**After gathering information from several CCTV cameras, Vane and his Reuniclus finally located the Investigation Division headquarters.** Without hesitation, Vane teleported directly inside the building.
The room he arrived in was cluttered with stacks of archives piled high on desks, several computers that appeared to be powered off, and neatly organized files locked inside glass cabinets beside the workstations.
"Normally, I could just contact Darian directly, but for some reason, he hasn't responded since earlier," Vane muttered, pressing his fingers against his forehead in frustration.
"Reclus?" Reuniclus inquired telepathically, tilting its head.
"Yeah, Reuniclus—he's not reachable," Vane replied, lowering his hand. "I'm certain his mind is being held in a different dimension right now, but I have no idea where they're keeping him."
His gaze drifted toward the computer on the desk beside him. "Maybe there's something important in here."
He reached out and attempted to power on the computer—but to his surprise, it was already running.
"Wait a minute... what kind of idiot leaves a computer running until it shuts down on its own?" Vane muttered, eyeing the screen suspiciously.
He quickly navigated to the prisoner archives within the computer's files, but the system demanded an access key code before revealing anything.
"Seriously? Good thing I have a code breaker," he thought to himself.
He pulled a flash drive from his pocket and moved to insert it into the computer's port—only to realize, to his dismay, that there was no USB slot anywhere on the machine.
He stared at the computer in stunned silence for a long moment. *"Who in their right mind designs a computer without a USB port?!"* he screamed internally, his composure cracking.
Reuniclus, meanwhile, stood guard at the front door, keeping watch for any approaching personnel.
"Alright then—time for Plan B," Vane decided. He activated his ability to view the past events that had occurred in this very room.
Before his eyes, a translucent projection formed: a personnel member had just left the room moments ago. Vane realized the file had been accessed recently. He extended his temporal range further back, rewinding to the moment when the same officer and his Smeargle had opened the prisoner file. From that vision, he caught a glimpse of the access code:
**92019-11212_12152120/21851119147$ 2085!2311212#CODEARON**
Vane stared at the code, his mouth slightly agape. *"Who on earth thinks of making a code like this?!"* he screamed internally, incredulous.
Suppressing his frustration, he carefully entered the code into the archive's PIN lock. The system accepted it, and the prisoner records opened before him. His eyes scanned the list until he found Darian's name among the most recent entries.
"At least I can find him now," Vane muttered with relief. He opened the file and read the information he needed: **Holding Cell 06-12.**
"Alright—time to go," he said, closing the file. He moved swiftly toward the holding cell area, Reuniclus following closely behind, maintaining its silent vigilance.
Vane activated his ability once more, cloaking himself and his Pokémon from sight.
---
**Meanwhile, just a few seconds later,** Aron and his Smeargle returned to the room after making coffee. Aron immediately noticed something amiss: the computer was still on, and the desktop was visible on the screen.
"I'm certain someone's been in here. Smeargle—search the area," Aron commanded.
Smeargle nodded and began sweeping the room, but Vane, still cloaked, walked calmly past them. He knew that as long as his ability remained active, they wouldn't detect him.
Aron, however, was already one step ahead. He checked the system logs and saw that the prisoner archive had been accessed just minutes ago—specifically, Darian's file. A thin, knowing smile crept across Aron's face. Smeargle caught sight of its trainer's expression and grinned in response.
"If you want to play this game, then let's play," Aron murmured. With a few keystrokes, he transferred Darian from cell **06-12** to **09-03** in the system.
---
**Vane, now approaching cell 06-12,** found it empty. His frustration spiked.
"Seriously?! How is this even possible? Is this entire building just one giant puzzle?!" he muttered through gritted teeth.
He began searching through the other cells, but each time he grew close to Darian's location, the prisoner would seemingly relocate to another cell just before he arrived. After the third time this happened, Vane stopped running. He realized the futility of it all. Espers may not tire easily, but this constant chase was wasting precious time.
"I should be able to read the thoughts or intentions of whoever's controlling this," Vane mused, still moving. "But if I can't, then this must be the building's internal algorithm... or worse—could he be a Logic user of that type?"
