The Team Rocket member gestured for us to step back with the muzzle of his gun. The revolver gleamed silver in the light of the museum.

My heart was slamming in my chest. I'd never seen a gun before. I mean, of course they were in movies and TV shows, but in the age of Pokemon trainers, what kind of person needed a weapon that could kill another person?

"Hey- hey, man," I stuttered, instinctively stepping in front of Daisy and keeping my hands up. "You don't have to point that thing at us. If you want-"

He leveled the revolver at my face. "Shut up."

I did so.

The Rocket grunt grinned. "Now both of you, hand over your Pokemon and valuables. Now."

Daisy stepped forward, a Pokeball already in her hand. When I looked at her expression I could see that she was scared, yes, but also furious.

"Ah, ah, ah..." The grunt turned the gun on her. "Not too quick, little miss. Sit it on the floor like a good little girl."

My vision tinted red. The asshole was already holding us up at gunpoint, but the sexist comments made him so much more punchable. I put one hand onto Artis' ball, but Daisy shook her head slightly. She knew what I did. It didn't matter how strong her Pokemon were, or that even Artis could probably take this guy. All he had to do was pull the trigger and he'd get one of us.

Daisy sat her Pokeball on the ground and slid her handbag down her arm, sitting it next to her Pokemon. When she stood back up, she was seething.

I looked down at the little blue sticker on Artis' ball. A weight formed in my stomach.

I didn't want to give him up.

I almost clicked the button on his ball, releasing him right then and there, but I looked back up at the grunt. His dark eyes were bored, and he was just waiting for an excuse.

I sat Artis and my Pokenav+ with Daisy's things.

The grunt made a noise of approval. "Good, you two decided to be smart. Now, we're not going to be giving your Pokemon back, but if you stay quiet you might just get away without me shooting you. Of course, we wouldn't want that." He winked at me.

Across the floor, a crack echoed from an adjoining hallway, and a person slumped to the floor. I flinched, instinctively stepping towards the sound, but stopped when I saw what it was.

Two more grunts in black and red uniforms stood over the unconscious body of a security guard. One of them had a raised firearm, and it was clear they'd clocked the security guard in the back of the head, knocking them out.

One of those grunts released a Pokemon from a ball, a grey-skinned humanoid with reptilian features and a stocky body. A Machop. The fighting type hefted the body of the security guard over its shoulder, following behind the two grunts as they approached us.

"Anybody else on this floor?" One of them asked.

The grunt with the revolver shrugged. "Not that I've seen. The boss was right, this place is empty. I've got these two lovebirds here, but that's about it."

"Alright, take them and the guard to the lobby. Aestus wants them all rounded up and out of the way. We left Kevin on the security monitors."

He nodded, picked up our things, and turned back to us. "You two, come with me."

We wordlessly went with him. I glanced at Daisy, trying to catch her eye, trying to do anything, but she was focused on the grunt in front of us. Her eyes were narrowed, and she was looking at something the guard was carrying.

Her handbag.

As we got to the top of the spiral staircase, the grunt waited for us to go first, keeping his gun level at us. I went first, and Daisy followed.

As she went by the guard, Daisy tripped, giving a panicked yelp and falling into the grunt.

"Hey!" He yelled. "Get the fuck off of me!"

He pushed her away and slammed the gun into the side of her face. She went tumbling and I lurched in front of her to stop her from falling down the stairs or off the landing onto the floor below.

Daisy was breathing heavily, and she had a nasty bruise already forming on her left cheek.

Rage pounded through my chest and I almost charged him, but Daisy's hand subtly grabbed my wrist.

"Don't," she whispered. "That was on purpose."

I looked her up and down, not seeing what she was talking about, but stiffened as I felt her slide something into my back pocket. She gave me a reassuring nod, her summer green eyes definitely planning something.

I nodded, helping her to her feet.

The grunt was pissed. He shoved the gun in my face, and I flinched when cold metal touched my cheek. "No more funny business. You or your fucking girlfriend mess up again, one of you dies. I don't care if we're limiting casualties, I get you before you make the lobby."

