Waiting relatively patiently for them all to mend their pokemon, when all was said and done the Professor grinned enthusiastically and lead them to the mountain proper. Having been sufficiently deputized Rolf didn't seem to mind them slipping into the mountain as much, though he did keep an eye on them and, more importantly, on the trainers who immediately began to complain that they weren't receiving similar treatment, wondering why they'd been allowed in... the sound of their annoyance, and Rolf's bellowed response, followed the group into the caves for quite a ways until they died down in the subterranean depths.<br/><br/>Mt. Moon wasn't as creepy as everyone said, somehow--for such rough terrain it was surprisingly manageable, the tunnels carved and worn well enough to be walkable, if admittedly they were a bit maze-like. The professor navigated with a large wand-light as though he knew the place well, however, and as he spoke his voice reverberated gently in the hollows. "The mountain's been smoothed out quite a bit lately, or at least the trails through it have--you've Rolf to thank for that. It used to be that this place was all sorts of a mess. Still plenty of zubat, mind, and the usual subterranean mountainous pokemon, but they're easy enough to tackle with some concentrated effort."<br/><br/>As they wound their way through the tunnels, they made their way up instead of the usual down and across--the open basin at the summit was, of course, prime clefairy location, but their base-camp was pointedly far enough out of the way to allow for them to run their monitoring equipment and keep themselves repelled enough get some decent respite from the local flying mammals. The camp was sparse and kept to a minimum, tents clustered around an electronics array and a local generator, and the only people there were a few scientists and assistants who were attached. They eyed the newcomers curiously, but after a brief explanation allowed them to pass and continued about their business.<br/><br/>"The main problem," Professor Cozmo explained as they entered the camp proper, pulling his flannel shirt a bit tighter in the cool of the cave, "is these bootleggers who keep ditching people in the tunnels. Some of them make their way out on their own--others just get lost, start crying for help, and get themselves in real trouble." He sighed exasperatedly before motioning to them all.<br/><br/>"So. The short version is I'd like one of you rounding up anyone who managed to get in and escorting them back out and the rest of you guarding a few of the entrances into the upper regions where the ceremony proper will be taking place. Jack, if you'd like to join us in the observation area you're welcome to. The timing on all this isn't exact, I'm afraid, so expect to be up most of the night, but if all goes as planned we'll escort you all out in the morning and you can find your lodging in Cerulean by lunch. Sound peachy?"<br/><br/>Quiet up until now, Isaac raised his hand quickly. "I'll roam around down there. My light could use the exercise and the idea of sitting around guarding some hole in the wall sounds like it might put me to sleep. Unless anyone else really wants to." Much better, he figured, to at least have the opportunity to stumble across something interesting or entertaining than to be stuck playing guard all night. He even had the pokemon for it--Alabama would keep things nice and bright and Kentucky didn't need light to begin with. Hell, half his pokemon seemed better of underground, weirdly enough.<br/><br/>"Good man. Try not to attract too much attention from the local pokemon--the fewer disruptions the better, and I'd really prefer not to have to mount a rescue mission because you couldn't handle a few zubat." Cozmo said with a teasing snort before clapping his hands and looking to the others.<br/><br/>"Positions, then? I'll be happy to show you to them. We'll get you some radios and have you posted in a jiffy!"<br/><br/>With the possible exception of Jack, who probably enjoyed the chance to be with his peers and seniors for a change, that was likely to be the most exciting thing to happen to them for hours.<br/><br/>--------<br/><br/>The problem with being let into a mountain without a map by a pair of amateur con-artists was largely what one would think it would be: too easy to get lost. While it's true that these days Rolf had streamlined the traveling passages from one end to the other, it was also true that he'd left much of the lower levels largely untouched thanks to the lack of foot travel. The stone here was rougher than it was in much of the rest of the caves upper, more utilized levels, and it twisted and turned like the onyx-den that it probably was.<br/><br/>Ghosts weren't exactly well known in the cave, but at the same time finding a ghost in the twining caverns was hardly a simple task, and without carefully paying attention it was easy enough to get lost. It was in much of this stumbling that Maggie would have slipped, fell, bumped, crawled, or otherwise spelunk'd her way into a rather odd chamber, the rock giving way to a glittering face that seemed rather different than the rest of the tunnels the rock was made of. It opened up into a surprisingly wide and surprisingly tall chamber, and far, far above what looked to be a twinkle of starlight could be seen.<br/><br/>Looking down at her from a ledge along the rock, a small pink cleffa twitched its ears gently and cocked its neckless head. It looked more confused than afraid, which was in some ways surprising in and of itself, and it emitted a quick and questioning 'peep' to the young channeler.