---
**Back in the monitoring room,** Aron leaned back in his chair, resting his head against his right hand as he watched Vane's movements on the monitors.
"Mind Prison... I didn't think they were exaggerating when they locked Darian in there. Looks like someone really is determined to rescue him," Aron mused aloud, taking a sip of his coffee. He exhaled slowly, contemplating what might happen next.
---
**Vane, still searching for Darian,** couldn't help but think about his comrades back at the museum, who were fighting for the Nexus Sapphire.
Reuniclus, sensing his concern, projected a telepathic question: *"Are you worried about them?"*
A small smile played at Vane's lips. "I hope they're doing alright."
*"And what about yourself?"* Reuniclus asked gently.
"I don't really care about myself, you know," Vane replied casually. "I'm an Esper. If something happens to me, I just hope they succeed anyway... because I have no reason to stay with them after this."
As he sprinted past cell **10-10**, a familiar telepathic voice reached him—one he recognized immediately as Borg's.
**"Borg? You're here too?"** Vane asked telepathically, still running.
**"I was captured during the mission on the train earlier. Lucky for me, they didn't have time to lock my mind in Mind Prison,"** Borg replied. **"And they don't seem to know you're also a Team Epitaph member. That person will keep blocking you from reaching Darian—so it's better if you free me first."**
**"Can't you just teleport yourself out?"** Vane asked, confused.
**"No—there are runes everywhere restricting me. The easiest way is to destroy the cell from the outside,"** Borg explained.
Vane considered his options. Freeing Borg would give them an extra pair of hands—and more importantly, someone who could help create chaos while Vane focused on locating Darian. But destroying a cell would definitely alert whoever was running security. Still, with the runes preventing Borg from escaping on his own, it seemed like the only viable move.
He signaled Reuniclus, who immediately conjured a Focus Blast—a sphere of fighting energy that grew larger and more intense with each passing second.
Aron, watching through the monitors, reacted instantly. He tried to teleport Borg's cell away—but he was a fraction of a second too late. The cell exploded just before the transfer could complete, and Borg was free.
Borg wasted no time. He sprinted alongside Vane, ready to fight.
Aron, growing increasingly irritated, activated the building's security systems. Hundreds of turrets swiveled into position, unleashing a barrage of concentrated fire directly at the two intruders.
Borg responded quickly, pulling a Poké Ball from his Inventory Box and releasing his Sableye.
"Sableye—Phantom Force!" Borg commanded.
Sableye immediately pulled both trainers into the Shadow Realm, providing them a moment of respite.
"Alright—it's time to go. We need to help the others secure the painting—whatever it's called," Borg said, catching his breath.
"No—not yet," Vane replied firmly. "I still need to save my friend."
"Seriously? You're still going after him? You saw how insane that guy was! You should be with the others at the museum getting the Nexus Sapphire!" Borg shot back, exasperated.
"Trust me—even if I tried to get it at the museum, it wouldn't matter. The operation times overlap, and if there's even a chance of securing it, Taylor will get there first. So I'd rather save Darian than help that guy," Vane said, his voice steely.
"I don't understand you sometimes. Do you really hate him that much?" Borg asked, genuinely curious.
"Yes," Vane replied flatly.
"Alright, fine. I'll help you rescue your friend," Borg said.
Vane blinked in surprise. "Wait—you'll actually help me?"
"I'm serious. But you have to promise me—after this, you'll help with the mission," Borg said, extending his hand.
Vane grabbed it firmly. "I promise."
"So, what's the plan?" Borg asked.
"Simple. You'll create a distraction. I'll lock down Darian's actual location. Once we know where he is, we use Phantom Force to get there immediately," Vane explained.
---
**Back in the monitoring room,** Aron and his Smeargle watched as Vane and Borg vanished into the Shadow Realm. His eyes narrowed.
"I didn't expect them to join forces like this... That means they're from the same organization. But then why was he looking for Darian's cell specifically?" Aron muttered, taking another sip of his coffee.
He took a deep breath, contemplating the possibilities.
"This is too strange..."