The dead scientist we found brought both good news and bad news.

Good news; considering he must have been killed meant I could kill Team Galactic grunts in return without feeling like they don't deserve it or feel any guilt weighing down on my conscience. After all, the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed.

A lovable quote that I really liked.

It gave me some sense of sanity in this insane world.

Not that it actually did something, people had been trying to kill me from day one, perhaps it was foolish to believe such a thing but a man gotta keep his morals straight, especially if you find yourself in a completely different world with no one to guide you except your own knowledge.

Bad news: Team Galactic was actually killing people which meant they wouldn't hesitate to attack me.

They should have been knocked out and paralyzed but the voices in the hallway revealed that to be a lie too.

Luna told me there were 4 individuals and I heard 2 voices which meant at least 2 of them were humans.

This was to some extent a good thing.

None of the unconscious people we had seen in this building so far possessed a firearm, they did have knives, tasers and grenades but no guns.

It had puzzled me until I realized that the people in this world viewed guns in a different way than in my old universe; mainly, they suck in their opinion.

That might be an exaggeration but my point still stands.

Why train for hours, trying to improve your aim when a level 5 Ember can kill a person?

The special forces Hylla worked with did use guns and rifles but they were professionals. Crimson did use guns but he did it because it was part of his style and he thought they were cool.

Team Galactic was not going for style.

"So, are we gonna kill them or what?" A third, younger voice, asked impatiently.

They spoke loudly. They didn't care about staying hidden apparently, considering they were the ones hunting us I could understand why.

Chelsea pointed at my gun and then at the end of the room.

I shook my head, attacking them would be foolish. First off they had us literally cornered in this laboratory and they outnumbered us.

There were at least 3 people who had probably around 3 Pokémon each which would make around 9 Pokémon against 3 of ours.

I pulled a grenade from the belt I had slung over my shoulder, it was detached quietly without making a sound.

It was a big metal cylinder with thick ends on both sides with a metal pin jammed into the head which could be pulled out.

As I pulled the grenade free I was met with a horrified look from Chelsea and Barry.

With my other hand, I pulled Luna closer and I whispered in her ear. "Teleport this as far away from us as you can."

Luna gave me a slight nod, probably stressed out herself.

I pulled the metal pin loose and dropped the grenade.

Before it could hit the floor it disappeared.

Teleporting 3 humans and 2 Pokémon might be too exhausting for Luna in her current state but a small grenade?

A bang was heard, it wasn't that loud but the noise the grenade produced was definitely audible above the sound of rain.

"What was that?!" The female voice cried out, shaken.

A heavy voice replied, "They must have moved already."

"Ugh, why are we the ones who have to do all the leg work?" The female voice complained.

"Stop complaining," the same heavy voice grunted, "It's almost over anyway, let's find those brats so we can resume waiting."

"Yes," A younger voice answered. "Let's move already, I am getting bored."

A monstrous growl sounded throughout the lab, allowing me to identify the last member of the party as a Pokémon.

"Let's go." The footsteps moved away from us and eventually they were too far to be heard. Silence returned.

I still waited a full minute in case they suddenly turned around.

They didn't.

"Well," I said as I got up, "That was tight." I managed to sound like I wasn't fearing for my life, or at least I hope I did.

"They were not knocked out," Barry sighed loudly, "I thought for a second I would die."

"We should walk." I ignored Barry’s comments, mainly because I agreed with him. I nodded in the direction the voices wandered off to. "They might realize it was a distraction."

Both Chelsea and Barry agreed with it, I led them out of the laboratory through the gap and this time the white hallways were a welcome sight.

At least we could avoid people in the halls and there was a minimal risk of getting cornered.

"I think we should keep walking," Chelsea suggested when I suddenly stopped.

I did agree with her but one point was nagging me.

"How did they know where we were?" I asked out loud.

Immediately after asking the question it struck me, I looked at the small security camera near the stairwell that was mounted into the ceiling, looking very innocent.

"Psybeam!" I told Luna, she followed my line of sight and she immediately obeyed.

Her eyes flared red and a rainbow-colored laser shot towards the camera and shattered the glass and metal like it was a visible force punching the metal device.

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It fell to the ground.

I didn't waste a second and turned to Chelsea, "Have Haunter search and deactivate the cameras on this floor."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Barry released Staravia from her Pokéball, probably realizing that once Haunter was gone we would be down one Pokémon.

Haunter jumped out of Chelsea's shadow, his eternal grin still plastered onto his face.

"Do as he said," Chelsea told him.

The ghost gave her a curt nod and disappeared into the floor, gliding over it like a shark fin in water.

"Explain." Chelsea demanded. She warily looked at the shattered camera.

"First we have to get away from here." I led us out of that narrow corridor and back to one of the main halls, all the while checking with Luna to see if we kept our distance from our hunters.

I pointed at one of the cameras that was shredded out of the wall and laid broken on the floor with three scratch marks left in its metal plating. "They knew exactly where we were, why is that?"

The gleam in Chelsea's eyes told me she understood it but her stubbornness didn't allow her to admit it. The solution was so simple, it was stupid.

"They could have heard us," Chelsea weakly offered. "Or have a Psychic like your Ralts with ultra sensory powers."

{As if} Luna chuckled smugly.

"They would assume we went in a direction if they heard us and not into a specific side room. Second, they were unable to determine our real-time location while we were very close. And when the grenade went off they thought they were wrong." I pointed out.

"So?"

"They got orders from someone else to check this place, someone who does know our location."

It annoyed me to no end that I ignored the possibility that the cameras could be used against us. When Looker said they were unaware of what was going on inside I should have considered that option.