"No, you're right," I mumbled, not meeting his eyes. I didn't want to clue him into whatever Daisy had just done. "We'll stay in line."

"You better."

We continued our march, the Machop trailing behind us, all the way down the spiral staircase and to the back of the Ancient World exhibit. There were over a dozen grunts down here, all armed with firearms and Pokemon. The purple snake-like Arbok and the gas-spewing Weezing were common, but several Machop and Raticate also milled about with the grunts. A few of the grunts were standing guard over the receptionist and the two other guests that had wandered in today, while all the rest had gotten to work ransacking the museum.

Glass sheets shattered and cracked as the Rockets used their Pokemon to break the display boxes around the fossils. Machop and Raticate began gathering the bones, loading them into lightweight shipping crates. They occasionally grabbed a rare stone or artifact from the surrounding area, but it was clear the Rockets were here for the fossils.

At the head of the group, a single Rocket gave orders to the rest of the grunts. They stood out not only by their swift orders, stiff posture, and stern attitude, but they also had a white band of fabric across the biceps of their black uniform jacket. The Rocket stood slightly shorter than me, but their height didn't take away from the no-nonsense aura that they exuded. Bright red hair peeked out from under their cap, and they turned their eyes on us as the grunt led us toward the other hostages.

Daisy and I were brought to the group as the grunt vaguely motioned with his gun for us to line up against the wall. We were stationed just past the Aerodactyl exhibit, with no real exits or escape routes anywhere nearby. In total, there were six of us hostages: myself, Daisy, the receptionist, the security guard, and two other guests who looked to be an elderly couple. We all stood shoulder to shoulder, with the exception of the security guard, who the Machop propped against the wall before joining the other Pokemon in their work.

The lead Rocket stepped in front of the group, flanked on both sides by several grunts. As they were closer, I could see that they weren't much older than me, probably closer to Daisy's age. Their blue eyes were analytical and calculating. They rapidly glanced between each of the hostages, finally settling on speaking directly to myself and Daisy. It was clear that of the conscious hostages, we were the only trainers.

"Thank you for joining us," the Rocket spoke. Their voice was quiet and strong, but extremely precise. Honestly, they reminded me a lot of Yuji. "I am Officer Aestus of the Team Rocket organization. You may address me as such, or as 'sir' for those who are so inclined."

The older man of the elderly couple stepped forward, spitting on the ground. When he spoke up, his voice was deep and heavily accented. "You are scum, undeserving of respect. We will not address you with- with pleasantries."

The old man couldn't have been taller than a meter and a half, but he stood strong in front of five separate Rockets, with more just meters away. His bushy eyebrows were furrowed in a resolute scowl. His partner, an elderly woman of similar height, stood at his elbow. She was significantly less confident, but she stood by him nonetheless.

I couldn't have said it better myself, I thought.

Aestus turned his eyes toward the old couple, the edge of his lips turning down into a frown. He gave them a dismissive look, then gestured with his head.

A blur of black feathers descended from the rafters of the museum, moving faster than I could track with my eyes. It slammed into the old man's gut, causing him to double over as he struggled to inhale. The old woman supported him as he fell to one knee, and she murmured in a low voice to him.

I stepped forward, between the Rockets and the elderly couple. a few of the Rockets reached for their weapons, but Aestus hold up a hand.

Just as quickly as it had approached, the feathered Pokemon arced towards Aestus, landing on his shoulder. Now motionless, I could see the Pokemon properly. It was black, like a crow or a raven, and its beady red eyes stared me down. Its crown feathers were styled to look like an intimidating little fedora.

"Murkrow!" It squawked, making it clear that I wasn't to get any closer.

Aestus spoke to the Murkrow. "Thank you, my friend." The Rocket glanced down at the coughing old man before looking up at me. "I hope that is all the violence that shall be necessary."

He raised an eyebrow, daring any one of us to speak. When we didn't, he nodded.

"Now, as I was meaning to say, I have given the strict orders to my men that they shall not cause undo harm upon the civilians here." His eyes flickered between the security guard and Daisy's cheek. "And while I see that they have not been followed to the letter, I hope that more conflict shall not be needed." His voice was strict and targeted at the grunts.

