[POV: Rika Voss]
Panic clamps my gut. Golbat's gone, Crobat's a nightmare, and now this absolute mountain of rock? Mission be damned, I need to get out. The Moon Stone is heavy, but it's my only way back.
Rika pivots and bolts for the shadowed exit.
"Crobat! Cut her off!"
The massive bat is an impossible blur, sealing the tunnel mouth before she can reach it. She skids to a halt, throwing up a cloud of dust.
I shift my gaze to the grunts. "Rhyperior. Pressure." The rock Pokémon takes two heavy steps. Its shadow pins them against the wall. They cry out in animal terror, their eyes rolling back as they crumple, unconscious, into the dust.
I don't spare them a second glance. I step directly into Rika's personal space. My gaze pins her, forcing her head back to meet my eyes.
[POV: Rika Voss]
Frozen terror; no more mission; just survive. He sees it, he knows. This is it. Is that... backup? No, too late. Just another pair of eyes on my ruin.
A sharp gasp cuts through the humming generator. From a shadowed side tunnel, a second woman emerges. She wears the same tactical uniform, a crimson 'R' on her shoulder. Her sleek black ponytail bounces as she skids to a stop. This is Reina Kato.
[POV: Reina Kato]
Late. Rika's blown the mission. Grunts are useless. He's too big, too confident. Can I extract Rika? Secure the stone? My instincts scream danger, but the mission requires action. Calculate threat. Ready for anything.
Her dark eyes instantly lock onto mine. Rapid, cold calculation replaces her shock.
I move with a predator's economy, knocking the first grunt unconscious with a boot under the jaw and the second with a fist to the solar plexus.
The blue light on my wrist pulses. Lucario manifests in a blur. "Sweep the perimeter," I rumble. "Any Rocket that isn't horizontal stays that way." The Aura Pokémon vanishes into the shadows.
[POV: Rika Voss]
He's a monster. The grunts... gone. Reina's here, but she's just standing there. If I give him the stone, maybe he lets us go. I can't breathe with that Rhyperior looking at me. Just take it. Just let me live.
"Take it!" Rika suddenly spits, thrusting the Moon Stone toward me. "Just take the damn rock and let us walk!"
Reina doesn't move to help. She's weighing the life of her comrade against the power I'm projecting.
I let out a dry scoff. "Lowlies? Who are you fooling? Since when did Team Rocket start recruiting them as operatives?"
[POV: Rika Voss]
Panic spikes higher. He's dissecting us, seeing through the act. He knows we're more. He's talking about our faces. He's not just taking the rock.
I take a step closer. "Lucky for you, you've got pretty faces. And luckier still that I'm no League Officer. They're much less... appreciative of the view."
[POV: Reina Kato]
A cold spike of contempt for Rika's uselessness, overlaid with a jolt of alarm at his words. He's not League, which is an opening, but his appraisal means something much more personal. He sees us as objects, not threats. The 'view' implies he takes what he wants.