LOG 37: The Black Orb

Darkness smothered everything around me. Stars loomed over the region tonight. Skies were thin, everything was silent, everyone was asleep. Tiptoeing around the city was me, Virgo, Charlotte, and of course, Zeal plus Xedric and Zola! Each of us has our own role to play for this oppdrag to succeed.

"It's been a long night hasn't it?" asked guard one to guard two. Both of them lurked within the halls of the museum, suspecting nothing at all. It was just a normal chatter between the two. One weakness was vulnerable however, both of them were sleepy.

As they walked, two figures slowly took shape. Their eyes were blurry, making it a bit impossible for them to see Xedric and Zola. Even their flashlights were not of use. Though it emitted light, it would only cast shadows, making the figures appear taller than before.

The figures separated, like water turning into thin air.

"I know you're in here somewhere!" said guard number two. His hand was shivering, a drop of sweat fell from his forehead.

Guard number one felt a sudden shift in the wind's pace. The two stuck closer together. Out of the blue, a dart went for their elbows, stunning them completely. Their already drowsy spirits intensified as they were chanted into a deep slumber.

"Alright, the guards are asleep," alerted Zola from the walkie talkie.

"Leave to us," responded Charlotte as we continued our crawl down the vent.

Since they were the only bother, it would be safe to proceed with the plan. The museum's ventilation system was tight, and so we had a hard time squeezing ourselves through.

Once meters above the Meteonite, our plan commenced. Slowly, we took away the vent window and with Zeal's keen and accurate eyes, she launched the hook of the grappling gun to break the top of the glass. Team Plasma's logo was scribbled everywhere in the hook to fool the CCTVs that is Team Plasma who is responsible for all of these. They can only see our hands but not our faces.

She shot the second rope to the Meteonite and gently pulled it up. It was heavier than expected, we even feared the rope's tension will exceed its own capability. We began working together as all of us tried to pull it up. Still, the Meteonite was heavy. It swayed as it ascended, making us worried it might hit the red lasers.

"Gently..." whispered Zeal to me.

"I'm trying to!"

We continued pulling, slowly running out of patience. As we pulled, we were crawling back to make way for the Meteonite. It was there when a blunder struck, my left foot accidentally pushing the vent door behind me. I immediately blanched after realizing my mistake, cautious it would make an irritating metallic clanging noise once it hit the floor.

"Phew..." exhaled Virgo who was behind me, able to grab the vent door just in time.

"Careful, Luna!" said Charlotte.

"My bad."

Once we successfully acquired the Meteonite, it was time for Virgo's part. She passed the decoy, a lighter version of it to Zeal for it to be replaced while the real one is being transferred to a suitcase by me and Charlotte.

"This was an easy task than expected," boasted Charlotte and at the exact moment, the vent door in which the suitcase is placed atop gave in due to the weight, making itself crash all the way down. Our hearts stopped beating, we were literally dead corpses when we heard the loud clinging sound of the metals. It was an inch away from the horrid red lasers.

"Never mind. I stand utterly corrected." said Charlotte, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Ah! Damn it! Go and get it one of you while me and Virgo deal with the decoy."

"The CCTVs though." Virgo broke in.

"Wear these sacks on your head to look like Team Plasma."

"We'll look like people who are about to be beheaded, Zeal!" Charlotte said.

"Leave it to my trusty Gardevoir! She'll teleport herself and get it for us."

"Or we can just ask Zola and Xedric to get it." advised Virgo.

"Do that and we'll end up getting reported." Zeal said.

I dropped Gardevoir's Pokeball to grab the briefcase for us. Hopefully she fits inside the vents whenever she teleports back to us. Everything was going perfectly to plan, Gardevoir dancing her way out through the red lasers. She was a flawless dancer.

She was about to teleport back to us when suddenly something else caught her eyes. It was a black stone encased inside a glass frame. Gardevoir did a detour to please me and stole not only the briefcase but also the black stone in which I have no idea on what to use it for.

<Garde!>she returned, giving me a smile of glee. She handed back the briefcase and gave me the black stone.

"Oh, and what's this?" I asked Gardevoir but she just shrugged at me.

"She doesn't know but she stole it?" asked Charlotte, observing the stone with me.

"Didn't Madame Boss said not to take anything except for the stone?" recalled Zeal.

"Well, it does look pretty don't you think?" Virgo's eyes marveled at it.

"Seriously you too, Virgo? You're a professor not a stone collector! Better hide that from Steven."

I was put to a chuckle.

"Who's Steven?" asked Charlotte.

"Have you lost your memory or what? Steven is from Hoenn!"

"No bells ringing."

"Of course, you were from Team Magma during that time. Anyway, let's get a move on shall we? Thanks Gardevoir, I appreciate the stone." I said, tickling her chin.

<Garde~> she blushed.

We quickly made our escape, making sure we didn't repeat our previous mistakes. Once we were out, I hid the stone in my pocket as we gave the briefcase to Zola and Xedric for proper care. Another success in this Unova pilgrimage, definitely Johto was worse when mostly all of our missions ended up failing.

"Good work Team Rocket. We shall now return to headquarters." Xedric complimented.

"So, Luna? Want me to observe that rock of yours like what I'm doing to your marble?"

"I'll think I'll pass for now. Besides, it's just a rock, what could possibly be strange about it?"