The grunt that had mugged us blanched, holding his gun a little tighter.

"These are the two things that I will require from you over the upcoming hours," Aestus continued. "One, each of you will be patient. You will only be required to stay here until we have completed our business. Once we have gathered our supplies, we will leave. We will not be requiring that you accompany us. Two, you will be amicable to our requests. These are very few. You will simply be bound and asked to remain silent, refraining from causing any distractions for my men. If both of those requirements are meant, your safety will be guaranteed."

Aestus looked down at the old man, who had finally caught his breath. "Our mission today is not one of violence. Do not make me change the parameters of my orders."

With that ominous statement, the Rocket Officer turned on his heel, walking away from us. Several of the working grunts fell into line with him, marching toward the private wing that we'd left Dr. Spinel and his researchers in. One of them collected a small box containing our Pokemon, and I winced as they left with Artis.

In total, they left us with two guards watching our group, and four more Rockets scattered about the fossil exhibits. Their Pokemon shifted and moved the crates as they filled them, gathering them towards the front of the building.

I helped the old man to his feet, and he gave me a grateful nod. I glanced up at Daisy, but she was focused and intent on the retreating Rockets. Concern for her friends was clear on her face.

I wasn't feeling much better.

I hope Spinel will be okay. I thought. Hopefully he's packing a few Fossil Pokemon of his own.

Given that we hadn't heard the sound of open battle yet, and they hadn't escorted any of the researchers to our hostage group, we could only hope that they hadn't been found yet.

The guard grunts took turns pulling plastic ties from their belts and binding our hands behind our backs. They cordoned off the floor around the back wall, removing any chairs or furniture that we potentially could have used. All six of us began to settle down, watching the Rockets work. The receptionist, with some amount of effort, had wiggled out of her cardigan and sat it underneath the guard's head. He had a nasty welt on the back of his head, and it was unlikely that he was waking up any time soon. The old couple spoke in hushed tones to each other, speaking a language that I didn't recognize.

Daisy and I both sat leaned against the back wall, staying shoulder to shoulder. After the guards bound each of us, they retreated a few meters away to keep watch on us. Once it was clear that they weren't interested in any conversations between us, I leaned toward Daisy.

"What did you snag off the grunt?" I whispered, trying not to draw attention to us.

"Two things. My trainer ID and my security pass," Daisy said, leaning into my shoulder. "I didn't want them to know my name. That would just cause more problems, especially for Grandpa."

I nodded.

Daisy's pretty well known. If any one of these grunts recognizes her, they suddenly have a bargaining chip with Professor Oak. That would put her in way more danger.

I shifted. "And why are they in my pocket?"

Daisy frowned. She mumbled something, but when I couldn't hear her, she spoke up. "These pants don't have real pockets."

Despite the situation, the danger, and the terror, I almost laughed out loud right there. Hell, maybe it was because of the bubbling fear in my gut. A laugh would go a long way right now.

I composed myself.

"We need to do something," I whispered urgently. "I know we can't fight 'em, but they're ransacking the museum and hurting people."

Daisy set her jaw. "I agree. I have most of a plan already, but I'm struggling."

This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

"What do you have so far?"

"If we can get away from these two, there's a security room on the second floor." We both glanced at the still-unconscious security guard laid out next to us. "During my introduction tour, they showed me that there was a silent alarm there that would call the police and, more importantly, the League."

"That's a good plan," I said.

"Thanks," Daisy winced as she shifted her arms under her. "I just don't have a way out of these ties. Especially not with them so close."

I frowned.

My eyes went wide as I had an idea.

I don't know if she's actually here, but...

"I might have something. I'm not sure."

Daisy raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. "What do we need to do?"

"Just get shoulder to shoulder with me. Make a dark space behind us, where they can't see."

I couldn't be sure, but Misdreavus had hopped into the shadows last night when I wanted to leave. Normally she stared at me hauntingly until I left, so I was hoping that she'd been taking the opportunity to show me that she was tagging along.

