Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ayudame.

The single word of the e-mail, in association with the sender's name, was enough for Aila to know what she needed to do. This was a possibility she had been waiting for - planning for, even - since she had met Inigo and learned about his research. She found it difficult to look at the situation as an opportunity, though. Instead of promising, the circumstances struck her as dire, and rather than to seize a chance, she was working to help a friend. It took a few days for the agent to clear her schedule to the point that she could take the time to head into the Cypress Forest, the setting sun guiding her towards the designated meeting location. She stopped at the edge of the wood, recalling her Metagross transport into a pokeball and proceeding into the thicket on foot. The sun had yet to full find its way below the horizon before she emerged in the clearing that surrounded the lake, its waters afire with the dying sunlight.

"Inigo?" She glanced around, slightly out of breath from a hurried pace. Her dark clothing, designed to be easy to move around in, alluded to her task for the evening.

The little suggestions strewn about the clearing were drawn to her attention by the voice from the trees, and she took a few quiet steps in the direction of that voice, nodding, "I got your message." She furrowed her brow slightly as she attempted to find the next words to say. The night was young, but time was always of the essence in these sorts of operations, and there were things that needed to be discussed before they could proceed. But even so... "Are you all right?" There was at least time to ensure he was well, both physically and mentally. The message he'd sent had been curt enough to worry her.

'Fine,' he said, even though he clearly wasn't. Aila was slightly irked for a short moment, but the situation at hand was more important than berating him over the virtues of honesty - never mind the irony that would accompany such a lecture, given her standing. She approached with quiet, nearly silent footsteps, pausing a short distance from the tree and, by property of association, from Inigo. "What are you going to do now?" she asked, tone gentle. "Do you have a plan?"

A half a step forward accompanied the extension of her hand in invitation; her expression, though serious, was encouraging. "I have a place for you, but you must listen to everything I say before you make a choice." Her posture was straight, an entreating quality finding its way to her words, "I mentioned before that I work with a lab that researches pokemon. This was only partly untrue; the organization I represent does in fact research pokemon. Also, we're a bit less concerned with the morality of our research than your university. You would be welcome - encouraged, even - to continue your investigations with us."

There was a shift in her voice as it took on a more cautionary quality, "However, there are serious implications attached to your accepting this invitation. The most significant are that you will be start at the bottom in a rank-driven hierarchy," she hadn't thought this a noteworthy point in the past, but her previous recruit had proven otherwise, "and that if you accept and come with me, you will not be able to turn back. This is a lifelong commitment." She paused, waiting to hear his thoughts or questions.

That was an intelligent and reasonable question, and the silence that preceded it alongside the question itself proved that he was considering it seriously. "Our departments are divided amongst research, stealth, technology, information, combat, and others. Much of our work involves acquiring pokemon - not always through entirely ethical means. Our last significant capture," her volume lowered instinctively, "was the legendary pokemon Kyogre. Before that we obtained a specimen of a Ho-Oh's egg."

The change in his expression was the first explanation for why Leilani wasn't at his side at a time like this. Aila had expected that the research would be confiscated, but the thought that they had taken his pokemon as well was not only surprising but unacceptable. Yet she shook her head 'no' at the condition, "Let's not make it an exchange. I'll help you - I came prepared to help you, actually," she spared a momentary gesture at her ensemble, a rough imitation of the stealth suit she wore for missions with enough implication of amateurism that it would draw attention away from the suspicion of organized crime, "and once we've succeeded, you can answer me." Once the pressure was off and he could breathe freely and make a rational decision.

A faint smile, confident and reassuring, played at her lips. "Of course we will. We'll be done in no time." A proud 'who do you think I am' pressed at her words, but she kept it down. There were important matters to address, and boasting would do nothing to address any of them. Slipping her backpack from her shoulders, she drew out a series of papers and moved to show them to Inigo. They were maps of the school's interior, pulled in advance from various websites. She had annotated them with speculations on their security systems, a specialty from her days in jewel theft. "First, we need to know where we're going. The key to this sort of operation is getting in and getting out, so we need to know where in the building they'll have stored your pokemon and research. Even narrowing it down to a few locations is better than blindly guessing." She turned expectantly to Inigo, hoping he would have something to offer on the subject.

"Very well, we'll concentrate our efforts there then." She folded the maps away quietly, replacing them in her bag. "I'll be relying on you to lead the way," she said, rose eyes flitting upward from the backpack to regard him, "so ideally we'll stay together, but in case something comes up, would you mind if I entrust Duvet to you?" She held up the pokeball indicatively. "He knows GrassWhistle, Stun Spore, Leech Life, and Mega Drain. He'll be able to protect you if something comes up." She anticipated that Inigo was less than familiar with such covert operations, and she wanted him to be able to escape if he ran into a threatening situation.