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At his question, she stood very still, leaning slightly forward with her head inclined and her gaze distant. She heard nothing, and Revenant's continued lack of presence reinforced her appraisal. "All clear," she said with a nod, starting forward. She paused before reaching the first step, turning to Inigo momentarily. "Tread lightly," she warned, knowing that stairwells were infamous for their high acoustics that accentuated every step taken within their confines.

They proceeded downstairs quietly and uneventfully, but on reaching the platform that would open up to the second floor, Revenant suddenly appeared in front of them. Aila extended one arm to dissuade Inigo from moving ahead of her, reaching her opposite hand to stay the surprised and nervous Eclair on her shoulder. She took a few swift steps backwards into the stairs' shadow as the sweeping gaze of a flashlight appeared through the arch that connected to the hall. A momentary stare served as a caution, 'be silent, be still, and be ready.'

The beam flooded the stairwell, casting long, dark shadows on the hidden forms of the two intruders, and the sound of approaching footsteps prefaced the security officer's appearance in the arch. He moved forward nonchalantly, a small radio at his hip crackling a vague message intended for some other listener. His pace was steady, making Aila's and Inigo's discovery inevitable.

Aila nearly signaled her Pikachu to act, a split-second decision turning her thoughts to Inigo's Sleep Powder bombs. They would be quieter and leave the guard unconscious rather than simply immobile. Choosing this as their best option, she looked once more to her companion, mouthing a single word, 'go,' and gesturing to the pocket containing into which he had divided the spheres in question.

"Wha-- Agh!" The poor security guard had only a moment to register what was happening before the capsule exploded squarely against his torso, a sharp inhale of surprise drawing in the concentrated sleep spores that were released by the impact. Almost instantaneously, the man was slumped against a wall, fast asleep.

"Well done," Aila said, acknowledging Inigo and his efforts and a nod and a smile. "And thank you for the warning, Revenant. Now let's go; we're on the clock. Sleep Powder will only last for but so long." With 'so long' acting as a varying quantity of time ranging from hours to minutes. In short, they needed to hurry.

Revenant faded from view once more, scouting ahead as the two humans continued to the first floor. It seemed that that was the only security officer in the building, though, and so Aila felt it safe to speak quietly, "Which way to the office?"

Aila followed with long, quick strides to keep up with the taller Inigo, Eclair jumping away from her trainer's shoulder for comfort's sake. It wasn't long before they came to a door flanked on either side by large windows, the blinds beyond them drawn shut for the night. Upon one of the windows, printed in a dignified serif typeface, were the words 'Ryan Johnston,' a smaller subtext indicating 'Dean of the College of Sciences and Technology.' This was their stop, it seemed.

The small thief eyed the electronic lock, glowing faintly red in the dark, somewhat dubiously; she had been expecting a physical lock, but this was so minor it scarcely even warranted the title of setback. She knelt in front of the black panel and scrutinized it momentarily, noting the stylized representation of a Thunder Punch emblazoned in a corner. "Electivire Securities," she mused aloud. "This will be simple enough to disable. Give me a moment." She reached for her bag, drawing out the small toolkit containing her preferred means of breaking and entering. She drew out a screwdriver and carefully removed the dark panel of the lock, revealing the delicate circuitry comprising the insides. She had worked with the brand before and was fairly confident in her ability to disengage it, and so she set to work with little - if any - hesitation.

A few tense moments of rewiring later, Aila gestured Eclair to her side, "I need a weak ThunderShock on the scanner terminal, just enough to give it a charge." The Pikachu, steeled by the premise of being useful, complied, offering the desired spark. The red light suddenly flashed green, a quiet beep accompanying the color to indicate that the door was unlocked. She seized and twisted the handle, pulling open the door to reveal the orderly, moonlit office beyond.

"Let's find your pokemon and research and get out of here," she said hurriedly, holding the door for Inigo to enter before letting it swing shut. Time was of the essence.

"Locked?" she assumed from the futile tug he gave the drawer. "We don't have time to pick every lock here..." Fortunately she had an alternative. "Hope you have no qualms about damaging this man's cabinets," she murmured as she pulled a cordless oscillating tool from her backpack, her intent to cut the locks away to save time. She fitted the handheld thing with the appropriate head, locking the blade firmly in place, and pulled protective glasses over her eyes - it would be pure gracelessness to blind herself with splinters over such a simple procedure. The dull hum of the device indicated that it had been switched on, a sound that grew louder as it was touched to the wood of the cabinet. But Revenant was keeping guard, Aila reminded herself, and as long as the ghost type was diligent - as she trusted her to be - there was no need to be concerned.