Over the next few minutes, we took turns shifting our bodies to form a triangle with the wall. We had to be slow to not draw the attention of the grunts watching us.

When we were finally in position, I started whispering again, but not to Daisy. "Misdreavous, if you're there, I really need some help."

Daisy stiffened, shooting me a panicked look. "You have a ghost?"

"Not really, but one's been following me around- ah!" I stifled a yelp as something nipped at my fingers behind my back.

Daisy and I both went dead still, but neither of the grunts turned around. Between the shifting of Pokemon and moving crates, they hadn't heard.

"Misdreavous, if you can get these ties off of us, I'll buy you an entire cake. I'll even let you come with me and pick the flavor. You have to be quiet though."

I couldn't see her reaction, but Daisy went deathly still behind me. The temperature in the space behind us had started to drop drastically, letting me know that Misdreavus had manifested outside of my shadow. From the slight rummaging, I guessed that Misdreavus had started freeing Daisy first.

Now that we have Misdreavus, we have a Pokemon. I thought. That means we have a chance. I don't know how good of a battler she is, so we'll have to avoid fighting where we can, but she might just be able to help us get out.

Daisy exhaled, subtly flexing her arms behind her back as her ties came loose. She nodded to me.

A cold force gripped the plastic ties on my wrists, and I could hear a low clicking noise as a phantom energy started pulling them apart. Within seconds, I was free.

"Alright, now what?" I whispered to Daisy.

"You see the Anorith display behind us?"

I glanced up at the shattered glass case. It was set into the wall to our left, maybe five feet away. At first, I couldn't see what was special about it. It was a dip into the wall, causing an inset diorama with several plastic Anorith hanging onto a false cliff.

My eyes widened.

On the left side of the cliff, there was a small metal box. A keycard scanner.

Now that I was looking for it, I could see a faint black outline of a doorway on the side of the cliff, normally invisible to the eyes of guests. There was a maintenance passage in the Anorith exhibit.

I turned back to Daisy. "We can make that. I can get Misdreavus to make a distraction, then we can quietly make a break for it?"

She nodded. "That's what I'm thinking. Once we're back there, we can get to most places in the museum since the grunts are still walking the long way through the foyer, I can only assume that they haven't started using the access halls yet."

"You're so freakin' smart," I looked at Daisy in awe.

Daisy smiled softly, and her summer green eyes glimmered. Even with the purple bruise forming on her cheek, I had never been more attracted to her than at that moment.

"I know," she said simply.

"We can't leave these people here," I stated.

Daisy glanced at the unconscious guard and the still-coughing old man. She sighed. "I know."

I nodded.

It was going to make escaping that much harder, because we couldn't be subtle about it with three different people who would need assistance. First things first, though. We needed to get into position.

Daisy and I started shifting down the wall, slowly sidling against the floor to not draw attention to ourselves. We'd gone unnoticed by the other hostages so far, but I noticed the receptionist's eyes snap up as we slowly started getting closer to the other members of the group.

The older woman's eyes widened in fear, and she subtly shook her head at us.

I gave her an apologetic look, but I lifted one hand from behind my back ever so slightly.

Her eyes widened to saucers as she saw that I was unbound.

I gestured toward the unconscious, mouthing to her. "Can you help me carry him?" I silently asked.

She looked down at him and then back up at me. She nodded.

"Good," I mouthed.

Daisy had made it to the old couple, and she was helping them get their feet under them so that they'd be ready to run.

I leaned my back against the wall, whispering into my shadow. "Misdreavus, I need you to cause a distraction, a big one."

She giggled from my shadow, and little goosebumps formed up the back of my neck.

Am I really about to let a ghost run rampant? I shook the doubt from my head. Fuck it.

"Just try to break something big, but not valuable."

The cold aura of the Pokemon vanished, and I distantly heard the laughter of a little girl.

I hope that doesn't bite me in the ass.

I glanced around at the other hostages. The receptionist had backed up to me, giving me access to her bindings. I quickly got to work breaking the thin plastic band. With just a bit of leverage, it broke easily enough. Daisy had already gotten the old couple's bindings off.

