Welcome to Gaia! ::

Cal sat on the edge of her hospital bed, motionless and with a heavy aura around her. She remembered when she had been in here for a Beedrill sting, out for days. Was this going to be a reoccurring thing? The nurses had stitched and bandaged her up and told her that not to do any strenuous activities for a while. It's not like she would be out of her room any time soon anyway. She didn't want to be seen by anyone. This whole mess was not something she wanted people to whisper behind her back about, so her method was to just lock herself in her room for a while....

"If you're able to walk, report to my office." The voice in her pokedex made her jump. She stared at it and sighed. Grrrreeeaattt, just what I want to do. She shifted onto the floor gently, wincing a little and holding her side. The pain medication the nurses had given her were starting to wear off, but she didn't bother to ask them. She didn't bother to tell anyone that she was leaving. She just took her glum self and began to walk out of the infirmary, eyes down and slightly dragging her feet.

Before she was clear of the infirmary door, she spotted the white haired grunt being wheeled away by a Squirtle. She decided it was best to follow them then get lost and possibly get yelled at even more than she expected when she got to Nadja's office.

Hot breath blasted Mau in the face. It smelled like cheri berries and dog.

A large black nose belonging to a large Arcanine roamed over the scientist's hair, snuffling in a curious but perfunctory way. You're new, this is your smell, okay I've got- hey what's this?

"Moloch," Nadja called as her Pokemon bent its head to prod Mau's pockets with more interest. He stopped short with a whuff and cleared the doorway, allowing a view of the room beyond.

The third floor offices were not the stark industrial things on the lower levels, any quirks of personality smoothed out by the sheer number of people that put the spaces to use. Here, the rooms had been allowed to shape themselves to one mind, and unless that mind was making a concerted effort to be devoid of personality (or lacked it naturally) they showed traces of their owners.

Nadja's was orderly and - once you got past the furry customs agent - potentially peaceful. The walls were lined with full bookshelves; somewhere, a clock ticked, meting out the silence. Desert sunlight streamed in through a window behind her desk, which faced the door, and a small end table boasted what looked like the hybrid of a tea kettle and a coffee dispenser, all in gleaming stainless steel. Three chairs had been set out, obviously meant for them.

Against the near wall, somewhat out of the way, was a large dog bowl on a mat. It was half-full of water.

Nadja was at her desk, typing at a slim black laptop. "Come in," she instructed, as her fingers hit the keys with a certain vehemence. "Sit. Don't feed the dog."

The Arcanine sniffed at each person as they entered - Nyx less thoroughly than Cal, and Beaker with curiosity but reserve owing to her type.

As soon as the door was opened, they were being frisked by a huge dog. Strike that, he acted more like an big, excited puppy. After he was done with his search, the Arcanine got a slight pat on the head from Cal. She sat when she was told to sit, like an obedient Rocket, leaving her feeling more like Moloch.

She noted that Nadja didn't seem as ticked off as she was earlier, but she expected nothing less than a thorough chewing out. It might have been more pleasant if Moloch was the one who was doing the chewing. The calm atmosphere was giving her chills, it was as if it was the calm before the storm. Hopefully that wasn't the case here.

Slim, well-manicured fingers struck out a few more sentences to close off the e-mail in progress before Nadja closed her laptop and looked at the Rockets filing toward her desk. The redhead's brows lifted at Nyx's mode of transportation; the little scientist had had the worst of it, yet here she was with the help of a Squirtle chauffeur. Her presence spoke of something - what, though, was left to speculation, because Nadja made no comment.

A wet nose brushed against the girls' palms as they reached out to pat the gigantic canine, and like most large dogs dealing with small defiant creatures, Moloch was oblivious to Beaker's gearing up to attack. He trotted for the center of the room, where he paced noisily behind the chairs as his trainer spoke.

"I have Miller and a cleanup crew down in the labs assessing damages," Nadja informed the trio, leaning toward the small end table as she did, and selected a cup with a clink of porcelain. Her voice was calm - a measured calm, with underlying tension striking syllables like the rumbles of distant thunder. "He's also looking into the cause of the incident, but I want to hear it from you three - what happened?"

The elite diluted a small fraction of dark tea with water from the lower boiler and sat back, studying them through the steam with sharp gray eyes.

Nyx nodded. "Essentially that. The experiments readings were fairly normal and then things quickly escalated. I'm..." Nyx trailed off and blinked a little. Pain medications caused interesting sensations. She didn't finish speaking, and probably had no clue what she was going to say in the first place.

Nadja's brows arched as she took a sip while she listened, then furrowed at Nyx's floaty behavior. "Unreliable at the moment," she decided, adding, "Perhaps you should lie down."

Grey eyes leveled on Mau.

"That's a good deal of speculation, a distressing lack of detail," she observed, holding her tea before her the way some elites steepled their hands, "and not what I was looking for. Now that you're all reasonably upright, I want to hear the exact sequence of events you remember before I entered the room. Be eyewitnesses, please, not forensic analysts." Her voice was calm but plain, with a certain flatness of tone and gaze that indicated she wasn't in the mood for witty answers. This was the second large foul-up in the month or two since her transfer, and it was reasonable to assume that her patience was wearing thin.

Her gaze shifted to Cal. "Termination and necropsy. We'll get some use from it."

There was a snuffling sound, a furry presence, and then Mau was goosed.

"Pffft! Haaa!" Nyx started to giggle and laugh at Mau being goosed by the giant puppy. She let out a fairly strong bout of giggles before intaking breath with a snort. The force of all this humor sent her sitting back roughly in her wheelchair.
Nyx's face got serious rather quickly and she hissed. "...Oh... oh ow..."

"No," Nadja snapped forcefully, setting her tea down. Moloch cringed, blue eyes instantly contrite. The elite stood and walked around to the side of her desk, unclipping a Pokeball from her belt. She set it on the carpet and pointed at it sternly. "Ball."

Ears and tail low, the Arcanine shuffled forward slowly, watching his trainer for some sort of reprieve. She remained firm. The giant dog touched his nose to the center button and was sucked in.

Nadja retrieved the Pokeball and sat down again.

"So," the elite said crisply, continuing on as if nothing had happened, "no prior warning." Her voice was cool; she didn't sound entirely convinced nor pleased. "Those restraints should contain a Tyranitar. Did you know they were inadequate before this incident?" When Cal interjected she was given a steely look. "I am more concerned with the safety of my department than a failed experiment. Be pertinent or be quiet."