairwell was made to be in such disarray on purpose. While she was also positive that it was done in an effort to secure the upper areas, there was the distinct feeling that such measures had been taken whether or not Beta would have been able to surpass the obstacles herself. After all, why would the scientists ever want her to leave, to inadvertently unveil their little projects prematurely? For one thing, they were highly illegal... Beta, however, had long since made the entire area accessible to her, so regardless of any reservations she had, it was all free to her now. -Thank you for your concern, Holly, but Beta made sure to take all proper precautions to lessen the likelihood of injury. She would like to be able to do the same for Holly as well,- the mewtwo explained the motive before carefully lifting the piplup off the ground and securing the pokémon in her arms. She did not, however, take measures to slow her ascent from its normal speed in order to help Holly get used to levitation, should she need it -- the thought completely slipped her mind. Nearing the sections where stone stairwells turned into heaps of rubble, she took to hovering more, making sure that Holly was still fully in her grasp before asking, -Where might we search first for these secret passages?-

She tried to process this information, but it was a bit difficult for the mewtwo to wrap her head around the idea. -Scary?- she asked; while fear was not an alien subject, being frightened of something based on its appearance was bordering on the opposite. Was there something more to these ghosts that she just wasn't catching on to? With a nod, Beta accepted the suggestion, -The research does, indeed, contain data on pokémon. Beta will be sure to look these up for the information.- While it was an interesting prospect, this whole 'decorating' thing, it would pose problems for her in the longer run of things. As much as she wanted to give a more positive answer, especially since Holly was so excited about the holidays, she wasn't going to lie, -The place remains in disrepair so that people do not think that it is anything but the ruins of a lighthouse. Decorating would only attract attention.- Though, now that she thought about it, maybe the suggestion could be met partway... -If the decorations did not stay up for too long, Beta supposes that it is possible to do, though. Perhaps for a short celebration?- She wasn't much of a host, though!