A circle of wood fell away from the drawer, and a sudden silence descended on the room as the tool was turned off. A gentle pull on the intact handle let the drawer slide forward, revealing a stack of binders and notebooks labeled with a yellow Post-It 'Ignacio Vizzini.' The name was different from the one she knew him by, but a slip of paper acting as the cover to the collective stack of papers clearly indicated that the information was immoral and under investigation by the university. Aila lifted the notebooks from the drawer, "I think I've found your research. Hopefully they're keeping the pokemon nearby--"

"Mismagius!" The ghost-type phased through the door with a practiced nonchalance, though her tone and demeanor were anything but. Her trainer stared for a moment in surprise before a grim understanding settled in her features.

"Inigo, Eclair," there was an urgency to her tone, "stay by the door. Be ready to Sleep Powder and Thunder Wave accordingly when it opens, and don't forget Duvet's Stun Spore.. I'm going to keep looking for Leilani and the others." That said, she resumed cutting the locks, moving much more quickly than she had.

Eclair, grateful for the camaraderie, accepted Inigo's invitation and took up a post on his shoulder, the pink pouches on her face sparking intermittently as she prepared herself. Duvet appeared in a flash at Inigo's side, tilting slightly in curiosity at the gesture but nodding in understanding. There was something tense about the situation he found himself in, though, and so he nervously regarded the door, waiting for... something. He wasn't sure what, but he'd be ready for it. Revenant hovered at attention as well. She didn't have any status attacks, but she was prepared to act as a final line of defense if circumstances necessitated as much.

The whir of the oscillating tool resumed, its operator taking a deep breath to steady her hand. She trusted in her own abilities to escape when it came down to it, but could she safely get Inigo out as well? Could she protect all of her pokemon long enough to get them into their pokeballs? A quiet shifting from within one of the drawers drew her attention, and she abandoned her work on her current lock to address that instead, going on the only hint she had. She was distracted by a sharp banging from the other side of the door.

"Who's in there? Come out now!"

The Meganium's appearance was unexpected, though certainly welcome, and Aila breathed a great sigh of relief at having fulfilled their search.

"This is your last warning! Open the door!"

All relief was replaced with concentration. What now - they needed a way out. The door was obviously not an option. What few guards had likely been summoned by the one they had encountered on the stairs were probably multiplying as they stalled for time. The windows facing the outdoors were their best bet, but the question of how to get through them was raised as a result. Eclair's ThunderShock or Quick Attack were too paltry to break the glass, Duvet knew no physical moves, Pitre was too large and heavy to release in the confines of the office--

"Leilani!" Though the need to remain silent had passed, Aila continued to speak in hushed tones. "I need you to Solar Beam the window, please." It was nighttime, however, and even a Sunny Day likely wouldn't provide enough light for the grass-type to fully charge the attack, and so Aila seized the remaining pokeballs from the drawer and made her way towards the door to return them to Inigo, standing ready to defend against the inevitable onslaught with one hand hovering near the pokeballs at her hip and the other grasping the retrieved research.

As Leilani prepared for the Solarbeam (with her Sunny Day seeming to have an effect even though it was night, however that worked), Aila accepted Duvet's pokeball, giving the Cottonee an assuring touch as he drifted anxiously to her side. Aila could admit to a bit of apprehension herself; the last she had dealt with security officers in such close quarters was nearly a year prior, at the museum.

"We're coming in!" The knob turned.

"Revenant, Telekinesis." A pale light engulfed the door as the ghost-type complied, holding the barrier in place as the opposite side struggled in an attempt to open it. The psychic-type move held it fast, however, buying time for Leilani's Solarbeam, until--

Bang.

The report of a gun's discharge was accompanied by a splintering hole in the door, the offending bullet planting itself firmly in the opposite wall. Aila drew a sharp breath; she hadn't expected they would take to gunfire. This was not good. She spared a glance over her shoulder as Revenant continued to hold the door, searching to see if the Meganium was ready yet. They had no time left; a second shot was likely close behind.