Luna gave us new directions to keep us moving away from the Galactic guys we had encountered.

We came across more people who had been paralyzed by the gas but this time we didn't bother tying them up.

"So are we leaving?" Barry asked. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He gave a shrug, "We thought the hostages were easy to save but now that seems out of reach, seeing how the gas grenades didn't work properly."

"We are not done yet," I grimaced, "We can still go on."

We passed a vending machine, the front was smashed in and some items were missing.

Haunter suddenly jumped out of the wall and faced Chelsea with a proud grin, she patted the purple creature on its head.

"What do you mean with 'we can still go on'?" Barry asked hesitantly.

I readjusted the grip on my knife, "Originally our plan was to get in and tie people up, that's not going to happen but right now a new opportunity presented itself."

I leveled a stare with Barry and Chelsea. "And that is taking down Team Galactic."

Both of them stopped moving.

"What?" I raised an eyebrow, "You two knew you were going into some deep shit when you agreed to help."

"Yes, I still do." Chelsea said. "But not everyone's sleepy right now, remember?"

The sound of a thunderstrike boomed across the hallway, followed by a couple more. The storm outside had grown fiercer.

"Most of them are still knocked out," I said confidently, "At least a majority. The ones who remain standing should be easy to take out."

Was I exaggerating it?

Maybe a little but I really hoped that Chelsea and Barry would stick around, there was a strength in numbers and I really could use all the help available.

A golden opportunity has made itself known and I intended to reap it.

My original plan to leave Team Galactic alone was based on their role in triggering the summoning of Dialga and Palkia.

Back then I wasn't sure if I was in either the game universe or not. But then I discovered that a certain place did exist.

Alamos Town.

The place exists, meaning that Team Galactic were no longer the only way I could meet the gods who might have summoned me.

Now they were only a dangerous group of crazies that were willing to kill. I had no control over their actions nor did I know what their plan was anymore.

They had become an uncertain factor that had to be removed from the equation.

Of course, I couldn't tell my friends about that, for all they knew I was someone without a past.

"Ever heard of the phrase, 'the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'?" I asked after a brief silence.

"No," Barry gave me a thoughtful look, "But I think I understand what you mean."

He clenched his fists. "If we don't do everything we can we are just as guilty."

Personally, I thought it was a bit exaggerated but it did work.

"Hello! What part of: they are not asleep, do you not understand?" It didn’t work for Chelsea.

"It did work, the people in the halls proved this."

"Uh huh, and where did those voices come from?"

"A closed-off area," I pulled out my Pokédex and showed the map of the building. There was a blank spot in the middle of the map where the three wings of the building met.

I had paid it no attention earlier but right now it seemed a lot more important.

"There's a panic room right here, in the middle of all three parts," I pointed out, "Some big buildings have these, especially rich companies like Devon Corp."

Our gas grenade trick did work. They were powerful, powerful enough to put down everyone on this floor, even those who were in closed rooms.

Yet, the Galactic grunts who were still alive had to come from somewhere. And the stairs and elevators were blocked.

That left one option.

This world had dealt with city level threats too many times, panic rooms were for that kind of stuff, though they obviously didn't stand a minute against 2 Legendaries duking it out.

It failed the people working in this building at least, or maybe they didn't expect to ever use it.

"Whatever is going on in this building, this room is in the center of it all, maybe it's their command post or something which most likely accidentally helped them avoid the gas.”

"An airtight room with internal air circulation would help." Barry offered.

"Imagine if someone in that room had access to the cameras, he saw us and sent a few people who had been in the panic room out to get us. Doesn't that fit perfectly? The exit of the room is close enough to the laboratory for the information of our location to remain relevant." It wasn't the only possibility but it was a damn convenient option while trying to puzzle together the bigger picture.

The time between when we entered the laboratory and Galactic showing up was small, meaning they were close like the panic room was.

"Even so, we don't know how many people are in the panic room. Nor can we battle them with only three Pokémon," Chelsea argued.

I pointed at Haunter, "He can scout with minimal risk and she also has some cards left to play," I pointed at Luna. "We have more paralyzing grenades, if we play our cards correctly we can get one inside the panic room, essentially trapping them."

"You really are sure of this panic room idea of yours huh?"

{They are clustered.} Luna confirmed my theory.

I shrugged, "It should be easy."

Come on, couldn't they see how important this might be?

Sure it might not take down the entirety of Team Galactic but this would drag them into the public's eye and stop this phase of their plan. There was a deadline ticking, one of the guys mentioned that 'it was almost over' and I didn't put it behind Galactic to make an escape with zero repercussions.

Galactic was doing something which required time, my guess was that they were doing it inside the panic room too.

I could not let them get away.

Barry was convinced to stay anyway but Chelsea wasn't. I feared that she might be only here to help the hostages who I suspected to be long dead.

Now that was out of the picture I had to push her in the right direction, sadly she has common sense.

"Come on Chelsea," Barry urged, "We can not let these terrorists get away with this!"

I nodded and tapped with my knife against the wall to my left. "The panic room is very close, I led us in a circle around it and they can't use the cameras anymore. They are blindsided, trapped."

Chelsea's eyes darted between the three of us, as if looking for a reason to say no.

"Fine," Chelsea sighed. "But if we die I'll come back as a ghost to haunt you all."

"You won't," I insisted, "Their numbers don't matter when they're cornered. They have no way of knowing where we are. The people sent to capture us are at the north wing, too far away to even matter."

I gave her my best grin.

"There's no better time to strike than now."