I nervously looked around at the six Rockets on this floor. They hadn't noticed us yet, but the longer we looked suspicious, the more likely it was that one of them would realize how suspicious we looked.

This needed to happen soon.

As if on cue, a loud ting! echoed across the first floor, drawing every eye to the largest exhibit on the first floor.

The legends fucking hate me... I thought, heart sinking as I realized what Misdreavus had decided to break.

The Rockets had started with the medium to small-sized exhibits of fossils, raiding as many as they could in case the authorities arrived. This was a solid plan, because it guaranteed the highest quantity of fossils would be removed if they needed to escape quickly.

It also left the exposed skeleton of an Aerodactyl hanging above their entire working area.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Multiple bolts snapped off of their supports, glowing with blue psychic energy. Metal and stone began to creak and shake as the four meters of fossils started separating from the wall.

"Run!" I yelled, throwing the security guard's arm over my shoulder and making a mad dash for the door.

Daisy and the elderly couple were hot on our heels as the receptionist and I dragged the security guard across the room.

The Rockets definitely noticed us, and a few even started to issue commands to their Pokemon, but they were rightfully distracted as chunks of stone thousands of years old started crashing down upon them.

The skull went first, as it had been suspended away from the wall. It came crashing down on a glass display of a plastic Lileep, crushing the fake grass Pokemon and sending deadly chunks of stone flying.

The Rockets dove for cover, but not all of them were lucky. The grunt who originally stopped us turned to run but was taken out by a stone Aerodactyl molar that had separated from the skull, slamming him in the back and rolling him across the ground.

Chunks of spine came next, crashing into the ground in a dozen different places. Some still had large pieces of wire holding them together, but without their supports that just made them all the more deadly. A pair of stones connected by a support wire came down hard on a Weezing, clothes-lining the purple Pokemon into the ground.

We made it to the door first. I slammed Daisy's security badge into the sensor, and the door clicked open. I helped push the receptionist through as she took the burden of the guard so I could hold the door for everyone else.

Daisy guided the old couple through before us. She was practically carrying the elderly woman, and the old man had been reduced to coughing fits again from sudden dash.

She pushed both of them through, grasping my forearm to make sure I went through too.

Rather than arguing, I yelled "Misdreavus!", calling to the ghost, and pulled Daisy inside the narrow doorway, slamming to door shut behind us.

I caught my breath. The anxiety and adrenaline of the escape were vibrating through my bones. My face was numb. I shook my head and went to help the others. There would be time for me later.

Though it was muffled, I could still hear the crashing of stone on concrete and glass as the Aerodactyl skeleton continued to collapse. A rapid series of bursts echoed through the hallway.

I winced. That was probably the wings. Legends, I hope they don't make me pay for that.

Daisy was already helping situate the security guard onto the shoulders of the elderly couple and the receptionist. Between the three of them, they managed an awkward carry that would let them move quickly.

We were standing in a very tight passage, maybe two meters at its widest point, that continued and branched several times in just the area that I could see. The walls and ceiling were covered in pipes and electrical, but nothing was marked in a way that my untrained eye could understand it.

"Go down that hallway," she told them. "Make two rights, and go down until you find a yellow door. I you hit a room with a fridge, you've gone too far."

"Please," the old man wheezed. "Come with us, you do not need to stay. You should be safe, not running back into danger."

Daisy's face went blank, and I could see she was trying the best way to verbalize her thoughts.

I stepped up behind her. "Sorry, we need to help the other people in the building." I put a hand on Daisy's shoulder, and she gave me a grateful look. "Trust in her, she's pretty amazing. She already saved my life once."

The old woman smiled. "Then you stay safe as well, young man. We are grateful to the two of you."

"I'll keep him safe," Daisy promised her.

A familiar cold chill entered the hallway and I turned to see Misdreavous phase through the locked door. The ghost was giggling to herself, and she gave me a wide grin.

All three of the other hostage's eyes went wide, and the old woman began to mutter fervently in a language that I didn't recognize.

"It's okay, she's with us," I reassured them. "She's only going to scare the bad guys."

"Dreavus!" Misdreavus cheered helpfully. I couldn't help but notice that her eyes became just a bit more vibrant and violent, though, as the other still looked at her in fear. She was enjoying the reaction a little bit too much.

The rest of the group said their quick goodbyes, leaving with the directions Daisy had given them. I couldn't help but think Misdreavus' appearance had made them run faster than they would have otherwise.

Daisy grabbed my hand. "Are you ready to go?" Her green eyes burned with determination and anger.

I nodded, and she led me by the hand, both of us jogging through the narrow maintenance hallways. We went through a labyrinth of access halls that led to too many unmarked rooms, the width barely enough to walk through without bumping yourself on an errant tube or piece of plumbing.

Eventually, Daisy slowed our pace, pulling us toward a small door labeled 'MAINTENANCE STEPS'.

"You just need to go through here," she said. "It should be up two flights because of the ceiling height-"

"Wait," I interrupted her. "You're not coming?"

Daisy bit her lip, and she glanced past me, towards another hallway.

"Fuck," I breathed. "You're going after the research lab."

She nodded. "I need to make sure Dr. Spinel is okay. And the grunt with our Pokemon is there. If I can get Seych and Luna back, I can handle basically anything they'll have."

Daisy's reasoning was sound, but I hated the idea. It must have been clear on my face, because Daisy squeezed the hand that I hadn't realized she'd still been holding.

"It's going to be okay," She said, smiling softly through the fear. "Like you said, I'm pretty amazing."

She was. I couldn't argue with that.

"Fine," I relented, cursing the Rockets under my breath. "Just be safe, don't take dumb risks. I'll make my way to you once I've hit the alarm."

Daisy smiled fully, and she pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back, feeling her warm breath on my neck. She smelled like summer.

I pulled back. "Be safe," I said again.

"I will," Daisy agreed. "Remember, two flights up, across the hall. Once you're in the booth, it's the button under the desk."

I nodded, finally letting go of her hand. Say what you will about trauma bonding, but letting go of her was hard. This was the second time I'd ever spent time with her, but it felt like I was leaving a lifelong friend.

I turned and ran up the stairs.

----------------------------------------

As we'd heard the grunts say earlier, they'd left one of their own in the security booth. The door leading in was thick black metal with a small glass window letting me peak inside. A cursory pull on the handle told me it was unlocked.

I turned toward Misdreavus, the ghost floating a few inches from my head.

"Okay," I said in a whisper. "There's a Rocket in there."

Misdreavus floated gently, slowly flipping upside down, confusion clear on her face.

"The bad guys."

Misdreavus spun right side up. "Drea, drea!" She chirped in understanding.

"You know how you used that move on me the other night, Mean Look?"

She drifted backward into the shadow of the wall, conjuring an illusion that exaggerated the size of her eyes and teeth. Even knowing that it was a demonstration, I felt static tingles up my neck from the malice in the move.

I shuddered.

"Yes, that one. Do you think you could use it on the Rocket in there?"

Misdreavus emerged from the shadows, dismissing her illusion. She grinned evilly and vigorously shook her head yes.

"Good, but we're not going in yet." I glanced down the way to the New Horizons exhibit. "I have to grab something first."

Misdreavous looked up at me in confusion.

----------------------------------------

A few minutes later, a Team Rocket grunt named Kevin heard a slight knock on door to the security booth.

He looked around confused, tearing his attention from the wall of monitors that showed every security feed in the building, and stood up to the small window of the door. When he looked out, he saw and empty hallway, no one standing at the window.

He shook his head, turning back to look at the screens, but stopped in horror.

Two glowing red and yellow eyes stared back at him, affixed to a shadowy void that filled the room.

Slowly, the shadowy lips of the face opened, revealing sharpened and malicious white teeth behind them.

He stood in terror, unable to move or speak as the Mean Look took hold.

The door behind him opened and I stepped through, hefting my makeshift club.

"You poor motherfucker," I said in fake pity. "This 'bout to hurt."

I swung with all my might, whipping the metal flagpole like a baseball bat across the back of Kevin's head. There was a muffled thump! as I struck his cap-covered scalp, and he went down like a sack of rocks.

As I stood over him, I unfurled the flag I'd grabbed from the astronaut display. On it was a flag of Hoenn, the first region to make it to the moon. Even though it was definitely a replica, and had never been to the moon, seeing my home region's colours made me feel a lot more confident.

Once I was sure he was properly out, I turned to Misdreavus. "Good job! You're so good at scaring people!"

"Misdravus!" She responded happily. The red jewels of her necklace started to glow red, and Kevin's body started to wisp light of the same color. The light drifted upward, being slowly absorbed into her necklace. The Rocket's hair seemed a little less blonde, and his skin seemed just a touch paler.

I felt a pit in my stomach, the Pokemon giving me a swift reminder that she was dangerous.

She'd just eaten his fear.

And, in doing so, she'd siphoned off a bit of his life force.

"So that's what that looks like," I murmured. "I don't need to see that again."

I walked over the complex control mixer, covered in dozens and dozens of keys, and slipped my hand onto its underside.

Just like Daisy had said, I felt the blemish of a tactile key underneath.

I pressed it.

There was no big alarm or notification, but a previous unmarked and unlit spot on the keyboard began to glow.

I didn't let myself relax, though. I looked up toward the dozen monitors, glancing through them to see what had been happening in the rest of the building.

The first thing I could tell was that the maintenance halls didn't show on the monitor, so I had no way to see where Daisy was, or how close she was to getting to the lab.

Speaking of the lab, I could see that the majority of the Rockets had converged there. Instead of gathering the research aides into a group, like they'd done with us, each of the researchers was standing at a digital workstation. They all had Rocket chaperones looking over their shoulders, and it was clear that they were being forced to go through their research for the Rockets.

Dr. Spinel was there. He looked unharmed other than a light cut above his eyebrow. He was also standing at a workstation.

Though there were many grunts there, I didn't see their leader, Aestus, there.

Instead, I found the red-haired Rocket back in the main showroom of floor one. The dust had settled from Misdreavus' 'prank', and the Rockets had started recovering the broken fossils and artifacts.

Aestus stood over them, angrily shouting orders. His men worked quickly, but I could see two of them laid out on the floor, hopefully unconscious.

I sighed. The monitors were helpful, but not too helpful. Basically, they'd just let me know that I would avoid the boss by helping Daisy and Dr. Spinel.

As I turned to leave, however, I saw movement that I hadn't expected on one of the monitors.

Strolling through the front door was another person in a Rocket uniform. Theirs was different than Aestus'; it had long white sleeves and boots with a red decorative strap around each one, rather than the black with a white strip. Based on that, they were probably a higher rank than Aestus.

The person themselves was about as tall as I was, with a youthful face but still older than even Daisy, probably in their mid-twenties. They had hair the color of turquoise, and their eyebrows were narrowed in a mean kind of way. The way they walked betrayed arrogance or confidence, and they kept an easygoing but malicious smirk on their face.

Behind them, there was a group of another dozen grunts. The group walked straight through the reception, back towards the broken Ancient World exhibit.

Aestus angrily turned when he heard them approaching, but hesitated when he saw the newcomer.

The newcomer said something, but I didn't have any audio. Aestus looked angry and upset, and began speaking in measured words.

I glanced around at the keyboard, desperate to know what they were saying. Within moments, I found a small dial marked the same number as the monitor.

The museum security suite was old and low quality, so the speakers crackled as noise started to pour through them.

I caught onto the conversation midway through Aestus speaking. "-Ariana gave me command of this mission. I don't understand what the reasoning for additional forces could have been."

The newcomer cackled, a shrill arrogant sound. "That's the thing, kiddo. Ariana doesn't outrank me. And I wanted to tag along on the little small-time robbery. It's a good thing I did, too. Somebody broke the big dino."

Aestus winced like he'd been slapped. He looked back at the shattered Aerodactyl skeleton. "This is still salvageable. The mission command is still mine, Proton. I will not be usurped from it, not even by an Executive."

I gulped. That title implied that the newcomer, Proton, was a top dog for the Rockets.

This was going much worse than I thought it would go.